BRAT PREPARATION Tips



- How to handle brats (DO NOT PUNCTURE)

No matter what anyone or any recipe says, DO NOT puncture the brats with a fork, knife, or other sharp instrument. Handle them only with tongs. Likewise, do not cook them either before-hand, during grilling, or in the post-hot-bath to such an extent that you split the skins. This will cause all of the internal juices (meat liquid, infused beer, and yes, fat), to drain out. The result will be a dried-out, tasteless shell of its prior self, spoiling the brat forever. Some people feel that piercing the brat with a fork will drain away the fat, and thus "improve" the brat. The brat will be improved only to the extent that you enjoy cardboard. If you prefer to go fat-free, eating a cucumber would be even better. Some want to prevent it from bursting. If you are cooking the brat to the point of bursting, you are way overcooking it.


- To pre-cook or not to pre-cook

For years, there was the concept that brats should be pre-cooked in a boiling pot of beer and then finished on the grill. We gave up on that flawed technique very long ago. The best technique, as we've found from doing many tests, is to grill fully thawed brats directly on the grill. Do not pre-cook. Then we use a brat hot-tub (see below) afterward to keep the brats warm if they are not eaten directly from the grill.

The problem with pre-cooking is that you have a tendency to cook the liquid out of them, resulting in a drier final product. There is a good chance of overcooking them and even splitting them. In any case, should you feel the need to do this, DO NOT boil them. The internal temperature required for a cooked brat is 160 deg F, not 212 deg F. Even us high-elevation mountain folk can't get water to boil at 160 F. Further, if you are then going to "finish them" on the grill, this subjects them to yet more cooking, because you'd like a browned product. To get that, you'll almost certainly have overcooked them.


- The preparation of the fire

This is one of the most important steps. You want a uniform, level bed of coals that have gone fully gray. But don't wait too long after they are fully gray. You'd prefer a mono-layer of coals some 8" or so below the grill. They need to go to the full width of the grill and don't have them piled up or otherwise non-uniform.


- The cooking of the brats

Place the brats on the grill and avoid messing with them until it looks like one side is getting nicely browned and grill-marked. Turn over with tongs and repeat. Don't overcook them. Don't turn them black. And don't leave them on the grill as a storage location. You CAN move some of them "off to the edge of the fire", briefly, to reduce the radiative load on them and keep them from over-cooking. This is because Don Hunten's observation that "the solid angle is the SAME no matter where you put them" only holds for an infinite plane of coals.

Opinions on wheter to cover the grill are mixed. If you fear under-cooking the center before the outside gets charred, you might cover to get them off the grill faster. Again, don't over-cook. If you don't know, take one off the grill and cut it open. Then center should be no longer pink or just barely pink. You are trying to hit 160F. Use a remote-IR themometer as outlined under "Beer tips" to check the center of the cut edge. Judge the look of the outside of the brat with the observed temp and then adjust your cooking accordingly.


The Proper use of a Brat Hot-Tub

Otherwise known as the "slop bucket", a post-cooking hot tub is used to keep the brats warm and juicy, without further cooking and is a great storage method for crowds of people. But again, this is after, not before, cooking. Keep the temperature no more than 160F. Simmering (as recommended in this recipe) is too high. Here is an excellent and full description of the use of a brat hot tub:

Brat Hot-Bath Recipe



- BEWARE OF FIRE DANGER

For Colorado folks, be aware that there is a statewide fire ban in effect that prohibits open fires. Charcoal fires are permitted on private land, but only if not superseded by local restrictions.

All of Gilpin County and western Boulder County are under a Stage 2 fire ban. The demarcation line is Hwy 93 to the south, Broadway through Boulder, and then Hwy 36 going north. Under this ban, charcoal grills are prohibited, even on private land. See flyer:
Boulder County Level 2 Fire Ban

Wherever you are, check your local restrictions.

But being cooped up for the pandemic or fire ban does not mean you have to go without tasty brats. You can:
- use a gas grill
- use the Johnsonville Brat Griller

I know, it's a little late now, but I did warn many people to think ahead and pick up this unit.

Not recommended is the timeless "Fast Frank" (again, right-click, open in new window)
that was passed from person-to-person at Hawthorne House for years. If anyone still has it, you'll burn down the house trying to cook brats. My, how cooking technology has changed over 50 years.