What Are You People Thinking?

[Tarlam!]

Look, I love the USA and I adore Americans.

But do any of you have any idea what "Bratwurst" means? You people stew these things in beer, wine I dunno what else!

Brat is the German word for fry, or broil. Wurst ist the type of sausage. So, Bratwurst is basically fried sausage.

OK, I just took my meds, I'm sure I#ll be calm shortly.

[mraynrand]

Our High School cheerleaders used to chant:

OOO sah sah sah
OOO sah sah sah
Hit 'em in the head
With a big Kielbasa

[Little Whiskey]

Re: What Are You People Thinking?

Look, I love the USA and I adore Americans.

But do any of you have any idea what "Bratwurst" means? You people stew these things in beer, wine I dunno what else!

Brat is the German word for fry, or broil. Wurst ist the type of sausage. So, Bratwurst is basically fried sausage.

OK, I just took my meds, I'm sure I#ll be calm shortly.

yep, fried on the grill after its bathed in a beer and onion bath. actually they go in and out of said bath. all done on the grill. I wouldn't have them any other way.

[hoosier]

Re: What Are You People Thinking?

Look, I love the USA and I adore Americans.

But do any of you have any idea what "Bratwurst" means? You people stew these things in beer, wine I dunno what else!

Brat is the German word for fry, or broil. Wurst ist the type of sausage. So, Bratwurst is basically fried sausage.

OK, I just took my meds, I'm sure I#ll be calm shortly.

Boiling in beer is done for the supposed added taste or out of squeamishness--fear of getting trichinosis from undercooked pork. After that they go on the grill. Boiling is never the end of the story. So you can laugh at us for being pansies or for not having the patience to cook a brat through on the grill, but don't even think of accusing us of not knowing how to fry things!

[Little Whiskey]

no doubt hoosier about american's frying things. Tar you should come to one of the many state fairs. I've seen everything fried, even beer!

[Joemailman]

Re: What Are You People Thinking?

Look, I love the USA and I adore Americans.

But do any of you have any idea what "Bratwurst" means? You people stew these things in beer, wine I dunno what else!

Brat is the German word for fry, or broil. Wurst ist the type of sausage. So, Bratwurst is basically fried sausage.

OK, I just took my meds, I'm sure I#ll be calm shortly.

yep, fried on the grill after its bathed in a beer and onion bath. actually they go in and out of said bath. all done on the grill. I wouldn't have them any other way.

But cooking on a grill is not frying. Frying is cooking immersed in hot oil or fat. What we do is boiling followed by grilling. Damn! I we going to have to change the name to Grillwurst?

[red]

you mean like deep frying?

MY IDEA, STAY THE FUCK AWAY!!!!!!

brats deep fried in a nice beer batter, like a corn dog

yeah tar boiling them in beer and onions is just half of the process, after that we grill them or fry them in a pan. i usually grill them

[Patler]

Personally, I do not boil the brats. I grill them only, and gently enough so as not to rupture the casings. It takes a little longer, but they end up much more flavorful and much more naturally moist than boiling them first.

[Cheesehead Craig]

If you boil the brats the terrorists win.

[Little Whiskey]

don't brats self fry? the amount of fat that is in them frys the meat from the inside out!

I think most people run into problems cooking brats on the grill because they have the heat set too high. low and slow. its not a steak or hamburger

[red]

Personally, I do not boil the brats. I grill them only, and gently enough so as not to rupture the casings. It takes a little longer, but they end up much more flavorful and much more naturally moist than boiling them first.

YOU LIE!!!!!!

boiling in beer makes everything better. how could it not, it's beer

[3irty1]

Re: What Are You People Thinking?

Look, I love the USA and I adore Americans.

But do any of you have any idea what "Bratwurst" means? You people stew these things in beer, wine I dunno what else!

Brat is the German word for fry, or broil. Wurst ist the type of sausage. So, Bratwurst is basically fried sausage.

OK, I just took my meds, I'm sure I#ll be calm shortly.

America is a young country with relatively little tradition and thus more accepting of change when its for the better. America is a breeding ground for innovation. Doesn't mean you can't have a German style brat in Wisconsin, our gas stations are full of them.

I'll share two of my all time favorite preparations:

When at home, I "stew" my brats in the pressure cooker before they take to the grill. This takes only a minute, requires only one can of beer, and in that short amount of time, the beer flavor is deeply imparted without risk of rupturing the casings with a long cooking time. After a quick mark on the grill these are ready to go. With this method I leave the onions out and instead saute julienned onions and bell peppers in clarified butter separately. This allows me to leave some crunch in them and also gives me a chance to season the vegetables.

This next method is a restaurant preparation but the ambitious home cook could pull it off as well.

For this the brats are prepared using a technique known as sous vide which is French for "under vacuum." For those who are unfamiliar cooking sous vide implies vacuum sealing the food and marinade in a bag and then cooking the food in the bag by immersing it in a heated water bath which is generally kept at a very precise temperature often using lab equipment. Cooking low and slow for long cooking times results in tender juicy meat which has stewed in its own juice and is cooked cooked evenly to the temperature of the water bath. I'll discuss how a cook can pull this off at home without restaurant resources.

First the brats are sealed, with onions and a few ounces of beer in the vacuum bag and cooked in a 140 degree F (enough to cook the pork/veal but not enough to rupture the casing, especially not of a sausage that is under vacuum.) water bath for about two and a half hours. When done, the brats are quickly marked on the grill. This method works best with some casings better than others as the goal is to achieve a brat without a rubbery casing by breaking it down with long cooking times. Leaner brats also work well as they are not on the grill long enough to render off much fat and thus will seem extra greasy.

In the restaurant two of these were served open face on a toasted rye roll, topped with pickled onions and a wasabi-mustard emulsion.

To sous vide at home try using zip-lock freezer bags or a foodsaver if you've got one. You'll have to freeze the beer first if using a foodsaver or it will suck out the liquid unlike a commercial cryovac. The water bath can be approximated heating water on the stove top to a few degrees above the desired temperature and then poured into a typical beer cooler which is as good at keeping hot things hot as it is at keeping cold things cold. Toss in the brats, shut the lid and wait. I've done this while tailgating before to achieve perfect 130-degree-F-medium-rare-all-the-way through hamburgers.

[SkinBasket]

I could totally go for a 63 degree egg and toast right now. Gives me a hard on just thinking about it.

[mraynrand]

Re: What Are You People Thinking?

Cooking low and slow for long cooking times results in tender juicy meat which has stewed in its own juice and is cooked cooked evenly to the temperature of the water bath.

Sounds like growing up bacteria in the lab.

[MichiganPackerFan]

I usually do a slow 1-2 hour simmer in beer, yellow onions, crushed garlic, butter and some other secret items. After that I finish them on a hot grill to sear the outside leaving them slightly crispy on the outside and juicy in the middle. Served on a grilled bun with the above mentioned onions, saurkraut and horseradish mustard is wonderful.

This past weekend I strayed away from my typical Pilsner simmer and instead used Guinness, onions and butter and got a really good product. Served with a side of german potato salad. (does anyone have any good recipes or tips for the latter to take it from good/really good to great?)