Bratwurst

Hi there,

I'm looking for some cooking suggestions for Bratwurst. I'm having an Oktoberfest party (I know, I know it's September...but Germanfest in Lincoln Square is this weekend) and brats are on the menu. I'm going to get them from Paulina Meat Market and just want a simple, flavorful way to make them.

Thanks,
Katy

Hi Katy -

check out http://www.bratwurstpages.com/brats.html

Lee

Grill 'em and hold 'em in a "batter" of simmering beer and onions. That's one of the traditional Wisconsin ways of doing them. The traditional German way is simply to grill them. No frills about it. A good bratwurst doesn't need any additional treatment.

Anyhow, my favorite type of bratwurst is the Thuringer Rostbratwurst. I've managed to come across a recipe that is pretty authentic:

For every pound of ground pork (Fatty. No more than 80% lean. You can mix with veal):

1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1/2 tsp ground mace (nutmeg will do as well)
1/2 tsp or so of salt
1/2 tsp caraway seeds (whole or ground)
1/4 cup milk

You can also add marjoram or ground ginger. It's a fantastic sausage when done right. Stuff into the thinner-type sausage casings.

I did the exact opposite recently. I started to sweat the onions very slowly, added the bratwurst and browned them slightly, and then braised them in beer for an hour.

It turned out really well.

jlawrence01 wrote:I did the exact opposite recently. I started to sweat the onions very slowly, added the bratwurst and browned them slightly, and then braised them in beer for an hour.

It turned out really well.

Both methods are acceptable. Some people simmer first, then grill. Others simmer-grill-simmer. And I like to grill, then hold them in beer.

jlawrence01 wrote:I did the exact opposite recently. I started to sweat the onions very slowly, added the bratwurst and browned them slightly, and then braised them in beer for an hour.

It turned out really well.

That's the Wisconsin method that's been drummed into my head by more than one person, except that after braising in the beer, they go on the grill for browning and smoke.

KatyK wrote:I'm looking for some cooking suggestions for Bratwurst.

G Wiv's Brats

I grew up in Wisconsin, the home of the Brat. The key is to use a fresh brat, never a precooked one and to simmer them in beer and spices before smoking or grilling.

Loose Recipe for Brats:

5-lbs of Fresh Brats, take a fork and poke* holes in them, 28 holes per brat to be exact, and you must use a 3-pronged fork.

Beer to cover** the amount of Brats you will be simmering and 9 extra for the chef to drink.

7 fresh garlic cloves smashed with the side of a large knife, not chopped just smashed.
3 quartered onions
1 to 6 oz of hot sauce
Any other spices you want to toss in. I have found there is a direct correlation between the amount of beer you have drunk and the amount and variety of different spices that you will put into the simmering liquid.

Simmer, do not boil, the brats in the beer, garlic, onions and hot sauce for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit in mixture for at least 1 hour. This allows the brats to absorb the flavors of the beer, onions, garlic and hot sauce. If the brats rest for over an hour refrigerate.

Grill over a moderate fire.

Serve on Brat buns, somewhat like a French roll, with Koops horseradish mustard, chopped onions and hot pickled peppers, peppers are optional.

If you want to jazz up the brats a bit, pour off all but 1/2-cup of the remaining brat liquid, simmer until the onions are soft and beer is evaporated. When liquid is evaporated add butter and caramelize onions.
When onions are caramelized add mustard, preferably Koops, and stir. The mixture should come together nicely.

Note:
* There is some controversy as to the efficacy of poking holes in the brat. I feel that a few holes allow the beer/onion/hotsauce to be absorbed by the brats, others contend the holes cause the brat to dry out during the grilling stage. YMMV

** It is not necessary to use all beer, half water, half beer is perfectly acceptable outside of Wisconsin.

Enjoy,
Gary Wiviott

KatyK wrote:I'm having an Oktoberfest party (I know, I know it's September...

The official Oktoberfest in Munich starts Sept. 17. It always starts on a Saturday in September and ends 16 days later on the first Sunday in October.

