# Liver Sausage



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I've always been going to throw in a bit about liver sausage in the sausage thread but I think I'll just run a thread by itself. Liver sausage is not for everyone so if this thing dies an early death I'll just combine it in the big sausage thread thingie.

So here we go; braunschweiger, liverwurst, liver puddings, and liver pâté.

I grew up eating a lot of braunschweiger, not homemade, the store bought stuff. I remember my parents and grandparents eating liver sausage frequently but I don't remember them making it. I think it was just too hard to make.

I started making liver sausage as soon as I moved away from home. Usually it was made from whitetail deer liver, pork tripe, and scraps from pig's heads. I traveled a lot, working, hunting and fishing in the "sausage belt" from North Dakota to Pennsylvania. Man, those Germans really know how to make sausage, especially liver sausage.

Mrs Goob and I enjoy braunschweiger often; a thick slice of it on a bun, a little onion, and then some mayo or mustard.

I don't make it very often. It's just too hard to make and the store bought stuff is so cheap. Then on the other hand, it's a good way to put wild game liver to use. So for what it's worth, here's a few recipes:

Starting in the early 70s I used this recipe for whitetail deer liver. I gave some of the braunschweiger to the local butcher and he loved it. He used the recipe at the Wisconsin State Fair and won a blue ribbon!

*Braunschweiger Liver Sausage - Wisconsin State Fair Winning Recipe*
*Ingredients*
3 lb - liver
3 lb - bacon ends and pieces
2 tbsp - Morton's Tender Quick
2 tbsp - plain salt
1 tbsp - dextrose or sugar
2 tbsp - dried minced onion or 1 tbsp - onion powder
1 tbsp - white pepper
1 tsp - allspice
1 tsp - sage
½ tsp - marjoram
½ tsp - nutmeg
¼ tsp - ginger
½ cup - non-fat dry milk
2 pkgs - Knox Gelatin
1 tbsp - liquid smoke (optional)
2 cups - broth

*Instructions*
Place bacon and liver in freezer until frosty. Grind thru a large plate. Blend all the ingredients in with the coarse-ground meat. Keep the meat frosty. Grind thru a 3/16" plate. Place the ground sausage in freezer until frosty and then grind thru a 1/8" plate. For an emulsified-type braunschweiger sausage, blend in ½ cup of water to the sticky mess, place the sausage in the freezer until frosty and grind thru the 1/8" plate again. Stuff into to 2 ¾" to 3 ½" diameter casings or pack into bread pans. Pack tightly to avoid air pockets. Use casings 12" long or shorter.

Heat a large pot of water to 180°. Place the sausages in the pot and cook in 160° water until the internal temperature is 152°; about 2 hours. Note that braunschweiger will be crumbly if cooked in water temperatures higher than 160° or to an internal temperature higher than 160°. 

Immediately place the sausage in ice water and chill for about 2 hours. Remove the sausage and clean the grease off with hot water. 

*Optional Smoking*
In a 120° preheated smoker apply a heavy smoke for 3 hours or until the desired color is obtained. Shower sausage in cold water for a few minutes and then store in refrigerator overnight.

Before storing cut the braunschweiger sausages in half, about 6" long, and package in vacuum bags.

*Loaves*
Place loaves in a roasting pan filled with enough water to reach two-thirds to three-quarters of the way up the bread pan or mold. Place a weighted cover made from cardboard on the sausage. Cook in a 250° to 300° oven until the internal temperature is 150°, about 60 to 90 minutes. The water temperature should not get over 160°. Again note that braunschweiger will be crumbly if cooked in water temperatures higher than 160° or to an internal temperature higher than 160°. 

This is a good one for wild game. I keep all the tongues from deer and elk. Traditionally, tongues were one of the main ingredients in liverwurst. Once in awhile I'll throw in a deer heart when using this recipe:

*Liverwurst #2 - Gooberwurst*
*Ingredients*
2 lb - wild game tongues
2 lb - wild game liver
2 lb - fatty pork butt
3 tbsp - Morton's Tender Quick
1 tbsp - dextrose or sugar
1 tbsp - onion powder
½ tbsp - white pepper
½ tsp - sage
½ tsp - marjoram
½ tsp - nutmeg
¼ tsp - ginger
½ cup - non-fat dry milk
1 pkg - Knox Gelatin
1 tbsp - liquid smoke (optional)
2 cups - broth

*Instructions*
Add liver and tongues to 3 cups of boiling water. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. If cooked too long, or at too high of a temperature, the liver will be crumbly. Remove skin from the tongues. Set cooked meat aside in freezer to cool. Strain 2 cups of broth. Let broth cool to room temperature and then dissolve the gelatin in the broth. Set broth aside in refrigerator to cool.

