Man Food: Brats n' Beer

Well, yesterday was another manly man day here at Chez W... and another fun food day for me! This time I made Bratwurst in Beer--one of the guys' favorites!

And of course it was our dear Wayne's birthday yesterday... so it was extra-special. My dear sister-in-law made him this cool birthday cake, which was not really a cake at all--it was a lightly sweet peanut butter bread, frosted and decorated just so.


But I digress.

Brats n' Beer is satisfying manly fare. After cooking for a few hours in the beer, it takes on a whole new personality--the sausages are darker, softened, the beer is reduced and tastes... well, nothing like beer, really, but becomes this wonderful jus perfect for soaking up with a bit of bread.

I served the brats n' beer alongside yellow and spicy brown mustards, onions and peppers also cooked in beer, ketchup, hot sauce and of course my homemade pickled cherry peppers--sure to blow their eyebrows right off!


Brats n Beer
8 manly portions or 16 regular portions


Bratwurst - I like at least 2 pounds... I had 24 links total, half were red 'beef brats,' and the other half were regular white brats
olive oil
1 package (of 8) hot dogs
2 16-count packages hot dog buns
2 large onions, sliced vertically
3 large green peppers, sliced
1 bag saurkraut, drained and rinsed 3 1-pint size cans beer


1. In a large saucepan, brown half the bratwurst in olive oil over a medium flame. When browned on all sides, poke each brat once or twice with a wooden skewer. Pour in 1 pint beer. Bring to a boil and remove from heat; transfer to a crock pot set to low.


2. Repeat with the second half of the bratwurst, and top with hot dogs. Let cook at least 2 hours on low. The longer the better--4 hours results in brats that are so soft they're falling apart.


3. In a little more olive oil, and again over medium heat, saute onions and green peppers until they begin to carmelize. Add the last pint of beer. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, until peppers become limp and liquid is reduced by at least half. Now here you could just add them to the crock pot with the brats, but because Mr.W is so very, very picky, I leave them separate in a foil-covered metal bowl in the oven at 200*F.


4. Serve warm with buns.

Note: I actually piled all the dogs & brats in the crock pot insert, covered with foil, and left in the oven at 250*F for 3-4 hours, and then put in the crock pot on low for serving.


There's nothing more manly than food cooked in beer. They were devoured with rave reviews. Devoured so quickly, in fact, that I could not get a photo of one of the bunned wonders... my digital camera's battery died and before I could turn around the food was no more!

Okay... I did get one terrible picture using my cell phone. Not great at all, the colorization is all wrong. It looks like a nasty green-tinted photo out of a 70s cookbook. But you get the idea. That stuff under the links that looks like rice is actually kraut.