Sausages
Knackwurst
Short, Plump German Garlic Sausage (Knockwurst)
Knackwurst is a smoked sausage built on a 50% lean meat / 35% pork / 15% pork fat blend, using lean wild game or lean beef. Smoke at 130-150°F (54-66°C), then poach at 165-170°F and finish at an internal 152°F (67°C), stuff into 35-38 mm natural hog casing, grind at 3/8" then 1/8". Exact amounts scale to any batch weight in the DeepWoodz Smokehouse app for iPhone and Android.
Knackwurst is named after the sound, the crack when you bite into it. That snap comes from a tight stuff into wide casing, a dried casing before the smoke, and water that never boils. Twist it short and fat. Fresh garlic is the flavor people remember, with mace and white pepper behind it and cold German lager in place of some of the water. Serve it on a plate with sauerkraut and potatoes, not on a bun.
- Internal temp
- 152°F (67°C)
- Smoker temp
- 130-150°F (54-66°C), then poach at 165-170°F
- Casing size
- 35-38 mm
- Casing
- Natural Hog
- Bloom
- 1 hour
What goes in it
- Kosher Salt
- Cure #1
- Fresh Garlic (minced)
- White Pepper
- Sweet Paprika
- Mace
- Ground Coriander
- Ground Ginger
- Ground Allspice
- Dextrose
- Ice Cold Water
- Cold German Lager
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 · 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
- Grind the lean meat, pork and pork fat through a 3/8" plate, then regrind through a 1/8" plate. Keep everything below 34°F.
- Mix all the dry seasonings together, salt included.
- Dissolve the cure in the ice cold water and lager, then stir in the garlic.
- Add the liquid and the dry seasonings to the meat. Mix hard for 4-5 minutes until the meat is very sticky and smooth.
- Poach a spoonful in simmering water and taste it. If it tastes flat it is under-salted, not under-spiced.
- Stuff tightly into 35-38 mm natural hog casings and twist into short 4" links.
- Hang at room temperature for 1 hour, until the casings are dry to the touch.
- Place in the smoker at 130°F for 1 hour with the damper open.
- Raise to 150°F and apply smoke for 2 hours, until the casings are a deep reddish brown.
- Poach in 165-170°F water until the internal temperature reaches 152°F, about 25-35 minutes. Do not let the water boil.
- 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.)
- Refrigerate overnight. To serve, simmer gently or grill until hot and the casing is tight. Knackwurst is usually made with beef and pork. Our recipe uses half lean wild game or beef, with pork butt and pork fat.
Wood
Oak · Beech · Maple
Safety
- Cure #1 at 0.25% is required and locked. This sausage is held for hours at low temperature in the danger zone and must be cured. Do not reduce or omit it.
- Keep the meat and fat below 34°F through grinding, mixing and stuffing. Warm fat smears and the links turn greasy and crumbly.
- Never let the smoker go above 170°F or the poaching water boil. Too much heat splits the casings and the fat runs out.
- Cook to 152°F internal, verified with a probe. Do not judge by time or color alone.
- Cool them down promptly once they hit temperature.
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