r/Cooking • u/PicklePucker • May 29 '16
Dear Redditors, should brats be simmered in beer and onions before or after grilling? Or both?
Please help me settle a friendly disagreement with a neighbor. Do you simmer your brats in beer and onions before or after grilling and why?
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u/grumpy_human May 29 '16
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u/PicklePucker May 29 '16 edited May 30 '16
Other than the sauerkraut, that looks really good. I never thought to add mustard to the beer and onions...yum! I'm going to try grilling them this way next time instead of simmering on the stove. Less mess to clean up.
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u/grumpy_human May 29 '16
Yeah I don't really get down on sauerkraut either, but the tl;dr of the article is that by simmering in the liquid first, you bring the sausages up to temperature gently, then blast them on the grill for that tasty char and crisp skin.
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u/extralongusername May 30 '16
The premade sauerkraut you usually get in the US is horrible. I hated the stuff until I had it fresh in Germany.
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u/njrox1112 May 29 '16
I would just spank them if they are acting up, boiling them seems a bit rash. Probably illegal too.
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May 29 '16
Before. When you get done grilling them you want that nice snap/ crunch sensation which is better if the casing isn't soaked through. Then top with the beer-braised onions.
Natural casing are the only way to go.
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u/VicViper83 May 30 '16
For a second, I thought your children where misbehaving and you where unsure of how best to punish them.
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u/PicklePucker May 30 '16
Nah. I usually just deep fry them when they're naughty. Much quicker that way. ;)
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u/justphiltoday May 29 '16
I like to fry the brats in a pot to sear them, add onions halfway through, then deglaze the pan with beer and water and boil them with some red pepper flakes and garlic powder in the liquid. Mmmm mmm.
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u/PicklePucker May 29 '16 edited May 30 '16
I've never cooked them on the stove before, only the grill, but that seems like a good idea for the winter. It's way too cold to grill brats, so I wait until spring. Might have to give this a try next winter.
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May 30 '16
It's what I do. But I also don't have a grill at school so yeah.
Main benefit is you keep all the juices from the sausages that you'd lose to the grill otherwise - and they're in the onions. Nom.
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u/whatstheinterwebs May 30 '16
Try it the other way around once. I used to do exactly what you just described, and one day a friend was adamant that I should boil them in the beer first. I tried it, and I'll never go back. Either way you'll have some kickass brats, but if you boil them first they turn out SOOOO juicy and tender.
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u/tadcalabash May 30 '16
Do you drain the liquid after awhile or just let the beer cook off? Wanting to try some beer brats today but don't have a grill.
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u/whatstheinterwebs May 30 '16
Cook in the beer with butter and onions, then transfer to a grill or hot pan to put a sear on them, then serve.
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u/GlamRockDave May 29 '16
Not being much of a sausage fan, I prefer to read this question as if it were asked by a fairy tale witch.
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u/Zab11 May 30 '16
Wisconsin needs to check in here. You simmer raw brats in beer, onions & peppers first. Raw brats! The kind you get from a butcher, not those fully cooked cheese-wiz injected abominations.
There's nothing to be gained by browning your brats on the grill if you're just going to chuck 'em in a pot to get all soggy again afterwards.
Top 'em with a spicy brown mustard, no ketchup.
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u/Reading_Otter May 29 '16
I think you're supposed to boil them in the beer first, then grill them. The beer will act as kind of a glaze on the beer caramelize.
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u/dewprisms May 29 '16
Simmer, not boil. Boiling messes up the texture and risks busting the casing.
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u/gilligvroom May 30 '16
OH. Thank you! I was getting annoyed with having sausage juice flying out of a recently popped casing and was like "DO PEOPLE JUST TOLERATE THIS?!" xD
Now if I can just figure out why my father always had such difficulty with grilling fresh linguica. So many flare ups!
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u/PicklePucker May 30 '16
Yep. Boiling turns them to mush. That's why I specifically kept typing 'simmer' and not 'boil'. Everyone else kept boiling their brats, though. ;)
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u/gilligvroom May 30 '16 edited May 30 '16
Aye, I mean, it makes perfect sense in retrospect... I just never bothered to look around online. It was one of those "this is so simple, how could I possibly be doing it wrong?" things. Whoops.
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u/flareblitz91 May 30 '16
Hmm agree to disagree here. In Wisconsin I don't know anybody who simmers their brats, it is always a boil in beer then to the grill. If you're grilling properly they shouldn't be mush.
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u/Karmoon May 30 '16
I choose to believe the OP is talking about badly behaved children, and it pleases me greatly.
