Bratwurst

Bratwurst
 
One of our wedding gifts was a meat grinder and sausage stuffer.  Some people thought it was one of those gifts that would never be used.  Not true (we actually use everything we got).  Making sausage at home at first seemed like quite an undertaking.  After a little practice, we got the hang of it.  It takes a little time, but much more satisfying than just going to the store to buy premade.  If you’ve got about two hours, you can get start to finish in one night.  If not, grind and mix the meat ahead of time.  Brats are great on the grill, and with the weather warming up the meat grinder will get plenty more use. Makes 16 links
 
Ingredients
This recipe is based on the homemade bratwurst recipe found at: www.lets-make-sausage.com.  They’ve got a lot of other great styles of sausage as well.

5 lbs pork shoulder

2 tablespoons salt
1.5 tablespoons nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup cold milk
2 whole eggs, beaten
1 cup  bread crumbs (the recipe calls for dry milk powder for a binder, but we didn’t have any on hand)

Directions

Cut pork into 1-2 inch pieces and run through the fine plate in the meat grinder twice.
Mix milk, spices and eggs together.  Add to ground meat and use hands to mix well.
Add bread crumbs (or dry milk powder) to mixture and combine thoroughly.
At this point, the sausage stuffer attachment comes in really useful.  Use natural hog casings, and follow the instructions on the attachment.
As the casings are being filled, twist to forms individual links.
Cook or freeze immediately.

Be careful with the ratio of spices, it doesn’t take too much nutmeg to overpower everything.

Cost

Pork Shoulder: $14.95
Milk: $0.75
Eggs: $0.40
On hand: $0.75
Total: $16.85
Per Link: $1.05

Leftovers
Grilled bratwurst are still good the next day.  Frozen, uncooked links also hold together pretty well and can be made ahead of time.

Pork Meatballs

Pork Meatballs

A commercial on TV was showing meatballs while we were putting together our weekly menu, and we realized we had never actually made meatballs from scratch.  The result was quite tasty, although we are far from perfecting a tomato sauce to go alongside.

Ingredients:

2 ¼  lbs pork shoulder, ground
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
½ cup bread crumbs
1 large handful chopped parsley
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
2 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flake
¼ fennel bulb, finely chopped

Directions:

If you have a meat grinder, cut the pork shoulder into 2-3” pieces and grind (if not, start with pre-ground meat).  Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Mix until everything is well incorporated.  Form into 2” balls and place onto a lightly oiled, 9x13” baking dish.  Cook at 450F, or until cooked all the way through.
This made 20 meatballs.


Cost:
2 ¼  lbs pork shoulder - $6.42
1 cup ricotta cheese - $2.15
2 large eggs - $0.33
1 large handful chopped parsley - $0.50
¼ fennel bulb, finely chopped - $2.99/4 = $0.75
On Hand (bread crumbs, oregano, salt, red pepper flakes) - $1.00
Total: $11.15
Per Meatball: $0.56

Changes:

Next time we will add garlic, and it could easily take more red pepper flakes. 

Leftovers:

The flavor remained very similar after reheating.  The meatballs were very rich, 2 served with pasta and sauce was plenty for lunch.