Beer Brats
Bratwurst simmered in beer and onions, then browned in a pan and served in buns with mustard and the softened onions.
Photograph credit: Steaming Brats by cogdogblog · CC0 1.0 · Flickr
Where This Goes Wrong
Do not prick the sausages.
Keep the beer at a simmer, never a rolling boil.
Toast the rolls in the pan for a minute for extra texture.
Making Beer Brats
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Melt the butter in a wide pan. Cook the onions for 5 minutes until starting to soften.
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Add the beer and the bratwurst. Bring just to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes, turning once.
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Lift out the sausages. Boil the liquid uncovered for 3 minutes until it reduces and the onions are glossy. Season with pepper.
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Brown the sausages in a hot dry pan for 7 minutes, turning, until the skins are dark. Serve in the rolls with the onions and mustard.
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What's Going On Here
Most beer brats split and dry out, and the fix is to simmer them, not boil them. A hard boil makes the casings burst, and the fat and juices run into the beer. Held just under a simmer, the sausages cook through gently, taking on the malt and onion flavour of the liquid as they do.
The onions go into the same pan, sliced thickly, with a little butter. As the beer heats, they soften and sweeten. Use a lager or a pale ale; very hoppy beers turn bitter when reduced. Brown the brats only after simmering, in a dry pan or on a grill, until the skins blister and darken, which takes about 10 minutes.
Serve them in soft buns with plenty of the beer-soaked onions and strong mustard. The sausage is the star, but the onions are what everyone remembers. Do not prick the skins at any stage; that lets the juices out.
After You've Cooked It
Keeps in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat in a pan.
Serving Beer Brats
- Sauerkraut
- Potato salad
- Coleslaw
- Cold lager
Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Artisan Sourdough Bread, New York Bagels, Creamy Coleslaw.
What's in a Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. The calories include 2 g of alcohol a serving, which is not part of the protein, carbohydrate or fat. How the figures are worked out.
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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