Sous Vide Bratwurst

This bratwurst recipe is adapted from “Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing” by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn and is designed to work with the Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker. As the authors note, when making sausage, keeping your ingredients cold until you’re ready to cook is very important. If the sausage "breaks" you’ll still get great flavor, but not great texture. Make sure to thoroughly chill the meat grinder parts before using.

Author

Emily Farris and Jeff Akin

Emily Farris and Jeff Akin are the co-founders of Feed Me Creative, a former culinary creative agency in Kansas City, MO.

Prep Time: 01:00

Recipe Time: 06:00

Temperature : 145F / 62.8C

Ingredients

• 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder, diced
• 1 pound boneless lean veal shoulder, diced
• 1 pound pork back fat, diced
• 1 cup soy protein concentrate (optional)
• 3 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons ground white pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup ice-cold heavy cream
• 10 feet hog casings, soaked in tepid water for at least 30 minutes and rinsed

Directions

1. Combine pork shoulder, veal shoulder, back fat, soy protein, salt, white pepper, ginger, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Toss well to distribute the seasonings. Chill until ready to grind.
2. Assemble meat grinder using the small die. Set a second large bowl into a third bowl filled with ice and place under grinder. Grind pork mixture into the prepared bowl.
3. Transfer ground pork mixture to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for 1 minute. Add the cream and eggs on low speed. Gradually increase the mixer speed to medium and continue to mix until the mixture is uniform and appears sticky, about 1 minute. Transfer to the refrigerator.
4. Saute a small portion of the sausage mixture in a non-stick skillet until fully cooked. Taste and adjust seasonings in the raw mixture as needed.
5. Meanwhile, set the Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker to 145°F (62.8°C).
6. Using a sausage stuffer attachment to the meat grinder, stuff the sausage into the hog casings. Twist into 6-inch links. Place the links in a large zipper lock or vacuum seal bag. Seal the bag using the water immersion technique or a vacuum sealer on the dry setting.
7. Place the bag in the water bath and set the timer for 6 hours. Cover the water bath with plastic wrap to minimize water evaporation. Add water intermittently to keep the sausages submerged.

Finishing Steps

1. When the timer goes off, remove the bag from the water bath. Remove the sausages from the bag and serve.