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This Bratwurst Recipe Always Delivers
Bratwurst sausage is usually made from ground pork and spices and is sold raw in the casing. Just searing it doesn't cook it completely without drying it out which is why many people first boil bratwurst and then sear it on the stove or grill it. Too many steps and a significant loss of flavor.
This recipe showcases the best way to cook bratwurst to juicy perfection while coaxing every bit of flavor from the raw sausage.
You will like it because:
- it is simple and therefore easy to master
- it is effective and never fails
- it delivers deliciously browned bratwurst sausages
- it ensures the bratwurst remains juicy, with a rich, snappy bite
Ingredients
Bratwurst. Look for fresh sausages without preservatives and color added - they taste much better than the pre-packaged ones with longer shelf life.
Cooking oil. Use neutral oil such as vegetable, sunflower or olive oil to sear the brats.
Water. Just a bit of water is needed to add to the pan to create enough steam for the bratwurst to cook through. You can also use beef broth or beer as the liquid for more flavor.
Onion, bell pepper, thyme and salt and pepper. If you decide to saute them to garnish the bratwurst. They are optional ingredients and you do not need to prepare them if you only want the cooked sausages.
NOTE: Bratwurst sausage, as it is known in the United States, is made of fresh ground pork with cumin, garlic, marjoram, mustard seed and other spices. It is intended for pan-frying or grilling as the most common preparations. Combinations of pork and veal or beef bratwurst are also sold but are more common in Germany, where there are many varieties of bratwurst, including fine ground veal only, some pre-cooked.
How to Cook Bratwurst Sausage on the Stove
Pan-frying bratwurst is superior to boiling (by a very wide margin) because new flavors are born on the surface of the sausages as they sizzle in a thin layer of hot oil. This happens trhough the Maillard reaction and is not to be missed.
However, if you only pan fry the bratwurst it can dry out by the time it cooks through on the inside. Especially if you have procured thick, long, artisanal brats as you see in the pictures.
This is why we recommend that you use our steam frying approach as the best way to cook bratwurst on the stove:
- First, sear the outside of the bratwurst and create an appetizing thin crust.
- Next, steam the sausages until they are perfectly cooked through.
How do you do that?
Step 1. Begin by poking little holes on the surface of each raw bratwurst to prevent the casing from bursting during pan-frying. Heat a skillet over medium-high stove and cook each 'side' (ideally all around the sausage) in just a thin layer of oil until nicely browned. Flip as necessary.
Step 2. When the outsides of the brats have browned add a bit of water (about ¼ cup) to the hot pan and immediately cover it with a lid. The resulting steam will cook through the bratwurst without drying it out in just a couple of minutes.
Watch me cook bratwurst on the stove below, as well as saute onions and peppers.
Demonstrational Video
Temperature for Cooking Bratwurst
Bratwurst is cooked and food safe once the internal temperature is 160 F.
On the stove top, with our recipe you can cook it to up to about 185 F without it loosing its snappy bite. Do not stress about the exact temperature - as soon as your meat thermometer measures over 160 F you can stop cooking the brats.
TIP: Cook the onions and peppers to your desired softness. Keep them separate if you will be serving to people who don't like one or the other. If they are getting dry in the pan add a bit of water to rehydrate and continue cooking.
Serve Bratwurst Sausage
Bread bun. The most American way to enjoy a bratwurst is on a bun, surrounded by onions and peppers. The classic condiment is mustard (why not beer mustard?), we also like this creamy German horseradish sauce, especially when we use pretzel buns. Or if you'd rather make bratwurst hot dog simply use all the customary toppings - diced onions, relish, yellow mustard, ketchup etc.
Potatoes. Bratwurst goes so well with mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, German fried potatoes, potato salads, French fries, German potato pancakes, potato dumplings, even potato chips.
Sauerkraut & Rotkohl. The two classic German bratwurst sides. Rotkohl is the slightly sour, spiced braised red cabbage the German enjoy. Also check out our recipe below for how to cook bratwurst with beer braised sauerkraut.
Cabbage. Beyond sauerkraut and German braised red cabbage, simple butter cabbage or fried cabbage both make a great side for bratwurst. So do most coleslaws, including this German coleslaw Krautsalat.
