Need Help Cooking Brats

[Gobias Industries]

I'm going to a Super Bowl party and want to bring brats, already cooked and all set to go. At large gatherings, people have those big pots that keep the brats warm, and they taste awesome, even a few hours later. I'm looking to replicate that.

 

What's the standard procedure for this? Boil in beer before or after grilling, or both? If both, do I have to make a new batch of "soak"? I don't wanna let these people down, so please help!

[ewizabeff]

Try this forum.

[logan82]

Don't boil them at all. Let them sit in Beer and onions in the fridge at least overnight before grilling them(40oz beer one whole onion per dozen brats, all fits pretty well in a gallon ziploc bag). I used to boil, but I think they tasted much better if just soaked overnight. Then you can probably put them in the warmer with something. I have never done that part. I know I have seen people put them in kraut.

[danzig6767]

I'm going to a Super Bowl party and want to bring brats, already cooked and all set to go. At large gatherings, people have those big pots that keep the brats warm, and they taste awesome, even a few hours later. I'm looking to replicate that.

 

What's the standard procedure for this? Boil in beer before or after grilling, or both? If both, do I have to make a new batch of "soak"? I don't wanna let these people down, so please help!

Don't bring brats, i have something guaranteed to be a hit and is very easy to make. Plus it will be different from standard brats.

 

I got this recipe for italian sausage links that is fabulous and i generally don't make italian sausage links. For say a 5 pack of Johnsonville links you also need a can of diced tomatoes, a green/yellow/red pepper depending on your preference, olive oil, and garlic or garlic salt. I like green pepper best for this.

 

First flash brown the sausages on the stove, but don't cook to long

 

Put them then in a crock pot or slow cooker you have. Throw in a can of diced tomatoes, a sliced pepper of your choosing, about a half a cup of olive oil, and some garlic. Cook on low for a few hours and they get so tender that grabbing them with thongs can split them in half. The tomatoes and peppers go great on the sausage in the hot dog bun besides adding flavor to the sausage while cooking.

 

I made a batch of 10 for a small gathering as my food contribution and

everyone loved them, including my mom who isn't an italian sausage fan. Man they are delicious.

[Gobias Industries]

I'll give that a try, danzig. Sounds really good.

[RyDogg66]

Anyone else read this as "Need Help Corking Bats"?

[JoeHova]

Danzig's recipe also works great as a spaghetti sauce if you use a bit more tomato or a jar of pre-made sauce, especially if you throw in a couple onions and maybe some mushrooms and basil too. Crock pots tend to be looked at as kind of a novelty appliance but they work great for making extremely tender meat. If you cook sausages in one for a long enough time, the casing will basically melt away.

 

As for Gobias's original question, sorry that I can't help. I'm not sure how to keep brats tasting fresh for a long time. I know a guy who owns/owned a catering business but he's on the run from his creditors so I haven't been able to contact him for a few months. He would have been a perfect person to ask though.

[JoeHova]

Actually, I did find a bit of advice from a place in Sheboygan that claims to be "home of the Grand Champion Bratwurst", though I can't vouch for it as I haven't tried it. It sounds like it might be right though:

Brat Hot Tub

To keep bratwurst warm for late-arriving guests, make a brat hot tub.

Grab a tinfoil pan. Add a few beers, a quartered onion and 1/2 stick of

butter. Place the pan on the grill, and when the brats are done cooking,

add them to it.

They say not to soak brats in beer beforehand (or to parboil them), just to put them in cold water for a few minutes. They have step-by-step instructions on the page I linked to.

 

 

edit: on the other hand, Usinger's, manufacturers of the best sausage in the country (in my opinion), does recommend parboiling, either in water or beer and onion. They might say that mostly as a liability thing though because they also say it is acceptable to cook them without parboiling, just that you have to make especially sure they are cooked through if you cook them that way (cooking all the way through is always great advice for sausage, and is also why I hate making them. You can't tell for sure if they are done unless you cut one in half and then you've ruined that sausage).

[Baldkin]

If you want them ready to go, you can soak them over night and instead of boiling them in the beer, simmer them in the beer.

 

A VERY slow cook in a frying pan (covered) with the brats 1/2 submerged in beer/onion mixture works best for me. Flip them after about 10 mins. 20 minutes of cook time, they will be cooked through, retain the brat flavor because they didn't split open (which happens quite often when you boil them) and the beer flavor can still be added when you pop them back in the bag/pot with the mixture.

 

To reheat, either re-simmer, or just put the whole mixture in a pot, and warm it up.

Yum.

[Gobias Industries]

That all sounds really good. I think that Brat Hot Tub is exactly what I was looking for. Appreciate it.

[dadofandrew]

Couldn't you just leave them in the crock pot on "warm" in liquid?

 

I just buy the precooked ones and use the microwave or grill, as I hate worrying if they are done.

[logan82]

You might want to get meat market brats. I think they taste better and you can usually find them for about half the price of Johnsonville or Klements brats in the grocery store.

[Hammer]

I always boil them in about 6-10 cups of water and 1 12 oz beer first before grilling them. I then use the exact brat hot tub recipe. I do add a bunch of pepper (black cracked as well as fresh green) to the hot tub. If you want to give it a little bit of spice you can cut a few hot peppers up in to the tub. Just make sure not to eat the soaked peppers...they are especially hot then...

 

Edit: I also was wondering who wanted to cork a bat! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif