What makes bratwurst taste so damn good?
So, on the 4th of July, I want to know- What is is that makes bratwurst taste so damn good? I know that they're plumper, jucier, and fresher... but what is that flavor that I love? Exotic spices? Tortured baby cows? I need to know!
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M$3 Answers
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Bratwurst is made with pork and sometimes veal, and seasoned with subtle spices. It usually needs to be cooked before eating, though some markets carry precooked bratwurst.. Whereas a Polish sausage is a sausage made with pork and/or beef and flavored with garlic, pimento, and cloves. They can come already cooked, but most people heat them before serving.
Not only that it is the ingredients particularly the seasoning with the typical German beer and their traditional German Style taste present in the Bratwurst makes all the difference from the Polish or other sausages.
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Ingredients present in Bratwurst:
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Pork, Wisconsin beer, corn syrup and less than 2% of the following: salt, dextrose, monosodium glutamate, flavorings, BHA, propyl gallate, citric acid.
For further ref:
http://www.johnsonville.com/home/products/brats/beer-n-bratwurst.html
In other brands Ingredients: Salt, Dextrose, Pepper, Sage, Onion, Mace, and Celery.are also present.
ref: http://www.askthemeatman.com/ac_legg_fresh_sausage_seasoning_2.htm#Bratwurst%20Seasoning
Ingredients present in Polish sausages:
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Ingredients: Salt, Dextrose, White Pepper, Coriander, Garlic Powder and MSG.
For further ref:
http://www.askthemeatman.com/ac_legg_fresh_sausage_seasoning_2.htm#Bratwurst%20Seasoning
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M$My favorite way to heat bratwurst for a sandwich is to poke the sausages with a sharp knife so they don't explode, then put a little oil in a pan with a lid, and saute them on all sides for a few minutes. I then pour in about 1/2 to 3/4 inch of beer and drop in a dozen whole black peppercorns, cover, and let that simmer for maybe 10 to 15 minutes. You can simply cook the sausage the entire time in beer without browning, but I like mine a bit brown. Feels more like it is fully cooked.
You want to be sure the sausage is completely cooked through, so I usually clamp them in my kitchen tongs in the pan and slice each one down the middle lenghtwise, showing the pink inside. You can let it simmer there longer, or you can do what one recipe calls for (one of my old kitchen cookbooks, not online) and put the halved sausage under the oven broiler for a couple of more minutes to brown each side some more. This also helps cook out a little more of the fat.
It will end up an attractive sausage if you've browned it, and you could probably brown it after the beer also:
I use a chunk of French bread for my sandwiches, cut in half, buttered, and put under the broiler until it is browned. I use sauerkraut if I have it handy, and sometimes mustard, or if I don't have the sauerkraut, I pull out a big thick dill pickle, slice it diagonally to get big flat disks, and put that on one side of the bun. This gives the same vinegary tart accent to the sweet sausage as the sauerkraut does.
Scroll down to bratwurst: http://www.dakotahsausagestuffer.com/makesausage.htm
http://www.dakotahsausagestuffer.com/store.htm
I found some great photos at http://www.eatnlisten.com/2009/12/30/beer-braised-bratwurst-with-caramelize... and a nice recipe (with caramelized onions) to give a try.
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M$
Thank you!
I use Johnsonville, I ate a couple of them this week. You really can taste the sweet "nutmeg" flavor in them, if you know to look for it. Johnsonville uses mace instead of nutmeg, but mace is part of the same fruit. The nutmeg is a kernal from the fruit, and the mace is a leathery layer around the kernal between the kernal and the apricot-like fruit. They taste almost identical. http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Myri_fra.html The mace may be a bit more stable, keeping its flavor longer, hence the manufacturer's choice, is my guess.
You know your spices! I'm not so good. The flavor I love is salty, although the sweet flavors of the sausage certainly compliment it. It reminds me of the flavors in Top Ramen, which I also find in some Russian salads. After all this, I'm now obsessed with finding Johnsonville's actual ingredients online!
Hi Maggie. I loved your answer and all the great suggestions, which is why I tipped. My specific interest is in the Johnsonville spices, not other bratwurst, and I know that nutmeg isn't the flavor I love in them. I'll be more specific next time. Thanks so much for your wonderful solution, which I look forward to using the next time I grill. :)
Thanks so much for the awesome cooking instructions/ideas, Maggie!
I thought my answer was more complete, and I did list the actual spices you asked about. The German sausage has as seasoning mace, nutmeg, pepper, and allspice --those are what you taste. Nutmeg in particular. All of those chemicals in the answer you selected are mostly preservatives and forms of salt.
That bit about browning it after the beer also was supposed to mean that you could simmer in beer first, then take the whole sausage and brown it. I cut mine in half for the final browning under the broiler, but that probably isn't as typical as one sees it served in a commercial setting.
And what makes brats better? A good tankard of German Beer!
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M$
