Bratwurst: give them a bath!

Bratwurst is the king of sausage in Wisconsin, even having songs written in its honor such as “The First Bratwurst of Summer” by Those Darn Accordions. To some the Robin is the sign for spring, but for hardcore brat fans it is the first whiff of charcoal stater and the sizzle as the first brat of summer hits the grill. Though boasting German roots, the sausage is in reality Wisconsin's native son, having been formulated and prepared there in the early 20s. One has to realize Wisconsin was blessed with a large German immigrant population and they brought their food with them. As with all immigrants they were forced to modify their dishes to accommodate local ingredients.

The brat is a simple sausage being composed of some combination of veal, beef, and pork. They are usually spiced with mace, nutmeg, salt, and white pepper. The amounts and types vary form region to region and even from store to store – not all bratwurst is created equal. Fresh is the best choice usually, but it may take some hunting to find good fresh sausages. Safeway on Waddell and Litchfield in Surprise, AZ has some very good bratwurst, carefully tested. Thought the butcher claimed they were local, the brats turned out to be made in Tucson. A lot shorter truck ride than Johnsonville brats and the Safeway brats were never frozen. There may be an even better route and making them from scratch at home is an avenue worth exploring. Wherever the brats come from it is important to pick the best, fine grained less fat, and no floor sweepings. Johnsonville will do in a pinch, whole foods has some great fresh ones, and as stated earlier the Safeway sausage in the butcher's case isn't too shabby. It will cost a bit more to buy fresh or premium, but the end result is only as good as what went into the process.

Once home there are several options, commit them immediately to a hot grill with indirect heat, boil them a bit, or pan fry. If there was an 11th commandment it would be “Thou shalt always grill your bratwurst.” It is hard to say which came first, the grill or the bratwurst, but the bottom line is that they were made for each other. Purists would scoff at those who tamper with the process, however, there is a way to really pick up the flavor and it does involve pre-boiling. The boiling isn't to appease the porkophobes that are sure trichinosis lurks behind every molecule of uncoo0ked pork,but rather to introduce flavors from the soul-mate of the brat, beer. There is a law, or if not there should be one, that anyone grilling bratwurst must have a beer in hand at all times. Beer and brats are like twins separated at birth and it is the duty of the grillmeister to reunite them.

This simple step will bring the brat to the next level and impress your friends and family, no really!! Pour a two beers into a sauce pan (I know it is tough pouring the beer out instead of drinking it, but it needs to be done). Drop in 4-6 brats, 1 small onion quartered, 2 Tbs of butter, a big pinch of kosher salt, and 1 Tsp of dried red pepper flakes. The brats should be covered by the beer, if not, add a bit more. Be sure to drink any beer left in the bottles, wouldn't want it to go to waste. Oh, quick note about the beer one uses - once again, crap in crap out only use one of the over processed commercial beers if trying to create a talisman to keep vultures out of the back yard. In other words, use the good stuff.

Bring the pot up to a boil, then drop to a simmer. Allow to simmer for around 20 minutes or until the brats are done through. Towards the end of the cooking process, fire up the grill. Fish the brats out of the beer bath and drop them on to the grill (indirect heat) to crisp up. Remember they are already cooked, this step adds a nice mouth feel, and if one wishes a bit of smoke – drop some hickory or mesquite on the coals to infuse them with that smoky tang.

The last and best step is to pop a top on another Fat tire or Kilt Lifters, drop the sausage into a hearty fresh baked bun, top with a bit of mustard and eat. Beer, brats, and good friends on a beautiful Arizona day, it just doesn't get any better than that!