Make your own potato sausage – Extremely tasty whether hot or cold
- Type
- Pre-cooked sausage
- Level
- Easy
- Rating
- Rate this recipe
In this post I’ll show you how to make potato sausage yourself.
Meat was very expensive in the past. For this reason, the potato sausage was born. The potatoes were used to stretch out the meat people had here in Germany. So the sausage / Bratwurst became cheaper.
There are two variants of this type of sausage. A potato sausage and potato bratwurst.
This article is about the cooked sausage variant made of meat, pork belly, potato and onions.
It is especially well known in southwestern Germany. The potato sausage has a mushy consistency. You can fry it in the pan or use it as a spread. I will also try a potato Bratwurst in the future.
Here you can find the complete potato sausage recipe as a video or to read through.
Table of Contents
Potato sausage – What do you need to make it?
Ingredients per 1 kg
| Ingredient | Grams | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| pork belly | 450 g | 45 % |
| cooked potatoes | 300 g | 30 % |
| lean pork, e.g. shoulder | 250 g | 25 % |
Spices per 1 kg
| Ingredient | Grams |
|---|---|
| braised onions | 50 g |
| salt | 18.3 g |
| Cure #1 | 1.7 g |
| marjoram | 1.5 g |
| black pepper | 1.5 g |
| garlic powder | 0.5 g |
| mace | 0.5 g |
The equipment to make potato sausage
You need a meat grinder to “grind” the meat. The meat is chopped into small chunks with it.
Spice grinder / mortar
To grind your spices, it is best to use a spice mill. Alternatively, a mortar is also suitable. Or you can use already ground spices. I recommend grinding them yourself.
Sausage filler / attachment for the meat grinder / hand filling funnel
You need this to get your meat mass into the casing. For starters, a filler attachment for your meat grinder or a hand filler funnel will work for this.
Natural casings
You need casings for the potato sausage. The size is up to you. I recommend pork casings caliber 28/30.
Alternatively, you can also fill the potato sausage in jars and boil down.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Prepare the potatoes
Peel your potatoes and cut them into quarters. This way they will cook faster.
Cook the potatoes
Boil the potatoes in unsalted water until they are cooked but firm to the bite. You can also boil them in salted water. But then you have to adjust the amount of salt in the sausage production accordingly. I have not noticed any differences here, and therefore I always cook them without salt.
Cut the meat for grinding
Cut your meat into strips. The size varies depending on how big your meat grinder is. The bigger the grinder, the bigger your pieces of meat can be.
Put the meat in a bag
If you use a sous vide cooker, like I do, put your meat in a bag or zip lock bag now. Alternatively, you can vacuum seal it. Make sure that there is as little air as possible in the bag.
Cook the meat at 76 °C
Cook the meat at 76 °C for about 70–80 minutes. A little longer is fine with sous vide. Without sous vide, cook directly in water held at about 80 °C. Weigh the meat before and after cooking, then add the lost weight back as cooking stock.
Grind the spices
Meanwhile, finely grind your spices.
Collect the stock
Now separate the broth from the meat pieces. You can put the broth immediately into the bowl in which you will grind the cooked pieces of meat.
Grind the meat, potatoes and onions
Now grind the meat together with the onion and the potatoes. I used the medium perforated disc (4.5 mm). Depending on how coarse you want your final sausage meat, you can, of course, use a different perforated disc.
Season and mix
Add the spices, salt and Cure #1 to the ground meat and mix thoroughly. Add some cooking stock if it is too firm. It should be soft and creamy, not runny; it firms up as it cools.
Fill the casings
Fill hog casings caliber 28/30. The soft, pre-cooked mixture is easy to fill. Alternatively, use preserving jars.
Link the sausages
Twist off the filled potato sausage. You can decide the length by yourself.
Poach the potato sausage
Poach your potato sausage at 80 C° (176 °F) for about 30 minutes. If you want to preserve them, boil the jars at 100 C° (212 °F) for 2 hours.
Ready: Enjoy warm or cold
Your potato sausage is ready 😄. You can enjoy it directly, fry it in a pan or spread it on a bread once it is cooled down.
Frequently asked questions
How long does potato sausage keep?
How long does potato sausage keep?
Airtight in the fridge, it keeps for about a week. Preserved in jars at 100 °C, keep it in the fridge and use it within 2–3 weeks.
Can I make it without casings?
Can I make it without casings?
Yes, fill it into preserving jars and process them. This is the simplest option without a sausage stuffer. The texture is similar, although it won’t have the usual sausage shape.
How does potato sausage differ from potato bratwurst?
How does potato sausage differ from potato bratwurst?
This potato sausage uses meat cooked before grinding, followed by poaching the finished sausage. Potato bratwurst uses raw meat that cooks during frying. This recipe has a soft, creamy texture and also works as a spread.
Can I freeze potato sausage?
Can I freeze potato sausage?
Yes. Vacuum-pack individual sausages or small portions for about 3 months in the freezer. Thaw slowly in the fridge, then warm in a pan or eat cold.
What if the mixture is too firm or too soft?
What if the mixture is too firm or too soft?
The meat-to-stock ratio controls the texture. Add some cooking stock while mixing if it is too firm. Too much water makes it runny. It firms up as it cools, so leave it a little softer rather than too firm.
