Brats--Our Style

Ingredients

• 3 lbs bratwursts, raw, not precooked (the Johnsonville packs contain 12 brats)
• 3 (12 ounce) bottles beer (We use bud light, but feel free to adjust to whatever you have in the fridge(even old beer works!)
• 1 onion, sliced and separated into rings (1 large)
• 1-2 tablespoon minced garlic (We usually used the preminced garlic in a jar)
• 12 buns (could be anything from inexpensive hot dog buns to bakery brat buns (the wheat ones are delicious!)

Toppings of your choice

• ketchup or mustard or sauerkraut (hot or cold)

Directions

1. 1

   Grill the brats on your BBQ grill over medium heat, turning occasionally and monitoring carefully so that you don't split the skins. We like ours a little on the darker side, but grill to your own preference. This typically takes us about 15 minutes.

2. 2

   Pour two of the bottles of beer into a 9 x 13 cake pan, and place on the grill (We use an old one that we're not worried about staining or anything, but the disposable foil ones would work as well if you don't want to ruin a good pan).

3. 3

   Add onions, garlic, and brats to the cake pan.

4. 4

   Add as much of the third bottle of beer as possible, leaving a little room at the top so it won't boil over.

5. 5

   Simmer on the grill while cooking the veggies or anything else for your meal on the other side of the grill. Start out at medium heat, and adjust down as necessary to avoid cooking too hard and splitting the brats open. They should just simmer lightly for 30-45 minutes for great flavor. Add additional beer as necessary. We usually boil until the beer is almost gone, but do not allow to boil completely dry!

6. 6

   Remove the brats from liquid to serve as needed, allowing remaining brats to 'hang out' and stay hot in the liquid until needed. Serve on buns with desired toppings and garnishes. My favorite is with ketchup and mustard and cold sauerkraut, but my husband likes pickles or relish on his, and the kids are content with just ketchup, sometimes with a bun, sometimes without.

7. 7

   Leftover brats reheat well if you do so slowly in the microwave. 100% power will blow them up, so procede with caution and use appropriate settings for your microwave.

8. 8

   Enjoy!