Boiling brats....a Midwest thing?

[TwoPockets]

As much as I hate to waste good beer by not drinking it, I have to admit I prefer my brats simmered in beer then finished on the grill.

[spuds]

I like em straight to the grill,and boiled with cabbage and taters. Hard to eat them 'wrong' IMO.

[aliengriller]

Really prefer them simmered with beer and onions for about 15 mins, BUT, because of dietary restrictions, WHEN I do get to have brats, just grill them, poked with a fork a few times, to get rid of the fat.   Hate to lose it, BUT when your health is at stake, you do what you gotta do!

[nukeofficer]

Pappy,
I have had them both ways, but I prefer simmering them in beer and onions first, then onto a hot grill for some grill marks and crisping up the skin and then back into the beer bath after the skins have split.  They soak up that beer goodness.  Served on a nice roll with onions and a good hearty mustard.  And a beer.

Sorry, buddy, but I agree with your wife, on this one.

Art

X2!

[Smokin Don]

Just to add a little more about brats and boiling them a mid west thing. Brats are a mid west thing being popular in Wisconsin brought there by German immigrants; I am not sure when they started getting popular all over but baseball is credited with spreading their popularity. I don't remember having them growing up in the 50's in Ohio. Mary from Deep South Dish is one of my favorite southern cooks and she writes a little about them and her favorite recipe for doing them in beer with some good photos. http://www.deepsouthdish.com/2014/07/grilled-hot-tub-beer-brats.html#more
Smokin Don

[Scallywag]

I have to admit I have never had a Brat simmerd in beer before.. It sounds really good.  I'm going to make this next time I'm at the trailer.

[Hub]

I learned the boil then grill method way back in the 70's, living in Germany of all places.  The most common German method of service was simply grilling. 

[drholly]

Just to add a little more about brats and boiling them a mid west thing. Brats are a mid west thing being popular in Wisconsin brought there by German immigrants; I am not sure when they started getting popular all over but baseball is credited with spreading their popularity. I don't remember having them growing up in the 50's in Ohio. Mary from Deep South Dish is one of my favorite southern cooks and she writes a little about them and her favorite recipe for doing them in beer with some good photos. http://www.deepsouthdish.com/2014/07/grilled-hot-tub-beer-brats.html#more
Smokin Don

Great link. Thanks, Don!

[old sarge]

Any brat any way is better than no brat no way.

[drholly]

Any brat any way is better than no brat no way.

zactly!

[Saber 4]

To add a little more to the discussion, I delivered a couple of batches of Greek sausage to my friends restaurant today and he had the cook fire some up for our lunch. They tasted even better than when I grilled them so I asked him how they were done. He told me they go on a rack into a 500 degree oven for about 6 minutes then onto the grill to finish for a couple of minutes. They were juicy and moist on the inside and had a great grilled look and taste on the outside, better than straight grilling and better in my mind than simmered in beer then grilled. Just my new two cent's to keep a good topic going.

[drholly]

To add a little more to the discussion, I delivered a couple of batches of Greek sausage to my friends restaurant today and he had the cook fire some up for our lunch. They tasted even better than when I grilled them so I asked him how they were done. He told me they go on a rack into a 500 degree oven for about 6 minutes then onto the grill to finish for a couple of minutes. They were juicy and moist on the inside and had a great grilled look and taste on the outside, better than straight grilling and better in my mind than simmered in beer then grilled. Just my new two cent's to keep a good topic going.

Interesting idea - worth trying! Thanks.

[Pappymn]

I would think 500 degrees would split them....but I bet your sausage has better quality casings then mass produced commercial casings.

[TentHunteR]

I think it's more of a a German thing than a Midwest thing.   I enjoy brats cooked both ways, but if I had to choose, I'd pick brats with onions & peppers in a beer bath every time.

When I do a beer bath, I usually grill them first, then into a beer bath to finish cooking with some onion & peppers.

Pappy, now you got me wanting brats for lunch! 

[TMB]

Kimmie get upset when I use her beer to cook with,         

She can't understand why folks would waste good beer to cook with it.