Sunday, October 20, 2013

A few words about beer-boiled brats

Now, let's get things clear; we're speaking of bratwurst.  German sausage.  Under no circumstances should you boil your children in anything, even if they did just wreck the new Benz.

Jen was all nostalgic for a taste of the Northland, so we did up some beer-boiled brats(pronounced "brahts").  For those who are curious about this delicacy, a few tips are in order, thus:

1)  Johnsonville is synonymous with bratwurst.  Period, end of story.  Ask anybody from Minnesota, Wisconsin or any other north-central state--if it ain't Johnsonville, it ain't a real brat.

2)  When beer-boiling, use a real, straight-up German beer, such as Beck's.  This will add something amazing and wonderful to the brats, known as "flavor."  Cooking with American corporate beer is on the level of using soda water, for all the taste it ends up adding.

3)  Use just enough beer to cover the brats in your pan/skillet/whatever.  Boil, covered, for about 10-12 minutes and they're ready to go.

4)  Brat purists top them with sauerkraut only, though some people consider relish and/or mustard to be acceptable toppings.  If you put ketchup on a brat in Minnesota, I'm pretty sure you can be legally shot.

It's a simple and hearty meal.  Give it a try sometime!

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