Actually, it might not be bad with precooked now that I think about it. Since it's really more of a surface flavor than anything else, simmering the precooked to heat through might be OK. You are now tasked with trying this and reporting back!
It's not really about the beer surface flavor for me. I can (and have) simmer in water or kraut juice. For me it's about cooking the sausage evenly through while maintaing moisture so you only have to grill to get the ideal outter texture and char.
Using beer is just an excuse to have more beer.
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General "No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. Merton MYT
Actually, it might not be bad with precooked now that I think about it. Since it's really more of a surface flavor than anything else, simmering the precooked to heat through might be OK. You are now tasked with trying this and reporting back!
It's not really about the beer surface flavor for me. I can (and have) simmer in water or kraut juice. For me it's about cooking the sausage evenly through while maintaing moisture so you only have to grill to get the ideal outter texture and char.
Using beer is just an excuse to have more beer.
Indeed, that's precisely why cooking sous vide provides brat-perfection each and every time.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." — P. J. O'Rourke
Actually, it might not be bad with precooked now that I think about it. Since it's really more of a surface flavor than anything else, simmering the precooked to heat through might be OK. You are now tasked with trying this and reporting back!
It's not really about the beer surface flavor for me. I can (and have) simmer in water or kraut juice. For me it's about cooking the sausage evenly through while maintaing moisture so you only have to grill to get the ideal outter texture and char.
Using beer is just an excuse to have more beer.
Beer for ceremony's sake doesn't seem to fit with Blackhawk's budget. If the goal is even cooking, he should simmer in water before putting on the grill. If the goal is flavor, then he can try the simmer in beer and grill (and ideally return to the beer bath afterward to pick up the flavor that's been grilled off) and see if that helps things.
Don't forget, whatever liquid you use for simmering ought to be heavily seasoned. Otherwise you risk ending up with bland brats and a pan of brat-flavoured liquid as the salt and other compounds get drawn out.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." — P. J. O'Rourke
Beer for ceremony's sake doesn't seem to fit with Blackhawk's budget. If the goal is even cooking, he should simmer in water before putting on the grill. If the goal is flavor, then he can try the simmer in beer and grill (and ideally return to the beer bath afterward to pick up the flavor that's been grilled off) and see if that helps things.
Beer for sanity is one of the few budget exceptions I make. I'd be willing to sacrifice one for flavor.
Anonymous Bosch wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2020 4:13 pm
Don't forget, whatever liquid you use for simmering ought to be heavily seasoned. Otherwise you risk ending up with bland brats and a pan of brat-flavoured liquid as the salt and other compounds get drawn out.
Not sure it makes much of a difference for the pre-cooked kind that BH is using. That's more crucial for fresh sausage.
Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2020 4:25 pm
What color/temp should it be when done simmering ?
I wouldn't rely on color, as the outside will look cooked pretty quickly and won't color any further. I think internal temps are generally 150-165F.
I simmered my sausage for 15 min before putting it on the grill. I ended up with a bland brat and a pan of brat-flavoured liquid as the salt and other compounds got drawn out. It was nasty.
Next time I'll try salting the water heavily. If there is a next time. I've always been happy with just throwing them on the grill.
How hard was your simmer? It should be really a bare simmer to help prevent the casing from splitting. Once the casing splits, it's easier for the fat to leach out into the beer, and of course fat is flavor. Another helper is the onions in the beer bath - you put those on top of the brat to add beer flavor.
I'm thinking next time I do brats I'm going to try grilling then beer again instead of doing the beer simmer first. It's more of a pain in the ass, but it really does give the best overall results.
ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2020 11:37 pm
How hard was your simmer? It should be really a bare simmer to help prevent the casing from splitting. Once the casing splits, it's easier for the fat to leach out into the beer, and of course fat is flavor. Another helper is the onions in the beer bath - you put those on top of the brat to add beer flavor.
I'm thinking next time I do brats I'm going to try grilling then beer again instead of doing the beer simmer first. It's more of a pain in the ass, but it really does give the best overall results.
Brought the pan to a rolling boil, cut the flame to minimum, and dunked the sausage when the waters calmed. First the casing turned sickly white. Then a few globules of fat leaked out the ends.
Honestly, you guys are overthinking sausage. You're going to smother it in mustard anyway.
Kraken wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2020 12:38 am
Honestly, you guys are overthinking sausage.
Your midwestern heritage is hereby officially revoked.
Chalk it up to being married to a pescebaconvegetarian for 1,637 years. (She still protests bacon but 3 million years of hominid evolution make her cave every time. What good is being at the top of the food chain if you deny yourself bacon?)
