LikestoEatout wrote:I know you are asking about commercial brats but if you want to stick to good butcher made, have you considered The Wurst Kitchen in Aurora? They have been in business over 100 years in the same family and specialize in all sorts of sausages and old world cuts. I have had their brats a number of times and put them in the park with Ream's. They sell a Kicker (spicy) brat and a garlic brat as well as the traditional brat. My friends that ran the Elgin Octoberfest for many years bought all their brats from the Wurst Kitchen. They vendor all the local fairs and farmer's markets as well, preparing something for you in quantity should be no problem plus they are a lot closer than Elburn.(about 22 miles straight west if you don't follow the stupid google directions that take you to Plainfield first!)

Wurst Kitchen
638 2nd Avenue
Aurora, Illinois
630-898-9242

yep. I drive here for brats more often than Ream's.

Wurst Kitchen link:

http://www.wurstkitchen.com/

I also like CP Meats down in NEw Lenox

CP Meat Market
1312 N. Cedar
New Lenox, IL.

http://www.cpmeatmarket.com/

Kid Charlemagne wrote:

G Wiv wrote:I was recently pressed into service at a neighbors house for brat duty. She, one of the nicest people I know but not a great cook, expressed delighted amazement at the plump juiciness of the brats, but was puzzled why it took me 45-minutes instead of her usual 8 to 10.

Were you just cooking them indirect over lower heat? I just got a gas grill this past weekend, so I'm likely to be trolling for techniques I figure I might as well start at the top...

While not as specific technical instructions as Gary's wise advice, this discourse reminds me of my favorite brat-cooking story: While waiting my turn at Paulina Meat Market some years ago, the gentleman before me asked how long to cook the raw brats. The butcher responded, "I call these 'one-beer brats'. Put them on the grill, grab a beer, and when the beer is gone, the brats are ready." Then, without missing a beat, he added, "My wife won't let me grill a turkey anymore."

We poach our brats in beer before grilling, assures they are cooked, juicy and suitably crispy when grilled on the outside.
As to which is best, there are a lot of commercial brats available as well as from local suppliers.
I find Usinger's to be the best widely available Brat in the Mid West, followed by Johnsonville and then Klements.
You find lots of recommendations for the best brat at small out of the way makers, I gave up long a go trying to chase them all down.
Now the best I have found is at European HomeMade Sausage in Milwaukee, a long established one man operation.
Frank makes THE best sausage you can purchase in a store in the Mid West.
You can watch him making them from the counter area.
Frank retired a few years ago but was persuaded to return by his customers overwhelming demand.
Check the hours and call ahead with your order to assure he has what you want.-Dick

European Homemade Sausage
1985 S Muskego AV
Milwaukee, WI 53204
1-414-384-7320

These brats were a little dry, but they're beer brats made with local beer, so what's not to like? They said next time they'll make the brats with a little more fat.



Homestead Meats
1305 Chicago Ave
Evanston, IL 60201

nr706 wrote:These brats were a little dry, but they're beer brats made with local beer, so what's not to like? They said next time they'll make the brats with a little more fat.

Temperance Brats.jpg

Homestead Meats
1305 Chicago Ave
Evanston, IL 60201

Interesting. From the picture, it looks like they should be plenty fatty.

Usinger's is probably my favorite commercial brat, but nobody seems to make them with the spice combo I enjoy the most. Which reminds me, are there any places in the city that will make a batch of sausage to your specifications, and, if so, what would the minimum order be? I make my own, but sometimes I just don't feel like going through the hassle.

Binko wrote:are there any places in the city that will make a batch of sausage to your specifications, and, if so, what would the minimum order be?

Homestead is a pretty small operation; it would be worth contacting them.

Sula wrote about them here.

Seconding the European Homemade Sausage recommendation. People use the term "Old School" & "Old world" way too much these days but Frank & his operation are the genuine real deal. Enjoy it while you can because you never know when he's going to retire again.

I have done some LTH and Chowhound searching and other googling about how to prepare brats and Polish sausage (love the latter; not so much the former, but others do, so I would like to know how to cook them correctly), and mostly what I've found are opinions on whether or not to soak in beer and onions or some other liquid first, and whether to cook them in liquid or not. This thread is the first place that I've read that slow indirect cooking is the key to juiciness. I remember one time that my Sweet Baboo cooked one of those 1-lb Eckridge smoked sausages on the grill and it was incredibly juicy and tasty when done, and I've never had one that good since. It occurs to me now that it's because we had several people over for a cookout and he tossed it over to the side of the grill as emergency backup food, and it probably sat on the grill, cooking slowly, for a half hour or more.

