Antipasti Bratwurst Recipe – Mediterranean Flavors

Cut the pork shoulder, the back bacon, and the Parmesan separately into pieces suitable for the meat grinder. You don't need to dice the Parmesan into small cubes; pieces a few centimeters on each side are more than enough to ensure it passes cleanly through the fine-mesh disc later on.

Remove your marinated antipasti from the oil or vinegar marinade and let them drain thoroughly in a colander first. Then pat them dry with paper towels. Important: Too much residual liquid will make your sausage mixture mushy later on and weaken its binding, causing your bratwurst to crumble when sliced.

Place the sliced meat, back fat, and Parmesan in the freezer for about 1 hour. Everything should be well chilled but not completely frozen. This prevents the bacon from sticking to the perforated disc later on and ensures the Parmesan breaks cleanly without clumping together.

Now, really grind everything together using the fine grinding disc: pork shoulder, back fat, Parmesan, and your patted-dry antipasti. If you prefer your Antipasti sausage a little coarser, you can, of course, use the medium grinding disc instead. It’s a matter of taste!

Add the salt, black pepper, oregano, and thyme to the ground sausage meat and knead everything vigorously for about 3 minutes. You’ll know the mixture has bound well when light streaks of fat form and the sausage meat becomes sticky. Without this binding, your Antipasti sausage would fall apart when you cut into it later.

Thread the soaked sheep casings (caliber 22/24) onto the sausage stuffer. Personally, I prefer the thin sheep casings for this Mediterranean sausage, as they allow the flavors of the individual antipasti pieces to shine through better. If you prefer thicker sausages, use pork casings (caliber 28/30).

Fill the sheep's intestine slowly and evenly with the sausage meat. Don't fill it too tightly, or the casing will burst when you tie it off or later while frying. The filled casing should still give slightly when pressed with a finger.

Twist the sausages to your desired length. To do this, hold the sausage between two fingers and twist it forward. Then leave a length of sausage untwisted and repeat the process in the other direction. This ensures that each sausage remains neatly sealed and gives you a neat, string-like appearance.

Now you have several options. The Antipasti sausage tastes best fresh from the pan or off the grill. Cook them over medium heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, until they’re golden brown on the outside and cooked through on the inside. Alternatively, you can freeze the sausages in portions or blanch them in the refrigerator at 75 °C for about 30 minutes to extend their shelf life.

Your Antipasti sausage is ready. I like to serve it with crusty olive bread and a few extra antipasti on the plate. You can see the pickled pieces nicely distributed throughout the sausage, and the flavors of the Parmesan and artichoke really come through. Enjoy!😄