I have been trying to re-discover our family's original recipe, as prepared by my German grandmother and great-grandmother. They hailed from Tripoli, in northeast Iowa. Some of our relatives did stay in Illinois, rather than homestead in Iowa. And, from what I can tell, some of the recipes in Illinois are still very similar to what is made (and sold in grocery stores) in northeast Iowa.
My mother made it for our family (it was my father who was German), but she did it somewhat differently, or so my great-aunt tells me.
Here is a recipe similar to what my mother made. I found it on the internet:
"An old German favorite from the Waverly Iowa area: (No measurements given with old recipe):
RINDERWURST:
Cook chuck roast with onions. When done drain off the broth and cook oatmeal in the beef broth. Enough to be about one fourth as much as the beef. Grind the beef and mix with the cooked oatmeal. Add salt, pepper, and allspice to taste.( We found that it takes a lot of allspice to make it taste like Grandmother M's.)
You can then either bake the rinderwurst in a shallow cake pan at 225-250 degrees for 30 minutes or stuff in casings. Cool the baked-in-a-shallow-pan rinderwurst and cut in the amount you fry for a meal.
Use or package and freeze for later. When ready to use, thaw and fry as patties or just fry any old way allowing for some nice brown crispness and some soft parts."
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My mother never cooked it in the oven, as this recipe describes. She just packaged it in ready-to-fry patties, separated with two sheets of waxed paper, and froze them. However, my great-aunt says her mother (my grandmother's sister) always cooked it up "crumbled and crisp". They served it over buttered bread or toast, if I recall.
Here's the second recipe. My mother never used any spices other than lots of allspice, but my husband and I liked this recipe very much:
RINDERWURST (GERMAN BEEF SAUSAGE)
(All notes are part of recipe except 'Karlen's Note')
1 lb. stew beef (Karlen's Note: We use a big chuck roast only)
1 lb. short ribs (recipe owner says "I used neck bones, worked fine")
Cover with water and stew until meat falls off bones. Keep the water level high enough to cover the meat. Drain and reserve broth.
Grind meat and measure. Grind enough onions to equal the volume of meat
Return meat and onions to broth. Stew until onions disappear.
Add spices (I had a little more meat than the 2 lbs. listed so I had 5 cups of meat.)
Spices (works fine for 5 cups of meat and 5 cups ground onions)
2 Tablespoons Allspice
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 Tablespoon salt
Add quick-cooking oatmeal (dry). I used two cups total; if you have more broth you may need more.
Cook until thick and oatmeal is the same color as the meat. Make sure there is no broth left.
Cool and package. I put mine into margarine tubs and froze it.
It can be made into patties and pan-fried, browning on both sides."
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KARLEN'S NOTES: My mother always used a chuck roast, never trimmed the fat or bones or gristle--it all added to the flavor. And that's what I use, too. My husband and I like the flavor best if we brown the chuck roast well before boiling it. And it's even better if you brown the onions a bit, as well. I know that's extra work, and my mother never did that, but we thought it was worth the extra effort.
I sent some of our family's rinderwurst to my great aunt, who hadn't tasted rinderwust for years. She said our recipe isn't like what she remembers her mother (my grandmother's sister) making. That was all two generations ago, so we have no one to ask anymore. Like you, I'm eager to find a "real" recipe. However, it appears that rinderwurst was probably a regional or family recipe, from those who emigrated from around Mecklenburg in the mid-19th century.
I hope you'll email me and tell me what you think of these two recipes, if you try them. Maybe between the two of us, we can trade enough ideas to get closer to the "real thing"!
Good luck, Ruth!
Karlen
