gift link:
8 Likes
The brats I have been eating were not smoked or otherwise cured. They were raw.
9 Likes
oops!
looks like i owe @BakerB a frosty beverage of their choice!
(re: beer boiled brats)
7 Likes
Food-on-a-stick! One of best reasons to visit any state fair.
4 Likes
This message brought to you by CMOT Dibbler
5 Likes
We do smoked bratwurst in Franconia as well, but I suspect itās a different thing. Iām picking up from context that you are talking about a (lightly) smoked bratwurst that is then grilled.
Franconian smoked bratwurst (gerƤucherte Bratwurst) is cold smoked until preserved and eaten cold (usually with bread and mustard) as a hiking snack or as part of a charcuterie dinner. The consistency can vary from soft to hard, depending on the customerās preference.
12 Likes
Precisely! Itās fully cooked, but not smoked until dried.
7 Likes
Thanks. Iāll give it a try and report back
6 Likes
Grew up loving my grandpaās venison head cheese, so I totally get where heās coming from.
6 Likes
Reporting back. So I boiled two bratwĆ¼rste for c. 5min (they registered 70Ā°C on the thermometer after that time, so I pulled them out so as not to overly dry them out) and then pan fried them. As a control I made two in the way I am used to (straight pan frying)
Here you can see the results. As you can see, three of the four sausages look very similar, while the one on the front right looks a bit different (it was actually clearer to see IRL). The two on the back roll are fried from raw, the back one on the front roll was parboiled, but not pricked during the boiling process. The one that looks different was parboiled for the same time, but pricked. It shrank considerably and didnāt brown as well. I guess that makes sense, since it had less fat when it entered the pan.
When it comes to taste, the thing I feared would happen, didnāt: I was afraid the parboiled ones would be dry, but that wasnāt the case. I could not detect any difference in juiciness or graininess. I could discern a difference in taste, however. The bratwĆ¼rste fried from raw were saltier and tasted meatier, more like I am used to from home. The parboiled ones tasted less rounded. There was no difference in taste between the pricked and unpricked parboiled sausage.
That said, the difference was subtle and I could not swear I would be able to pick it out in a blind test, so I see no reason not to parboil if youāre so inclined, or worried about rawness. I will also say that I have a lot of experience frying raw bratwĆ¼rste. I have experienced other people under and over frying them. In that case, the parboiled ones would have easily won.
PS: donāt worry. Mustard was added after the photo was taken
16 Likes
Was there any difference in the texture of the casing?
8 Likes
Not that I could discern, no
8 Likes
Yes but compare that to the impact of raising a cow or pig, slaughtering it, then heating it up and slathering it with sauce?
One of my personal ātodosā is to learn to make more of the dishes I typically order out forā¦ Thai curry, palak paneer, etcā¦ and eat less meat and more tofu.
i suspect a lot of the āle epic bacon narwalā reddit athiest foodie types would be more willing to consider vegetarianism if they were introduced to things like mapo tofu
8 Likes
I donāt do this a whole lot but i have replicated some dishes that were really pricey that i knew i could remake at home easily. SO is vegan so eating out ends up being a lesson in being overcharged for simple things more often than not, my best success was remaking a vegan grilled cheese kimchi sandwhich. I would like to attempt to make some samosas and a vegan palak paneer
8 Likes
you can get mapo mix at most asian marts apparently, and once itās meatless itās also vegan iirc
even out to eat itās often like 9.99 at the sichuan places ive been
3 Likes
Iāve always wanted to make Mapu Tofu for myself! Got a recipe you would suggest?
3 Likes
I didnāt have the time to try it out, just noticed the mix in the store ā but they have EN instructions on the packets at asian marts.
3 Likes
Check out Chinese Cooking Demystified on youtube.
They do a pretty good job of really getting into home cooking Chinese style and often do a good job of suggesting western alternatives for the odd hard-to-find fresh veg. Their curry recipe goes into some depth.
9 Likes
Iām sorry your brats turned out tough in the air fryer! The ones I made were precooked, so I just did about 5 minutes at 400 F.
7 Likes
