The recipe I'm using has the following ingredients-whoops! I forgot to label the 4g of Chopped Chives....
The first grind: medium plate (4.5 mm) on the pork butt:
Five pounds all done!
To the pork, I add the other meat-in this case, 80/20 ground veal ($10/pound! )
Before adding all the dry ingredients, I pulverized the NFDM until it was a smooth powder in a spice grinder. I've had NFDM clump up in batches I've made before when I left it in the coarser form. As a fine powder, it integrates evenly.
To the meat, all the dry ingredients are added- EXCEPT for the ECA, which will be added later.
Two cups of heavy cream is added to the mix:
My custom Meat-Mixer.....works plenty well for a batch this size!
About ten minutes later, a nice, even mix:
To achieve the desired a smooth final 'emulsified' texture, one can use a food processor & do batches. But I've found I can get quite good results by doing a second grind with a fine plate (3.0mm) and finish in considerably less time (and mess!) using this method.
Fine grind:
After the second grind, I add the ECA. Adding it too soon in the mixing process can adversely effect the texture of the final product:
All mixed and ready to stuff:
STUFFING: I'm using 32-35mm pork casings for these bocks. I decided to do one long rope and then carefully twist off the links. I have to be careful how tight I stuff when twisting later otherwise blow-outs will occur.
Since these are not smoked, I poached the whole 6 pound batch in my turkey roaster bath (165°) until the desired internal temp was reached. This took only about 30 minutes. On the rack, drying & cooling:
Bockwurst, when cooked, takes on a light grey shade. No nitrates so pork goes grey rather than the pinkish hue.
These sausages can now be quickly grilled over charcoal/gas, or fried in a pan.
I was very happy with the results -few air bubbles, even & smooth texture, firm to the touch with a nice mouth-feel (not mushy!).
Distinct oniony and chive flavor, taste the ginger/mace spice a bit. Pleasantly mild.
Some fresh made bockwurst served up with my wife's special red cabbage & potato pancakes, home made applesauce, plus a good mustard....makes for a great meal!
Here's the recipe for those interested. The recipe I used a variation of the one found on Len Poli's site-which is a very good recipe as is, by the way.
After having made it a number of times, my changes to it are subtle...
German Bockwurst
Makes 6 pounds
5 pound Pork Butt
1 pound Ground Veal (80/20) or chicken thighs
2 1/4 cups heavy Cream
55g Nonfat Dry Milk
39g Kosher salt
13.2g Onion Powder
11g Dextrose (if using plain sugar, reduce amount 30%)
7.7g White Pepper
2.2g Ginger, ground
2.2g Mace
1.7g Dried Parsley
4g chopped fresh chives
1.4g Celery Seed, ground
2.2g Encapsulated Citric Acid (optional)
Grind well-chilled pork thru medium plate (4.5mm). Add veal and all dried ingredients (except for ECA). Add cream and mix well. Refrigerate overnight. The next day: For a smoother texture (important!), regrind meat through a fine plate (3.0mm). Gently mix in ECA. Stuff into 32-35mm casings; twisting off into 5-6" lengths. Poach in warm bath (165°) until IT reaches 162°
Bocks can be grilled or fried.
----------------------------------------------------
I've added cure & smoked these before-but honestly, they have such a mild, oniony flavor that smoking really overpowers the flavor.
Kevin
