What do you think about Bacon/Cheddar brats?

[chipmanbbq]

Trying to come up with some new flavors of brats and I happen to have a ton of left over high-temp cheddar in the meat fridge. What do you guys think of a Bacon Cheddar flavored bratwurst?

I tried something similar to this awhile back, but the bacon flavor didn't really come through. All I did was grind a couple pounds of raw bacon while grinding my other meat and mixed it in.

This time I thought about actually cooking the bacon before grinding and hopefully it would give me a better bacon flavor.

Thoughts?

 

[SmokinAl]

I  think it sounds great!

I think cooking the bacon first would bring out the flavor too.

Maybe even adding the bacon grease also.

Al

 

[crankybuzzard]

When I make my ABT sausage, I cook the bacon to about 3/4 done and then add it to the meat mixture.  That does help it.

Your plan sounds good.

 

[boxerboxer]

I think you're going to have a hard time imparting a bacon flavor to a salted smoked pork sausage. Even if you cook it it's going to be mixed in with the rest of the meat, and the moisture content is going to soften it before you can taste it. The one thing I can think of is that candied bacon might actually retain a distinctive flavor, but that might not really be what you're going for. Good luck!

 

[chipmanbbq]

Thanks for all the replies guys! I'm going to give a shot this weekend with a small batch. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[redheelerdog]

If you want Bacon flavor check out the Curlys Ground Bacon thread in my signature. Awesome Bacon seasoning

 

[highlife4me]

I made a batch of smoked cheddar brats, never put an ounce of bacon in them and everybody asked me how much bacon I put in my brats!! So you may want to try smoking them also to get a more smoky flavor you're looking for.