I’ve been eating brats since the day I was born.  I was born and raised in WI, where it’s practically a legal requirement to raise your kids on bratwurst and sauerkraut.  They’re sent to school in lunchboxes, and when a baby cries in Wisconsin, concerned parents don’t use pacifiers, they just stuff a brat in the kid’s mouth – works like a charm!  Okay, I might be exaggerating a *tad*, but one things for sure, Wisconsin LOVES their brats!

Sheboygan, WI – the “Brat Capital of the World” – has hosted “Brat Days” every year since 1953, where you can order anything from Brat-on-a-Stick to Brat Lasagna! (<—–YUM)  Just over two hours away in Madison, the Johnsonville World’s Largest Brat Fest broke their 2008 world record by selling 208,752 brats this past Memorial Day weekend!  That topped last year’s Brat Fest record of about 192,000, an increase of almost 9 percent.

It’s been almost  twenty years since I’ve lived in Wisconsin, and several states later I’m still madly in love with brats.  So you can imagine how elated I was to unexpectedly receive a super groovy apron from Johnsonville in the mail last week!

I LOVE Johnsonville.  Again, I grew up with them, eating their brats and watching their commercials (anyone remember the one with all the boats on the water, someone smells brats on the grill and shouts out “insert name is cooking Johnsonville brats!”, then all the boats zoom over to that guys house?  ahhhh…the memories!).  I spent sixteen years in SoCal and for most of that time we couldn’t get Johnsonville brats in the grocery stores.  My mom would have to pack them on ice and bring them in her carry-on whenever she came to visit.  Thankfully, she doesn’t have to do that anymore (although she does still bring fresh, squeaky cheese curds – thank god)!

I don’t think Johnsonville knew my history when they sent me the apron (at least one other food blogger I know received one and I’m sure there were many others), but that didn’t matter to me.  I found it a very nice – and business savvy – gesture, and I knew that I would be donning it that very weekend and cooking up some brats!

I shared my apron excitement on my personal Facebook page, where the thread unexpectedly turned into a friendly challenge between The Wicked Noodle and four other food bloggers from all over the U.S.  Clearly I’m not the only one who loves brats!  Here are the other food bloggers in case you’d like to see their versions:

Eric at Eric Rivera's Cooking Blog
Paula at Bellalimento
Heather at Bodacious Girl
Jeff at Culinary Disasters

I spent the next couple of days thinking about  potential brat recipes  and waited for inspriation to strike.  I searched the internet looking for inspiration, when it suddenly dawned on me…I already have the perfect brat recipe.  Why would I mess with perfection?!  So I decided to serve them up the old-fashioned way, making one minor change to a second batch – adding a bit of brandy!  I’d never heard of this until Samantha Salan Clark – a high school classmate of mine – was kind enough to share her “secret” method with me!  According to Sam, the brandy makes the brats just a bit sweeter.  Oh yeah, I knew I had to try it!

We decided to invite some friends over and share some brat love – and some beer love, too! ;-)  Here are some pics from the barbecue, along with the recipe for the perfect brat (and suggestions for leftovers)!

the perfect brat, served on a cheesehead

Brat Perfection!

• A six-pack of beer, preferably from Germany or Wisconsin
• Two large onions, chopped and divided
• A stick of real butter
• Two packs of brats (they come five to a pack)
• About 1/2 – 1 cup of brandy (optional but so yummy!)

Place beer and half of onions in a nice big pot.  Bring to a simmer and add brats.  Simmer for about 15 minutes or so – DO NOT BOIL.  If you’d like to add the brandy, this is the step where you’d do it.  It adds a delicious sweetness, and this version was the one that disappeared at our barbecue, so that speaks for itself!  Thanks, Sam!!

Meanwhile, preheat grill and keep on low.  Add brats, turning every few minutes until nicely browned.  Keep a close eye so the juices don’t start escaping and causing flareups.

While the brats are browning on the grill, dump out the beer/onion mixture, then add three fresh beers, the rest of the onion and the butter.  Bring to a steady simmer.  This is called the “Brat Hot Tub“, where your brats will relax and hang out once they’re browned on the grill.  The Hot Tub would be much better hanging out on the grill itself so your guests can grab them as needed (we just moved into a new house and the deck has yet to be built, so we’re suffering through for now), but the stove will work in a pinch.

Serve your brats on nice big buns – never a hot dog bun – with lots of sauerkraut and a good mustard.  And always, always have lots of good beer around!

So, what do you do after the barbecue is over and you find yourself with leftover brats?  Not this this EVER happens, but in the rare instance that it does, here are some suggestions for what to do with them:

If they’re cooked already, consider making a brat frittata for breakfast!  It’s super fast and easy and looks kinda cool, too!  Here’s the recipe if you’re so inclined:

Brat Frittata

• 8 large eggs
• about a quarter cup of milk
• leftover onions
• leftover brats, about 2 per frittata, sliced lengthwise into four long strips per brat
• a tablespoon of butter
• salt and pepper

Preheat broiler to high.

Whisk eggs and milk together in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat a large nonstick, oven proof skillet over medium-high heat.  Add butter to skillet, then add onions once butter melts.  Cook onions a few minutes then add eggs.  Stir right away just to evenly incorporate onions and eggs, then just let eggs cook through on the bottom without touching them.

When cooked through on the bottom and just beginning to set on the top, set brat slices on top of eggs in a circle, sort of like a clock (this way when you slice it, each piece will have one brat strip going right down the center, which did not occur to me until after I’d made mine; you can benefit from my trial and error).  ;-)

Put skillet under broiler until eggs are set and slightly browned.  Make sure eggs right under brat slices are cooked all the way by lifting up each slice and peeking underneath.  Slice into eight pieces and serve with a side of potatoes and sauerkraut if you wish!

I also whipped up a Brat Panini that turned out awesome!  I was too hungry to bother with taking pictures, so that will have to wait until another day.  I promise to post it soon, though, and if you just can’t wait feel free to ask me for the recipe at kristy@thewickednoodle.com.  I’d be happy to share!  Another soon-to-be-posted recipe is the German Beer and Cheese Fondue that was a huge hit as our appetizer!  Mmmmm…maybe a little bit of that added to the mustard and sauerkraut on the brat itself?!!  Time to break out the grill again just to try it!

mmmm...the brats going on the grill

a few of our guests

nothing better than friends!