Pickles. Bratwurst toppings that work really well are gurken (tiny pickles), beer pickles, pickled onions, pickled peppers or even pickled cauliflower.
Salads. All manner of green salads, German cucumber salad, this tomato and cucumber salad with feta, roasted pepper pasta salads, white beans salad, roasted corn salsa.
Beer. Bratwurst and beer is a match made in heaven, but what beer styles work best? We recommend German lagers. Anything from Northern Pilsner to Oktoberfest Marzen or festbier. The sweetish strong lagers like Doppelbock also pair well with brats.
TIP: Brush buns or hoagie rolls with a bit of melted butter and warm them up in the oven prior to placing bratwurst inside.
Other Ways to Cook Bratwurst
There are so many variations of cooking bratwurst on stove as well as so many other ways to prepare the sausage - in the oven, on the grill, on the smoker, in an air fryer, in a crock pot, etc. Below are three of our favorite ideas.
How to Cook Beer Bratwurst
One of our most popular bratwurst recipes here on Craft Beering is cooking the sausages with beer - they simmer in a delicious sauce made with onions, beef broth and sweetish dark German lager. We especially like to use German bratwurst that is all veal in this recipe, but it works with the raw sausage shown in the current post perfectly. Beer Bratwurst Sausage Recipe.
How to Cook Bratwurst in Oven
This recipe is a time saver. It is so easy. We demonstrate with brats but the method works for just about any combination of sausage, peppers and onions. Or you can only cook the bratwurst in the oven by itself.
Bratwurst and Sauerkraut
This recipe is a rendition of how the Germans like to braise sauerkraut with spices and borth and beer in order to mellow its sharp taste and create a savory dimension to wlecome the bratwurst. We like it with pork or beef bratwurst, but our favorite is veal brats. German Bratwurst and Sauerkarut.
Storage and Reheating
Store leftovers of bratwurst sausage in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
To reheat brats add a bit of oil to a pan over medium heat and sear until warmed through. Alternatively, slice the sausages diagonally instead of simply in circles (for more surface area for each bite) and sear them briefly in a skillet - they are great with eggs for breakfast.
You Might Enjoy
Sauerkraut Balls with Bratwurst | Sauerkraut Strudel | German Sausage Salad - Wurstsalat | Currywurst
Recipe
Bratwurst Sausage on Stove Top
Equipment
- 10 inch frying pan, heavy bottomed with lid
Ingredients
Bratwurst
- 5 bratwurst sausage links
- ½ tablespoon neutral cooking oil (vegetable, sunflower or olive oil)
- ¼ cup water ( or beef broth or beer)
Onion & Pepper
- ½ tablespoon cooking oil (if needed)
- 1 yellow onion, sliced to medium thickness slivers
- 1 tablespoon freshly picked thyme (or half the amount dried)
- 1 green bell pepper, sliced into medium strips
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper, or to taste
Instructions
Bratwurst
- With the tip of a sharp knife poke tiny holes on the surface of each bratwurst sausage.
- Place frying pan over a medium-high heat stove and add the oil. When it is shimmering add the brats and allow them to brown for about two minutes. If browning too fast, adjust the heat. Flip the sausages and allow them to brown again for two minutes.
- Add the water and immediately cover with the lid. Lower the heat to medium and allow the brats to steam for a couple of minutes. They are done when the internal temperature taken with meat thermometer registers above 160 F.*
Onion & Pepper
- Use the same pan where you fried the bratwurst and if needed add more oil. Add the onion and thyme, mix. Push to one side of the pan. Add the pepper in the empty side.** Season with salt and pepper.
- Saute the onion and pepper until soft. If getting too dry, add a bit of water. When satisfied with doneness, return the brats to the pan to warm them through, Serve.
Video
Notes
- In our recipe the bratwurst sausage is essentially steam-fried. That is to say that first it is pan-fried, targeting the surface and then gently steamed targeting the inside and allowing it to come to temperature by moist heat.
- You can choose to cook just the bratwurst or if desired cook the onion and pepper to use as garnish.
- Ideally, you will use a lid that fits your pan and has a tiny hole on it to let out some steam. Alternatively, you can leave a tiny opening on one side of the pan. If you do not have a lid that fits your pan use a sheet pan that covers it and make a provision for a bit of steam to escape.
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