Rabbit Brautwurst Sausage

Sausage making has always been a way for farmers and hunters to preserve as well and use all the meat from any animals they butchered or were able to successfully kill during the hunt. On our small homestead we raise New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits for meat. A great thing about rabbit meat is that it is all white and very lean, however you do need to add some fat to any sausage to keep it from drying out.

This recipe was originally made with pork, however pork and rabbit which are both white meats, are very similar in texture when cooked, and both make great sausages. BTW, rabbit does not taste like chicken, it tastes like....well..rabbit. Anyway I hope you enjoy this recipe.

2 ½ lbs rabbit, cubed
½ pound smoked bacon

1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
½ teaspoon cumin seed
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
natural hog casings.

De-bone the rabbit and chill thoroughly. Grind the rabbit meat and bacon together in small batches using the coarse plate on your meat grinder. Combine the meat in a bowl with the spices. Mix thoroughly and refrigerate for an hour. After the sausage has cooled, take a small portion and pan fry to determine if the spices in the sausage need to be adjusted. If you are satisfied with the flavor, then it is time to get stuffing.

If the sausage casings are salt-packed, rinse and soak them for 30 minutes. Slide the casing onto your sausage stuffer's tube. Put the meat mixture into the stuffer and run the motor (or press the mixture, if using a manual stuffer), pushing the mixture until it begins to emerge from the sausage stuffer. You want to start pushing meat into the casing before tying off the end to make sure no air is trapped in the casing.

Tie the casing into a knot and start extruding the meat into the casing, slipping more casing off as necessary. You want the casing to be tightly packed with the sausage mixture, but not so full that it bursts. At first, this can seem tricky, but as you go you'll get the hang of it. Now you have one long sausage. Gently twist it into 4-inch lengths. Take a small sewing needle or sausage pricker and prick a few small holes in the sausage anywhere you see air bubbles. Cut apart or leave in a string and refrigerate until ready to cook, no more than two days. To store longer, freeze in zip-top bags with as much air squeezed out as possible, or for longer storage use a vacuum sealer such as a foodsaver.

I like to grill my brautwurst, about 6 minutes per side on my gas grill using indirect heat. (i.e. heat grill with both burners, then turn one burner off and place sausage on side of grill without the flame, then reverse the process). You can also pan fry them until done. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do.