Par-Boil Brats or Not? SEE NEW POLL!!!

[Smokin Don]

Mike (muebe) posted a cook where he simmered some brats in beef and onions before browning on his little wood grill. Gene (Hikerman) said he did not like to boil any meat. Evidently Gene has never been to Wisconsin where that is the norm. I have done them both ways and find it’s pretty hard to make a bad brat!

If I am going to serve brats to a crowd I like to brown them first then they go into beer pepper and onion bath to hold and keep hot. You can hold them on a grill indirect heat or on a smoker at low heat.

Usually just for the family I simmer them in beer, peppers and onions for 15 to 20 minutes then take them to a grill or my pellet smoker to finish. I drain the beer and brown the peppers and onions most of the time.

So not to take away from Mike’s post I made this post.

How do you like to do brats?

1. No par-boil
2. par-boil then brown
3. Brown then simmer to hold

[hikerman]

Well then......
Don, Wisconsin is my home away from home. I can't tell you how many saloons, restaurants, campgrounds, resorts and hotels I've been to in Wisconsin thru the years. But so many so I should be able to vote there!!
In my travels I've had a lot of good brats, but found THE VERY BEST bratwursts that I've ever had comes from the award-winning butcher shop Miesfeld's Meat Market in the home of bratwursts, Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
Here is a link from Miesfelds on how-to cook the best brats!
 www.miesfelds.com/wp/grill_tips

So my vote is NO parboil unless cooking for a big crowd!
In that case brats are cooked over coals and HELD in a broth of beer, sliced onions, and butter. 

This is getting me hungry and thirsty!

[smokeasaurus]

if I have the time...heck yeah......if not, on the grill....win win situation both ways

[akruckus]

I have never tired to par boil brats (that I know of), but I would interested in trying it out.  Pan fried or Grilled.

Now I'm really hungry for brats, with no time to cook them

[Tailgating is my game]

!
In that case brats are cooked over coals and HELD in a broth of beer, sliced onions, and butter. 

That's how I do them tailgating along with a few peppers

[Pappymn]

Well then......
Don, Wisconsin is my home away from home. I can't tell you how many saloons, restaurants, campgrounds, resorts and hotels I've been to in Wisconsin thru the years. But so many so I should be able to vote there!!
In my travels I've had a lot of good brats, but found THE VERY BEST bratwursts that I've ever had comes from the award-winning butcher shop Miesfeld's Meat Market in the home of bratwursts, Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
Here is a link from Miesfelds on how-to cook the best brats!
 www.miesfelds.com/wp/grill_tips

So my vote is NO parboil unless cooking for a big crowd!
In that case brats are cooked over coals and HELD in a broth of beer, sliced onions, and butter. 

This is getting me hungry and thirsty!

Great post. My company is based in sheyboygan, so I get there a couple a times a year. Will check them out.

[muebe]

I would not say I even boil mine. Just a warm bath before searing...

[hikerman]

Fellas when I was growing up, mom would boil our ribs or chops or sausages in water until they looked like liver!
Then she handed the platterful of the grey matter to my dad, so he could burn it it on his backyard grill/fireplace. Thank God for bbq sauce back then!! So for me, meat and water don't mix unless it's soup!

[Smokin Don]

Fellas when I was growing up, mom would boil our ribs or chops or sausages in water until they looked like liver!
Then she handed the platterful of the grey matter to my dad, so he could burn it it on his backyard grill/fireplace. Thank God for bbq sauce back then!! So for me, meat and water don't mix unless it's soup!

I didn't mean too put you on the spot Gene. If you don't like to boil brats fine. Some of my likes and don't likes are not everyone's Don

[teesquare]

New poll is available for voting!

[hikerman]

Fellas when I was growing up, mom would boil our ribs or chops or sausages in water until they looked like liver!
Then she handed the platterful of the grey matter to my dad, so he could burn it it on his backyard grill/fireplace. Thank God for bbq sauce back then!! So for me, meat and water don't mix unless it's soup!

I didn't mean too put you on the spot Gene. If you don't like to boil brats fine. Some of my likes and don't likes are not everyone's Don

Hey Don you didn't put me on the spot at all. I respect everyone's opinion but I like to have fun as well. Hope nobody is offended!

[Saber 4]

Personally not a fan of boiled before grilling brats, probably from eating them grilled all my life in Texas then moving to Michigan for a few years and getting them boiled there. Don't mind if others do it and I certainly don't turn down a brat in most any form though.

Now a question for all the sous vide'ers out there, has anyone sous vide the brats before grilling? Best of both worlds maybe??

[akruckus]

I tried one par boiled and one straight to the grill pan (too cold to go outside for two brats).  While the par boiled did have more flavor I think if I were to do them on the grill I wouldn't taste as much of a difference between the two.  I'm going to have to go with both.  If grilled straight grilled, if I'm doing them on a grill pan or CI I would definitely par boil them first.

I am leaning slightly toward hikerman, I mean, his avatar is brats (I think) on the grill!

[africanmeat]

On the grill

[teesquare]

Have tried cooking brats all 3 ways. When I have time - I will simmer them in beer...for as long as I have before guests show up. Sometimes 4-5 hours.
Then, grill 'em when they "order".....

Partially - the added aroma and a little taste of the beer ( (Modelo Negro ) - but, it also reduces the fat content of the brats - without drying them out.

You can't leave them on the grill to keep them warm - or you do risk them being mealy, or grainy due to the fats not being cooked mostly out. But, if done with some timing in mind - they are juicy, and flavorful...and a little lower in fat. Not ft- free, and that is not my aim. Just lower in fat.