Wisconsin Bratwurst Recipe

Didn’t think something so simple could taste so good.

While these brats were good, I feel that I can only rate the recipe as 3 stars because I did not prick the bratwurst until they were on the grill. You will lose flavoring in the brats if you prick them in the boiling process. I also, melted the butter in the stock pot, added and sautéed the thinly sliced onion until the onions were tender. Then, added the links, and poured in 3 bottles of Leinenkugel Red Lager. Simmered for 20 minutes and finished them off on the grill. Note: After removing the brats from the liquid, I continued to simmer the onion/beer and after putting the brat in the brat/sausage bun, put some of the onions on top, and topped off the sausage with some spicy brown mustard. Delicious!

WI man here. 2 things ruin this recipe: 1.) don't pierce the skin of your brats. That causes all of the flavor to leak out. This is ALSO why you NEVER want to boil them. Which brings me to point 2: 2.) If you REALLY want to get that beer flavor, don't use a stock pot, and don't use a stove. Use a crock pot. Fill it with beer, onions, some fresh garlic, maybe some Worcestershire sauce, and whatever else you have sitting around the house that you care to experiment with (I like to use a couple tablespoons of sriracha, personally). Cook on high for 4-6 hours, and then grill on low-medium heat for all of a minute to just crisp the outside. If you want even MORE beer flavor, then before you throw them on the grill, stick them in a skillet and caramelize them in a little bit of butter and a VERY shallow pool of beer. The sugars from the beer will produce a brown coating that is simply delectable. REMEMBER: be careful NOT to break the skins! Recommended beers: A milk stout, an amber ale, a nut brown, or a porter. Beers to avoid: Anything hoppy (e.g. pale ales). Yes, it will make your brats bitter; not bad for beer in itself, but for brats it's friggin' disgusting.

This is my favorite way of preparing brats! I have on occasions sautéed onions, green and red bell peppers then added brown sugar and brown mustard along with drained sauerkraut. Makes an excellent topping for the brats!

I gave this 5 starts for simplicity but did make changes. I didn't use any butter and I added a full, thinly sliced red pepper. I first browned the brats in olive oil (using a cast iron dutch oven) for about 10 minutes, then added the onion, red pepper and beer and let that simmer for a good 20-25 minutes. Then I put them on the grill for about 5 minutes. Came out perfect.

Good base recipe but we had to make some substantial changes. First, never poke your brats. They'll loose moisture and get really dry. We added fresh cabbage, cut into wedges, rather than topping with sauerkraut. I also added whole carrots, trimmed & peeled, fresh onions, cut into wedges & added some beef broth to the beer during the simmering process. After we simmered these, we wrapped it all in foil & grilled it. I served it on sesame hoagie buns. Rather than topping them with sauerkraut & catsup, we topped them with the cabbage, onions & carrots. we did still use stone ground spicy brown mustard. The fresh veggies made it brighter. We thought it was really good.

These were wonderful. We had a big end of the year party this past Friday at a Boys & Girls Club where I work. Since some of the kids requested brats instead of hamburgers and hot dogs I decided to try this recipe. We had 177 kids attend ranging from age 6 to 14 years show up for the party and the brats were gone in 15 minutes. I wasn't sure how many would be ate so I only made 50, I wish I had made more. I threw them in my electric roaster with one pound of butter and eight finely sliced onions and a 12 pack of Milwaukees Best beer. I DID NOT POKE HOLES IN THE BRATS. I cooked on 300 for two hours. Then we grilled them and the kids, many who hadn't had brats loved them along with our volunteer parents. The grilled onions were also great but many of the kids wouldn't try them but the ones who did along with the parents loved them. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe. I will use this one for now on.

Smoky & moist. The butter created a lot of smoke on the grill, which gave the brats a fantastic smokey flavor. The prior simmering kept the brats moist inside & out, preventing a crisp skin - moistness & smokiness was preferable to crispness in the case of WholeFoods' store-made brats. I know because I tested 3 brats on the grill without simmering - dry! Also, I found that 1/4 c butter & 2 beers was fine for 3-1/2 lbs brats.

this sounds like a basic receipe. take onion red bell and yellow bell pepper sliced thin add brown sugar 1 tbs. 1 tbs chillie powder add beer after brats are cooked keep cooking down to reduce to thick put in bowl add ketchup and hot sauce to taste put over the grilled brats and enjoy

This is an excellent recipe with a few very minor tweaks. I do agree with one reviewer who said do not poke the brats with a fork. Their goes all the juices! And ketchup is a huge no-no! I use half beer/half water - still good results. Something I tried recently from multiple suggestions was grill the brats first, THEN put in the water and simmer. They plump up nicely that way and still retain quite a bit of the grilled flavor. The worcesteshire sauce is a great addition that I will always use from now on. Thanks for posting this!

I have been making a variation of this recipe for years. The brat is always juicy and so tasty. As with the last reviewer, I too add peppers and onions. I preheat the BBQ to 350 degrees or medium and prepare long skinny strips of orange and yellow peppers, sweet onions, fresh ground pepper, coarse sea salt, 3 Tbs of butter and 3 diced cloves of fresh garlic. Wrapping them carefully in high-heat tin-foil, I place them on the top shelf of my BBQ at the same time the brats are placed into the beer mixture to boil. Be sure to turn the foil at least four times to ensure that no burning takes place. As the brats cook about 20 minutes in the beer and another 10 on the grill, this 30 minute "steaming" of the peppers and onions has never failed me and is so tasty. Lastly, I too would recommend fresh bratwurst. But, like most of you, can't seem to find it. A great alternative is the Johnsonville Beer Brat. Ask your grocer for it by name. This product is hard to find, but once you do, it makes these brats even better as they are already infused with beer.

Good. Halved the recipe, even then it was a lot of beer.

Tried it for a gathering — huge success.

I give it three stars.. because i decided to make my own brats and marinated the meat in beer before seasoning and grinding. I refuse to use store bought commercialized brats. that way you make it with the beer and just grill it. i am not from Wisconsin but i am a Cheese head!!!

I use a Brat cooker. Perfect every time! We live in WI and love our Brats!!

Disappointing. Just grilling works better.

I bump this up a bit by adding a pat of butter to add some fat ( witch I’m told is done in Wisconsin) also some bay leaves and ground or Dijon mustard to the beer bath

Loved this! For those of us who have fallen into the habit of just heating “healthy”, reduced-fat, pre-cooked sausage for quick meals, you will be reminded of how delicious real bratwurst is. The onions are not the star of this recipe, but they are delicious too. Add a side of boiled, buttered potatoes and some sauerkraut, and life will be good. Very good in fact! It’s ok, you can go back on your diet tomorrow.

I’m from the south (Oklahoma) but I learn to make Bratwurst from a some guys from Wisconsin. Many people from Oklahoma don’t know what a brat is and finding one that tastes authentic is nearly impossible around here. I cooked them for years for my family and we always enjoyed them but I had gotten away from what the guys from Wisconsin taught me about how to properly cook them. When I found this recipe and tried it out it all came back and these brats are the most authentic best tasting brats I have had period. Thank you for sharing!!

I’m a purist when it comes to brats!