All my sausages I cook slowly first, indirectly, then quickly over high heat for a bit of char. Makes for a much juicier sausage. I find parcooking first in beer actually seems to dry them out a bit. I don't like that particular Wisconsin method for cooking brats. (There is also the version where the brats a first grilled, and then held in beer and onions. That seems to work a little better if you need to hold the brats for awhile and can't serve them immediately, but the beer-onion liquid should be at a bare simmer, enough to keep the sausages warm, but not enough to really cook them much farther.) At least that's my opinion. If I'm doing a huge batch of sausages, I sometimes just start them in a 275 oven and finish them hot over the grill.

Binko wrote:All my sausages I cook slowly first, indirectly, then quickly over high heat for a bit of char. Makes for a much juicier sausage. I find parcooking first in beer actually seems to dry them out a bit. I don't like that particular Wisconsin method for cooking brats. (There is also the version where the brats a first grilled, and then held in beer and onions. That seems to work a little better if you need to hold the brats for awhile and can't serve them immediately, but the beer-onion liquid should be at a bare simmer, enough to keep the sausages warm, but not enough to really cook them much farther.) At least that's my opinion. If I'm doing a huge batch of sausages, I sometimes just start them in a 275 oven and finish them hot over the grill.

Has anyone tried cooking brats sous vide, perhaps with some beer and onions in the bag, then finishing them over charcoal (or even in a hot pan or with a torch)? Here's an excellent study on cooking sausage by Kenji Lopez-Alt, but sous vide is only briefly mentioned in the comments.

Clean Fill wrote:Seconding the European Homemade Sausage recommendation. People use the term "Old School" & "Old world" way too much these days but Frank & his operation are the genuine real deal. Enjoy it while you can because you never know when he's going to retire again.

LTH Thread on European Homemade Sausage

We really prefer getting grill marks on them first and then cooking in a slow cooker with beer and liquid. All the better if the casing rips and they get really soft. I don't care if they have a snap or not, I prefer them soft. I throw some mustard and onions in the liquid, but I don't really know if it does anything.

G Wiv wrote:Locally I'm partial to Mariano's brats, in particular giardiniera brats.

I'm with you on the Mariano's brats in the butcher case. I haven't tried the giard brats, though, I think later this week. Skip the bourbon pepper brats if you get tempted, nothing special.

A recent surprise are the cheddar jalapeno and (especially) the porcini provolone brats from Tony's Finer Foods.
The porcini really filled my fridge with a delightful fragrance which didn't quite seem to follow through in the finished, cooked product. I am more than willing to consider that I'd merely over cooked them, though.

It's a bit of a drive, but if you want the best......

Herm's

I know they won't go to Chicagoland, but if I was sponsering a big event with brats, I'd pay these guys to cook them too. They have the whole process dialed in, from pig to brat on a bun. I knew Herm, I'm sure he's smiling looking down on his Grandson.....

Freezer Pig wrote:It's a bit of a drive, but if you want the best......

Herm's.....

Wow! I love the section on the Herm's website that invites you to bring your group and make summer sausage with Herm's. ROAD TRIP!!!

For those who want a sausage making experience closer to home, on July 24, 2014, Chef Martin is teaching his sausage making class at the DANK Haus.

Well, I ain't driving to Ohio for brats and I usually don't want to tend a bunch of brats slow cooking on a grill, so the Wisconsin way of cooking in beer and supplying the amount of char, one likes, over hard wood lump is as good as it gets for me.
As to 'the best', I have found over the years that most of the time 'the best' to someone else may not be the 'the best' to me.
Usually this is due to having your palate formed with a specific source of a product. Your memory is very good at storing those initial encounters. If you have an extremely pleasant overall experience, that also fixes the memory in your mind.
I don't doubt that what you believe is 'the best', is in fact 'the best' for you.
We frequently do blind tastings to partially eliminate preconceived ideas for a product to find 'the best'.
I found that my much vaunted by me, Usinger veal hot dogs were NOT 'the best' but that the skin on Vienna dog was clearly the best to me and two others. Probably fixed by eating them over 40 years from first hot dog cart vendors on the streets of Chicago to the Bulls games in the old Auditorium.
As to brats and other sausage, I've tried the sausage at many of the top recommended suppliers in Chicago.
All good but usually made at a low price point for sales competition.
European Homemade has a body of opinion that's hard to overlook.-Dick

RAB wrote:The store-made brats at Mariano's are surprisingly good. I had their habanero jack brats this weekend and liked them a lot.

