Braunschweiger II (with boatload of pix)

[Kevin A]

Okay, you Liver-Lovers...... ;)
I made another batch of braunschweiger, using a different recipe than the one I use last time (think Marianski vs Poli). That particular recipe used a combination of three proteins (chicken, pork and beef). This recipe is much simpler with regard to the ingredients, but requires more 'steps' by the sausage maker.

First you start with some fresh pork jowls....


Then you'll need some fresh pork liver ( about 3.5lbs here). These were not available the last time I made this & so I used chicken livers.


And the rest of the ingredients:


To make the desired amount of braunschweiger, I realized I didn't have quite enough jowl meat, so I added some thick-cut bacon to bring the quantity up to the desired level ( I adjusted the amount of cure used to allow for the addition of cured meat to the mix.). This meat was cut into small cubes & well-chilled:


Liver Time!

I soaked the pork liver for some time in cold water, changing & rinsing it regularly until the water ran clear. I pulled off any undesired pieces, clots, fat and sinewy bits.
Sliced, weighed and ready to go to the next step:


The recipe called for a low-temp poach (194°F) for about 10 minutes. Not a pleasant sight nor endearing aroma....


The liver slices are then cooled under cold water & rinsed of any coagulated bits that formed on the exterior:


For a finer grind, I'm using a 3mm plate:


First grind of the poached liver:


Second grind. This was probably unnecessary, but it's my usual practice when I do emulsified sausages:


Jowl & bacon grind: a single pass through the plate should suffice:


The Mix

Everything into the tub for hand-mixing.


After about 10 minutes of aggressive mixing, I wasn't happy with the uniformity of the mix. So I opted to use my processor in order to really get a smooth paste. A few batches done with some ice-cold water yielded a fairly-smooth meat paste:


Into the little Grizzly stuffer:


Results: two long chubs, a medium chub, and a mini chub (chubbette? chubbini?):


Second Poach:
Into a hot water bath (175°F) went the chubs. These took about an hour to reach the desired internal temp of 154°F.


Whew! The chubs are now hanging in my fridge to firm up overnight.
Tomorrow its on to the smoker for about 5-6 hours of cold smoke!  :) :)

More to come!

Kevin

[cobra6223]

okay I'm a braunschweiger JUNKIE!! I would eat shoot up with it take a bath with and maybe just sleep with it !!!! I can't wait for more pics. It's like nectar of the gods. Hey Kevin could you  please post the old recipe too... Thanks Tim.

[ragweed]

Looks great, Kevin.  Been wanting to try this since your first post but can't find pork livers.  This looks so good, (just love braunschweiger  ;D) I'll have to intensify my search.  Can't wait to see the finished product!

[Kevin A]

After nearly 5 hours of cold hickory smoke (started at 3:00am  :o) & before the outdoor temps get too hot, I pulled the chubs from the smoker.
Early morning shot before removing the chubs...


Sample time:

Usually I'll let these rest and sit overnight after an intense cold smoke (time can help mellow any sharpness in the taste—same when you smoke cheese), but I'm tired of waiting....  ;)

Texture is good when slicing; not crumbly. Still moist. VERY smokey taste at this point (as expected). Soft, yet firm texture. The liver taste is there, obviously, and marries well with the onion nicely. This recipe is probably CLOSER to 'true' braunschweiger— REAL pork liver taste, but not overpowering as I feared. Nicely balanced. It will only improve as it rests a day or two and any harshness in the smoke subsides a bit.


You gotta have it with crackers, too!

[wkahler]

My mom would be in heaven with that stuff..............me not so much LOL!!!  Looks like you did a great job and turned out well!

[viper125]

Looks great and i love the. Stuff. Problem to day is disease in pork livers. But have found calve liver works great.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

[Kevin A]

For those of you who wish to make this tasty stuff, you can find the recipe I followed here : http://www.meatsandsausages.com/sausage-recipes/braunschweiger

Pretty straightforward preparation, with extra care given to the liver prep.
I essentially tripled the recipe amount, however, 2g of marjoram per 2.2lbs meat x3 =6 grams of marjoram for 6.6lbs, which seemed WAY too much. I think I settled for about 3.5 grams of marjoram, which is plenty.

The variations I also made were the addition of the Cure#1 (5.66g /1 level tsp per 5-pounds) and 1 pound of bacon.
My batch used 3.3 pounds of liver, 2.3lbs of jowl, & 1 pound of cured bacon = 5.6 pounds requiring cure.
Total weight of 6.6 pounds/approx. 3 kg

Re: Stuffing. Essential on getting a good, tight stuff (:shock:) as small air pockets will form during the poach. These pockets will fill with rendered meat 'jelly' and be evident in the final product. This isnt unpleasant tasting & has no impact on the flavor, but it will break up the uniformity look of the slice. Aesthetics only, no taste change.

Great with mustard on rye. Add an onion slice if you like.  :D

Kevin