Brats in beer [Moved from Midwest Board]

[wdames]

I am from Milwaukee so I have eaten lots of good sausage. The debate rages should I cook the brats in beer first and then grill or vice vica

[QSheba]

I sweat some onions and garlic in butter, then add beer. Simmer brats 20-30 min, then throw them on the grill. :)

[hotdoglover]

I get my brats from the Union Pork Store in Union, N.J. I simmer (not boil) them in water (more beer for me to drink) then grill them. I put them on a quality roll from a nearby bakery (Carmen's, also in Union) and top with spicy mustard and German sauerkraut. I enjoy these as much as I do hot dogs.

[Tonka]

Boil in beer first, grill second. The grilling gives the exterior a nice crunchy skin.

[Val]

I'm not from Midwest and never even tasted a brat until pretty recently but all 3 sons go ape over them so ...my take on this is that the beer is first, then the grill. Seems to me that the grilled flavor is what you are really after (well, okay...there would be some who would want the beer flavor, first...whatever! Then, for those folks, I say reverse it and do the beer last)...but the simmer to make sure they are done comment is what I agree with...the grilling is the frosting on the cake, for sure.

[karykat]

My mother (former Wisconsinite) and her family always did it the other way around: grill first and then put in simmering beer with the onions. Not sure why. And the rationales given above by others make sense to me. Maybe part of the idea was to keep them hot after grilling if you had people eating at different times. And I always liked that bratty-beery juice that sank into the hard rolls when you took them out of the beer.

[Kelli2006]

I simmer them in lager beer with a sliced onion until cooked throughly, and grill them over coals. Serve with kraut and mustard on a toasted hoagie roll.

repeat as necessary.

[Pylon]

Here's a discussion on the topic...

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/485754

My view is beer first (to cook them through), then grill (for color and flavor)