Welcome back to the ground breaking Front Row Meats Blog where we take on the hard hitting questions, and tackle some real life problems. We are not here to give you any college credits, but we hope you take away a little something each time you read this. Today we are going to dip our toes into the world of bratwurst so buckle up because we are about to see exactly how the sausage is made today.
If you do not live under a rock, and have ever been to a backyard BBQ, an Oktoberfest party, or the state of Wisconsin, you have heard the sizzle of a bratwurst being cooked on a grill. You have smelt the sweet aromas of the meat mixed with sauerkraut and mustard. You have known true happiness. Yet what actually is a bratwurst?
Traditional german bratwurst are typically made up of finely ground pork, with eggs and cream to give the meat a fluffy light texture, along with some simple spices including salt, pepper, nutmeg, and marjoram. This has been the case dating back to at least the 1400’s but others claim even as far back as 228 AD. With that in mind, let’s move on to the meat of this blog.
With the long standing tradition it is easy to think this recipe is replicated throughout the industry, but, and I don’t know if you saw this coming, it’s not. Let me give you an example taken from a company that shall not be named but you can take guesses at. Rhymes with Rhonsonstill. This company has “Original” Bratwurst. Looking at the packaging they also claim “No Nitrates or Nitrites” which there shouldn’t be because this meat is not cooked or cured! If you read the last blog, we dive deep into what curing is. If you take a look below at their ingredients they do not follow the actual “original” recipe.
I want to point out two ingredients that may make you think twice about eating this. BHA is up first. BHA is a synthetic antioxidant that is used to prevent fats in foods from going rancid. Not only that The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies BHA as a possible human carcinogen. For the record, to make sure we are on the same page, carcinogen = bad.
Let’s also point out Propyl Gallate is an artificial food additive that is also used in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
I am not even going to explain why these are bad. If you haven't seen it by now, I don't know what to tell you.
Let’s compare this to Front Row Meats ingredients
If you have gotten to this point I assume you can read, and have connected some of the dots. Front Row Meats gives you a traditional German Bratwurst without the carcinogens attached.
So let me ask you this, do you know where your meat comes from?
References:
The dirty Dozen: BHA and BHT. David Suzuki Foundation. (2020, February 12). https://davidsuzuki.org/queen-of-green/dirty-dozen-bha-bht/.
Fooducate. (2009, September 10). 10 Things to Know About Propyl Gallate. Lose weight & improve your health with a real food diet. https://www.fooducate.com/community/post/10-Things-to-Know-About-Propyl-Gallate/57A32809-8AFF-6E5E-44B8-A98F8ED0D3BC.
The history of beer brats – how did they get so popular? DiLuigi Foods. (2017, March 3). https://diluigifoods.com/beer-brats-history/.
The Kitchen Project . (n.d.). The History of Bratwurst. The history of Bratwurst. https://www.kitchenproject.com/german/Bratwurst/history.htm.
Kreutter, A. J. (n.d.). 5 lbs bratwurst. Front Row Meats. https://www.frontrowmeats.com/product-page/5-lbs-bratwurst.
Original brats. Johnsonville. (n.d.). https://www.johnsonville.com/products/original-bratwurst.html.
Sarah OzimekSarah (2020, July 25). Homemade bratwurst. Curious Cuisiniere. https://www.curiouscuisiniere.com/homemade-bratwurst/.
Scientific American. (2013, December 19). BHA and BHT: A case for Fresh? Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bha-and-bht-a-case-for-fresh/.