I'm from Wisconsin and have been tailgating for 40 years in Madison and Green Bay. I have to tell you that if you are going to have a Wisconsin Brat, you better grill them first and have your hot marinade ready to receive them off the grill. Once off the grill, allow them to set for at least an hour in the marinade before serving. I usually make brats for a "crowd" the day before and allow the brats to sit overnight in the marinade. An hour or so before the tail gate I simply take my "huge" Bucky Pot full of brats and marinade and place it right on the grill for the "re heat". The brats are flavorful and melt in you mouth... oh, don't forget, use a slotted spoon to take out the sliced onions and garlic from the marinade to put on the brats.. OUT OF THIS WORLD. This is a good recipe for rainy days but, I agree with another reviewer, the flavor of the brat is lost to some degree in this recipe. You must also use a "strong" full bodied dark beer. I would use Augsburger Bock beer if it were still made out of Monroe, Wisconsin... ahhhh those good old fall days with a blue sky, cool breeze, the scent of fall leaves and grills, a cold beer, the laughter of friends and a good old fashion Wisconsin brat.
I have been making bratwurst for 20 years and took these to a Super Bowl party yesterday. Everyone loved them! Theh only thing I changed was to decrease the butter by about 1/3. This is the recipe I will use from now on. Thanks.
I always had my own beer brat recepie but I gave this one a try and now I will never cook them any other way! The brats were Awesome! Flaverful and and tender. Its worth the wait to cook these.
Not the beer brats I remember from Wisconsin. Using the slow cooker made the brats bloat up and the natural flavor of the brats weren't enhanced by the marinade - they were overwhelmed by it. I tried to get the flavor back by throwing them on the grill for 10min this helped crispen the outer casing but the brats still tasted soggy. I'm getting my mom's recipe to put on this site; hers includes grilling the brats - you can't capture that flavor without grilling!
I tried this recipe for our Super Bowl party and it was a hit! The only change I made was leaving out the sauerkraut. The simmering beer and onions leaves quite a smell in your house but the taste is well worth it!
I never cared for brats. I tried this recipe out on some friends and now I can't get enough DELICIOUS! I followed the recipe exactly however I cooked them for 8 hours on LOW while I was at work. Thanks for the recipe!
This is far and above the best Brat recipe that I've ever used. The only change I made was to use regular beer (MGD)rather than light beer and I used beer brats. Had a lot of happy guests that wanted the recipe. Thanks for sharing!
I pricked the brats all over with a fork before putting in the slow cooker so they would not burst and become soggy. I will leave out the brown sugar next time because my onions were sweet enough also will rinse the sauerkraut before adding to the cooker. I feel it is imperative to finish up on the grill for taste as well as presentation.
I've made this several times both for the family and for company. Everyone loves it. This will go into my regulation rotation. Glenda