Grind pork thru a large plate and set in the freezer to chill. Remove liver and tongues from freezer when they are frosty and then grind thru the large plate.

Combine ingredients with the chilled broth and mix with the meat. Keep the meat frosty. Grind thru a 3/16" plate. Place ground sausage in freezer until frosty and then grind thru a 1/8" plate. For an emulsified-type braunschweiger sausage, blend in ½ cup of water to the sticky mess, place the sausage in the freezer until frosty and grind thru the 1/8" plate again. Stuff into to 2 ¾" to 3 ½" diameter casings or pack into bread pans. Pack tightly to avoid air pockets. Use casings 12" long or shorter.

Heat a large pot of water to 180°. Place the sausages in the pot and cook in 160° water until the internal temperature is 152°; about 2 hours. Note that liverwurst will be crumbly if cooked in water temperatures higher than 160° or to an internal temperature higher than 160°. 

Immediately place the sausage in ice water and chill for about 2 hours. Remove the sausage and clean the grease off with hot water. 

*Optional Smoking*
In a 120° preheated smoker apply a heavy smoke for about 3 hours or until the desired color is obtained. Shower sausage in cold water for a few minutes and then store in refrigerator overnight.

Before storing cut the braunschweiger sausages in half, about 6" long, and package in vacuum bags.

*Loaves*
Place loaves in a roasting pan filled with enough water to reach two-thirds to three-quarters of the way up the bread pan or mold. Place a weighted cover made from cardboard on the sausage. Cook in a 250° to 300° oven until the internal temperature is 150°, about 60 to 90 minutes. The water temperature should not get over 160°. Again note that braunschweiger will be crumbly if cooked in water temperatures higher than 160° or to an internal temperature higher than 160°. 

This is a good recipe. Has tripe in it. Tripe makes good liver sausage, is easy to find, and doesn't cost very much:

*Braunschweiger Liver Sausage - Old #3*
*Ingredients*
2 lb - liver
1 lb tripe
2 lb - fresh pork side meat
2 ½ tbsp - Morton's Tender Quick
1 tbsp - dextrose or sugar
1 tbsp - dried minced onion
1 tbsp - onion powder
2 tsp - white pepper
¼ tsp - marjoram
¼ tsp - sage
¼ tsp - ginger
¼ tsp - nutmeg
¼ tsp - cloves
¼ tsp - allspice
½ cup - non-fat dry milk
2 pkgs - Knox Gelatin
1 tbsp - liquid smoke (optional)
2 cups - broth

*Instructions*
Add liver and tripe to 3 cups of boiling water. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. If cooked too long, or at too high of a temperature, the liver will be crumbly. Set cooked meat aside in freezer to cool. Strain 2 cups of broth. Let broth cool to room temperature and then dissolve the gelatin in the broth. Set broth aside in refrigerator to cool.

Grind pork thru a large plate and set aside in freezer to chill. Remove liver and tripe from freezer when they are frosty and then grind thru the large plate.

Combine ingredients with the chilled broth and mix with the meat. Keep the meat frosty. Grind thru a 3/16" plate. Place ground sausage in freezer until frosty and then grind thru a 1/8" plate. For an emulsified-type braunschweiger sausage, blend in ½ cup of water to the sticky mess, place the sausage in the freezer until frosty and grind thru the 1/8" plate again. Stuff into to 2 ¾" to 3 ½" diameter casings or pack into bread pans. Pack tightly to avoid air pockets. Use casings 12" long or shorter.

Heat a large pot of water to 180°. Place the sausages in the pot and cook in 160° water until the internal temperature is 152°; about 2 hours. Note that braunschweiger will be crumbly if cooked in water temperatures higher than 160° or to an internal temperature higher than 160°. 
Immediately place the sausage in ice water and chill for about 2 hours. Remove the sausage and clean the grease off with hot water. 

*Optional Smoking*
In a 120° pre-heated smoker apply a heavy smoke for 3 hours or until the desired color is obtained.

Before storing cut the braunschweiger sausages in half, about 6" long, and package in vacuum bags.

*Loaves*
Place loaves in a roasting pan filled with enough water to reach two-thirds to three-quarters of the way up the bread pan or mold. Place a weighted cover made from cardboard on the sausage. Cook in a 250° to 300° oven until the internal temperature is 150°, about 60 to 90 minutes. The water temperature should not get over 160°. Again note that braunschweiger will be crumbly if cooked in water temperatures higher than 160° or to an internal temperature higher than 160°.

