Smoked Beef Knackwurst

[Kevin A]

I made a five-pound batch of smoked beef knackwurst ("knockwurst') this weekend. It's a pretty simple recipe and I had all the ingredients in-house. Knackwurst that I've had in the past remind me of a large 'garlicky hot dog'—in this adaptation of a Len Poli recipe, the addition of the beer I found intriguing. Nothing fancy: just a good basic smoked sausage.  :)
Here are the ingredients:



The local store had beef chuck steaks on sale so I stocked up. Here's the start of the 3.75lb BEEF grind:



Always good to keep extra or leftover pork fat in the freezer! Just need a little over a pound of the fat ground & added to the 'lean' beef:



After adding the spices, NFDM, and the beer, I mixed the batch until a nice, sticky paste formed (hand-mixed in about 6-9 minutes). I then stuffed 32mm natural casings and twisted off 3-4" lengths. All stuffed & ready for the smoker:



The links were hung in a pre-warmed 120°F smoker (no smoke yet ) and allowed to dry for a bout an hour & a half. For the smoke, I used the A-Maze-n pellet smoker with a new mix of pellets: "Pitmaster's Choice"—a blend of hickory, cherry & maple.
Two hours into the smoke:



Five hours in. The IT was getting close to being done (155°F), so I prepped a lug full of ice-water.



After the ice-bath, the knackwurst are drying & blooming on racks:



Although I prefer to let sausages rest overnight in the fridge before 'sampling' (they seem to firm up and 'mellow' a bit by doings this), this time I sliced into one of the knacks—just cuz I couldn't wait!



A very juicy sausage (my concern after nearly 7 hours in the smoker, they'd be a bit dry!) with a slightly coarse texture, and with garlicky, onion-ey taste. The beer adds a slightly unexpected 'tang' to the links. These knackwursts go VERY well with a hot mustard!

If you're interested in making these, they are pretty basic—a single medium grind, mix & stuff, then smoke. If you wanted a smoother texture (more like a hot dog) you could run the meat through a fine (3.0mm) grind a second time, or do a second mix ('chop') in a food processor.

Kevin

Smoked Beef Knackwurst

3.75 lb.   Beef Chuck   1700.0 g
1.25 lb.    Pork fat   570.0 g
1 cup       Non Fat Dry Milk    73.0 g
1.5 Tbs.   Salt   30.0 g
1.5 Tbs.   Dextrose   25.0 g
1.5 Tbs.   Onion, powder   12.0 g
1.0 tsp.   Cure #1   6.0 g
2.0 tsp.   Garlic powder    6.0 g
3.0 tsp.   Paprika   6.0 g
2.0 tsp.   White pepper    5.0 g
2.0 tsp.   Ginger   3.6 g
1.5 tsp.   Mace   2.5 g
0.5 tsp.   Allspice   0.8 g
12.0 oz.   Beer*
* I used gluten-free beer. Option: use water in place of beer

1.   Grind meat through a 3/16 (4.7mm) plate. Grind fat separately.
2.   Add spices, NDFM and beer, mix until you get a good sticky bind.
3.   Stuff into 32mm casings & twist off 3-4" lengths.
4.   Place in smoker at 120°F with NO smoke for 90 minutes to allow casings  to dry.
5.   Increase temp to 140°F and add smoke.
6.   Increase temps over the next 3-5 hours up to 180°F
7.   Pull links when IT of 155°F is reached.
8.   Plunge into ice-bath to cool.
9. Hang or rack–dry to bloom.

[Tenpoint5]

Them look really good Kevin! Making me hungry just a looking at em

[pensrock]

great job, look nice and juicy. Bet they taste great with some homemade kraut. Mmmmm

[OU812]

OK,,,,,,,,,,NOW I'M REALLY HUNGRY!!

Those sausages look soooo gooood

[pikeman_95]

Kevin
You just continue to impress me. You are a talented sausage maker. Those look so good. I was thinking that the whole time in the smoker would make they dry. You used a fair amount of liquid in the mix which probably helped a lot. They sure look good. Also thanks for posting the recipe.
Kirby

[Kevin A]

I was thinking that the whole time in the smoker would make they dry. You used a fair amount of liquid in the mix which probably helped a lot. They sure look good. Also thanks for posting the recipe.
Kirby

Thanks, Kirby. Yeah, I did things a bit different this time by letting the links cook the entire time in the smoker versus the 'short' smoke period & hot poach process. I got some wrinkling on a number of the links, but as you stated, the extra moisture in the mix prevented a dry final product. For plumper & 'prettier' links, I think next time I'll do the poach & cut the total job time in half.

Kevin

[Tenpoint5]

I was thinking that the whole time in the smoker would make they dry. You used a fair amount of liquid in the mix which probably helped a lot. They sure look good. Also thanks for posting the recipe.
Kirby

Thanks, Kirby. Yeah, I did things a bit different this time by letting the links cook the entire time in the smoker versus the 'short' smoke period & hot poach process. I got some wrinkling on a number of the links, but as you stated, the extra moisture in the mix prevented a dry final product. For plumper & 'prettier' links, I think next time I'll do the poach & cut the total job time in half.

Kevin

BUT!!!!!! By leaving them in the smoker for the whole process you get that really nice crunch when you bite into a link!! ;D

[pikeman_95]

That is true Chris. So what do you think of giving them a good smoke for a shorter time then into the bath until IT is reached then back in the smoker for a short heavy smoke to make up for the smoke flavor lost in the bath. I bet they would still be plump but would have a good smoke and like Chris said it would dry the skin a little for that snap. I know the next time I make some I am going to try this. I am thinking no more the 45 minutes of heavy smoke and not much heat. One would want to dry them well with towles after the bath but the fact they are already hot the skin would dry and take on smoke very quickly.
Kirby

[cobra6223]

Nice knockers Kevin !! ;D

[mikecorn.1]

Those look great. Nice work


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[Sam3]

Looking at one of Kevin's threads on an empty stomach, is never a good idea.  ;D
Excellent job Kevin!

[Tenpoint5]

That is true Chris. So what do you think of giving them a good smoke for a shorter time then into the bath until IT is reached then back in the smoker for a short heavy smoke to make up for the smoke flavor lost in the bath. I bet they would still be plump but would have a good smoke and like Chris said it would dry the skin a little for that snap. I know the next time I make some I am going to try this. I am thinking no more the 45 minutes of heavy smoke and not much heat. One would want to dry them well with towles after the bath but the fact they are already hot the skin would dry and take on smoke very quickly.
Kirby

That might just work Kirby. The sausages should dry almost by the time you get them loaded into the smoker after the waterbath

[SouthernSmoked]

Heck Yeah!! Nice job Kevin!

Kirby and Chris might be onto something here.....

[bille]

Kevin

Those look awful good, its always exciting to try a new recipe so here I go.   Bill