hey kids! so i'm trying to find a recipe to make some beer bratwurst (think Texas State Fair type) =)
Take it from a native Wisconsinite... Bring a couple cans of beer to a boil. It should be cheap, ****** beer, preferably a Miller or Pabst product. Buy Johnsonville brats. They are without question the best brat that is widely available. Other brats simply won't work as well. Toss the brats in the boiling beer and cook for 7-10 minutes. Pre-heat your grill to high heat. Toss the brats on the grill and cook until done. I like mine almost black. The flavor is a lot better when they're cooked well done, IMO, and I eat most of my meat as rare as possible. I like the brats to split open. Some recipes call for the brats to be returned to the beer where you finish them, but I think it ruins the texture. Slap it in a brat bun (not a ****** hot dog bun) and douse it in your favorite condiments. Then go cheer on the Packers.
Dead Head is correct.. Johnsonville is the only way to go. I usually boil mine a little longer, maybe 12 to 15 minutes. I also slice up about two onions, and drop them in the beer/water mixture and bring it to a boil. I also add a little garlic. Then I throw them on the pit until done. Collect all of the onion out of the pot. When the brats are done, I usually use the onion, a little mozzarella cheese, and sauerkraut.
from another Wiscy native.... JOhnsonville is fine if all you have is grocery store brats. find a good meat market, preferably a German one. Driving to New Braunfels, Fredricksburg, or some such would be a worthy investment. I concur about the cheap beer. My Dad always used Old Style or Special Export...Lienies if we really wanted to make it good. Slice a couple onions into rings, start to brown them in your stock pot. as they start to carmelize add in about 2 or three beers. bring to a boil. add the brats. do not pierce the brats. cook for 10 to 15 minutes. then grill them so they are crisp and snap when you eat them (got to have thoe grill marks. pour off a little of the beer and all the onions into a foil tub and put it on the grill too. this way you have a warm beer bath to put those brats in while serving. it will also let you keep they hot for those late arriving folks. keeps them from dry-ing out too. can be served with a good course german style mustard, hot. they will not need ketchup, kraut or anything else. oddly enough there was an article on Dethroner today covering this.
wow! all these wiscy horns!!i'm in minnesota right now (brrr!!) and dont really have access to a grill..can i still make these awesome brats and cheer on the VIKINGS (and the Horns!)!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The broiler will work. Throw them in a Pyrex and you'll be good to go. You can also pan fry them, if need be. Obviously the grill is the best way to go, but they'll be good nonetheless.
Broil them until they're done. By cooking them in boiling beer for 10-15 minutes, they should be close to done, so really the grilling/broiling is to add flavor, texture, and color.
To me the Johnsonville's are too grainy. I tried the HEB brand and they actually were better for my taste. Firmer, not as grainy or "hot doggy". 15-20 minutes in beer, garlic, yellow peppers, and onions. Browned around on the grill. Set the pot with beer, garlic, opnions and peppers on the grill as I was browning the brats and let it boil down. Hoagie buns with beer brat mustard, brats, onions and peppers, and we're ready for the second half.
why don't you pierce the brats before boiling? I mean, if they are in casing, then the boiling in beer isn't adding any flavor without piercing the brats. plus, I saw Bobby Flay do this and he pierced his.
My concern with piercing the brats would be that a lot of the juices would run out while cooking on the grill. Yeah, more beer flavor gets in the brat if you pierce it, but plenty of flavor gets in there anyway.
DeadHead, I guess that wouldn't be a concern for me, because I personally would grill my brats till they started to burst, so some of the fat/juice would definitely leak out. the key to limit those kinds of losses would be your boiling and grilling temps, I think
