Post by BBQ Butcher on Mar 30, 2008 7:53:20 GMT -5
“Steve, what is Braunsweiger made from? The one I am asking about is sold in all stores in a yellow skinned roll. It is lightish brown in color. My spelling
might be wrong. Thanks, Dave”
Dave, in this day and age, Braunsweiger and Liverwurst are almost interchangeable in their use. Goose liver may, or may not, be an ingredient. It could be made of pork or chicken liver, also. It may not even have liver in it! It’s best to check the ingredient label, if you can. Spices can be as varied as the liver. So can the casings...natural or artificial. As a rule, Braunsweiger USED to be smoked and Liverwurst was NOT. However, I've seen 'smoked' Liverwurst, so that rule does not apply any more. The texture of Liverwurst seems to be more dense than Braunsweiger, so I would have to say the sausage making process may be different, to an extent. Sorry to confuse you even more on this complex sausage recipe, but it seems to vary from one manufacturer to another.
“What is a Beef ‘peeled’ Knuckle and how do I cook it?”
To be short and sweet...it's a Sirloin Tip (Beef Round) that has had the cap meat and all outside fat removed. The Beef Round Sirloin Tip (Knuckle) can be found in most supermarkets and box stores in the meat case, offered as "whole, untrimmed". It is suitable for a variety of cooking methods. Both dry and moist cookery can be utilized to prepare a roast. It's a very lean piece of meat and not suited for a 'low and slow' type cook for shredded beef barbecue, although it can be sliced thin with added BBQ sauce to make an adequate sandwich.
The whole Sirloin Tip can be quite inexpensive at times and is very versatile in its uses. Here is a quick pictorial on cutting one at home…
Beef Sirloin Tip
Other than using the Sirloin Tip for a roast or steaks, it can be marinated for Kabobs, lean Stew Meat, lean burger, sandwich steaks, jerky, stir fry, Italian Beef sandwiches, fajita’s, Swiss style steak, Stroganoff, cube steaks and a host of other dishes.
“I’ve been around for quite a few years, but when in a new store the other day I saw a “Four Legged Chicken”!! I’ve seen every thing now, what exactly is that??? Thanks, Laura”
LOL, Laura, I have not seen one in years either! Basically, what it’s a whole chicken cut up with two extra legs added to the package. Years ago we would cut up three chickens, package two of them as normal, and add two legs to one of the packages and two breasts to the other package, ending up with one “Four Legged Chicken” and one “Double Breasted Chicken”. These were popular with families that preferred either the dark meat from the legs or the lighter meat from the breasts.
Very few grocery stores process and cut their own chickens on premise any more, as it is all done at the corporate chicken processing plants now. You may want to continue shopping at this store, as it appears they may have an ‘old fashioned’ butcher on hand .
“I’ve doing some cooking on the grill lately and I’m getting tired of the so called “BBQ Rubs” and seasonings that I find in the store. Can you give me a hint on making my own? Thanks again for all the great advice, Randy”
Randy, there are literally hundred's of spices, rubs and sauces available for purchase through your grocer, meat man, specialty and sporting good shops, etc and over the Internet. Some are good and some....well, not so good.
Once you've got the "Bbq Fever", you will want to try your hand at making your own signature rub or seasonings. I'll give you a basic lesson in BBQ rubs and you take it from there...the sky is the limit!
Most BBQ rubs start with 4 parts of Kosher salt, 2 parts of sugar and 1 part other spices, such as paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powders, cayenne pepper, thyme, etc. Use them all or just your favorites. For a sweeter BBQ rub, use 4 parts sugar, 2 parts Kosher salt, 2 parts paprika and 1 part of the other spices mentioned in the basic rub. When measuring, I like to use a quarter cup as my "part", but feel free to use any size that you are comfortable with, as long as you keep the portions correct.
Just a quick note on salt and sugars: Kosher Salt is preferred by most BBQ cooks because of its grain size and it imparts less of a 'salty' and 'iron' taste than regular table salt. Sugars used are brown sugar and 'all natural' raw Turbinado sugar. The Turbinado has a very high burn point and is my sugar of choice.
Here are a couple of my favorites:
I like to use this on Center Cut Pork Loins that I'll smoke, slice and use on Cuban Sandwiches. It’s a good all around rub for most pork cuts and chicken.
1 cup Kosher Salt
1 cup Turbinado (raw) sugar
½ cup granulated garlic powder
½ cup ground black pepper
¼ cup 'hot' chili powder
¼ cup granulated onion powder
¼ cup celery salt
Mix together well, store in an airtight container away from heat and light.
Although this one deviates from the formula I mentioned above, this is a clone to a very popular BBQ rub from the Kansas City area. It’s very good on beef, pork, chicken and fish. A friend of mine, Brent, came up with this and I played around with the recipe that you now have below.
