Bratwurst

Makes 2 pounds

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Active time: 1 hour, including 30 minutes to chill meat

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Start to finish: 1¹/₂ hours

VARIATIONS

Grill or broil sausages as directed instead of poaching them.

Poach brats in beer rather than water. Bring 2 (12-ounce) canfuls to a boil, and simmer ¹/₂ small onion in beer for 10 minutes. Then add sausages and cook as above.

While “brats” arrived in the Midwest with the large wave of German immigrants in the nineteenth century, they’re now as American as hot dogs. A touch of caraway is about the only spicing, so kids love them too.

Medium hog sausage casings

³/₄ pound pork butt or boneless country ribs

³/₄ pound boneless veal shoulder or veal breast

¹/₂ pound pork fat

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

1¹/₂ teaspoons kosher salt

¹/₂ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

¹/₂ teaspoon ground ginger

¹/₂ teaspoon dried thyme

2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder

1. Prepare sausage casings as directed.

2. Cut pork, veal, and pork fat into 1-inch cubes. Place cubes in a mixing bowl, and toss with caraway seeds, salt, pepper, ginger, and thyme. Transfer cubes to a sheet of plastic wrap on a plate and freeze for 30 minutes, or until very firm.

3. Grind meats and fat through the fine disk of a meat grinder, or in small batches in a food processor fitted with the steel blade using the on-and-off pulse button. If using a food processor, do not process into a paste, but ingredients should be very finely chopped.

4. Combine ground meat and milk powder in a mixing bowl, and knead mixture until well blended. Fry 1 tablespoon of mixture in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

5. Stuff mixture into casings as described and twist off into 5-inch links; prick air bubbles with a straight pin or skewer. If time permits, arrange links on a wire rack over a baking sheet and air-dry uncovered in the refrigerator for 1 day before cooking.

6. To poach sausages, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add sausages, and maintain water at a bare simmer. Cook sausages for 20 to 25 minutes, or until firm. Remove one sausage to a plate with tongs and insert an instant-read thermometer. If the temperature is 160°F, sausages are done. If not, return to the pot and continue cooking. Remove sausages from the pan with tongs, and serve immediately or cool to room temperature, lightly covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.

Note: Sausages can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 2 months. Once cooked, they can be refrigerated up to 3 days.

Sheboygan, Wisconsin, is the self-proclaimed brat capital of the United States. Brats were one of the many sausages brought over by German immigrants in the mid-nineteenth century. In Wisconsin, brats are usually grilled rather than poached, and they’re served on a hard roll with brown mustard, chopped onions, and a touch of ketchup. And they’re best washed down with a cold beer!