Cooking Brats

[Don Guillette]

I ain't Emeril Lagasse and this ain't the cooking forum but a dock neighbor friend of mine from Long Beach, Ca called me about a problem he has cooking brats on his boats Magma grill. I have the largest Magma and I when I sold my boat it did not go with the boat - I now use it with my land yacht. I love that grill.He told me everytime he cooks brats they flare up on him and his grill is like a forest fire. As with sail trim questions, my first question is always - what are you doing to the sails or the brats? First he said I just cook them on the grill. Wrong answer - they just burst and all the flavor and seasoning run out onto the fire and it flares up. The brats taste like beef jerky. Next he said he tried pricking them with a pin before he put them on the grill. Wrong answer - now all the seasioning the sausage maker put into the casing REALLy run out onto the fire.Here's the way I told him I cook my brats. A cheese head friend of mine from Wisconson taught me a long time ago. First I prepare a concoction of beer, 1/4 cube of butter, some tabasco and a few other spices in a alum pan. I heat that up on the Magma grill. When it starts to simmer I put the brats on the grill, slowly turning them. Soon they will start to leak just a little. This is where you have to be careful. You don't want them to burst so move them around. Just before they are ready to burst (how do I know that time - I don't know. It is like sail trim - I just know!!) you want to tranfer them to the alum pan and let them simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes. They are then ready to eat. You can keep them simmering longer if you wnt to.Last monday I got another call from a dock neighbor who told me he ate the best tasting brats he ever tasted at a dock party the day before. I asked him who cooked them and how did he cook them. I'm sure you all know the answer to both those questions!! I'm always open to new ideas - anyone got anything they woud like to add to enhance the brats.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Magma's own instructions say that

it burns HOT.So, being a guy I ignore the directions until I find out the machine is overcooking my food and blame the machine! Right?

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

What if you did it the other way round...

Simmer 'em first to draw all the grease out of 'em, then on the grill to "toast" 'em? Took me a second to realize you were talking about bratwurst, not obnoxious children!

 

[r.w.landau]

Don, if you had Wisconsin Brats, they

must have been Ushingers (spelling)of Milwaukee. There is no doubt in my mind that they make the best. I have have Johnsonville here in Pa. but Ushingers was far better. I went to engineering school in Milwaukee.Good food cooked right..... is almost as good as a boat.r.w.landau

 

[jimq26]

Peggy's right - simmer first - sizzle after.

Thought every sailor knew that. You have to get the grease out first.Doesn't take much - maybe a couple of tablespoons of water with some seasonings if you like - simmer for about 10-15 minutes turning often.Then crisp them up on the grill.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Not brats, but hot dogs...the best on the planet

Are Hebrew National! They're all beef Kosher hot dogs, but you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy 'em.

 

[Rick Webb]

Just Like You Do Don

On my Weber I rotate them through the beer and butter pan on the grill and right on to the grate. Have not tried to do it on the Magma I think I would just leave them in the beer as it burns too hot and is too small to rotate them through.

 

[Russell10327]

You need beer (don't we all)

You need BeerHere is how we do them in BostonBoil the brats on the stove in beer to cook them through (brats are typically fold raw) BTW this can be done at home before even going to the boat.Then put them on the grill to re-heat and crisp them up.Crisp on the outside, juicy (and cooked) on the inside.

 

[r.w.landau]

Peggy, I must say that I save it up to have Brats.

The grease and fat is the best part! I would never think of boiling it off!OK, so i could qualify to be on the biggest loser, BUT, brats are meant to be eaten in thier entirety.... Like Don said, you don't want to loose what the Brat-Meister took the time to put in.I do have to disagree with Don on one point, Brats should be slowly and wonderfully cooked with nothing else.For those who know brats as the white brat, that is not what I am talking about. The Brat I am talking about is the one that looks like, has the same coloring, as a Bob Evans breakfast sausage.r.w.landau

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Hey, I just asked!

 

[Ross]

I rather like them simmered

with sauerkraut. Grilled slowly until they are just starting to spit is the most convenient way. What ever you do don't over cook them.

 

[Rick Webb]

Sauerkraut is Good

I prefer mine with red cabbage, pan fried potatos or spaetzel and a Spatlese. Damn I'm getting hungry now.

 

[Rick]

Cheesehead solution

Don, try adding vertically sliced onion, yellow mustard and a little garlic to your beer solution, grill ever so delicately so they don't burst, remove from the flame and let those babies simmer for about a half hour. Saute some onion and sauerkraut, caraway seed is optional, and add to your brat along with brown horseradish mustard served on a good Sheboygan hard roll. Usinger, Johnsonville, Klements, and Sheboygan brats are all great. A good destination is the annual Brat Fest in Sheboygan, WI along the pristine waters of Lake Michigan. Yum Yum...break out the Weber.

 

[Dick of Sylvan]

Brats-- Love the smoke.

Don: My four years in Madison, Wisconsin taught me to first lightly brown the brats over charcoal, then place in pan in the barbeque which contains the contents of a can of Schlitz where they are boiled for about 45 minutes. I wonder though, has anyone tried the non-alcoholic beers for the second step herein? If you get over to Phoenix, stop by a Sprouts market and try their "Bangers" which cook up this way very nicely. RK

 

[cole Hankins]

I slice my brots length wise

If you slice the brots lenght wise they dont roll off or burst. And, you get the lovely grill marks. All the stuff that you conjer up, works into the meat and not just sitting on the casing waiting to burn when you turn your head. Try the brots in BJ's or costco they do have the emeril types and they are worth every dime. I also found it easier to dress the brots in the bun when it is slit. For a change try the bavarian type sourkraut It is a little sweet. Goes great with a yuengling black and tan! Sorry for you left side types.