How To Cook A Brat

To boil or not to boil? Or bake? The answer is yes.

No-boil method: Remove from wrap (thaw if frozen) and place it on a hot grill. The key to the no-boil process is to go low and slow. Keep the heat controlled and turn often, so you don’t break the skin while the brat cooks. This keeps the juices in the brat and allows the char from the grill to flavor the skin. The brats are done when the inside temp reaches 150-155 degrees.

Boil method: Yes. It’s okay to boil your brats first. Essentially, you’re cooking your brat before you grill it to minimize the time over the coals. Plus, using a water/beer bath mixture with some onions adds a little flavor. Again, you’ll want to minimize the skin splitting for juicier brats. Sometimes I’ll keep my brats in the water/beer bath warm right on the grill, so if folks want seconds (or thirds), it just takes a couple of minutes to char on the grill. This definitely beats letting them sit on a plate or the grill to dry out.  

Oven method: Okay, I know some of you hearty folks grill all year long, but if you’re craving a Hagberg’s brat and don’t want to brave the sub-zero temps to man the grill, turn on the oven. We prefer this method to stovetop grilling or pan-frying because, again, slow and steady makes for a juicier, more flavorful brat. Preheat to about 350 degrees and cook for 30-40 minutes until the inside temp reaches 150-155 degrees. If you really want to do it right, put ’em on a bed of sauerkraut before you slide them in the oven.