BRATWURST!!! Wisconsin Style!

Not too many years ago, if you weren't from Wisconsin or Germany, odds are you thought a 'brat' was a rotten little snot nosed kid.  Wider distribution and fans of the Green Bay Packers have changed all that, but a true Wisconsin brat is only found in...Wisconsin.  Our's is a sweeter variety than the German one, and doesn't have milk or egg as an ingredient like most of the German variety recipes call for.  Standard fare at summer grill events, Brewer games at Miller Park and fall football tailgating at Lambeau Field, the Wisconsin brat is usually first simmered in beer and onions, then grilled, then returned to the beer and onion bath before serving on a brat bun (like a hot dog bun, but stiffer and heartier) with kraut, ketchup, mustard and various other condiments.

My brat recipe is a result of my own experiments and observations in trials of other's attempts at a Wisconsin brat.  I think I've hit on a pretty good recipe.

For this recipe, you may wish to acquire a meat grinder and sausage stuffer, if you don't already own one.  Often times meat grinders come with a sausage stuffing attachment, but the devices are sold separately as well.  They can be electric or manually cranked or pressed.  For well less than $100 you can usually get started in sausage-making, but of course nicer and more robust units are available and the price goes up accordingly.

However, you don't need ANY of this equipment to enjoy this recipe...just buy ground pork and season it accordingly, and have Brat Patties!  You don't want to simmer those in beer first like the sausage variety, but you can throw them in a beer and onion simmer bath after they're grilled (along with your hamburgers...another old Wisconsin trick).

I usually buy whatever cut of pork is on sale.  Most often, this amounts to Country Style Ribs - either boneless or bone-in (which will require you to remove the bones), but I've used Pork Butt and Pork Tenderloin as well.  You can have the butcher grind these cuts for you too if you do not have a grinder.

Mix thoroughly:

4 lb ground Country Style Pork Ribs
2 T Salt
2 T Sugar
2 tsp Nutmeg
2 tsp Coriander
2 tsp Celery Seed
2 tsp Black Pepper
2 tsp Ginger
2 tsp Marjoram
2 tsp Sage
4 T Real Maple Syrup
2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 cup Olive Oil (optional...most people like a bit of fattyness in their brats...this is waaaay less than the commercial variety, and they're a bit dry without it, but if you're health-conscious about the fat, skip it.)

Once mixed, you can make into patties and grill or freeze them, or run the meat through a sausage stuffer into casings.  This is fairly easy and if you have a sausage stuffer, you probably already know how to proceed.  But if you have the stuffer and have never done this, you'll need some natural casings (available at most butchers and groceries with a large meat counter).  These are packed in salt, so you'll need to pre-soak them in water first for about a half hour.  Then take one over to the sink, fit one end of the casing over the nozzle and gently run water through it for a few seconds before slipping onto the horn of your sausage stuffer.  Slide the whole casing onto the horn, tie a knot in one end, and start stuffing them into brat-lengths, spinning the casing numerous times between links to pinch each link off.  Work slowly and carefully til you've filled all the links...then make the leftovers into a patty and fry it up!

To grill them Wisconsin-style, put 2 to 3 cans of beer in a pot, enough to cover the brats.  Add 1 tsp garlic salt and a large onion, sliced into rings.  Optionally, you can add a sliced up green pepper as well.   Simmer the brats til they are firm, then remove from heat.  They can sit like this for an hour or so, or you can take them right to the grill.  Grill them on medium high heat until they are a nice carmelized brown.  Toss back in the beer bath for a few minutes, then serve on Brat Buns with Sauerkraut, a good German mustard, Ketchup and whatever other condiments you wish.