With all due respect to the cheesehead system of boiled-first brats, I like the flavor and texture best when they're simply grilled. You do need to be careful about flare-ups, though.

Thanks for all of the great suggestions. However I cook these brats, they will definitely be tasty!

Now, not to complicate matters, but I do not have a grill. I have a grillpan that I use to quite good effect. Will this comprise things too drastically??

Katy

G Wiv wrote:

take a fork and poke* holes in them, 28 holes per brat to be exact, and you must use a 3-pronged fork.

Thats some trick

Labor Day one of my wife's students at UW-Whitewater brought us 5# of brats from Miesfeld's meat mkt in Sheboygan. Sheboyganners argue over which mkt is the best--just like we do in KC about which bbq is the best (and to the same indecisive end!)-- and an awful lot of them think that Miesfeld's is the absolute best.

I dunno who's right, but I'll tell you what: Miesfeld's brats are certainly the best *I've* ever had, and I've tasted 'em from lots and lots of little mkts in south central WI.

Koops is very popular mustard, and tastes awfully good.

The Sheboygan hard rolls are simply unbeatable in this role. Sure wish I could get them in KC....

Now here's where I drive the Sheboyganners (not to mention the Whitewatertights, too) crazy: I put the brats on the grill of my electric bbq/smoker, directly over the 'flame'. But first, I lay a nice piece of green wood--preferably some fruit tree's limb--directly on the coil. That way the brat gets smoked and cooked at the same time.

They're pretty damn good cooked that way, unorthodox as it might be.

So that's what I did on Labor Day.


http://www.miesfeldsmarket.com/


Geo

Here's a website detailing the various ways to cook Wisconsin brats. Recipe #3, "beer brats" is essentially the recipe I've given. Recipe #1 is the reverse method (the parboil in beer then grill method).

Personally, I think it's very important not to let your bratwurst burst by either pricking, boiling instead of simmering, or cooking over too hot coals. In my experience, it does dry out the wurst and also all the yummy oily flavors escape into the fire.

G Wiv wrote: take a fork and poke* holes in them, 28 holes per brat to be exact, and you must use a 3-pronged fork.

Ramon wrote:Thats some trick

Well, since you ask................

That's the secret, 28 holes with a 3-pronged fork. The reasoning behind the three-pronged fork is solid, you want the holes spaced out enough so there is even absorption of the soaking liquid in the brat. A fork with 4-tines is too close together and a 2-pronged fork will not allow enough of the liquid to penetrate.

The issue of the 28th hole is complicated and shrouded in mystery. The story goes that in 1842 at the junction of two rivers that would later become Sheboygan Wisconsin, Chief Patawatami's son, Dances with Brats, met the pretty young daughter of a German sausage maker. Neither parent wanted them to marry, but like headstrong youths through the ages they decided to get married anyway and were secretly united by an itinerant Rabbi/Mohel who had just arrived from Minsk.

Both parents were very upset by this and there was almost a war between the German settlers and native Americans, when the two fathers finally came to their senses and saw how in love their two children were they decided to unite the two groups forever in peace and harmony.

During the closing ceremony of the peace treaty/wedding reception the finest marksman from the Patawatami tribe and the finest German sausage maker demonstrated their respective arts. The grand finale was a sausage, which was now being referred to as a Brat in deference to the Chief's son, being tossed 300 feet into the air and the marksman piercing the end of the sausage with his arrow. This was the 28th hole, making odd even and securing peace in the region for hundreds of years.

Enjoy,
Gary

While being born and bread in Chicago my Aunt married a Wisconsinan and he would hot grill first often breaking the skin. After partially grilling he would place them in the broth with sliced onions and in the oven, medium heat.

The juices and broth would mingle and after cooking the brat is placed on a bun with a forkful of onion and a spoonful of broth.

I think he reduced the broth as well.

A lightly soggy sandwich and the grill flavor is good in the broth.

Now understand, this is a Southern Wisconsin recipe.

An article by expert brat grillers: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=439588