In this article, we will help you to learn how to cook bratwurst. We are going to provide the readers with useful information about the basic difference between a sausage and a bratwurst, as well as how to cook bratwurst on the stove, whether cooking brats in beer is possible, and write down some bratwurst recipe for you.
The bratwurst is a sort of German sausage that is composed of beef, pork, or veal (meat of calves). Bratwursts go way back in history. Their ancestors, the sausages, are recorded to be made for the first time during the third century AD. The brats come more than a thousand years later, in the fourteenth century AD, in the city of Nuremberg (Nürnberg in German). This city is still the best in making grilling sausages till this day.
Now, let’s get started with the work and learn something about cooking brats on the stove first.
How to Cook Bratwurst on The Stove?
Compared to cooking bratwurst on the grill, cooking it on the stove provides us with much more possibilities. For example, you can cook bratwurst with butter, and also, the temperature’s level is far better manageable.
Bratwursts are not very high maintenance in terms of cooking them, but still, they demand their due diligence so that you do not undercook them. This particular bratwurst recipe might help you to avoid this type of inconvenience.
Bratwursts are a type of food that can be compatible with many other ingredients, such as peppers, cheese, sauerkraut, pickles, and others.
Also, cooking brats in beer is a viable option. You may pour in beer in the skillet while you’re cooking it near the end of the process, so that you can add some more taste to the brats.
Cooking bratwursts is a flexible type of work; they can be prepared in a pan that can reach some high heating levels. On the other hand, we judge that it would be better to obtain a cast iron skillet, they are cheap and quite affordable. They are a more feasible option than the pan in terms of cooking bratwursts at a higher degree of heat. Also, you have a bigger control over the level of heat, and in respect to the possibilities to add other flavors.
When you cook bratwursts on a stove, you can also make several more steaks (compared to cooking them in a pan) and have them last for a week for you. In this case, cook them just a bit under your usual level of doneness, because you will have to reheat it before having it for a meal.
Difference between bratwurst and a sausage
Unlike the classic sausage, which can come from fresh, smoked, or a dried sausage, the bratwurst is always fresh, never dried, or smoked.
A combination of veal (calf flesh) and pork, the bratwurst is a fresh sausage supported with seasonings. The latter can be various, like for example, caraway, coriander, and nutmeg. In the United States, there are bratwursts that are a mixture of sausage and onion.
Ingredients Needed for a Bratwurst Recipe
In order to cook a bratwurst and onions, you are going to need the following ingredients:
- Bratwurst sausage. Do not be cheap on a bratwurst sausage quality. Ask the very best from the butcher, which would be the most fresh ones.
- Onions. We recommend that you should use yellow onions.
- Beer. The beer can be a very good addition to the flavor of the bratwursts and the onions.
- Buns. For this recipe, use ordinary and warmer buns. Alternatively, buy a bun combined with onion flakes.
- Caraway seeds. Also, you can add some other sorts of spices.
Alternative for the beer: If you don’t like to use alcoholic beer, try some non – alcoholic sort; or use some other stuff, like apple juice or cider.
How to Cook The Bratwurst
Steam the bratwursts in the beer and onions, so that their flavors can blend in together perfectly. Cook the onions with little butter, and then put it inside the beer along with the brats. During the cooking, the onions get soft inside the beer, and taste really nice.
Use a skillet with a heavy bottom, and melt the butter down on a medium heat. After that, throw in the caraway seeds and chopped onions. Cook them for five minutes. If the timing is not telling, then the softened onions will be a better sign they are ready. Add the salt.
Now, let’s give a final answer to the question – how to cook bratwurst on the stove?
Put the bratwurst alongside the onions and the beer. First start to boil, and then simmer for about forty minutes, turning over the bratwursts so they would be cooked evenly. Remove the beer and the onions to a plate, so that you finish the bratwursts (again, if you are cooking on a stove). Put some butter on them if you see it fit. Then, bring the beer and the onions back.
If you are cooking bratwursts on a grill, heat it up to medium heat, cook them for two to four minutes, until they become evenly brown as a whole.
Serving the Bratwurst
When you serve the bratwurst, you can do it in a sandwich – like form (inside aforementioned buns), together with mustard, sauerkraut and onions.
On the other hand, you don’t have to necessarily serve it in buns. You may serve it as a dish, accompanied with cabbage, sauerkraut and potato salad. For a mustard, choose a combo of a yellow German and a grainy one.
Conclusion
We are certain that we covered a good deal of important information about how to cook bratwurst in a few possible ways.
There were explained the advantages of cooking the bratwursts on the stove, compared to cooking them on the grill, and we hope that those are useful to you, the readers.
Also, we explained in detail how you can cook brats in beer.
If you are torn between cooking brats in a pan or in a cast iron skillet, we recommend the latter option. You can reach a higher degree of heat with them, you have a larger amount of control over the moderation of heat, and in the end, they are cheap to buy.
Regarding the bratwurst itself, we compared it to the “ordinary” type of sausage. The main difference is that unlike the sausage (which can be found fresh as well, besides smoked and dried), the brat is always fresh.
