johnnycake
WKR
Here's one of my favorite recipes to use up lots of ptarmigan for. It would be great with any meat, honestly.
Ingredients:
50lbs cleaned ptarmigan breasts
25lbs prime grade beef (prime rib trim, tri-tip, brisket)
5lbs shredded parmesan
4lbs ricotta
Kosher salt--enough to liberally coat all the meat and fat chunks pre-grind as if you were going to grill them up like a steak
4 cups smoked porcini powder (I pick and make my own, otherwise that might be $$$ if you can find it)
1 cup onion powder
3lbs roasted garlic cloves (roast in a bit of olive oil, add the cloves and oil to the sausage)
1/2 cup coriander powder
1/4 cup chili powder (I like Hatch Red chilis, medium heat)
1/4 cup fresh black pepper
Cut your meat and fat into cubes/strips that will fit into the grinder. All the meat and fat should be semi frozen--I like it so it is just barely pliable, but still very crunchy/frosty. Salt the meat and fat thoroughly. Add spices and garlic to the meat/fat, mix thoroughly.
Grind with 3/8" plate. Add parmesan, mix thoroughly, and fry a tester patty. Adjust seasoning and fat content if needed. If fat content after 1st grind leaves you wanting more fat (feels dry), add pork fatback or beef fat to 2nd grind accordingly, but keep in mind the ricotta will be added after the grinding is done. Mixture should be kept so cold that your hands ache after 10 seconds of being in the mixture. Put tubs back in freezer, or have them sitting on ice during the process if necessary.
Grind mixture again through 3/8" plate. Add ricotta and mix for 5-10 minutes until the sausage is thoroughly mixed and sticky. Fry test patty and adjust seasoning if needed.
(artichoke version)
From here, you can stuff it into casings for killer brats or just block and freeze it to make meatballs, patties/burgers. Another great variation is to skip the ricotta, but add 2 large jars of the marinated artichoke hearts (oil, liquid and all) to the second grind and double the parmesan. That version with pheasant and using bacon instead of beef for the fat is stellar.
Ingredients:
50lbs cleaned ptarmigan breasts
25lbs prime grade beef (prime rib trim, tri-tip, brisket)
5lbs shredded parmesan
4lbs ricotta
Kosher salt--enough to liberally coat all the meat and fat chunks pre-grind as if you were going to grill them up like a steak
4 cups smoked porcini powder (I pick and make my own, otherwise that might be $$$ if you can find it)
1 cup onion powder
3lbs roasted garlic cloves (roast in a bit of olive oil, add the cloves and oil to the sausage)
1/2 cup coriander powder
1/4 cup chili powder (I like Hatch Red chilis, medium heat)
1/4 cup fresh black pepper
Cut your meat and fat into cubes/strips that will fit into the grinder. All the meat and fat should be semi frozen--I like it so it is just barely pliable, but still very crunchy/frosty. Salt the meat and fat thoroughly. Add spices and garlic to the meat/fat, mix thoroughly.
Grind with 3/8" plate. Add parmesan, mix thoroughly, and fry a tester patty. Adjust seasoning and fat content if needed. If fat content after 1st grind leaves you wanting more fat (feels dry), add pork fatback or beef fat to 2nd grind accordingly, but keep in mind the ricotta will be added after the grinding is done. Mixture should be kept so cold that your hands ache after 10 seconds of being in the mixture. Put tubs back in freezer, or have them sitting on ice during the process if necessary.
Grind mixture again through 3/8" plate. Add ricotta and mix for 5-10 minutes until the sausage is thoroughly mixed and sticky. Fry test patty and adjust seasoning if needed.
(artichoke version)
From here, you can stuff it into casings for killer brats or just block and freeze it to make meatballs, patties/burgers. Another great variation is to skip the ricotta, but add 2 large jars of the marinated artichoke hearts (oil, liquid and all) to the second grind and double the parmesan. That version with pheasant and using bacon instead of beef for the fat is stellar.
