And now.."BRAUNSCHWEIGER" (smoked liverwurst)

[Kevin A]

I thought I'd take a stab at making something both my wife & I really enjoy: smoked liverwurst ("Braunschweiger").
Most recipes I've come across use pork liver, pork jowls, other innards, etc—but I found that pork liver is next to impossible to get here. So I found a recipe that uses a combination of pork shoulder, lean beef & chicken livers that sounded appealing.

Cubed & well-chilled (near-frozen) meats...


After the grind, I'll add these ingredients...


Two fine grinds with a 3.0mm plate. The first...


After near-freezing the first grind, time for the second time through the grinder... "Liver spaghetti" anyone?


Add the ingredients and do a thorough mixing. It definitely has a nice 'liverwurst' aroma...


Once stuffed into casings, I poached all the chubs at 165° for about 90 minutes, until the IT hit the 150° mark. The chubs then got a quick –cool ice bath and I hung them overnight in the fridge.

No poaching pix as I was up to my elbows in bologna at the time... ;)

NEXT DAY: Into a warm smoker (110°) to dry for an hour before applying a heavy application of hickory smoke. I'll give the chubs about 3 hours of smoke with no additional heat. One hour into the smoke...


Hang 'em overnight to get well-chilled in the fridge.


Tomorrow, we'll slice & sample...

More to come!

Kevin

[pmmpete]

How do deer and elk livers taste in liverwurst?  I never end up eating the liver from game I shoot, so I give it away.  But I like liverwurst, and am thinking of making some liverwurst next fall with the livers from my game.

[ghost9mm]

Just awesome Kevin..great presentation...

[rajzer]

Superb.  That one I will try!

[Kevin A]

Sample time!

I was glad to see how nice & firm the braunschweiger turned out! It sliced beautifully into tender slices—NOT mushy!
Pleasing smokey taste with a subtle 'liver' flavor that even most 'liver haters' would enjoy...
My wife gave it a BIG thumbs-up. Put a dab of mustard with a slice on a cracker.

Very tasty! This ones' a keeper!!

If anyone is interested, I'll post the recipe.

Kevin

[Sailor]

Raises hand for the recipe.  This I just gotta try.

[Kevin A]

Here's the recipe I used:

BRAUNSCHWEIGER
Makes seven pounds

US............Ingredient  (Metric)
3 lb............Pork shoulder (1360 g)
2  lb.   ..........Chicken liver      (900 g)
1 lb............Beef chuck, lean   (454 g)
¾ lb............Pork fat      (340 g )
¾ cup.........NF Milk powder   (58 g)
2 Tbs..........Kosher Salt         (40 g)
7 tsp...........Onion powder   (27 g)
2 tsp   ..........Liquid smoke (hickory)(16 ml)
1 tsp...........Cure #1      (7.0 g)
1 pkg...........Gelatin      (7.0 g)
2 tsp........... Pepper, white      (5.0 g)
1 Tbs...........Marjoram, ground   (4.0 g)
1 tsp...........Ginger, ground   (2.0 g)
½ tsp...........Nutmeg, ground   (1.5 g)
½ tsp...........Coriander, ground   (1.0 g)

1. Remove any unwanted sinew, fat, etc from livers. Chill all meats to near-frozen.
2.  Grind near-frozen liver, pork, beef, pork fat through 3.0mm FINE plate.
3. Put ground meat back in freezer to near-frozen state again. Then grind again a second time through the fine plate.
4. Add the  ground meats to the other ingredients (except for gelatin). Dry ingredients can be mixed into 6-8 oz cold water.
5. Mix thoroughly until a sticky, uniform paste is formed (7-10 minutes).
6. Dissolve the gelatin in ¼ cup of cold water.  Pour it into the meat paste & thoroughly mix until the liquid has been absorbed.
7. Stuff into artificial casings.
8. Poach in 165°F water bath until an IT of 150°F is reached—(60-90 min.; depending on size of chubs)
9. Chill rapidly in ice bath.
10. Allow sausages to air dry completely—2-3 hours. OR hang in smoker (no smoke!) @ 100-110° for an hour os so until casings are dry to the touch.
11. Apply heavy hickory smoke for 3-4 hours. No heat.
12. Chill overnight before slicing & serving.

[SouthernSmoked]

Niiice! I'll have to give that a try.

[viper125]

Love my BRAUNSCHWEIGER!!! I made a batch not long back and really liked it. I'll have to try this also. The reason pork liver is rare is because of a disease that affects the liver. Even when they pick good ones out you usually need to sign a release. I subbed calf liver to it and it's great also. Lots of taste not overpowering or off taste.

[Tenpoint5]

Gonna have to try this one Kevin. I have been known to hurt myself with a sleeve of crackers and a pound of Braunsweiger

[Kevin A]

Gonna have to try this one Kevin. I have been known to hurt myself with a sleeve of crackers and a pound of Braunsweiger

I was really pleased at the way this batch turned out. I could eat braunschweiger ("Farmer John's Brand) before, but it wasnt really very memorable, and the texture I found a bit off-putting. But this recipe I like a bunch. The texture is much firmer yet still very tender to the bite— not mushy or like 'paste'—but rich tasting with plenty of hickory.

10.5—if you're a fan of the stuff already, you'll probably enjoy this version!

Kevin

[cobra6223]

great job Kevin.......is on the to do list....thanks for the recipe...and as far as braunschweiger goes you could smear it on the bumper of a car or the soles of your shoes and lick it off, it would still taste good !!.. good job.

[Sam3]

Excellent job again Kevin. You're leading the pack with recipes I've made and want to try!  ;D

[Tenpoint5]

Gonna have to try this one Kevin. I have been known to hurt myself with a sleeve of crackers and a pound of Braunsweiger

I was really pleased at the way this batch turned out. I could eat braunschweiger ("Farmer John's Brand) before, but it wasnt really very memorable, and the texture I found a bit off-putting. But this recipe I like a bunch. The texture is much firmer yet still very tender to the bite— not mushy or like 'paste'—but rich tasting with plenty of hickory.

10.5—if you're a fan of the stuff already, you'll probably enjoy this version!

Kevin

Is it more of a firm braunschweiger or is it spreadable?

[Kevin A]

Is it more of a firm braunschweiger or is it spreadable?

Tender & firm; not really spreadable, but if you supply enough force, you can mush it up into spread.  ;)

In the 'cracker' photo above, you can see where I broke off a small hunk.

Kevin