There are 1,000s of liverwurst recipes out there. Here's a simple German-style liverwurst recipe I picked up in North Dakota. The recipe is from Jerry Predika. I bought his little sausage-making book after someone gave me this recipe. He doesn't use any curing "chemicals" only plain salt, sugar and wine. I added curing salt to this recipe. I like my liverwurst to have a little pink color to it and frankly, liverwurst has a very brief shelf life in the frigerator without some nitrates and nitrites added to it:

*Liverwurst #1*
*Ingredients*
2½ lb - liver
2½ lb - pork
1 tsp - Insta Cure #1 (pink salt)
1 tbsp - plain salt
1 tbsp - sugar
½ cup - fresh minced onions
1½ tbsp - ground mustard
½ tbsp - white pepper
½ tsp - cloves
½ tsp - sage
½ tsp - ginger
½ tsp - nutmeg
¼ tsp - allspice
¼ tsp - marjoram
2 cups - broth

*Instructions*
Add the liver and pork to 3 cups of boiling water. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. If cooked too long, or at too high of a temperature, the liver will be crumbly. Set cooked meat aside in freezer to cool. Strain 2 cups of broth and set aside in refrigerator to cool.

Grind cooked meat thru a large plate and set in the freezer to chill. Combine ingredients with the chilled broth and mix with the meat. Place the ground meat in freezer until frosty and then grind thru a 1/8" plate. Stuff into large hog casings, beef rounds or roll into muslin cloth.

Heat a large pot of water to 170°. Place the sausages in the pot and cook in 160° water until the internal temperature is 152°; about 20 minutes for large hog casings, 30 minutes for beef rounds. Note that liverwurst will be crumbly if cooked in water temperatures higher than 160° or to an internal temperature higher than 160°. 

Immediately place the sausage in ice water and chill for about 2 hours. Remove the sausage and clean the grease off with hot water. 

*Optional Smoking*
In a 120° preheated smoker apply a heavy smoke for about 2 hours or until the desired color is obtained. Shower sausage in cold water for a few minutes and then store in refrigerator overnight.

Serve as a spread or slice and remove the casing and then place on crackers or bread.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Keep the meat frosty. My first time using a pre-mix. This one is from PS Seasonings. 
I followed the braunschweiger recipe that was on the pre-mix package. 
It's pretty good, only called for 33% liver. I used beef liver:


Cooked, sausages ready to hang in the smoker:


The casings split on a couple of the braunschweigers. I put netting on all the sausages to help hang them in the smoker. Man' wish I had that netting 40 years ago. The braunschweiger without any casings ended up ok, a nice smokey flavor throughout, but a little on the over-cooked side. Braunschweiger never has netting on it, but I thought this looked kinda classy. Then there's a loaf, a terrine:


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## Dunkem (May 8, 2012)

Im going to try the loaf method first (when I get out of the **** store,thought I was retired).We use those small netters alot in the store for stuffed pork loins,pinwheel steaks, rolled cap of the rib(fantastic cut of meat.Yours looks really good Goob,nice consistancy no bubbles,nice job.:_O=:


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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

I love the stuff, but could never make it. Looks great, may have to go buy some. You are making me hungry...............It drives my wife crazy when I eat it. Don't think she has ever even tried it, most people won't.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Dunkem said:


> Im going to try the loaf method first (when I get out of the **** store,thought I was retired).We use those small netters alot in the store for stuffed pork loins,pinwheel steaks, rolled cap of the rib(fantastic cut of meat.Yours looks really good Goob,nice consistancy no bubbles,nice job.:_O=:


Thanks. Hey, I thought you were retired too.

Barrier casings are the ticket for liver sausage and bologna. They don't breath, the juice won't leak out during cooking and the sausage won't dry out after it's processed. But they are fragile and if packed too tight or if the sausage gets too hot they split or burst in the cooker. That's why it's so important that the water doesn't get over 160°. I use to put liverwurst in salami casings. Those casings are durable, never break when cooking, but the sausage dried out and the casings would shrivel.

The netting is handy and reasonably priced. I use it on everything.

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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I forgot to mention that the onions were cooked in about 1/3rd cup of bacon grease.

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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

We used to have a guy that came to deer camp a few times when we were "younger". He would lightly fry it on a griddle and make sandwiches, or have it with eggs for breakfast. It was much better than you would expect that way. 
He moved to Arizona, and have not seen him in years........


