Elk brats that aren’t dry?

[schiffer99]

Got my first elk last season. Had the butcher do quite a bit of elk bratwurst and hot Italian that was loose packed like burger
(10% beef fat added to the grind). Earlier this week I stuffed some of the bratwurst into casings and tried to do a beer braise followed by searing.

Flavor was good, but the meat was pretty dry. Wondering if I braised for too long or took the internal temp to high? Anyone have any pointers or a cooking method that worked for them? I have a pellet smoker and blackstone as cooking options.

 

[MuleyFever]

I dont think 10% fat is not enough, personally. I do a min of 20% fat for all sausages. Lower cooking temps may help

 

[Legend]

Need way more fat. Or add pork shoulder. If you want it juicy like a real brat you would have to add more than most are comfortable with....20 to 40%.

 

[Timberline001]

I do 50/50 elk and pork butt on my brats which usually computes to about 20% fat. Fats definitely the key to moisture in sausage.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

put bacon grease in the bag, sous vide it at 145, finish super quick on the grill. the grease will coat it and the sous vide will preserve the moisture. I've been doing this with 100% elk italian sausage and it works pretty well.

 

[journeyman713]

10% is not definitely enough. Surprised the butcher didn't warn you about that.
For strait fat, 20% minimum, for fat with meat (like pork butt) 50%, for something in the middle (like pork belly) 33% is good.

 

[Jethro]

Even with my burgers, I recently went from 10 to 20% beef fat and much juicer. Big difference.

 

[schiffer99]

Well dang… processor said 10% was standard. Well, now I know before any more stuffing to start saving pork fat to add.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

Well dang… processor said 10% was standard. Well, now I know before any more stuffing to start saving pork fat to add.

It's funny 10% is standard out west..Here in the south they look at like I am crazy when I ask for 10%. I get the question.."you sure most folks want 20-25% added?" , I know WT is lean but 25%?
I also think it depends on they type of type of beef fat is added. Beef suet has a higher melting point and concealing point than regular beef fat so it depends on what you cooking and how long on which one you want to use.

Raw pork belly added to any game meat makes a great sausage.

 

[Pony Soldier]

I've found adding beef fat to elk sausage to be horrible. However 20-25% pork shoulder and a fine grind is wonderful. Not greasy but moist and a good flavor.

 

[Jon Boy]

10% beef suet for standard burger. 30-40% pork suet for any sort of sausage that you want the real thing.

 

[NB7]

Ate the last of some deer drats today. IMO if you want good brats they've got to be 66% game to 33% pork fat. Anything less and they'll just be too dry. Sometimes I'll straight up grill them, but I also like steaming them under a lid in beer.

 

[Grundy53]

I do 50/50 elk and pork butt on my brats which usually computes to about 20% fat. Fats definitely the key to moisture in sausage.

That's what we do too

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[syoungs]

We do 50/50 pork butt to game meat for all of our stuffed Sausages. Even then it's more dry then straight pork, but still great.

I go ~30% pork butt to game for my grind as well, picky eaters seem to enjoy that mix a little more then when doing it lower.

 

[180ls1]

Well dang… processor said 10% was standard. Well, now I know before any more stuffing to start saving pork fat to add.

I've had the issue before. Get creative with toppings. Sauerkraut and assorted definitely help.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

I too go 50-50 pork to game meat in all fresh sausages except salami and summer sausage, those get 20% pork. The burger gets beef.

 

[camping1601]

50/50 venison to Pork Butts. The trick then is cooking the Brat so you don't melt the fat out.

 

[Slick8]

You need more fat but what you really need is liquid.

In traditional German links I add water but for brats, I've believe you would add raw eggs and perhaps milk.

 

[syoungs]

I use powdered milk and water in mine.

 

[huntcookwrite]

Most sausage recipes are going to call for somewhere between 30-40% fat to lean weight using bakers/butchers measurements. Meaning if you have 1000g of lean elk (or venison, or whatever), you’d add at least 300g of fat. This would put your the overall percentage of fat somewhere between 23-28% if you were comparing it to how ground beef is usually sold in the store. 10% overall for sausage is just way, way too dry.

My gut tells me that if your processor didn’t know that, they may have also rushed the grind and stuff, letting the fat get too warm — which would also lead the finished sausage to get drier and more crumbly.

Just another reason to find a good butcher — or to do it yourself.

EDIT: saw that you stuffed yourself. Did the fat start to melt as you were stuffing? If it’s not cold enough it can cause the fat to render too quickly when you cook it which leads to a dry and crumbly sausage. I like to put mine in the freezer for at least 30 min before I stuff and then if I can’t do it all in one go, only take enough out to fill my casing and leave the rest in the freezer.