Don't Ever Boil Your Bratwurst Sausage

It's sausage time, it's bratwurst time!

Like many Bratwurst Day fans, I am now preparing for a brats week! Did I say week? My griller is now waiting, my coals at the corner. Before anything else, there's one thing I'd like to share - don't ever boil bratwurst!  

Parboiling is good, though, in fact you see recipes that call for it. What they actually mean to (or ought to) say is simmered in beer or water, usually with chopped onion added.  Simmering means bringing the liquid to the temperature at which steam rises from the surface, but not so hot that it bubbles.  Boiling will cause the casings to burst. Most understands boiling is to water..... so you have to make these things clear.

Also, you may see or hear the term "brat fry". The term is technically a misnomer.  Bratwurst can be pan fried, and you may see recipes that call for it... My family likes pan-fried bratwurst.  Nevertheless, at a Wisconsin "brat fry", the bratwurst are cooked on a grate over charcoal, usually on a kettle grill...that is how we are cooking our brats on my Bratwurst week.

I'm thinking of something refreshing to match the brats with this new-fangled drink that I found online. This is a classic Wisconsin recipe - a favorite accompaniment to grilled bratwurst, especially while tailgating at a Badgers, Packers, or Brewers game. 

You need:

1 Cooler
3 Bags Ice (cubes)1 Case Beer

Simply:

Remove cans from recyclable cardboard holder.  Place cans in cooler, intermingling with ice cubes.  Chill 45 minutes and serve. There's much more that goes into serving Kevin's bratwash than simply intermingling just any beer and ice into just any cooler.  Pick up essential points and tips on proper technique at Kevin's beer page.(I got this recipe from him).

Happy Bratwurst Day!