Bratwurst is a type of German sausage that everyone knows. Meat-loving Germans adore brats. I was fortunate enough to spend a year in Germany where I got a chance to try a variety of bratwurst sausages. There are so many of them that every region, every city, even every butcher has own bratwurst recipe. It’s a bratwurst lover’s paradise.
The taste of bratwurst is largely determined by the use of different spices and spice proportions. In Nuremberg, for example, marjoram dominates the flavor of the sausage. Similarly, other regions may favor garlic or caraway. In general, the following spices are typically used for making bratwurst: salt, pepper, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, garlic, caraway, marjoram and sometimes lemon zest.
Unlike bockwurst, bratwurst favors more pork and less veal in its recipes, and the meat is not emulsified.
This particular bratwurst recipe comes from Stanley Marianski’s Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages book. It’s customary for bratwurst recipes in Germany to take on the names of specific regions of where a recipe comes from. For example, there is Thuringer Bratwurst, Nurnberger Bratwurst, Rheinishe Bratwurst, etc. This recipe is fairly generic so it doesn’t have a specific region name attached to it. Nevertheless, I’ve made bratwurst using this recipe a number of times with great results.
Taste-wise, this is one of the best bratwurst recipes I’ve tried. It’s well rounded and should appeal to a wide range of tastes.
Ingredients
- 700 g pork
- 300 g veal
- 13 g kosher salt
- 3 g white pepper
- 1 tsp marjoram
- 1 g caraway
- 0.5 g ginger (ground)
- 1 g nutmeg
- 2 egg whites
- 100 g cold water
Instructions
- Grind meat through 3/16” (3 mm) plate.
- Whisk the egg whites.
- Mix the ground meat and all ingredients together.
- Stuff into 32-36 mm hog casings forming 4” (10 cm) links.
- Keep in a refrigerator or freeze for later use.
julian
excellent,my 11 year old is asausagespecialist and loves these
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Well, the specialist has spoken 😉 Glad you guys liked them… I have a few more regional German bratwurst recipes, very good… if enough folks are interested, I can write them up and post them on the blog here.
John
Who in there right mind would only make2.20 lbs of sausage at one time?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
This is a base recipe that can be scaled as needed. Most sausage recipes are written like that.
Shaun Gray
Greetings from Michigan city, IN.
Would you have a recipe for a “Polish Brat?”
If so would you please it to me.
Thank you
I hope you and your family have a Blessed Thanksgiving.
Stay Safe
Shaun Gray
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Shaun, I’ve never made one and I don’t recall ever coming across a Polish brat but I will look through my books, perhaps I can find it… will let you know if I do.
Cindy Kocol
I made these brats this morning. I used my stand mixer to grind the meat. Formed patties because I don’t have a machine for stuffing sausage. Cooked up two patties. Reheated Brötchen I baked two days ago. Added German mustard to the cooked patty on the bun. Delicious! I didn’t follow the recipe to a tee as I was leery about the amount of caraway seeds (only used 1 tbsp), etc. That was fine. I will make this again.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Thanks for the feedback, Cindy. You must try my other fresh sausage recipes, I have a feeling you will like them as well.
Cindy K.
I want to make this but don’t have the ability to stuff the meat into casings. Could I just make a patty, fry it and put it into a bun?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Absolutely. I always fry any leftover meat that I scrape off the bottom of the stuffer and from inside the stuffing tube. Delicious.
Lisa
Can’t wait to try this recipe thanks
Golden Goose
Wonderful, great recipe, I’ve made it three times already.