Bratwurst smoke ring?


 
B

Brian Seifert

New member
Hello, can someone please tell me if smoke will go through the casing on such thing as a bratwurst? I tried a fattie last weekend, and it turned out delicious. Just not sure about stuff with casings though, please advise if you have any experience. Thanks,
 
I smoked a bunch of sweet italian sausage last weekend, it came out with a ring. I don't know how different the casing would be on a bratwurst.
 
Well, if you look at Chris' headliner for this month, I say there is little or no smoke ring. That certainly doesn't mean they're not VERY tastey!!!
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JimT
 
Brian,
I indirect grill my brats very very slowly, and never pre-cook or post-cook them in beer. Some think this is the correct (Wisconsin) way but they are sadly mistaken. Always fresh bratwurst. Never by the precooked.
Indirect grilled with natural lump and hickory or birch chunks, and you'll wind up with a burgundy colored brat on the outside that is juicy on the inside with a small smoke ring.
 
I smoked a couple of pounds of fresh Polish sausage a few weeks ago, and those had a nice ring to them. Pretty tasty too!
Paul
 
I get a smoke ring on my brats.
The reason I simmer/soak in some type of fluid a lot of time is the casing is not as tuff. You still get that great smoked flavor, just not as tuff to bite through.
 
I usually indirect grill brats and then do the soak in beer and onions in a pan on the grill.

Bob, do you smoke, then soak?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Clark "Harbormaster" Hodgson:
Brian,
I indirect grill my brats very very slowly, and never pre-cook or post-cook them in beer. Some think this is the correct (Wisconsin) way but they are sadly mistaken. Always fresh bratwurst. Never buy the precooked.
Indirect grilled with natural lump and hickory or birch chunks, and you'll wind up with a burgundy colored brat on the outside that is juicy on the inside with a small smoke ring. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Harbormaster,

Your parents brought you up right. I could never grill brats successfully (20+ years) until my dad showed me his indirect grilling method. They always turn out perfect his way. My use of smoke wood and this method has the exact results that you describe.

I did a test a couple years ago of pre-cooked, direct cooked and indirect cooked with a single package of brats. I found that pre-cooking boils the fat out the brats, this reduces flare-ups, but also eliminates flavor. Direct cooking results in burned brats and constant flipping.

Raichlen's How to Grill book says to poke sausages with a pin to let the flavor, er, fat out while grilling. I lost a lot a of faith in the man with that recommendation.

Jim
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dirk:
I usually indirect grill brats and then do the soak in beer and onions in a pan on the grill.

Bob, do you smoke, then soak? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I've done it both before or after. If your looking for a smoke ring, not as much luck doing the simmer before they go on the smoker/indirect. If I do simmer before hand, I do not poke holes in them for the reason someone posted, you leave a lot of fat/flavor out. I did see on the Food Network one time, they had a "Tailgate" comp on, and a team from WI. was on, the self proclaimed bratwurst state, that you have to poke a "certain" amount of holes in it, simmer in beer/onions for 10 minutes, then grill them. I tried that and will never poke holes in them again lol.
 
I do not get smoke rings on a brat, no matter how long I leave them on the smoker.

As for poking holes in the brat while cooking or before, that is just wrong. Almost as wrong as butterflying a sausage before cooking it.
 
I just cooked a package of brats and they had a small but visible smoke ring (about 1/8 inch). I thought they were wonderful. When my middle son picked one over a smoke hot dog, I knew they were wonderful.
 
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