FM Rub (close to a KC type Rub)
2 TBS plus 1½ tsp Paprika
2 TBS granulated Garlic powder
1 TBS plus 1 tsp Cayenne pepper
1 TBS Kosher Salt
1 TBS Black Pepper (rough grind)
1 TBS Turbinado sugar
1 TBS Onion powder
1 TBS dried Oregano
½ TBS dried Thyme
Mix well and store in a dry, dark environment.
might be wrong. Thanks, Dave”
Dave, in this day and age, Braunsweiger and Liverwurst are almost interchangeable in their use. Goose liver may, or may not, be an ingredient. It could be made of pork or chicken liver, also. It may not even have liver in it! It’s best to check the ingredient label, if you can. Spices can be as varied as the liver. So can the casings...natural or artificial. As a rule, Braunsweiger USED to be smoked and Liverwurst was NOT. However, I've seen 'smoked' Liverwurst, so that rule does not apply any more. The texture of Liverwurst seems to be more dense than Braunsweiger, so I would have to say the sausage making process may be different, to an extent. Sorry to confuse you even more on this complex sausage recipe, but it seems to vary from one manufacturer to another.
“What is a Beef ‘peeled’ Knuckle and how do I cook it?”
To be short and sweet...it's a Sirloin Tip (Beef Round) that has had the cap meat and all outside fat removed. The Beef Round Sirloin Tip (Knuckle) can be found in most supermarkets and box stores in the meat case, offered as "whole, untrimmed". It is suitable for a variety of cooking methods. Both dry and moist cookery can be utilized to prepare a roast. It's a very lean piece of meat and not suited for a 'low and slow' type cook for shredded beef barbecue, although it can be sliced thin with added BBQ sauce to make an adequate sandwich.
The whole Sirloin Tip can be quite inexpensive at times and is very versatile in its uses. Here is a quick pictorial on cutting one at home…
Beef Sirloin Tip
Other than using the Sirloin Tip for a roast or steaks, it can be marinated for Kabobs, lean Stew Meat, lean burger, sandwich steaks, jerky, stir fry, Italian Beef sandwiches, fajita’s, Swiss style steak, Stroganoff, cube steaks and a host of other dishes.
“I’ve been around for quite a few years, but when in a new store the other day I saw a “Four Legged Chicken”!! I’ve seen every thing now, what exactly is that??? Thanks, Laura”
LOL, Laura, I have not seen one in years either! Basically, what it’s a whole chicken cut up with two extra legs added to the package. Years ago we would cut up three chickens, package two of them as normal, and add two legs to one of the packages and two breasts to the other package, ending up with one “Four Legged Chicken” and one “Double Breasted Chicken”. These were popular with families that preferred either the dark meat from the legs or the lighter meat from the breasts.
Very few grocery stores process and cut their own chickens on premise any more, as it is all done at the corporate chicken processing plants now. You may want to continue shopping at this store, as it appears they may have an ‘old fashioned’ butcher on hand .
“I’ve doing some cooking on the grill lately and I’m getting tired of the so called “BBQ Rubs” and seasonings that I find in the store. Can you give me a hint on making my own? Thanks again for all the great advice, Randy”
Randy, there are literally hundred's of spices, rubs and sauces available for purchase through your grocer, meat man, specialty and sporting good shops, etc and over the Internet. Some are good and some....well, not so good.
Once you've got the "Bbq Fever", you will want to try your hand at making your own signature rub or seasonings. I'll give you a basic lesson in BBQ rubs and you take it from there...the sky is the limit!
Most BBQ rubs start with 4 parts of Kosher salt, 2 parts of sugar and 1 part other spices, such as paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powders, cayenne pepper, thyme, etc. Use them all or just your favorites. For a sweeter BBQ rub, use 4 parts sugar, 2 parts Kosher salt, 2 parts paprika and 1 part of the other spices mentioned in the basic rub. When measuring, I like to use a quarter cup as my "part", but feel free to use any size that you are comfortable with, as long as you keep the portions correct.
Just a quick note on salt and sugars: Kosher Salt is preferred by most BBQ cooks because of its grain size and it imparts less of a 'salty' and 'iron' taste than regular table salt. Sugars used are brown sugar and 'all natural' raw Turbinado sugar. The Turbinado has a very high burn point and is my sugar of choice.
Here are a couple of my favorites:
I like to use this on Center Cut Pork Loins that I'll smoke, slice and use on Cuban Sandwiches. It’s a good all around rub for most pork cuts and chicken.
1 cup Kosher Salt
1 cup Turbinado (raw) sugar
½ cup granulated garlic powder
½ cup ground black pepper
¼ cup 'hot' chili powder
¼ cup granulated onion powder
¼ cup celery salt
Mix together well, store in an airtight container away from heat and light.
Although this one deviates from the formula I mentioned above, this is a clone to a very popular BBQ rub from the Kansas City area. It’s very good on beef, pork, chicken and fish. A friend of mine, Brent, came up with this and I played around with the recipe that you now have below.
FM Rub (close to a KC type Rub)
2 TBS plus 1½ tsp Paprika
2 TBS granulated Garlic powder
1 TBS plus 1 tsp Cayenne pepper
1 TBS Kosher Salt
1 TBS Black Pepper (rough grind)
1 TBS Turbinado sugar
1 TBS Onion powder
1 TBS dried Oregano
½ TBS dried Thyme
Mix well and store in a dry, dark environment.