Bratwurst "Stirfry"

 

It's Friday!  Once again, I've got to work until 10:30, so no going out.  Bummer, but I guess in a way, it saves us a little bit of money.  Especially after the expensive vacation we just endured.  Don't really have much planned for the weekend either.  I'm just working a couple hours in the morning tomorrow and the rest of the weekend will be spent studying for a Molecular Biology exam that I have on Tuesday!  Sunday, of course, is football day, and might possibly have a few friends over for some dinner (we owe them for watching out dogs, so what better way to thank them than by feeding them?!)

  

I had some leftover bratwursts from the Currywurst recipe and couldn't just let them go to waste.  I saw this side dish on Guilty Kitchen's blog and decided to use up a few veggies we had lying around!

Bratwurst Stir Fry

Adapted from Guilty Kitchen's Sweet Potato, Kale, & Sausage

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 clove garlic
2 sweet potatoes, left unpeeled and diced
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 bratwursts, sliced into rounds
8 oz kale, chopped

1 yellow squash, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped
sea salt to taste
fresh cracked pepper to taste

Heat a large dutch oven under medium high heat and add oil.  Add onions and sauté for 5 minutes, or until starting to soften.
 

Add in sweet potatoes, garlic, squash, green pepper, and thyme. Sauté for another 5 minutes, or until garlic softens.

Mix mustard and water and add to sweet potatoes. Stir, cover, lower heat to medium low and cook for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. 

Add in sliced bratwursts and cook for 10 more minutes, or until bratwurst are almost done.

Stir in kale, season with salt and pepper and cook for about 5 more minutes.  Serve immediately!

I know it's kind of misleading saying that this is a "stir-fry," but I guess to me, a stir fry is more of a culmination of a bunch of ingredients into one dish, rather than something just pan fried quickly.  This was definitely a great use of some of our leftover squash and green peppers.  There were major layers of flavor in this dish and would definitely be a great side, but even better main course!

Enjoy the weekend guys and I'll be back Monday!

Bratwurst Sliders

I love bratwursts. I love mini-cheeseburgers. So why not combine the two to make a bratwurst patty slider? Seems like a good idea in hind-sight, but I don't necessarily think I executed it very well. Andy still ate them, but I think it was just missing something. Recipe was adapted from the Bon Appetit Oct 2009 issue recipe for Homemade Bratwurst Bites.

Ingredients:

1 & 1/4 lbs country style pork spareribs, cut into small cubes
1 package bacon, cut into thin slices
1 & 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
1 & 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon ground mace
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup lager beer, divided

I think my first wrong turn in this recipe was using the bacon to replace pork fat in the original recipe. I think the bacon really overpowered the pork and made it taste like breakfast. Now breakfast isn't a bad taste, but it's not really the taste I personally wanted in a burger/slider. And I know that bacon IS pork fat, but I think using an uncured pork fat was what this recipe needed.

Freeze the bacon and the pork cubes in the freezer for about 30 minutes. It should be partially frozen. Then, in batches, place half the bacon and half the pork in your food processor and pulse until you get a good ground consistency. If you have a meat grinder, it would work as well, but I know most people have food processors that could do the same job.

When all done, place mixture in bowl and mix in sage, salt, mace, pepper, coriander, and sugar. Stir in about 1/4 cup of the beer. Cover mixture and refrigerate overnight.

Next day, form mixture into slider sized patties. Heat patties (I did about 6 at a time in a large frypan) under medium heat for about 5 minutes, until browned on the bottom. Then add remaining 1/2 cup of beer (you may need more beer than above if you want to continue this step, because there was enough of the mixture to make TONS of patties, or you could just brown both sides and still be fine). Cover with lid slightly ajar and cook until beer is almost all evaporated, maybe 10 minutes or so. Flip patties over and cook until brown on other side and cooked through, about 5 more minutes.

I used Hawaiian Sweet Bread Rolls for my buns (which I absolutely LOVE), and topped my burgers with swiss cheese, spicy brown mustard, and carmelized onions. Andy didn't want swiss, so he put Velveeta on his. Dress your sliders accordingly and enjoy!

Like I said, these weren't BAD, it just seemed like something was missing. Maybe you guys could play around with the recipe and find a way that works for you! Or who knows, maybe THIS way works. Enjoy!