Brats in Beer
from the Weber cookbook, slightly modified

Brats should not be cooked before you buy them. You will find pre-cooked brats at the grocery store, but they are more like hotdogs than true bratwurst. You might like to try adding 2 tsp. mustard seeds and 1 tsp. caraway seeds, slightly crushed, to the onions in the recipe below.

Place brats in a aluminum foil pan large enough to hold the brats in one layer; add the onions and butter. Cover the brats with beer. Place pan on the cooking grill, cover grill, and once the beer starts to simmer cook about 20 - 30 minutes until the brats are done. This could also be done on the stovetop in a saucepan. Do not boil or the brats will burst.

Remove brats; keep the beer and onion mixture warm. Grill brats until golden brown and serve. They should be caramelized on the outside and juicy inside.

You can also return the brats to beer mixture until ready to serve - place the pan on the side of the grill to keep warm. Before serving, place brats back onto grill for 1 minute.

Serve brats on fresh toasted baked brat buns or hoagie rolls with the beer onions, sauerkraut, and mustard.

See also How Wisconsins Serve Brats from the Bratwurst Pages. In Wisconsin, brats are synonymous with "grilling." The author has a recipe for a Savory Beer Sauce made from tomatoes, beer, onions, green peppers and a touch of brown sugar that he likes to serve on top of brats.