Getting ready to parboil your brats?


 

Jim Lampe

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian

Here's why science says not to bother...​

Daniel Higgins
Green Bay Press-Gazette

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Tempers will flare up quicker than flames from pork fat hitting hot coals when telling a backyard grill master how to grill bratwurst. Specifically, if it's best to parboil or not.

Grilling cookbook authors including Jamie Purviance, Steven Raichlen and the America's Test Kitchen team extol parboil benefits. Shorter grill times and adding beer flavor are the biggest gains.

Johnsonville Sausage bratwurst packages instruct grillers to toss fresh brats directly onto the grill.

Ralph Stayer, retired CEO of Johnsonville, said his brat grilling method skips parboiling in favor of enjoying a cocktail while grilling the brats.

Uncooked brats need more turning, which includes more double-click tong checks, which are two of best reasons to grill anything.

Experts are divided on the parboil debate, but not the science. And it's not good news for team parboil.

Jeff Sindelar, associate professor in the meat and science department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the uniform heat of parboiling provides more ease of cooking and that water (or beer, in this case) is one of the best mediums to cook in. But not for all foods.

"Parboiling isn’t the best for bratwurst," he said. "Because you want to provide gentle heat. A slower increase in heat."

Before delving into the science, Sindelar points out that bratwurst means "frying sausage" in German.

Bratwurst would be called "gekochtewurst," or something similar, according to Google translate and my friend living in Germany, if these sausages were made to be boiled.

Semantics is not science, but it provides a clue to the true intent of preparation.

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Bratwurst ingredients — ground meat, sugar, salt, pepper and other seasonings — bind together to maximize texture and flavor under the right conditions.

Proteins unfold in the meat and casing when heated. During the unfolding process, proteins bind with fats, salt, pepper and seasonings to create texture and flavor.

Parboiling speeds up the process that can create a mushy meat texture, develop rubbery casings and separate the casing from the sausage.

Proteins unfold slower in the medium-low heat of a grill. That environment creates more opportunities for the meat proteins to properly bind with the fats, seasonings and the casing.

Meanwhile, proteins in the casing shrink and dehydrate, leading to binding with the ground meat proteins. That bind creates a snap to each bite.

It would seem science has settled the debate: stop parboiling brats.

But, there is more to taste than how proteins combine. Smell, sounds, the surroundings and more can impact human perception of flavor. So can memories.

If the sight and smell of brats boiling in beer before hitting the grill brings back fond memories of family and friends, science stands little chance of changing your mind.

When it comes to a beer bath for the brats, Sindelar said it's possible to change the bratwurst because even at a proper hold temperature of around 140 degrees, the brats are slowly cooking. Limit time to a couple of hours, but less is best.

While cooking method impacts final results, there's no helping a bratwurst that doesn't suit your tastes.

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A bratwurst maker's use of seasonings and quality of meat impact the final product, but so does the coarseness of the meat grind.

Coarser grinds deliver a big flavor hit up front that fades as the meat is chewed. Finer grinds need the chewing process to release layers of flavors.

Generally, a Wisconsin bratwurst is meaty and salty with a hint of sage, ginger, coriander and nutmeg.

A true German or European style bratwurst will be more subtle, said Sindelar, with all flavors present and balanced.

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With all of this in mind I embarked on ingestigative reporting. I wanted to use fresh bratwurst that are widely available across Wisconsin. By that standard, that means Johnsonville Sausage Company and Klement's Sausage Company.

Also, I'm aware there's a butcher shop in your town that makes "the best" bratwurst, but that's a story for another day.

Brats went directly from package to a gas grill set to medium-low heat. Yeah, yeah, I hear purists screaming that I should have used charcoal but using gas allowed me to eliminate heat as a variable.

Johnsonville Original Bratwurst​

Cost: $4.29-$6.49

Weight: 19 ounces

Cooking time: 35 minutes

Splitting: None to minimal.

Browning: I probably went 5 minutes past done to get the golden brown color I like.

Tasting notes: Big immediate hit of salty, pork fat flavor backed by slight peppery bite. Other seasoning flavors are muted.

Klement's Bratwurst​

Cost: $2.49-$4.49

Weight: 16 ounces

Cook time: 25 minutes but I moved them to an upper rack away from the heat after about 20 minutes. They could have been served at that time.

Splitting: Three of five had significant splits which started about 10 minutes into grilling.

Browning: Easily turned a beautiful golden-brown.

Tasting notes: A wonderful blend of classic brat seasoning complements mild pork flavor. Each bite brings out more flavor. Slow down and chew longer to get the most out of these brats.

More:Johnsonville brats: How a small town Wisconsin butcher shop joined the global sausage race

More: Use the right beer to make those bratwurst even better
 
LOL, I was just thinking about the P1GVILLION because it's going to rain most of the day here in St. Louis and I'm lacking a rain shelter for my grill/smoker, then you hit us with the boil or no boil? That's kinda crazy. One of my best buddies grew up in Peshtigo, and is a big time brat boiler. I, on the other hand don't bother. His boiled brats always taste good to me. I sort of like that all you got to to is get color after you boil them.

