Wisconsin Beer Brats–A Grilling Classic

In the age-old battle between hot dogs and brats, I’ve always taken the same side.

To me, brats have always been deluxe hot dogs, improved in taste, texture, and size.

Although I like Chicago Dogs, New York Dogs, and Coney Dogs just as much as the next guy, a brat simmered in beer and piled high with mustard and sauerkraut has always been one of my favorite grilling meals.

The 4,400 Mile Journey from Germany to Wisconsin

Wisconsin was the final destination for many Germans immigrating to the United States, and today more Wisconsinites trace their lineage back to Germany than any other country.

These immigrants brought their traditional foods with them, including such staples as bratwurst sausage, sauerkraut, mustard, and, yes, beer.

Cook it all up together, add the oh-so-American touches of a bun and potato chips, and you’ve got yourself a genuine Wisconsin beer brat!

Okay, so the buns and chips aren’t exactly the healthiest things in this meal, but haven’t you ever heard of cheat day? Enjoy this stuff without guilt and get back to your go-to meals of meat and veggies tomorrow.

The Ingredients

You’ll need the following for Wisconsin beer brats (scale as necessary):

• 10–12 Bratwurst
• 3 Cans of Beer
• 1 Onion
• 1 Stick of Butter
• Sauerkraut
• Dijon Mustard
• Buns

The best brats are those you buy in bulk from a local butcher, but since these are slowly going the way of the buffalo, you’ll most likely be picking up prepackaged ones at the supermarket.

The big giveaway of a quality brat is natural casing. Look on the back of the package, they’ll usually proudly proclaim this if they have it.

Unfortunately, many brats these days are cased in synthetic materials (mmmmmm… plastic!) that result in an inferior texture, and they’re often filled with bad meat as if that weren’t enough.

So do yourself a favor, get the real brats. They’re worth the extra coin.

You’ll also win bonus points if you get decent buns. Plain hot dog buns are cheap, but they’re also boring. If you can find brat buns, get ’em. They are more substantial than hot dog buns.

Oh, and ditch the yellow mustard for dijon mustard instead. You don’t need to need to be a hoity-toity guy in a Rolls to enjoy it.

Sauerkraut’s a more difficult beast to deal with.

On the one hand, it’s not too difficult to find kraut whose only ingredients are cabbage and salt. (No weird shampoo ingredients!)

On the other, most commercial kraut is pasteurized, killing all the beneficial and healthy bacteria. (Yes, there is good bacteria to include in your diet!)

To get the good stuff, you have two options:

1. Go to your local “natural” foods store. You can usually find unpasteurized kraut there, but it is more expensive than the stuff you find at the supermarket.
2. Make your own. Sauerkraut is ridiculously easy to make, but 99% of people are just too intimidated to try.

Realistically, the best bet is to just go with whatever you find at the supermarket. You’re just using it as a topping, and there’s nothing truly unhealthy about it (which is more than you can say for most of the prepackaged stuff you find there).

If anyone’s enough of a food geek, I’ll show you how to make your own sauerkraut in a future article.

The Recipe

You can either make beer brats inside on the stove, or (ideally) outside on a grill. I’ll cover both methods here.

If you are making them on the grill, you’ll want to have a roasting pan or disposable aluminum pan.

Cut the onion in half and slice into pieces. Cut the stick of butter up into eight pieces. Poke a couple of holes in the brats. Now add the onion, butter, bratwurst, and beer to the roasting pan. (If you are cooking on the stove, you can do this in a pot.)

Add the pan to the hot side of the grill or heat over medium heat on the stove. Cover the grill and heat until the beer is boiling. Cook the brats for about 20 minutes in the simmering beer mixture.

Once you’ve finished boiling the brats, it’s time to give them a good sear. Move the pan if necessary, and add the brats directly to the hot part of the grill. Cook with the cover off, flipping when needed, until the brats are seared but not burned.

You can put the brats back in the beer mixture when they are done, or serve right away.

Put the brats on a bun, add dijon mustard, then a generous amount of sauerkraut.

Get yourself some chips and a cold beer. Prost!