I liked Mariano's habanero jack brats as well. If you put the giardiniera or habanero jack in front of me I'd pick giardiniera, but be happy with either.

budrichard wrote:As to 'the best', I have found over the years that most of the time 'the best' to someone else may not be the 'the best' to me.

Sure. I think that kind of goes without saying. Otherwise, there'd be no arguments about chili and barbecue.

Oh, and I forgot. My favorite commercial hot dogs are Sahlen's, the ones they use at Ted's in Buffalo and its environs (and the one outpost in Phoenix.) Not the all-beef ones, just the regular ones, which are a mix of pork and beef. Unfortunately, they do not appear to be available in Chicago. I've looked and called a few places, but the ones that stock Sahlen's products only stock their deli meats. At least that was the case about two, three years ago.

Binko wrote:

budrichard wrote:As to 'the best', I have found over the years that most of the time 'the best' to someone else may not be the 'the best' to me.

Sure. I think that kind of goes without saying. Otherwise, there'd be no arguments about chili and barbecue.

Oh, and I forgot. My favorite commercial hot dogs are Sahlen's, the ones they use at Ted's in Buffalo and its environs (and the one outpost in Phoenix.) Not the all-beef ones, just the regular ones, which are a mix of pork and beef. Unfortunately, they do not appear to be available in Chicago. I've looked and called a few places, but the ones that stock Sahlen's products only stock their deli meats. At least that was the case about two, three years ago.

Hi,

Franks for the Memories in Mundelein, IL serves Sahlen's hot dogs and Polish. They might be willing to sell you product to make at home. They also make Buffalo wings to various levels of heat. Celery and blue cheese dressing are sold separately. This place is definitely a touchstone for Buffalo, NY transplants.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Franks for the Memories in Mundelein, IL serves Sahlen's hot dogs and Polish.

Sweet. I forgot about that place. I do remember reading about it here years ago. It's rare I find myself near Mundelein unless I'm heading up Wisconsin, but I'll have to make a pitstop there one of these days. Right now, my only source for Sahlen's is bringing back a 5lb box from Ted's when visiting my in-laws in Phoenix. Even if Franks for the Memories can't sell me a box, it would be nice to satisfy my craving for a Sahlen's.

It is not in the neighborhood, but I do see occasional posts about the UP. In Hancock, Michigan there is a sausage maker called Vollwerth's. They have been around > 100 years. Their natural casing hot dogs are fantastic. On the way to Copper Harbor, there is a pub called the Cliff View Inn. They make a foot long Vollwerth's natural casing hot dog in a broiler. They offer up a homemade relish that is unique and good. The recipe is from the Stiglich Family. They are Croatians that owned the bar for years. Tommy Stiglich retired in his 90's. It was always a treat to talk to him. Vollwerth's also makes the best ring Bologna around. Since there are many Finns in the area, sauna is common. We always brought the "Ring Makara" into the sauna and hung them from a hook we would put into the ceiling. The steam would slowly cook the ring until plump. Only a very good ring could survive this method. The fat content, obviously has to be low. Vollwerth's is the best. Enjoy if you get the chance.

Puckjam wrote:The fat content, obviously has to be low. Vollwerth's is the best. Enjoy if you get the chance.

That's usually not the case with most good sausages, even if they seem it. Less than 25-30% fat usually results in a crumbly, dry sausage. My guess is that this is a well-made, expertly emulsified sausage that doesn't drip its fat out when slowly cooked. That's a fascinating cooking method you describe. I'm not a fan of the sausages usually found in the sauna!

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

Puckjam wrote:The fat content, obviously has to be low. Vollwerth's is the best. Enjoy if you get the chance.

That's usually not the case with most good sausages, even if they seem it. Less than 25-30% fat usually results in a crumbly, dry sausage. My guess is that this is a well-made, expertly emulsified sausage that doesn't drip its fat out when slowly cooked. That's a fascinating cooking method you describe. I'm not a fan of the sausages usually found in the sauna!

