Cooking With Heinen’s | Grilled Brats with Peppers and Onions

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5 mins read

Today were cooking up a summer classic, brats on the BBQ. Nothing screams summertime like cooking brats for a crowd on the grill. I’m using Saddleberk Berkshire brats from the butcher at Heinen’s. I’m so glad we ventured out of the usual packaged brats to try these. They were delicious and juicy. I served them with a variety of raosted vegetables and onions, mustard, pickles and most importantly, cold beer. The roasted garlic was a big hit. Spread the soft roasted garlic on your bun before filling it with the brat and toppings.

Do you know the difference between popular sausages? Here’s what I found:

BRATWURST is a German sausage, brats are made from pork and veal, sometimes beef. They have a smooth texture, a pale color, and a mild flavor.  It can be seasoned with any combination of salt, white pepper, nutmeg, lemon peel, marjoram, caraway and garlic.

KIELBASA is a Polish sausage. The type we see most is a smoked sausage made from pork and/or beef. It can be flavored with garlic and marjoram. The more garlic the better.

KNOCKWORST is a shorter, stockier German sausage made with beef or beef and pork. It has a stronger garlic flavor profile and a characteristic ‘snappy’ texture to the skin when cooked.

THE TRICK TO GRILLING PERFECT BRATS

Having zone heating gives you a high heat area and a low heat area. If your brats are cooking too fast or hot, you simply move them away from the coals. If you lay the charcoal evenly across the entire floor of the grill they have no reprieve from the heat and they will likely burn. The other danger of using too high of heat is the casing will burst, releasing all of the delicious juice inside the brat. A perfectly grilled brat will actually pulse as the juice inside the casing boils, without the casing breaking. If your casing bursts, that is a sign you need less heat. I read that adding shallow slits in the brats will allow for quicker cooking and keep the brats from curling. I think the argument can be made that doing this will cause juices to be lost however mine were still deliciously juicy. You decide.

Once the brats are taking on color, you will want to give them a quarter turn. Keep turning until each side of the brat has a rich reddish-brown color. If the exterior gets done before the brats finish cooking simply move them to the opposite side of the grill away from the coals so they can finish cooking without burning.

How long to cook brats will depend on how hot your coals are, and how many you are using. Or how high you have your gas grill set. However, typically grilling brats for 15-20 minutes is ideal. You will know the brats are done when an instant-read thermometer shows 160 degrees.

SHOULD YOU BOIL BRATS BEFORE GRILLING?

Boiling brats before grilling allows you to precook the brats before browning them on the grill. Sadly, this method tends to produce dry brats. Rather than boiling the brats, use a Beer Brat Bath instead, otherwise known as a Beer Hot Tub. This serves two functions. Most importantly, it keeps the brats warm after grilling so people can come grab one whenever they are hungry, and secondly, it infuses the brat with the flavor of beer, like boiling does, except it is done and a more manageable temperature so it doesn’t over-cook the brats. If your brat bath is kept around 160 degrees the brats will be piping hot, without drying out and over-cooking.

Serving brats as a meal is always a crowd pleaser but they are also a great appetizer too. Today I created a brat themed charcuterie board with all the flavors of a brat.  Simply cut the brats and add the fixings.

Brats with Peppers and Onions

Ingredients

  • 6 bratwurst ask for Saddleberk Berkshire sausage and brats at the Heinen’s meat counter,
  • 6 brat rolls
  • Mustard for serving
  • olive oil
  • assorted colorful bell peppers (allow about 1/2 pepper per brat)
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 head of garlic
  • salt and fresh cracked black pepper
  • red pepper flakes to taste

Method

For the Brats

  • Light charcoal and spread it evenly across one-half of the grill. If using propane, light burners only on one side of the grill. On my webber I set the three flames to medium off medium from front to back.
  • Oil grates with paper towel soaked in oil to prevent sticking.
  • Place brats on grates directly over heat and grill on each side until browned. If the casing bursts or burns move brats further from the coals to reduce cooking temperature.
  • Cook brats for 15-20 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Cooked brats are firm to the touch.
    Keep brats warm in a Brat Bath until ready to serve.
    Serve on buns with onions, sauerkraut, and brat sauce.
  • Note: I read that adding shallow slits in the brats will allow for quicker cooking and keep the brats from curling. I think the argument can be made that doing this will cause juices to be lost however mine were still deliciously juicy.

For the Vegetables

  • Preheat oven to 400°F or if you have room on your grill the vegetables can be cooked on the baking sheet on the grill.
  • Remove the veins and seeds from the peppers and slice into thin strips.
    Peel, halve, and slice the onion into thin wedges.
    Cut the top off the full head of garlic.
  • Put the onions and peppers and garlic on a sheet pan and season lightly with salt and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil. Toss everything together so all surfaces are lightly coated with the oil. Arranged in a single layer on the pan.
  • Roast vegetables for about 30 minutes, or until cooked through and slightly caramelized at the edges.

Notes

Don’t overcrowd your sheet pan, use two if necessary so that everything gets nicely browned. Overloading your pan will result in the food steaming instead of roasting.

Serve Brats with buns slightly larger than the brats allowing room for add-ons. Top with assorted peppers, onions and garlic and your favorite mustard.

About the Author

Photographer Sally Roeckell specializes in contemporary lifestyle portraiture with an emphasis on food photography. Her Blog, Table and Dish is a website devoted to celebrating and curating the many ways that food binds us. Sally hopes that her recipes and images will inspire you to gather your friends and family in the kitchen to make memories, use the time to connect with busy kids, chat over mixing bowls, get messy, laugh, sing, set the table, clear the table, pass the salt, debate the days topics and pray. You can follow her here as a weekly contributor to 365Barrington and Heinen’s as well as via Table and Dish on Instagram and on her website at TableAndDish.com.


Have you heard about Heinen’s Tasteful Rewards™ program? Sign up for free to receive exclusive weekly specials via email and earn Heinen’s rewards. As a Tasteful Rewards™ membership benefit, Heinen’s will donate up to 1% of your qualified purchases made between September and April to a local school of your choice through their Teaming Up for Education Program. CLICK HERE to sign up for Heinen’s Tasteful Rewards™ and, trust me, this is one email that will always please your palate!


Heinen’s Grocery is located at 500 N. Hough Street, between E. Main Street and Route 14 (next to Meatheads) in Barrington, Illinois. They’re open 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit Heinens.com.

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