Smoking time for Bratwurst.

Assuming you pre-cooked them by boiling in a beer mixture, maybe 20-3O minutes. If not precooked, maybe 45-60 minutes depending where in the cooker you're placing them. Or if you are cooking them in the smoker in the beer mixture, maybe 2 hours depending where in the cooker you're placing them.

And personaly I find the simmering in beer a vital step. They swell up and don't wrinkle as much when you smoke em.

I smoke mine till the temp inside is around 170 or so

wnkt said:

I smoke mine till the temp inside is around 170 or so

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How do check the temp. w/o loosing all the juice?

Either have a thermometer probe in one from the start.......or only stick one, a sacrificial one so to speak.........the one I eat first

brat time

usually 1-2 hrs. at 240-250.

I would not bother using a thermo. Instead, use you eyes and mouth. When they look done, taste them. Simple.

I prick mega holes in my brats with a fork. I simmer in beer and about 2 chopped large onions. Then I put them on the gasser. The skin is nice as crunchy. Never thought about putting them on the smoker. Gonna have to try it soon.

I just gotta ask.....
And, this is a real question, not chit stirrin' :lol:

We abhor boiling meats and then smoking/cooking mainly because the flavor goes into the liquid and leaves a bland meat product.

So, why do we boil Brats, then cook?????
Do we do something with the flavored up water? Or pitch it?

I have just always thrown them onto the grill or into the smoker, not knowing any better :redface:

Help me understand the "boiling first" logic here :lol:

TIM

Brats most common grilled item in Wisconsin

People in my neck of the woods grill a lot of Brats. Johnsonville is located here as well as many beautique sausage companies that make brats. Many grocery stores and butchers make their own fresh ones here as well. People in Wisconsin like to argue about how you should do brats, and whether it is acceptable to put anything on them besides mustard and sauerkraut (it isn't).

There are many who boil or poach them in beer before grilling. However, there are also many Wisconsintes who think it is absolutely wrong to boil beforehand, because so much flavor is lost when doing so. I wonder if boiling first became the most common way of doing them because they would flare up and get crisp on the outside before the inside was cooked. Thus, boiling first was kind of a crutch for those who didn't know how to manage a fire well.

If you are going to cook them first in liquid, I would recommend poaching at about 200 degrees in beer. Take care not to poke any holes in them.

I like them better without poaching/boiling. I put a probe in one and smoke them until they are 160. They don't need to go all the way to 170. A well cooked brat should have a little pop to it when you bite into it. You won't get that pop if you poke holes and boil them.