Directions

• Cut the pork butt, veal or beef, and fatback into 1/2- to 3/4-inch cubes and chill thoroughly. It helps to have the meat partially frozen to prevent the fat from smearing.
• Grind the meat in small batches using a meat grinder fitted with a 3/16-inch plate.
• Combine the meat in a bowl with the spices. Mix thoroughly and refrigerate.
• If the sausage casings are salt-packed, rinse and soak them for 30 minutes. Slide the casing onto your sausage stuffer’s tube. Put the beef-pork mixture into the stuffer and run the motor (or press the mixture, if using a manual stuffer), pushing the mixture until it begins to emerge from the sausage stuffer. You want to start pushing meat into the casing before tying off the end to make sure no air is trapped in the casing.
• Tie the casing into a knot and start extruding the meat into the casing, slipping more casing off as necessary. You want the casing to be tightly packed with the sausage mixture, but not so full that it bursts. At first, this can seem tricky, but as you go you’ll get the hang of it. Now you have one long sausage. Gently twist it into 4-inch lengths. Cut apart or leave in a string and refrigerate until ready to cook, no more than two days. To store longer, freeze in zip-top bags with as much air squeezed out as possible.
• In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, combine all the ingredients for the bath and bring to a low simmer.
• Prepare a medium grill fire. Brown the brats evenly, off to the side of the coals, turning frequently. When the brats are browned, remove to the barely simmering beer bath and let sit for 15 minutes or longer.
• Serve the brats in good crusty buns with the braised onion slices on top. Have sauerkraut, whole-grain mustard, and ketchup on hand.