The Brat Cook-off

One tailgating staple is the brat and my favorite is the good old fashion beer brat. However, with so many recipes on the internet, it is hard to know which method to use to cook them. I took that as a challenge and bought a lot of brats and beer and found a willing victim, I mean tester and went to work making my beer brats three different ways:

Crockpot Method

First, I started with the crockpot cook method. The concept here is that you put your brats in the crockpot, add a can or two of beer and then let them chill while the brats absorb the beer and cook away.

Boil and Grill Method

The second method attempted was the boiled and grilled method. These brats were brought to a boil in beer, beef broth, onion, and garlic, then left to simmer until they are removed and placed on the grill.

Again PBR was used as the beer.

Sear and Boil Method

The third and final method was the sear and boil method. These were seared for 3-5 minutes on each side then sweated with onions. Once they were sweated, the beer was added and they simmered until done.

The Results!

There was a clear winner in this cook-off and it was the boiled and grilled method! The recipe will be at the bottom of this post to make sure you too can have delicious beer brats to enjoy. However, first let's go through what was looked at to determine the winner.

Cooking Method - The pan seared brats were undercooked. Part of me wonders if the boiling should have happened before the searing. We tried to put them on the grill to finish up the cooking, but that didn't work. The crock-pot brats also were initially undercooked, but we redeemed them by grilling them for a few minutes. The boiled and grilled brats had the perfect cook with lovely grill marks. They didn't need a second time through the grill.

Juiciness - The pan seared brats that we were able to salvage were extremely dry. The crock-pot cooked ones had a nice juice to them and allowed for the beer flavor to come out. The boiled and grilled were the juiciest. They were dripping as you ate them. It was glorious.

Looks - The pan seared had the best color. The crock-pot brats had the least color. See for yourself below.

Grilled in the front and front left. Seared in the center and on the right. Crock-pot in the back.

Taste - The seared did not pick up the beer taste at all. The crock-pot and boiled methods both picked up the beer taste very well.

Now You Can Make The Winner Yourself!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 White Onion
• 1 Tablespoon Garlic
• 3-5 Fresh, Not Precooked Brats
• 2 Cans of Beer, I used PBR
• 1 14.5 oz Can of Beef Broth

Recipe:

1. Cut the half on white onion into 1/4" strips from top to bottom.
2. Add all the ingredients, except one beer, to a medium sized pot.
3. Add enough beer from the second can to fully cover the brats.
4. Give it a stir to merge the ingredients.
5. Bring the mixture to a boil.
6. Reduce the heat and then simmer for 30 minutes.
7. Remove the brats and transfer them to the grill.
8. Cook until done.

I hope that you can use these steps to have a successful BBQ where delicious beer brats are served.

-KT