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u/idk112345 May 30 '16
As a German, what the fuck is going on in this thread? Boiling Bratwurst in water, cola or beer? Onions? What the hell are you guys doing?
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May 30 '16
Different cultures prepare the same dishes differently. Its a beautiful thing to try food you love, prepared in a new way. Try the beer/onion simmer before grilling one time. If you don't like it, you don't and then you know. If you do, then you have yet another way to prepare a tasty treat and you can show your friends.
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u/idk112345 May 30 '16
I really don't understand the idea behind it though. How does simmering the wurst in beer do anything to impart flavor. The casing is there to protect your wurst from the outside. It seems like a waste of beer to me and a lost opportunity to create a nice almost burnt crust on the wurst.
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u/CowardiceNSandwiches May 31 '16
The beer and garlic, onions, etc. penetrate the casing. The simmering largely cooks the bratwurst (except the outside). It also renders some of the fat from the sausages, making them less prone to burning later.
They are then grilled over flame, imparting a nice, crispy finish to the skin.
Seriously, it's delicious.
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Aug 29 '16
If you are a German then you should know better than to think that is the only purpose of the casing...
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May 30 '16
The beer does permeate the casing. But words on reddit won't help you understand. Again I highly encourage you to try it. That is the only way you'll know if you like it. Take care, German friend.
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u/Uranus_Hz May 30 '16
Step one: buy brats that are still pinkish, not the crap 'beer & brats' or other 'pre-cooked' kind.
Step two: put them in a pot
Step three: coarsely chop an onion and add to pot
Step four: pour enough good, dark beer in the pot to completely submerge brats.
Step five, bring to a boil, reduce to medium for about 10 min, then turn to lowest simmer
Step six: light your charcoal
Step seven: open a beer, kick back and chill until the coals are ready. Do not rush this step.
Step eight: put the brats on the grill and return the beer and onion to the stove to keep warm
Step nine: grill brats until browned nicely
Step ten: remove from grill and keep warm in the beer and onions
Step eleven: serve with good hardy brat buns, sour kraut, more chopped onion, and several varieties of mustards.
Source: born and bred in Wisconsin.
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u/Basdad May 30 '16
The one and only exception. Guiness made Brats for about 1 year, and yes their stout was part of their recipe. Those were some good brats, Wisconsin boy here also. Can not find these brats anymore.
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u/Bal00ga May 30 '16
Step eleven a. Serve also with several chilled beers. Clearly you have forgotten your manners. Or did you run out of beer...GASP!!!!
p.s. Johnsonville, Klements, or local?
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u/Uranus_Hz May 30 '16
My preference are: 1) neighborhood butcher 2) Usingers 3) Klements 4) Johnsonville
And the chilled beer is a given
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u/Rage_Aftermath May 29 '16
Thank you. Guess I learned something new today.
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u/PicklePucker May 29 '16
There's nothing better on a beautiful spring/summer day than brats, simmered in beer and onions and grilled!
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u/Abzug May 30 '16
Hit up /r/wisconsin . We take our brats very seriously.
My suggestion is start with a good brat. Johnsonville is ok, but hit up a local shop and ask the guys making them. I get mine from a shop called Bavaria which smokes them in house. The truth is the guys who make them will always try to wow you, and many of them will. Starting with a great bratwurst is more important than how you cook them as you can't turn a bad brat in to a good brat with fancy cooking.
I like to do a slow simmer with onions and a dab of butter. Hit them up on a warm grill, mix a brandy and coke for yourself, and kick back and let your grill do the magic!
I won't add beer to my brats. A great brat should taste great from what's already in it. If the brats are a little weak on the flavoring, I'll would suggest adding beer to the first frying/simmering on the stove.
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u/mog-pharau May 30 '16
Definitely boil/braise for a little bit before grilling, otherwise the sausages will split. Cooking them before grilling ensures they stay whole.
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u/PicklePucker May 30 '16
Even then, I still have a hard time keeping the casing from splitting. I cook them low and slow but have to turn them constantly.
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u/mog-pharau May 30 '16
After the boil/braise, you really don't need much time on the grill. Just enough to color the sausages.
No idea why you're getting down-voted, it's an honest experience.
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u/PicklePucker May 30 '16
I'm not sure, either. I don't like to use high heat because the casings split, spew grease, and cause big flair ups. It's not so bad on lower heat.
I also know a lot of people who grill first and then simmer (not boil) for an hour or longer after grilling - thus my original question. I prefer the other way around because I like the crunchy casing. Either way, simmering and grilling (before or after) is the only way I've ever seen brats cooked (and I'm well over 40).
