Wisconsin-Style Beer Brats Recipe

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Bratwurst, in my humble opinion, is a spectacular sausage. Juicy, savory, mildly spiced and well-equipped for grilling, pan-searing, or roasting, brats are just as tasty as they are versatile. Simmering these sausages in beer and sliced onions, before sizzling over direct heat, is a genius move, and one that I highlight in this Wisconsin-style beer brats recipe. Once grilled or seared, all of that malty goodness is sufficiently and flavorfully infused into the brats, ensuring a sensational level of savoriness. Needless to say, Wisconsinites crafted a real wiener — err, winner — with beer brats, but you certainly don't have to be tailgating within the state to enjoy such a delicacy.

Paying homage to the OG, I went with the typical condiments and toppings you'd most likely encounter at a brat-fest in Wisconsin. We have a duo of sauerkrauts and a duo of mustards, all meant for personal customization and preference. I made sure to include the lager-simmered onions, caramelized on the grill, for balancing sweetness. I did go slightly off script with one component, the garlicky mustard butter, as a way to get the buns onboard with this flavor train as well. Think of these toasted buns as mustard-spiked garlic bread — deliciously suited for our brats and whatever classic toppings you choose to garnish them with.

For the beer brats and onions, you'll need raw (uncooked) bratwurst sausages, sliced yellow onion, olive oil, and lager-style beer. Lager is the recommended style and the most commonly used in Wisconsin for this dish. Lager is less bitter and more malt forward, resulting in better tasting brats and onions. Feel free to use a light lager or pilsner. I would caution you from using bitter or hoppy beers, like IPAs or pale ales, which would result in bitter brats and onions.

For the garlic-mustard butter, you'll need softened salted butter, grainy or whole grain mustard, minced garlic, and chopped fresh chives. For serving and assembling, you'll need brioche-style hot dog buns, sauerkraut, red cabbage sauerkraut, grainy mustard, and Dijon mustard.

Place the brats and sliced onions in a large pot, making sure everything is spread out evenly.

Cover the brats and onions with beer and bring to a boil over high heat.

Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 15 minutes or until the brats are cooked through.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the brats and onions from the pot and set aside.

Preheat a grill pan over medium heat and brush with olive oil.

Once hot, add the brats and onions to the pan and cook until grill marks form on the sausages and the onions have browned slightly.

Meanwhile, make the garlicky mustard butter: Place softened butter, grainy mustard, garlic, and chives in a medium bowl.

Stir to combine the compound butter.

Spread the compound butter over the hot dog buns.

Once grilled, remove the brats and onions from the grill pan and set aside.

Place the butter buns, buttered-side down, on the grill pan and cook until toasted, about 2 minutes.

To serve, fill the toasted buns with the brats and onions.

Serve with sauerkraut, red cabbage kraut, grainy mustard, and Dijon mustard for customizable toppings.

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I used a grill pan in this recipe, making it an indoor-friendly one, but you can certainly take a cue from the traditional approach to making these brats and cook them outside. A gas or charcoal grill would make for very tasty beer brats and, if the weather permits, I definitely recommend that cooking method.

Depending on your grill set up, you may still need to simmer the brats and onions inside. Follow those instructions as-is. Preheat your grill to medium and carefully brush the grill grates with olive oil to prevent sticking. You will also want to preheat a cast iron skillet or grill-worthy skillet for caramelizing the onions. Once hot, add the sausage to the grill grates and place the onions in the preheated skillet, spreading out evenly. Grill the brats for 5 to 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until grill marks form. Cook the onions for 10 minutes plus or until they have begun to brown, stirring frequently.

Grill the buttered buns as instructed, just keep an eye out for any flame flare-ups. Depending on how buttered the buns, you might get some drips. You can always use the residual heat (grill turned off) to toast if the flare-ups get to be too much.

The garlicky mustard butter in this recipe is a type of compound butter, a unique type of condiment often served with steaks. In a nutshell, it's a culinary term generally used to describe softened butter mixed with additional ingredients. Compound butter packs a lot more flavor than your average butter and, once melted, melds that flavor to the foods that it is dressing. For this compound butter, I went heavy on the garlic with some fresh chives and grainy mustard for maximum flavor. The tangy-spicy whole grain mustard pairs really well with the salty-sweet butter and aromatic garlic, making for a nice contrast of palate-pleasing components.

Compound butters will keep for a long time. If frozen, you can enjoy this butter for months. If refrigerated, it's best used within a week. This mustardy-garlic butter would be absolutely delicious on leaner proteins like shellfish, fin fish, or chicken. This butter would work really well with baked potatoes. I plan on remaking this butter to season green beans and asparagus. Use it to finish grilled, seared, baked, or sauteed goodies by dolloping it on top of your cooked foods and allowing the residual heat to melt the butter.

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