DougGuy
10-20-2016, 11:14 PM
Ever since getting over tonsil cancer in 2013, it is a constant search for meats that are soft, fatty, easy to swallow, etc. Can be quite hard at times to eat a burger or anything that's overcooked. So,,,,
I had a recipe for Swedish Meatballs and wanted to make them, on the way to the store I am thinking what meat, ground pork? Ground Turkey? 85/15 beef instead of 93/7? And I got the idea to use some Johnsonville Brats in place of the beef so I found some limited time Tailgate brats, Beer and Cheddar flavor and simply sliced the casings and pulled them off and used the brat filling just like ground beef and man w00h00 I am telling you they made AWESOME meatballs!
Think I will be using this trick in the future, stuffed squash has Italian sausage in it, so I can see brats and sausage mixed 50/50, I can see brats mixed with panko bread crumbs, salt, pepper, parsley, oregano and an egg to make burger patties, I can see mixing brats with ground beef to make meatloaf, you get the idea..
I was pleased with the soft texture, but very surprised by the boost in flavor over using plain ground beef that the brats give to a recipe. Don't be afraid to try this!
Here's my Swedish Brat-balls with the gravy, there is one brat-ball left in the fridge and I don't think it's gonna survive another 5 minutes after I finish this post!
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/DougGuy/20161020_190006.resized_zpsetcolwnx.jpg (http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/DougGuy/media/20161020_190006.resized_zpsetcolwnx.jpg.html)
EDIT: Here is the recipe I ended up with. I never measure things I just look and smell and taste until it's about right but this is pretty close:
Ingredients:
2pkgs of Johnsonville Tailgate Brats, Beer and Cheddar flavor (These are 19oz. pkgs) cut the casings and pull out the filling, discard casings.
1Cup Panko bread crumbs
2tsp parsley flakes
1tbsp oregano
1 yellow onion finely chopped
2tsp garlic powder
2tsp salt
1tsp pepper
In a large bowl put the meat filling, 1 cup of Panko bread crumbs, salt & pepper, parsley, oregano, garlic powder, and eggs.
Mix ingredients with hands until well combined, if mixture is too loose to make a brat-ball, add more bread crumbs and mix until you can make a round ball that stays together.
Or make a burger size patty out of them which works good too and gives more area on both sides for browning, they get a different flavor when they are almost charred, and still easy to chew.
Use half the mixture to make 10 2 1/2" bratballs, freeze the other half for later use. I figure if I gotta make a mess to cook a meal, make enough to cook 2 meals and freeze half... :bigsmyl2:
Brown bratballs or patties in a skillet with 2tbsp olive oil and a big chunk of butter, when done remove from skillet and set aside to keep warm.
Sauce:
1 tbsp. olive oil
5 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
2 cups beef broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
After removing bratballs, keep skillet hot, add butter and whisk in Wondra flour until it browns off and makes a roux. SLOWLY add the 2Cups of beef broth a little at a time constantly stirring, then add 1Cup heavy cream. Add salt & pepper to taste and cook constantly stirring until consistency will coat a spoon, if needed whisk in more wondra flour to thicken sauce or add more beef broth to thin the sauce.
Serve by plating the brat balls on rice or noodles, ladle sauce to cover bratballs as desired.
I had a recipe for Swedish Meatballs and wanted to make them, on the way to the store I am thinking what meat, ground pork? Ground Turkey? 85/15 beef instead of 93/7? And I got the idea to use some Johnsonville Brats in place of the beef so I found some limited time Tailgate brats, Beer and Cheddar flavor and simply sliced the casings and pulled them off and used the brat filling just like ground beef and man w00h00 I am telling you they made AWESOME meatballs!
Think I will be using this trick in the future, stuffed squash has Italian sausage in it, so I can see brats and sausage mixed 50/50, I can see brats mixed with panko bread crumbs, salt, pepper, parsley, oregano and an egg to make burger patties, I can see mixing brats with ground beef to make meatloaf, you get the idea..
I was pleased with the soft texture, but very surprised by the boost in flavor over using plain ground beef that the brats give to a recipe. Don't be afraid to try this!
Here's my Swedish Brat-balls with the gravy, there is one brat-ball left in the fridge and I don't think it's gonna survive another 5 minutes after I finish this post!
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/DougGuy/20161020_190006.resized_zpsetcolwnx.jpg (http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/DougGuy/media/20161020_190006.resized_zpsetcolwnx.jpg.html)
EDIT: Here is the recipe I ended up with. I never measure things I just look and smell and taste until it's about right but this is pretty close:
Ingredients:
2pkgs of Johnsonville Tailgate Brats, Beer and Cheddar flavor (These are 19oz. pkgs) cut the casings and pull out the filling, discard casings.
1Cup Panko bread crumbs
2tsp parsley flakes
1tbsp oregano
1 yellow onion finely chopped
2tsp garlic powder
2tsp salt
1tsp pepper
In a large bowl put the meat filling, 1 cup of Panko bread crumbs, salt & pepper, parsley, oregano, garlic powder, and eggs.
Mix ingredients with hands until well combined, if mixture is too loose to make a brat-ball, add more bread crumbs and mix until you can make a round ball that stays together.
Or make a burger size patty out of them which works good too and gives more area on both sides for browning, they get a different flavor when they are almost charred, and still easy to chew.
Use half the mixture to make 10 2 1/2" bratballs, freeze the other half for later use. I figure if I gotta make a mess to cook a meal, make enough to cook 2 meals and freeze half... :bigsmyl2:
Brown bratballs or patties in a skillet with 2tbsp olive oil and a big chunk of butter, when done remove from skillet and set aside to keep warm.
Sauce:
1 tbsp. olive oil
5 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
2 cups beef broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
After removing bratballs, keep skillet hot, add butter and whisk in Wondra flour until it browns off and makes a roux. SLOWLY add the 2Cups of beef broth a little at a time constantly stirring, then add 1Cup heavy cream. Add salt & pepper to taste and cook constantly stirring until consistency will coat a spoon, if needed whisk in more wondra flour to thicken sauce or add more beef broth to thin the sauce.
Serve by plating the brat balls on rice or noodles, ladle sauce to cover bratballs as desired.