What should I do with bratwurst?

Man, you cant go wrong with straight up grilling them and that usually what I do with a bit of a reverse sear to get a little smoke to them, but holy crap are they remarkable when you cook them part of the way in a beer/butter/onion bath then grill them to finish.

I just smoke them. I fire up my mini put them in the smoker till they are done.

Here is a picture of a hotlink and a brat that I did on my mini when I first built it.


It was done with applewood. I also have used cherry wood, pecan, and oak on brats before. I lean more towards applewood and cherrywood for brats. I used to beer bath them, I used to grill them. But nothing beats a simply smoked brat in my world. Served on a potato roll hotdog bun and some spicy brown mustard.

Here's how I do brats - and I'm from Wisconsin...so I have LOTS of experience. (I know other ways, but here's my favorite - simple, but you can't argue the results)

1. Get a slow cooker going and get a beer bath going with some sliced yellow onions (break them up into rings). Beer can be anything amber or lighter - you don't want dark beers. A cheap lager or pilsner works fine, Miller, PBR, Blatz, etc, save the microbrews for drinking. You don't want it to boil, it's just to hold the brats in so they soak up flavor. Let it get hot - when it starts to smell good, it's ready!

2 - Fire up the weber kettle (or whatever grill you have) and cook them hot, indirect until they start to get firm - I check doneness is entirely by feel. They should get a nice color on them, if you feel you need more color, get a little sear over the coals, but not very long..a minute on each side. You don't want them to rupture - NEVER pierce the sausage...use a rounded set of tongs! NO FORKS, NO THERMAPENS!

3. Put your brats into the beer bath for a swim, cover it - let them hang out there for an hour or so, they'll soak up all the awesome beer flavor, then serve!

You can put your Kraut right into the beer as well, or you can get it hot and keep it in a different crockpot - up to you!

The great part about this, is you can have your grilling done before company arrives so you can spend more time with the guests and less time tending the grill.

I like them smoked as well. If you have any SM Spicy Apple, throw it on them and smoke away.

^^^Yeah, what they said.

Depending oh how much work I want to put into it, I will either boil in beer and onions and then put on the grill at an indirect medium/high heat to finish. Or I'll just put on a grill medium heat indirect and let cook until golden to dark brown. Serve however you like.

I like mine with or without bun, mustard, and jalapeno peppers. Don't forget the chips and beer!

Put em on a hot dog weener pole (we used clothes hangers back in the day) and cook them over an oak camp fire till they get that awesome color on em. This is usually one of our meals every weekend at the hunting camp.

I like to do mine indirect on the kettle using charcoal and a small chunk of wood. usually goes around 45-50 mins or so.

I've tried some beer boiling, but now I prefer to just smoke them around 250F. They take pretty much exactly one hour like this. I slap them on a bun, with no condiments generally. I dearly love smoked bratwurst.

I like to smoke them naked on the grate at around 275 until almost done and then toss them in a scorching hot cast iron skillet for a quick sear/firm-up. I will throw a couple on buns (with kraut if I have it), but I like them sliced on a plate just as well.

I would smoke them like many have already suggested but instead of a potato roll, I like to put them between two slices of buttered white toast.

Open fire, on the tripod grill.

I'd recommend grilling indirect first and then putting them in the beer/butter/onion hot tub to get them happy. If possible, try to keep the casings from bursting during the grilling so that the juices don't cook out. 2 cans of beer, a stick of butter (not margarine) and one big onion sliced will work. If you've got a clove of garlic laying around, put that in there too. Keep the hot tub at a simmer, not a full rolling boil. the butter gives the cooked brats a nice "snap" when you bite into them.

Brats make for some good beenie weenies too...grilled first, add to the beans, whatever recipe you like, and smoke them.

Harmony BBQ said:

I'd recommend grilling indirect first and then putting them in the beer/butter/onion hot tub to get them happy. If possible, try to keep the casings from bursting during the grilling so that the juices don't cook out. 2 cans of beer, a stick of butter (not margarine) and one big onion sliced will work. If you've got a clove of garlic laying around, put that in there too. Keep the hot tub at a simmer, not a full rolling boil. the butter gives the cooked brats a nice "snap" when you bite into them.

Click to expand...

This guy knows what's up (Wisconsin folks know brats, no surprise there).

Grill first - then beer/onions. Adding butter is excellent...I don't because let's face it brats are already not real healthy and my fiance is trying to get me to cook a little more friendly for her diet.

He's right - just enough beer to cover the brats, and one sliced onion - add a clove of garlic if you have it too, great suggestion.

DON'T PIERCE/RUPTURE THE CASINGS!!

If you keep the casing from breaking to keep the juices in and then you put them in beer, how is the beer supposed to get in to the brat? Even if you did puncture the casing there's no way the beer is going to absorb in to the meat because it's so tense from the heat.

That's just way I see it. I'd rather save the beer for drinking, and that's why I just smoke them for an hour at around 300, some mustard and sauerkraut. Good eatin'.

I like to grill them till golden brown THEN put them in the kraut onion bath . That in on the grill keeping warm . Keeps the juices in the brats . Of course that is just the way i do it

So I guess I'm the only guy in the world that purposely punctures the little weenie with the Termo- pen? Not into giant third degree burns on my lips and chin or the soggy greasy buns. They still taste the same.
Ed

I simmer in cheap beer with onions til cooked, brown over direct heat and then back to the beer/onion bath for serving. I've been keeping the kraut separate but will try putting it in the beer bath next time. Serve with rolls, raw onion, kraut and yellow mustard. :thumb:

I use Johnsonville brats and have never been disappointed. (They're a Wisconsin company.)