Like so many others on this site, I've been reading and enjoying J. Kenji Lopez-Alt's new book The Food Lab. His recommended technique for grilling sausages is to first braise them in a pan directly over the coals, then finish them over direct heat to promote flavorful browning. I tested his method on some brats, and also cooked a few brats at the same time with the more traditional reverse-sear method. The braised brats were quite a bit more tender than those cooked with the reverse-sear method, and I've been braising my brats ever since.
On a kettle grill, I've found his braising technique severely limits the number of brats I can cook since the traditional setup with all the coals on one side of the kettle limits me to one pan of brats. If I'm having more than a few people over to watch a game, or I want leftovers, I'll typically want to cook at least two pans of brats. After playing around with the grill during several cooks, I've come up with a way to cook two pans at once. I'm always looking for ways to improve my cooks, so if anyone else would like to share their experiences braising sausages I'd love to hear them.
The fire setup
Brats on, braising in beer
Brats have hit 150, time for some browning
The finished product
A few observations to share:
While braising, the brats need to be flipped and rotated halfway through cooking to ensure they all cook evenly. Count on the ones directly over the coals to cook the fastest, but with the braising liquid the difference in cooking rates isn't too extreme.
The brats seem to go from 120 to 150 in just a few minutes. Once they start to warm up, check them frequently to avoid overcooking them.
I'm not a fan of sauerkraut so I just braise mine in beer, but you can use about any liquid and seasoning that you like.
Supermarket pork works great since it is leaner and doesn't flare up so easily. The brats in the photos were made from Berkshire pork and the extra juices cause an instant inferno and a split casing whenever I get them directly over the coals. That's why you see them just to the right of the coals in the 3rd photo, and I still got some splitting on nearly every brat. I gladly welcome any suggestions for preventing a split casing when working with Berkshire.
If anyone else has experience implementing J. Kenji Lopez-Alt's braising technique, I do hope you'll share your thoughts. The technique really does produce great sausages.
On a kettle grill, I've found his braising technique severely limits the number of brats I can cook since the traditional setup with all the coals on one side of the kettle limits me to one pan of brats. If I'm having more than a few people over to watch a game, or I want leftovers, I'll typically want to cook at least two pans of brats. After playing around with the grill during several cooks, I've come up with a way to cook two pans at once. I'm always looking for ways to improve my cooks, so if anyone else would like to share their experiences braising sausages I'd love to hear them.
The fire setup
Brats on, braising in beer
Brats have hit 150, time for some browning
The finished product
A few observations to share:
While braising, the brats need to be flipped and rotated halfway through cooking to ensure they all cook evenly. Count on the ones directly over the coals to cook the fastest, but with the braising liquid the difference in cooking rates isn't too extreme.
The brats seem to go from 120 to 150 in just a few minutes. Once they start to warm up, check them frequently to avoid overcooking them.
I'm not a fan of sauerkraut so I just braise mine in beer, but you can use about any liquid and seasoning that you like.
Supermarket pork works great since it is leaner and doesn't flare up so easily. The brats in the photos were made from Berkshire pork and the extra juices cause an instant inferno and a split casing whenever I get them directly over the coals. That's why you see them just to the right of the coals in the 3rd photo, and I still got some splitting on nearly every brat. I gladly welcome any suggestions for preventing a split casing when working with Berkshire.
If anyone else has experience implementing J. Kenji Lopez-Alt's braising technique, I do hope you'll share your thoughts. The technique really does produce great sausages.
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