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## Narient (Jan 9, 2011)

Dang, Goob. You have all the best recipes. I grew up on braunschweiger and crackers with mustard. Mmmm... I'm gonna have to make this sometime.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

For those that don't care for liver, use goose breast; same great flavor but it's not an organ meat.


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

Siegfrieds Deli in down town Salt Lake, 20 W. 200 S. is where I like to buy mine, Siegfried would make it himself, don't know now but his family still might make it. My mother is German and she would always have us stop there to buy some whenever we were in Salt Lake. They have other great German food, small but a good place to eat.


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## Solist (Sep 6, 2012)

*First attemp at Goob's award winning Braunschweiger.*

With needing a change of pace from fried liver and onions, I finally decided to clean out the freezer of some of my whitetail liver and make room for next season. I didn't get that many pictures off my first batch as I was very busy trying to complete all of the steps accurately so that I didn't end up with garbage. 

So here is the completed product of the first 12 pound batch:









After a night in the freezer so that they could be packaged:







Packaged:








For the next 12 pound batch I had a little more experience and was able to take time to get more pictures. To start it with some frosty bacon and whitetail liver:







Didn't get a pic of the first grind, but here is a subsequent grind:







Stuffed and cookin:







After a night in the fridge for a cool down and rest:







All cut and ready for the freezer: 







After a night in the freezer, all frosty and not as soft so that they could be packaged:







The last batch all packaged:


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## Solist (Sep 6, 2012)

So as for the taste test I wanted to keep it nice and simple as to not over power the flavors of the actual Braunschweiger. So I fried me some up and made a sandwich with only hot and spicy mustard and mayo. So from the fields of the Big Sky to my plate:








.
.
.
O

Definately better then store bought, but yes store bought is cheaper and doesn't consume as much of your time.

Thanks Goob for all of your recipes on this forum. And if you are ever down this way you are more then welcome to some of this, as I will have plenty for a while.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

My problem is that the livers from my deer and elk never make it past the first couple of days after the animal was shot and then the liver has been eaten.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Solist said:


> With needing a change of pace from fried liver and onions, I finally decided to clean out the freezer of some of my whitetail liver and make room for next season. I didn't get that many pictures off my first batch as I was very busy trying to complete all of the steps accurately so that I didn't end up with garbage.
> 
> So here is the completed product of the first 12 pound batch:
> 
> ...


WOW

You are the Lord of Liver!!



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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Slider buns were made for braunschweiger:


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Solist said:


> With needing a change of pace from fried liver and onions, I finally decided to clean out the freezer of some of my whitetail liver and make room for next season. I didn't get that many pictures off my first batch as I was very busy trying to complete all of the steps accurately so that I didn't end up with garbage.
> 
> So here is the completed product of the first 12 pound batch:
> 
> ...


I like the way you hung the liverwurst in the cooking pot......great idea!

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## Solist (Sep 6, 2012)

Thanks Goob. Did that so I would get more consistent temps for the overall batch. Worked out pretty good.


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## Solist (Sep 6, 2012)

Critter said:


> My problem is that the livers from my deer and elk never make it past the first couple of days after the animal was shot and then the liver has been eaten.


I like fresh fried liver and heart as much as the next guy. But you can only eat so much and then you have to have a change in the menu. Besides when you end up with a deer tree fresh for the pickin :shock::







and all the people you went hunting with give you their organs out of their animals you get a pretty good stockpile to do stuff like this with.

That picture was of the whitetail hunt two years ago. This year was more successful but don't wish to post the pic of it right now.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

*Montana whitetails*



Solist said:


> I like fresh fried liver and heart as much as the next guy. But you can only eat so much and then you have to have a change in the menu. Besides when you end up with a deer tree fresh for the pickin :shock::
> View attachment 49106
> 
> and all the people you went hunting with give you their organs out of their animals you get a pretty good stockpile to do stuff like this with.
> ...


That's a really cool picture! Thanks for posting.

.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

The smoked liver sausage is really good, even after being in the freezer for 6 months.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

No matter how you slice it though Goob, it is still "Guts in a Tube."


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## Idratherbehunting (Jul 17, 2013)

wyogoob said:


> The smoked liver sausage is really good, even after being in the freezer for 6 months.


Looks like the table is set! I wish I was on my way. It looks really good


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## Dunkem (May 8, 2012)

Oh,oh, oh, my that looks goob,I mean good.Need a fresh garden tomater and you are set:hungry:


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