Bears Brat Food

BEER BRATS

Steps:

• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat. When hot, lightly oil grate.
• Combine the beer and onions in a large pot; bring to a boil. Submerge the bratwurst in the beer; add the red pepper flakes, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to medium and cook another 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the bratwurst from the beer mixture; reduce heat to low, and continue cooking the onions.
• Cook the bratwurst on the preheated grill, turning once, 5 to 10 minutes. Serve with the beer mixture as a topping or side.

SKILLET BRATS WITH BEER CARAMELIZED PEPPERS AND ONIONS

Steps:

• Preheat a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the oil, then the onions, peppers and garlic. Season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they just begin to soften and the onions turn translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Move the onions and peppers to the side of the skillet and add the bratwurst. Score the bratwurst with a knife on both sides. Add to the pan and sear, about 3 minutes per side. Add the beer to the skillet. Bring to a simmer and cook, turning the bratwurst and stirring the vegetables occasionally, until the beer reduces by half and the brats are cooked through to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Serve with hot pepper mustard and pretzel rolls.
• Whisk together the vinegar, water, honey, sugar, banana peppers, bell peppers, onions and garlic in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low/medium low and simmer until the peppers and onions are soft, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer to a small food processor or blender and puree until very smooth. Add the mustard and puree until just incorporated. Season with salt. Transfer to a bowl and let cool completely, then refrigerate until well chilled, about 30 minutes.

BEARS BRAT

Steps:

• For the bratwurst: Preheat a grill to medium-high heat.
• Bring the beer to a simmer in a pot with the apples, sliced onions, salt and pepper. Add in the brats and simmer, turning once, until cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Strain out the solids and reserve 1 cup of the beer base.
• Brown the sausages on the grill to add color and texture, 5 to 6 minutes.
• For the beer mushtard: Mix the mustard, jalapenos, mayonnaise and 1 to 2 tablespoons of the reserved beer base in a bowl. Adjust the thickness with more beer base if necessary.
• For the sandwich build, place the grilled brats on the pretzel buns, followed by some beer mushtard and Caramelized Onions.
• Add the oil and sliced onions to a skillet and stir to combine. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook over medium-low heat, undisturbed, until the bottoms of the onions begin to caramelize, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir only once and keep for another 5 minutes undisturbed. Once the onions are golden and soft, set aside. (Add water if necessary to help deglaze the pan throughout the cooking process.)

BEER BRATS

Steps:

• Place brats in a Dutch oven with onions and butter, cover the brats with beer. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer until brats are cooked. Remove brats and set aside beer mixture. Grill brats until golden brown and return to beer mixture until ready to serve. Serve brats on fresh baked brat buns with sauerkraut, onions, green peppers, ketchup, and/or mustard.

BRATS IN A BLANKET WITH BEER MUSTARD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
• Carefully unroll and separate 8 of the perforated triangles of crescent dough. Starting with the smaller end of each dough triangle, wrap it around a brat and pinch the seams together to totally seal. Place the wrapped brats on the prepared baking sheet.
• Beat the egg in a small bowl. Brush the brats with the egg and sprinkle the poppy and sesame seeds on top. Bake until the dough is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
• To make the beer mustard, add the beer to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer; simmer over medium heat until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved, about 1 minute. Add the yellow mustard and Dijon mustard to a small heatproof bowl. Pour in the reduced beer and stir to combine.
• Serve the brats in a blanket with the beer mustard on the side for dipping.