Cooking With Beer: Bratwurst

Boiling bratwurst in my choice of beer is an experiment that's in it's fairly early stages. To me, it was never as simple as just tossing the links on the grill and the entire process was over. I've always tried to incorporate as much beer as possible into the cooking of bratwurst, just not as a drink pairing after the meal was finished.

Image via Wikipedia

Cook em' baby.

The best bratwurst I ever had was while on a family vacation during my high school years. One of my uncles decided to make a pot of the infamous sausage. I noticed that he boiled/simmered them in a pot of beer and onions for approximately half an hour.

When it came time for dinner, I was instantly transported to the quaint bier gardens of Germany. the only thing that was missing was a nice pint of lager. Only I was a bit too young to realize it.

Every other week or so I grill or boil myself some brats. I've always used a 50/50 mix of water and beer in my boiling pot. From time to time I switch up which beer I use for the boiling. Beers I've used include the following:

• Church Brew Works Thunder Hop IPA
• Yuengling Traditional Lager
• Sam Adam's Oktoberfest
• Penn Brewery Oktoberfest

It's always been a tough decision on what beer to use in the boiling process due to being overcome with a feeling of guilt. So, it takes a bit of convincing to tell myself that the beer is being spent for a worthwhile cause.

Always make sure to take a fork and puncture the links a few times prior to boiling. This ensures that the beer soaks its way into the meat deeper than it normally would. I try to add onions to the mixture every chance I get. The onions add a little more kick. I add some sea salt and pepper then boil for about 15 minutes. Toss them on the grill for another 10-15 minutes and you've got one hell of a dinner.

Recommended Beer Pairings: You can't go wrong with any traditional German styles such as Oktoberfests/Marzenbiers and more.

I'm always looking for new ideas to cook with so I'm always open for tips and suggestions. Please let me know what you think!