Brats

The last time I made Brats they were very good.  However, I did hear a cpl comments like “these are good. …but they aren’t Johnsonville.”  So I am going to try a Johnsonville clone.  Here’s the recipe for 10 lbs, I halved it for 5 lbs of fresh ground pork butt.

5 TBS Canning Salt
3 Eggs (I used two for 5 lbs.)
1 Pint Cold Milk
1 TBS Pepper
1 TBS Mace (I used All Spice as a sub because I didn’t have Mace)
1 tsp Ginger
1 TBS Nutmeg

We’ll see…

SWMBO said we’re never buyin Brats at the grocery anymore.  She LOVED them.  I made a warm German Potato Salad (with my homemade bacon) to go with them.  I heated up a few pretzels as well.

Nice work.  However, Johnsonville should not be your gold standard for brats.  I have had dozens of varieties better.

but if you like johnsonville, more power to ya. i think they are pretty good, even though i like the fresh variety.

I am just tryin to please the masses. They said the batch before wasn’t like Johnsville so I found a clone.

If you have a recipe I’ll try it.

Well, I am on an eternal quest to clone PBR, so I guess we’re in the same boat.

now that shouldn’t take long  ;D

I’m down for that. Can’t be sending my money off to the commies.

Those look awesome! I haven’t made brats ina  couple years, need to make up a batch soon. (Mine are way better that Johnsonville, just sayin’. ) :wink:

In Drew and Denny’s new book, Drew has a recipe for a brat beer.  Sounds strange as heck to me, but somehow, I think I may try it.

yeah i read that. gotta be honest…i like my beer to compliment my food, no taste like my food.

I’m with you Ken. Not seeing any scenario where that’s drinkable. Or PB + J beer, bacon beer…

I hear ya.  WE have a beer fest in our area “StrangeBeer Fest.”  We’ve done a Rhubarb and Jalepeno IPA, Crab Stout, amongst other strange beers.  Many of the smaller breweries in our region come up with some pretty wild stuff.  Pike Brewing in Seattle did a “Salt and Pepper Ale” a few years back.  It was delicious.  This year we’re gonna do our Rhubarb IPA again as last year we blew the keg pretty quickly.  And adding to that, Denny’s Wee Shroomy.  It’s fermenting now, and we’ll put it on the Chantrelles in about 2 weeks.

I didn’t mean any offense, Mic. There’s room for people to brew what they like.

EDIT  -  Actually I could see rhubarb in a beer, maybe even a saison too.

No offense taken.

This beer fest is good opportunity to do some fun things.  Sometimes, there’s some “not so great” beers there.  But, we still have a blast.

Yep,to each their own…that’s the beauty of this craft.  I did try a rauchbier this weekend, and I just couldn’t shake the overwhelming bacon taste. I think we all have different thresholds for pungent flavors and smells. I seem to be a touch sensitive to them. I can enjoy an IPA, but push the extremes on them and I’m out. It’s just too much for me.

A lot of these beers I’m interested in tasting, but a 2 oz pour at a beer fest is all I need. I can’t even finish a pint of Rauchbier, it’s just too much for me. Heck, even Bourbon County Stout is just too much for me. They’re not necessarily bad beers, but they’re definitely not something I’d want to be stuck with 5 gallons of.