Weisswurst without Veal?

[abadoozy]

I'm currently lusting over Weisswurst, and, as there's no place around here selling them, am considering making some of my own. Problem is, my husband has Veal Issues. Heck, I have Veal Issues, but not enough to keep me from eating Weisswurst. He, on the other hand, is serious enough about it that I thought I'd at least look into non-Veal Weisswurst.

The thing I really like about them is the texture. Being an emulsified sausage, I'm wondering if that comes from the technique, the veal itself, or both? Can I get a similar texture if I substitute out pork for Veal? If it's worth trying, what cut would work well? Or is pork not the way to go at all?

If it's just impossible, I want to know that, too. I can always just make a small batch.

[inductioncook]

Weisswurst without veal is not weisswurst, just as turkey bacon is not bacon and a grilled lamb chop is not bistecca alla fiorentina. There are many small German pork sausages, such as the Nuremburger, but the texture is different. You could, though, look into the different methods of raising veal and might well discover that some might meet his standards.

[abadoozy]

I know it's not Weisswurst. Let's say I'm trying to make something in the style of Weisswurst with a different type of meat.

So the Veal is responsible for the texture? That's really my question.

As far as finding humanely treated veal... I'm not sure I want it enough to spend the time and money ordering it in. I can barely find veal at all in this town, much less veal raised to a certain standard.

[tim]

I've made it with chicken many times.

Tim

[abadoozy]

I've made it with chicken many times.

Tim

Interesting. What cut?

I'm considering something tender and lean - chicken breasts? Pork tenderloin? Seems the closest to veal to me, but I'm not really all that familiar with cooking with veal, other than bones, so I'm just guessing.

(oh, and for the record - whichever meat I go with, there will be copious amounts of pork fat to balance it out.)

Edited May 24, 2011 by abadoozy (log)

[rotuts]

i see the key to the Weiss may be in the veal but probably more with

1) the texture its almost like a mooose!

and the seasonings:

fresh flat leaf parsely and the secret to anything on the white or pale side:

fresh finely ground nutmeg many recipes use mace

lemon

Id consider chicken but consider turkey also. not turkey fat. pork fat. also not just the white meat but the thigh meat too.

I used to get it while in Los Altos at a place called

http://www.dittmers.com/sausages.htm

Id die for one now. let us know how your work out.

Edited May 24, 2011 by rotuts (log)

[OliverB]

My recipes (Bavarian and German cook books) actually use mace, not nutmeg (also for brats, including the Nürnberger)

As for issues with veal, how come? Does he think it's more humane to keep a cow in captivity longer? To live a full and rich life in a cage? I'd actually think an early slaughter is much nicer for the animal. Well, nicer might not be the right word, but still.

I can hardly ever find veal except at one butcher store the next town over, I'm really not sure why. In Germany you find it in even the most mediocre butcher shop (which still blows away anything I've come across in Cali). People eat lamb all the time.

The best is milk fed veal, which is close to impossible to find here, but if you can find it, make weisswurst and Wiener Schnitzel! Doesn't get much better than that :-)

Using chicken makes a chicken sausage. Might be good, but if you call it a Weisswurts make sure to never ever travel to Bavaria or at least travel incognito :-)

And Dittmer's Wursthaus is awesome, I manage to get there way too rarely! But that's where I buy my Weisswurst and Brezeln (the real preztel, not that weird spongy thing from the mall) for our Christmas Eve dinner every year :-)

Add a bottle of Schneider Weisse and I'm all set! Or two bottles. Or three, it's xmas and I'm not driving anywhere tonight!

[rotuts]

Dittmers is Germany in Los Altos. many times Ive been there people are loading up their Coleman Coolers ( largest size please, with wheels if not two) for the trip home.

they had a fire abut are said to re open soon!

and the nicest people too.

[abadoozy]

As for issues with veal, how come? Does he think it's more humane to keep a cow in captivity longer? To live a full and rich life in a cage? I'd actually think an early slaughter is much nicer for the animal. Well, nicer might not be the right word, but still.

It's not really a logical thing - he knows that lots of food animals are mistreated, not just veal calves, but for whatever reason the veal thing really bothers him. He'll eat and love lamb (also cute widdle cuddly baby animals) and chicken (also stuff in pens and not allowed to move), but somehow the mix of cute widdle cuddly babies stuffed in pens and not allowed to move much really gets to him. Hell, it gets to me, but not enough to give up eating veal. I'd gladly pay a bit more for humanely raised meat of any kind - and do, at times - but given where I live that usually means either a huge markup and shipping costs to get it from someplace like Niman Ranch, or the occasional lower-quality, badly-butchered but still expensive meat from local farms (the local meat movement is only just starting here.)

Heck, I'm not even sure he knows Weisswurst is veal. He ate it happily over the weekend (I honestly didn't think to tell him, or I would have.) Maybe I should just order a few of them instead of making them myself and continue to forget to tell him.

[rotuts]

You eat them. He can watch!

where are you getting them from.

I grew up a few miles from Dittmers and only discovered it after my father died.

near where I live now there was a place called the Smoke HOuse in Wellesley and I went there all the time.

then "fat" was bad and they had to close the shop

but they made fine Wurst in I think Roxburry

You are forcing me to Look THem Up!

[ScoopKW]

+1

If you want weißwurst -- make weißwurst. Use veal. Then tell him he's welcome to eat it or not eat it as he sees fit.

[abadoozy]

Well, all was for naught.

I decided to do a small batch of real Veal Weisswurst today as sort of a control group before trying other meats. As soon as they began poaching, he started smelling around.

"What's that?" he asks.

"Weisswurst," I tell him.

"oooh when will they be done? Today?"

"In an hour. But it's Veal."

"I can't wait!"

"Huh? I thought you were anti-Veal."

"I am, but I'm pro-sausage."

So there you have it, the power of his convictions!

Anyway, they turned out well, thanks to everyone on this thread!

Raw:

After poaching:

Detail:

[OliverB]

these are absolutely gorgeous! I'm sure they'd get all the Bavarian Approval they need, they sure have mine! Can't walk away from a Weisswurst, haha! Congratulations! Try to find some good sweet Bavarian mustard for them and bake some real Brezeln (way easier than it sounds, though you have to be careful with the lye) and you have heaven on a plate

One of the best mustards is Händlmaier but there's also a good one sold at Cost Plus, comes in a white glass jar with Bavarian decoration. It's made in a "different country" (Northern Germany I think ) but it's quite good.

Edited May 26, 2011 by OliverB (log)

[inductioncook]

That's really a happy ending! Veal has a quality that is unique; that's why classic French cooking depnds so on veal stock, so I'm glad this worked ou so well!

[Scout_21]

Any chance on sharing a recipe or a source? I recently moved to an area without a german shop and am missing having access to weisswurst. Cheers

[abadoozy]

Thanks to everyone (again). They were great! Unfortunately didn't have any of that mustard, I'll look for it next time.

My only slight criticism is that they were slightly greasy. I know an emulsified sausage isn't exactly lean, but these went beyond "nice & fatty" into "slightly greasy" territory. Next time, I'll cut the fat by maybe 5% and see how that goes.

Scout_21, I used the recipe from Ruhlman's Charcuterie book. I don't have it handy, but if you don't have a copy, let me know and I'll dig it up.

[Scout_21]

Thanks for letting me know. I've had that book on a wishlist for a while and might just pick it up pretty soon. Cheers