Bacon and Cheese Brat/Smokey?

[ComradeQ]

Hey gang! Wonder if anyone has a recipe for a bacon and cheese smokey? I am supplying sausages for my brother's birthday BBQ and thought the combination might work well as I have a ton of bacon end cuts left over from my last batch that I can use. So anyone got a good recipe?

[NCPaul]

I posted this recipe that should work. Add a bit of cheese and smoke them if you like. They have a nice flavor profile and were excellent grilled.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6528

[ComradeQ]

I posted this recipe that should work. Add a bit of cheese and smoke them if you like. They have a nice flavor profile and were excellent grilled.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6528

That looks about what I was looking for. If I am smoking them I would need to add cure#1, do you know the amount I would use if I am doing 2lbs pork butt and 1lb home cured bacon? I'm assuming you would need to account for the nitrite in the bacon when calculating.

Also, what percentage of cheese would be a good amount? I don't have any of that high temp stuff so I figured I could just cube the cheese and freeze it solid before adding to the mix. Would 5% be enough to add cheesiness without affected the bind and texture?

[NCPaul]

I would use 2.2 g of Cure # 1 ( 6.25% ). Your plan with the cheese sounds good to me. Be careful with your temperatures when smoking. Let us know how it works out.

[ComradeQ]

I would use 2.2 g of Cure # 1 ( 6.25% ). Your plan with the cheese sounds good to me. Be careful with your temperatures when smoking. Let us know how it works out.

Right on! Thanks for the help! I'll take some pics and share here when they are done. I've got a bunch of homemade sauerkraut that is just about ready so I will give people the option of that or some caramelized onions done in beer.

[ComradeQ]

Quick update: made the sausage today, doubled the recipe and included 7% cheese (increased from 5%) and 4.4 grams of cure#1. I also added a little dextrose (2 tsp) as I wanted a little sweet. I also needed to increase the salt by almost another tsp as my homemade bacon is not salty so it needed the extra. Last I added 9.6 grams of phosphate as I enjoy how it helps with the bind and increases the moisture. Left them uncovered in the fridge overnight and will smoke them tomorrow. Thanks for the help, will update after they are smoked.

[NCPaul]

What type of cheese did you use? When's dinner?

[captain wassname]

They look good was 7% enough cheese? Ive used apple before but went to 10 or 12%
This has got me thinking beer.

Jim

[ComradeQ]

What type of cheese did you use? When's dinner?

I used a small local Ontario 3 year old cheddar. Nice and sharp so I hope the flavour comes through. You can crash my bros birthday bbq on sunday if you can make it, haha!

They look good was 7% enough cheese? Ive used apple before but went to 10 or 12%
This has got me thinking beer.

Jim

I hope the cheese was enough. Got them smoking as we speak and put two small ones aside for tasters (can't let the bbq guests be the first ones) so I will update you on it later.

[captain wassname]

Thanks a lot I did some with shropshire blue but didnt make notes.

Jim

[ComradeQ]

My smoker isn't ready yet, just waiting for a friend to help with it so I was forced to improvise (MacGyver style). Hanging the sausages on a dowel that is suspended from the cooling rack on my bbq while I cold smoke it with a mix of apple and cherry pellets. After 3 hours I will hang in my oven and bring up to temp low and slow then finish with a cold shower. Will keep updating!

[NCPaul]

This has got me thinking beer.

It happens to me on a regular basis as well.

[ComradeQ]

This has got me thinking beer.

It happens to me on a regular basis as well.

All this talk of beer, is 1:45pm on my day off an acceptable time to start? Ah, who's kidding, I'm not asking permission, cracking a cold one!

[captain wassname]

Im thinking beer and cheese sausage.

Jim

[NCPaul]

I was just thinking beer.

Way to go ComradeQ!

I have 3 best bitters made by Jim's recipe waiting for me in a couple of hours (very easy to drink BTW).