North America · Volume 36, The Fish Fry, the Curd and the Kettle
Sheboygan Beer Bratwurst
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
An illustration of the dish, not a photograph of it cooked.
- Time
- 40 minutes
- Reviewed
- Not yet reviewed from inside the tradition
- Cooked
- Not yet cooked and reported
As tradition built it
Sheboygan Beer Bratwurst
Serves 6 · 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 6 fresh bratwurst
- 2 onions, sliced
- 500ml lager
- 30g butter
- to taste salt, pepper
- 6 brat buns
- to taste mustard, to serve
Method
- Melt the butter in a wide pan, and soften the onions over low heat until translucent, seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Add the lager and bring to a bare simmer, per Rung 3, never a rolling boil.
- Add the bratwurst and poach gently, turning occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes, until just cooked through.
- Remove the bratwurst and finish over hot coals or a hot pan for a few minutes, until well coloured and the casing snaps.
- Serve in a bun with the poached onions and mustard.
Notes
The decisive moment came in 1954, when vendor Bill Sperling served Sheboygan-style beer brats at newly opened Milwaukee County Stadium.
What a modern chef changes
The two stages of Rung 3 taken further apart, for a more consistent result.
Rung 3
Method
- Poach the bratwurst sous vide at a precise 71°C until just cooked through, holding the beer and onion in a reduced, separate glaze rather than the poaching liquid itself, per Rung 3, so the interior is guaranteed evenly cooked before the casing ever meets high heat.
- Finish over a genuinely hot direct fire for a very short time, purely for colour and snap, then glaze with the reduced beer-onion mixture at the table rather than during cooking.