It's Fall. Time for Brats!
Walking through Prospect Park yesterday morning I was met with a bright blue sky and a very brisk breeze. Fall had arrived - its since completely left in favor of a return to summer - but at the time it put me in the mood for a bratwurst. I can get busy with almost any sausage (what did he just say?), but I adore a bratwurst with onions and peppers on a fall afternoon... or better yet, enjoying one at a saturday Oktoberfest with a stein of beer. Unfortunately its a little early for that, but once i had bratwurst on the brain, I had to cook one up.
This approach yields a perfectly juicy and crispy bratwurst sandwich. After all was said and done, I was quite pleased with myself! Its super easy, and really terrific. The only error on my part was not confirming i had a spicy brown mustard in the fridge. After everything was assembled I found a fridge with only dijon in it. It worked out fine, but definitely pick up a bottle of Gulden's! Here's a gallery of the process followed by my super-simple recipe:
Ingredients:
- 16-24 oz of beer (a local oktoberfest if you can find it, aka Brooklyn Brewery)
- 4 bratwursts (i just found boar's head at the grocery, but i'm hopeful some of my favorite local pork farms will have them soon)
- 1 white onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (no rings, you want long strips)
- 1 red bell pepper cored, seeded, and thinly sliced
- 4 big sandwich rolls (heroes, hoagies, etc.)
- 1 Tablespoon cooking oil (canola, olive, etc)
- Brown/spicy mustard
- Pickles and chips as sides
Process:
- Put the beer, onions, and peppers in a medium sized pot large enough to fit the four brats, and bring to a boil
- Reduce the heat to medium, toss in the brats, cover and cook for 20 minutes
- Meanwhile get your grill going to hot*
- After 20 minutes, drain the entire pot into a strainer reserving the brats, onions, and peppers
- Throw the brats on the grill, and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown with a few charred bits
- Remove the brats from the grill and let sit for a few minutes (they will be insanely hot right now)
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil (any oil will do) in a skillet over medium-high heat
- Toss in the reserved onions and peppers, and sauté for 5-8 minutes until they start to caramelize/char a bit
- Now you're ready to assemble.
- Open up each roll and pile on a bed of the onion/peppers mixture
- Add a bratwurst on top of the onions, and lather on some spicy brown mustard
- Serve with chips, a pickle, and a cold bottle of the same beer you cooked with
* If you are without a grill (OMG!), you could easily pan fry these for the same amount of time in a dry, smokin' hot cast iron skillet. Cooking these over high heat will give you that crisp exterior crunch you're looking for.