But, I do not boil. I go straight to the grill. My biggest question is this; Whenever I grill sausages, sometimes i poke holes in the casing so the juices (mostly water) can come out slowly. It seems like when I don't, their can be an "eruption" where the casing ruptures. I also use a direct/indirect method where I brown on all sides and then flip to the indirect side to get the finished temperature. Not sure if this "text book" but it's how I've been doing it.

Jim, are you a boiler?
 
I make my own sausage & part of my process before I vaccum seal them is to prick them with a sausage pricker, see link:


I grill sausage indirect, turning them about every 5-10 minutes, After about 20 mintues I move them directly over the coals via "Grill Grates" for grill marks & to finish them off, this usually only takes a couple of minutes of flipping.
 
Well this sucks, now I find out I've been doing it all wrong and wasting good beer also. Just read an article too that says every hot dog you eat will take 30 some seconds off your life.
Time to stop these food conspiracies' we have enough other ones to keeps us going.
 
LOL, I was just thinking about the P1GVILLION because it's going to rain most of the day here in St. Louis and I'm lacking a rain shelter for my grill/smoker, then you hit us with the boil or no boil? That's kinda crazy. One of my best buddies grew up in Peshtigo, and is a big time brat boiler. I, on the other hand don't bother. His boiled brats always taste good to me. I sort of like that all you got to to is get color after you boil them.

But, I do not boil. I go straight to the grill. My biggest question is this; Whenever I grill sausages, sometimes i poke holes in the casing so the juices (mostly water) can come out slowly. It seems like when I don't, their can be an "eruption" where the casing ruptures. I also use a direct/indirect method where I brown on all sides and then flip to the indirect side to get the finished temperature. Not sure if this "text book" but it's how I've been doing it.

Jim, are you a boiler?
:D I Do Not Boil
Well this sucks....
Time to stop these food conspiracies' we have enough other ones to keeps us going.
The Vortex is what I use now for Brats.
Like BBQ, i believe it should be done to your own personal preference. Do what you LIKE to do.
 
I'm down here Shreveport, Louisiana way. Hard to get good Brats. We do have Johnsonville here. I get the regular and put them on the gasser. Think I will lower the heat after reading the article you posted Jim. I let the skins crack just a tad and turn off the heat. Before taking them off I pour cold beer on them flip and do it again. This causes the beer to "suck" into the Brats as they come off the grill and man can you taste it when you eat.

Also Daughter lives in St. Louis. When we are up that way, SIL takes me over to G&W Sausage company. I fill up the ice chest to take a load back.

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Thanks for the info Jim!
 
The Vortex is what I use now for Brats.
Same here. Half a chimney or less in the Vortex with the brats around the perimeter of the grill. I shoot for about 25 minutes to get them to 165F.

I go back and forth between using smoke wood and just plain charcoal. The smoke definitely changes the flavor a lot but I like it. Probably not for the purists.

That reminds me, Costco will probably be clearing out the leftover Labor Day stock soon. Have to keep on the lookout for those deep discounts on soon to expire Kirkland brats. Last year I bought enough to last through the winter. I found they work really well as a substitute for ground pork in meat loaf. Just pull off the skins and mix them in.
 
If you want a good, reasonably priced brat, try the Kirkland's at Costco. A 14 pack is something like $9-10.
 
Your the one that turned me on to that so Thanks!;)
Oh, yeah, I just did a search and that was about two years ago. Glad to hear it's still working well for you.

If you want a good, reasonably priced brat, try the Kirkland's at Costco. A 14 pack is something like $9-10.
Those are the ones I was talking about above. In a couple weeks they should have the overstock from Labor Day on sale for about $5. I got a couple packs after Independence Day at "clear 'em out 'cause they're about to expire" price. I repackage right away and toss them in the freezer.

I can't swear to it but I'm pretty sure Costco is packaging Johnsonville brats under the Kirkland label. If they aren't Johnsonville, somebody is following a pretty good imitation recipe.
 
I can't swear to it but I'm pretty sure Costco is packaging Johnsonville brats under the Kirkland label. If they aren't Johnsonville, somebody is following a pretty good imitation recipe.
I think the Kirkland has less fat in them, but the taste is similar. They will not shoot a stream of grease at you if you poke a hole in them.
 
I think the Kirkland has less fat in them, but the taste is similar. They will not shoot a stream of grease at you if you poke a hole in them.
Good point. I often temp the brats to be sure they've hit the target temp and I can't remember the last time I got a geyser of hot grease shooting out. I had assumed it had to do with my lower indirect heat method of cooking, but you could well be right about there just being less fat to begin with.

Thinking back on my history of cooking bratwurst, I believe it may be the one that's given me the most difficulty finding a really good way to cook them. It took me forever to figure out cooking brats and hamburgers on the same fire was a recipe for disaster. The proper fire for hamburgers is way too hot for brats. And I've never had a grill large enough to have a very hot area for the number of hamburgers I typically fix along with an indirect area for brats. So it's either hamburgers or brats now, never both together. Maybe I need a second grill.
 

 

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