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Brats in Beer

Source of Recipe

From "The Tailgater's Cookbook" by David Joachim


Recipe Introduction

"Some tailgaters grill their brats and serve 'em up right away in buns. This method gives you a crisp skin and lets you choose your favorite toppings, as you would with a hot dog. I prefer to grill the brats, then let them stew in a mixture of beer, bell pepper, onion, and sauerkraut. The beer softens the grilled skin a bit, but the brats stay moist and get a more complex flavor from the stew. More importantly, you can let the brats sit in the pan on the grill for hours in case you happen to get a little too stewed yourself to keep watch over them. If you're at Soldier Field for a Chicago Bears home game or at Lambeau Field for a Packers game, you'll fit right in with these brats on the grill."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 2½ pounds of your favorite bratwurst (about 10 links)
â—¦ 2 cups sauerkraut, drained
â—¦ 1 bottle or can (12 ounces) beer
â—¦ 1 green bell pepper, cut into short strips
â—¦ 1 onion, thinly sliced
â—¦ ¼ cup butter or oil, optional
â—¦ ½ cup coarse German mustard
â—¦ 10 crusty sausage or steak rolls


Recipe

â—¦ When You Get There:
Heat grill to medium and let rack get good and hot, about 10 minutes. Brush and oil rack, then grill brats until nicely browned all over, turning now and then, about 15 to 20 minutes total.

Put brats in a large disposable aluminum pan directly on grill. Mix in kraut, beer, bell pepper, onion, and butter or oil, if using.

Grill in pan, mixing occasionally, for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours (for a charcoal grill, add fresh coals every hour or so). Serve on rolls with a steaming slew of kraut, peppers, onions, and a thick band of mustard.


â—¦ Neighborly Tips:
∙ Brat (pronounced BRAHT) is short for bratwurst, a type of German sausage that's usually made from coarsely ground pork (and sometimes veal) that's seasoned with salt, pepper, and a mix of "sweet" spices like nutmeg. If you have a German-American butcher in your area, go there for fresh brats. Or pick up a brand-name bratwurst such as Johnsonville from the sausage section of your grocery store. If you're feeling health-conscious, look for reduced-fat turkey bratwurst.

∙ I like crusty, untoasted rolls for bratwurst. The outside of the roll gives you good crunch and the soft interior soaks up all the stewy juices from the brats. But if you're using generic pillowy hot dog buns, toast them first (on the grill) to crisp them up. That will help keep the buns from turning to mush under the brats and stew juices.

∙ If you like your brats with a crisp skin but still want the stewed flavor, reverse the cooking process in this recipe. Stew the brats in the pan with the other ingredients first; then when you're ready, toss them on the grill until the skins are browned all over and the brats are cooked through.

∙ Try this recipe with a mix of sausages like knackwurst, kielbasa, and mild or hot Italian sausage.


Makes 10 brats