Hot Dogs

Bockwurst

Smoked Berlin Style Bockwurst

Bockwurst is a hot dog built on a 50% lean meat / 35% pork / 15% pork fat blend, using lean wild game, lean beef or veal. Smoke at 130-150°F (54-66°C) and finish at an internal 152°F (67°C), stuff into 28-32 mm all natural hog casings, grind at 3/8" then 1/8". Exact amounts scale to any batch weight in the DeepWoodz Smokehouse app for iPhone and Android.

This is the smoked Berlin Bockwurst sold hot from street carts with a roll and mustard, not the pale fresh one some Midwest butchers make. It is smooth, lightly smoked and poached, and it is named after bock beer, so flat bock goes in with the ice water. Grind the white pepper fresh and toast the coriander lightly. Heat it in water that is hot but not boiling, or the casing splits.

• Classic
• Smoky
• Peppery
• Savory

Internal temp

152°F (67°C)

Smoker temp

130-150°F (54-66°C)

Casing size

28-32 mm

Casing

All Natural Hog Casings

Bloom

30-60 minutes

What goes in it

• Kosher Salt
• Cure #1
• Whole White Peppercorns
• Sweet Paprika
• Onion Powder
• Garlic Powder
• Mace
• Ground Ginger
• Whole Coriander Seed
• Dextrose
• Ice Cold Water
• Bock Beer (flat, ice cold)

Amounts are calculated for your batch weight in the app — including the cure, which is held at a fixed, food-safe rate.

The meat

Lean Wild Game · Lean Beef · Veal · Pork Butt · Pork Shoulder · Pork Fat

Bear or wild hog: take it to 165°F and hold 3 minutes. Freezing, smoking and curing do not reliably kill trichinella — only heat does.

How it's made

1. Toast the coriander seed in a dry pan until fragrant, let it cool, then grind it fine together with the white peppercorns.
2. Open the bock beer ahead of time so it goes flat, then chill it until slushy.
3. Grind the meat, pork and pork fat through a 3/8" plate, then again through a 1/8" plate. Keep everything below 34°F.
4. Mix all the dry seasonings together, salt included.
5. Dissolve the cure in the ice cold water.
6. Add the water, beer and dry seasonings to the meat. Mix until the meat is very tacky.
7. Process in a food processor in small batches until smooth and paste-like. Keep the batter below 53°F.
8. Poach a spoonful and taste it. If it tastes flat it is under-salted, not under-spiced.
9. Stuff into 28-32 mm hog casings and twist into 5-6" links.
10. Hang at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, until the casings are dry to the touch.
11. Place in the smoker at 130°F for 30 minutes with the damper open.
12. Raise to 150°F and apply smoke for 1 hour, until the links are a light reddish-brown.
13. Poach in 170-175°F water until the internal temperature reaches 152°F. Do not let the water boil.
14. Cool them down promptly. (Optional - an ice bath is not required. It is personal preference; many just let them cool at room temp, or outside in cold weather. Just cool them down promptly.)
15. Refrigerate overnight. To serve, heat in hot water that is not boiling and eat with mustard and a roll or potato salad. Bockwurst is usually made with pork and pork fat, sometimes with a little beef or veal. Our recipe uses half lean wild game, beef or veal, with pork butt and pork fat.

Wood

Beech · Cherry · Maple

Before you start

• How much Cure #1 per pound
• Venison to pork fat ratio