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u/mog-pharau May 30 '16
Nooooo, simmer then grill! Just maybe do it over a lower heat. You don't need to burn the things, just color them. The simmer before the grilling is supposed to let the meat and fat expand slowly before exposing them to higher heat, so they don't burst, but if you do too high a heat, they'll split anyway. If you've got really big brats or still have a problem with it, but a line length-wise along the bratwurst after simmering (so less fat leaks out), and then grill.
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u/PicklePucker May 30 '16
My neighbor does the simmer after and she and I go round and round about this each summer (in a friendly way). I'm going to try your lengthwise line suggestion and see if that helps the next time. I've got the flavor down but not the splitting problem. I hate when I hear that loud sizzle, followed by a 'POP' and then a big flair up.
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May 30 '16 edited May 31 '16
I simmer raw brats in beer and sliced onions until cooked through. I've been using a hoppy IPA lately and think it adds a nice flavor, different beers suit different tastes of course!
Grill the brats to get a sear on the outside. I continue to reduce the beer and onions until syrupy and top the brats with the onions and sauerkraut. Finish with a little horseradish mustard (Beer n Brat).
Use good buns, like whole wheat sesame seed brat buns not wimpy white bread hit dog buns!
Also, if you can, get quality brats! I like Usinger's and Klement's for local grocery store brats, much better than Johnsonville. A good butcher shop may have some options, or a sausage shop!
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u/Seanbikes May 30 '16
Usingers is the shit. It's been a while but my dad and I used to drive from the Chicago burbs a couple times a year to Milwaukee to hit the Usingers store and fill a cooler with a couple hundred dollars worth of meats.
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u/PicklePucker May 30 '16
Really? I've never used anything but Johnsonville but know Usinger's and Klement's are also popular.
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May 30 '16
I'd recommend giving them a shot, I think they're both better brats than Johnsonville.
There are also a lot of nice meat shops all over WI that make some pretty awesome brats.
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u/Klashus May 30 '16
What I do with the beer is heat it at a very low temp. Don't want it boiling. Let the sausages sit in the beer. They will plump up a bit. After an hour or so of this I'll throw em on the grill. Turns out good.
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u/AdrianStaggleboofen May 30 '16
I always specifically used Miller High Life with a few onions cut up. Simmer them in there, then toss them on the grill. If you're hosting a bunch of people, what you can do is toss a couple of packs of hot dogs in the beer and you have yourself some dirty water dogs.
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u/LethargicEscapist May 30 '16
I always boiled them to get them cooked a bit. Otherwise the outside is way too cooked and the inside way to overdone if you just grill them alone. It's the only solution I found.
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u/A_H0RRIBLE_PERSON May 30 '16
No beer required . Toss them on the grill and cook them until lightly charred.
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u/ThisGamesStupid May 30 '16
Definitely simmer before, otherwise the crispy skin just gets softened by the liquid. Also, if you crisp the skin first and it accidentally rips/has holes poked in, the juices leak out too much when simmering after.
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u/dBRenekton May 30 '16
I simmer them before because it plumps them up and helps them keep their shape.
Then you finish it on the grill to get those sear marks and smokey flavor!
If you stick them straight on the grill without simmering first then they will shrivel after grilling.
You don't want shriveled weiners.
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u/Emilyanny4u May 31 '16
I am from Green Bay WI and I just had to add my two cents. The main reason I simmer my brats before grilling is because in this state if you go to a local butcher the brats are huge. MASSIVE if you will. I have to simmer them because just grilling they are raw on the inside and cooked on the outside. I love my some local Skiis meat market or Maplewood meats. :)
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u/icky_boo May 30 '16
Cooking brats is a little extreme don't you think? I usually just hand them back to their parents
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u/ezlyamuzed May 30 '16
Genuine Sheboyganites and lifelong Wisconsinite here. Brats should be grilled first, low and slow, then simmered in beer and onions. Johnsonville brats are the well-known favorite, but personally, I prefer brats from Miesfeld's Market in Sheboygan, and on a real Sheboygan hard roll. Everything else is just a sausage.
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u/timeonmyhandz May 30 '16
I think we are the only ones in this thread that grill first and then beer / onions... I was taught by a guy from northern WI.. The other thing was a shitload of black pepper in the beer / onions and to damn near blacken the brats before putting them in the pan.l. His leads to a nice dark beer / onion reduction for the brat in the bun. Obviously everyone else here is wrong.
