Brats on the Q help


 
Did my first brats on my new to me Q200 yesterday. Had too much sear for my wife, (only started on the Q and finished in beer bath). Preheated on high for about 10 min and turned down to low once the brats were on. Could use advise on how you all do your brats.
 
I start my brats the same way as you and turn them frequently until my digitherm reads minimum 180 in the middle. At that temp they are safe to eat and still juicy inside but if they reach 200 then they are too well done for me.
 
Whenever I have done "beer brats" I fully cook them in the beer and simply crisp them on the grill
 
I used to put a sheet of aluminum foil on the grate and cook the food on the foil. It worked out well by cooking them in their own juices
 
I heat the Q up to about 300 and throw them on. Then turn the grill down to keep temps 3-400 and flip them about every 5 minutes until done. Nothing fancy, but it works for me.
 
There ya go. Take it from a Cheese Head to know how to cook brats! Sorry Bruce, I just had to ya gotta know that LOL
 
LOL, I am a transplant actually. I grew up in Minnesota. Hence the Vikings Avatar. But, I try to keep my grilling/cooking simple. There may be better ways but I prefer the cooking not get in the way of eating.
 
Yeah my wife is a transplant from Viking land also. Grew up in Richfield MN. A stone throw from the MSP airport. But I don't hold against her even through she still talks funny LOL
 
I cook them sous vide at 150˚ for an hour then finish on the grill or in a sauté pan till nicely browned. The browning I do relatively quickly as I don't want the internal to get much higher than 150. Alternatively, if using just the grill, I cook them on the grill in a foil pan, the sausages sitting on a pile of sliced onion mixed with some beer, mustard, thyme and salt, foil pan covered, for 15-20 minutes, then remove the sausages to the grill to brown while the liquid in the pan reduces, uncovered and the onions get very tender. To be safe, I look for an internal of 158-160˚.
 
See, classic difference in preference. K Kruger spends the time (over an hour) for his process in cooking his brats. However, mine take 20 minutes. That being said, I wouldn't mind tasting Kruger's brats. Sounds great.
 
Darrel-what spices? I am simmering right now some brats in chicken broth (not enough beer on hand to spare), bay leaf, onion, thyme and a little butter before I sear them.
 
Why the butter? Good brats have enough fat of their own. Even spices are not really needed with brats being pretty well spiced. Really the only reason I give them a bath is to keep them from busting open on the grill. Though, if I use one of the full sized grills I can do them indirectly with some smoke on them and they come out great. I mostly use the bathing method when I have to fill the grill and indirect cooking is nearly impossible or I am using the Q220 and cannot do a low enough heat on them. Otherwise I don't even bother with the beer (or any other liquid bath) because it really does not add anything. I have done blind taste tests to prove that out too
 
Butter is used by most Sheboyganites (and they know brats) in their beer baths, not sure why, but who am I to question? The bath itself is a method (in my case) to soften the skin so my finicky wife can chew them. If I don't use a bath, she peels the skin off, to my dismay (but not our dog's).
 
It's the dairy state as well as the beer state. I am kind of surprised that the recipe didn't include some melted cheese somewhere in the process. I guess the butter fills that quota.
 
Many thanks (once again) Kevin. Your brats now added to my recipe collection.

I usually just do sausage straight on the grill, but for brats have been wanting a more "interesting" method.
 

 

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