I grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, and thus claim two of the world’s greatest football teams as my birthright: the currently undefeated University of Wisconsin Badgers and the...doing-as-well-as-can-be-expected-without-Aaron-Rodgers Green Bay Packers. The autumnal weekends of my youth were either red and white or green and gold, but in either case there was one thing on the menu: beer brats.
Here is the thing about beer-soaked bratwurst, the food of my people: They are the perfect football food. Better than burgers, better than nachos. Because whether you are tailgating outside the stadium or watching at home, the best thing about beer brats is they allow you to actually watch the game. Everything can be done ahead of time, and they’re super forgiving—unless you burn the everloving crap out of them, they’re going to taste pretty good.
This is how I make beer brats for football, a method engineered to keep you in the game instead of in the kitchen yelling “WHAT HAPPENED?” after every play. (Leave that to your buddy fussing over his nachos.)
The Boil
There is some debate in Wisconsin about whether you should boil brats before or after grilling. I boil first. This imparts the sausage with flavor from the beer, and since they’re cooked through when they go on the grill, you only need to get grill marks on them. This will keep you from burning them to all hell, and keep them from drying out. Win win!
Put your brats in a large pot, and cover them with beer. Use whatever beer you like, but I am fond of a classic German lager like Spaten. Or, you know, use something from Wisconsin, like Leinies. Use enough beer to cover the brats by 2-3 inches after the foam dies down; this will be a couple more beers than you think it will be. (You can top it off with water if you’re in danger of running out of beer, but...just don’t run out of beer.) Slice up a couple onions and toss them in there. You can add some thyme and a bay leaf and maybe a few peppercorns, too, if you’re feeling fancy.
Bring everything to a boil, lower it to a simmer, and simmer for about 20 minutes. When the brats are cooked through, remove them and leave the liquid in the pot (you’ll use it again in a minute.) If you’re tailgating, do this step at home and bring the cooked brats to the tailgate.
The Grill
This is a quick but necessary step in the beer brat process, since it gives the brats a nice smokiness boiling alone will not achieve. Grill your brats over a hot charcoal grill. Get some good marks on them; you can be a little agressive with this. Don’t burn them to cinders or anything, but like I said this is a pretty forgiving recipe. And the next step will cover a multitude of sins.
The Soak
Here’s where I get, perhaps, a bit extra. Remember when I said I believe in boiling brats before grilling? I also believe in boiling them again after. This second swim is magic. It mellows any excess charring from the grill, it slowly transforms the texture of the sausage as it braises, and—best of all—it holds the bratwurst hot and ready until your pals get hungry. So bring the beer cooking liquid back to a boil, toss the brats back in the drink, and reduce it to the lowest of simmers your stove can achieve.
Now I need you to brace yourself for this next step, which is not optional. You’re going to add a stick of butter to the pot. I have perhaps just lost you, I realize, but the butter is key to making decadent, over-the-top beer brats. (Also, Wisconsinites love adding butter to meat.) It is totally worth it: once the butter and the beer and the brats have mellowed out together for awhile (about an hour), the result is juicy, tender, buttery, beery brats that are unlike anything you’ve ever tasted, I promise.
Then all you have to do is leave the pot on the stove set to low, set out some mustard, buns, and sauerkraut, and let you pals serve themselves while you chill out on the couch. Get to this point before the game starts and you’re golden. You can even hold the brats in a slow cooker set to low, which is especially handy if you’re at a tailgate.
And, like they say where I’m from: on, Wisconsin and go, Pack, go.