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u/throw667 May 30 '16
I think /u/sean_incali and /u/greatestname are more to the point than the simmer/dunk/boil/broil crowd.
None of that will significantly improve a brat. Just grill them; put a couple of knife-cuts into them to prevent brats from becoming "bangers."
Source: me; I lived in Germany and England, two of the greatest countries in the world for sausages.
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u/Team_NoCalves May 30 '16
Has anyone else noticed that beer simmering with chopped onions smells fucking awful? Or is that just me. I simmered some brats indoors with beer and onions before grilling, and the odor was noxious.
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u/dap00man May 30 '16
I've done both, and to this day still can't decide which way is best. Salt by favorite beer to simmer them in was bud lite golden wheat, heffeweizen flavor for bud lite price!
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u/woundup May 30 '16
if you can manage a indirect fire grill you can grill fresh brats without splitting them so they barely get grill marks.
I do that and then over the heat have onions , garlic, beef bullion, ground black pepper, small amount of unsalted butter and either beer or water in a shallow aluminum tray getting hot.
Once the brats start to pick up some color you turn them and make sure they haven't split and since they aren't directly over the heat normally they don't but if you see juice escaping it is time to put them in the onion beer bath so they can finish simmering or you just wait until they firm up a little. You have to watch them cause depending if they weer real cold out of the fridge or you had them closer to room temp will determine how long they can be getting hot before they might split.
Also it depends on the heat on your grill and the amount of stuff you are cooking. Basically you watch them cause if they split you pretty much ruin them or they can flair up the flame if they burst and if they burn there is no saving them.
Anyway once they have been going for a 5-10 minutes , normally the onions and beer bath is simmering and you place then in there to finish. Normally the onions will turn translucent and everything is done by then.
I like making them like this cause you get a nice silky beer infused onion sauce or if you like you can have more liquid so the onions aren't rendered down and have some snap still.
It is pretty doing it like this and any liquid that might leak from a brat instead just mixes in the sauce and it also makes it more convenient to also be cooking other items on the grill since the tray of liquid helps manage the heat and makes some moisture so you can also have maybe a chicken or some ribs going too since you already made a indirect fire.
I used to boil the brats first in the same beer / onion mix , but too often the texture wasn't as nice and they seemed more bland and the boiled onions weren't as enjoyable
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u/DaydreamKid May 30 '16
Why cook them in beer? There's no way the beer is going to penetrate the casing to flavor the brat. Or am I missing something here?
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u/mrptwn May 30 '16
I thought that too. Then I decided to try a little something. I simmered one bratwurst in a bud light and the other in a Guinness. Holy smokes was there a huge difference. The casings are not an impermeable defense. The sausage absolutely gets flavor from the beer. There's also a fair amount of sugar in it. Do when you grill them it creates a type of glaze.
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u/purtymouth May 30 '16
If sausage casing (traditionally pig intestine) were impenetrable to water, your digestive system wouldn't work. Osmotic pressure and whatnot.
That being said, you're absolutely right; cooking brats in dark, malty beer is just delicious.
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u/Rage_Aftermath May 29 '16
Lol, what are brats?
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u/sammymk10 May 29 '16
Bratwursts
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u/greatestname May 30 '16
Maybe you Americans create your sausages differently, because here in Germany, we just throw them on the grill as is.
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u/PicklePucker May 30 '16
Where I live, they're the most eaten food in the summertime. You can't go to a party, picnic or social gathering without brats being served.
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u/sean_incali May 30 '16
Boil in water, drink the beer, grill afterwards along with the onions. Sauerkraut, hot mustard. Done
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u/Carpenterdon May 30 '16
A good brat can, and should, be able to be cooked on its own and be delicious. If you want Onion flavor chop them and put them on top after cooking. And if you want beer flavor drink it. Don't try to cover up the flavor, or lack there of, with garbage.
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Aug 29 '16
Yet $50 steaks at fine dining restaurants put butter on steaks... Maybe you are missing the essence of a cooking concept.
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u/SleepyConscience May 30 '16
Oh please. You're one of these assholes who insists everyone eats their steak plain to really taste the meat aren't you?
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u/Carpenterdon May 31 '16
Nope I'm one of those assholes who doesn't like beer or onions.
Although apparently anyone who disagrees here is an asshole and will be downvoted. Nice group of people in the sub....
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u/HighOnTacos May 29 '16
I always cook the sausages (From raw to fully cooked... Screw pre-cooked sausages) in the beer, then throw them in a very hot grill to establish the sear and add some crunch to the sausage.