Homemade Beer Brats, Simmered in Beer and Onions

Ingredients

Makes about 25 lb (roughly 100 links). Time: about 3 hours to grind and stuff, plus 30 minutes to cook.

• 25 lb lean pork trim, or 15 lb pork trim plus 10 lb venison
• 1 package Frisco Beer Bratwurst Seasoning
• 2 cups distilled water, ice cold
• 32mm natural hog casings, rinsed and soaked as the casing package directs
• Equipment: meat grinder with a 1/8 inch plate, sausage stuffer, large tubs, a kitchen scale, and freezer bags or butcher paper

For the beer bath and grill (per 10 brats): 2-3 bottles or cans of beer (a Midwestern lager is right), 2 large onions sliced, 2 tablespoons butter, buns, and brown mustard.

Steps

1. Keep it cold. Keep the meat at 40F or below the whole time, and put the grinder parts in the freezer an hour ahead. Partially frozen meat (about 32-35F) grinds cleanest.
2. Cut the pork (and venison, if using) into 1-2 inch cubes and grind through the 1/8 inch plate.
3. Add the whole seasoning package and the 2 cups of cold distilled water. Mix by hand or in a mixer until the meat turns tacky and sticks to your palm when you turn your hand over, about 3-5 minutes.
4. Fry a small test patty to 160F and taste it, so you know what you've got.
5. Stuff into the hog casings without overpacking, then twist into 5-6 inch links. Prick any air pockets with a clean pin.
6. These are fresh sausages, not cured. Refrigerate what you'll cook within 1-2 days, and wrap and freeze the rest right away. They're best within 1-2 months.
7. Beer bath: in a disposable foil pan or Dutch oven on the grill or stove, melt the butter, add the onions and beer, and bring to a gentle simmer. Don't boil it, or the casings split. Add the brats and simmer 15-20 minutes.
8. Move the brats to a medium grill (350-400F) and cook 5-8 minutes, turning often, until browned and the center reads 160F, the USDA safe minimum for ground pork.
9. Put them back in the onion bath to hold. Serve on buns with the onions and brown mustard.