=R=

For an emulsified sausage, lower fat contents (down to around 15% or so) are not unusual (especially if the sausage make uses soy protein concentrate or another protein source to help bind the meat.) By law, anything sold as a frankfurter, hot-dog, wiener, etc., cannot have more than 30% fat. (Citation.)

Binko wrote:For an emulsified sausage, lower fat contents (down to around 15% or so) are not unusual (especially if the sausage make uses soy protein concentrate or another protein source to help bind the meat.)

Very interesting. I cannot recall one sausage recipe that uses this small a percentage of fat -- not in any of the charcuterie cookbooks I own or at any workshop I've ever taken. You learn something new every day.

=R=

While I know hotdogs are encased meat, I do have a hard time thinking of them as sausages . Maybe it's all the other "things" in them that creates the bind--thereby lowering the need for fat...?

ronnie_suburban wrote:

Binko wrote:For an emulsified sausage, lower fat contents (down to around 15% or so) are not unusual (especially if the sausage make uses soy protein concentrate or another protein source to help bind the meat.)

Very interesting. I cannot recall one sausage recipe that uses this small a percentage of fat -- not in any of the charcuterie cookbooks I own or at any workshop I've ever taken. You learn something new every day.

=R=

In Rytek Kutas's book/bible on sausage making, he doesn't give percentages, but calls for lean meats in his emulsified sausage section, without any additional back fat. He also uses soy protein concentrate for moisture retention. Here's a similar recipe for bologna that works out to probably around 15% fat. Stuff it into sheep casings and you've basically got a hot dog. Kutas lists several different percentages for wieners. His first two call for 60% lean beef and 40% regular pork trimmings and 50-50. Those should work out to around 15%. The actual recipe in the book uses the 60-40 ratio.

boudreaulicious wrote:While I know hotdogs are encased meat, I do have a hard time thinking of them as sausages . Maybe it's all the other "things" in them that creates the bind--thereby lowering the need for fat...?

Soy protein concentrate or non-fat dried milk are often used to help bind and retain moisture in emulsified sausage products. It is generally only used in products that are cooked and smoked (like frankfurters) and not fresh sausages. Use up to around 3.5%.

Binko wrote:In Rytek Kutas's book/bible on sausage making, he doesn't give percentages, but calls for lean meats in his emulsified sausage section, without any additional back fat. He also uses soy protein concentrate for moisture retention. Here's a similar recipe for bologna that works out to probably around 15% fat. Stuff it into sheep casings and you've basically got a hot dog. Kutas lists several different percentages for wieners. His first two call for 60% lean beef and 40% regular pork trimmings and 50-50. Those should work out to around 15%. The actual recipe in the book uses the 60-40 ratio.

That's quite different from Fritz Sonnenschmidt's method, which I saw him demonstrate at Kendall College some years ago. He didn't use the soy additives, which is a method I'm much happier with. In my mind, when sausage making first came to be, I don't imagine soy protein concentrate was part of the process, which is why I prefer to work without it. Emulsified sausages are often poached, too. I know that's the case for more than a few types I've made.

=R=

Anyway, that is the beauty of various methods. I can only say that it plumps and there is very little grease when done. I have brought other rings to sauna (long time ago) and they did not plump and were greasy. We have "ring makara" sauna day during the K Derby and Breeders Cup each year here in Waukesha. We always bring back Vollwerth's for those days. When I figure out how to put a picture on here, I will send you a couple from this years Derby. Back in the 70's in the UP, seven of us (friends) went to sauna the day of our weddings and had cold beer and rings all morning prior to putting the tux on and saying I do. This was a ritual among my friends. The sauna was > 100 years old on a dirt road in the back country. Great living. Still go out there when I visit.

Puckjam wrote:Anyway, that is the beauty of various methods. I can only say that it plumps and there is very little grease when done. I have brought other rings to sauna (long time ago) and they did not plump and were greasy. We have "ring makara" sauna day during the K Derby and Breeders Cup each year here in Waukesha. We always bring back Vollwerth's for those days. When I figure out how to put a picture on here, I will send you a couple from this years Derby. Back in the 70's in the UP, seven of us (friends) went to sauna the day of our weddings and had cold beer and rings all morning prior to putting the tux on and saying I do. This was a ritual among my friends. The sauna was > 100 years old on a dirt road in the back country. Great living. Still go out there when I visit.

That is an awesome tradition.

=R=