It is finally beginning to feel like fall – the leaves are turning hues of yellow, orange and red and the air outside is cool and crisp (but not too cold!). Comfort food will be on the minds of many as they sit by the fire while watching football (or movies).
With autumn on his mind, Kyle wanted to share the recipe he first made to bring to a Super Bowl Party. The recipe includes bratwursts, seared and then braised with caramelized onions until the cooking liquid reduced – allowing the brats to get plump and juicy with the caramelized onions serving as jam-like concoction for the dish.
The brats were a huge hit at the party – the guests gobbled them up almost immediately. Since time got away from Kyle, he never had a chance for us to get this recipe out to our followers, but better late than never, AND – it is the perfect season for it. The original recipe, which he found on Chowhound – was titled Beer-Braised Bratwursts with Onion. The title really serves as an injustice to the extreme levels of deliciousness, it almost caused Kyle to scroll right past it while researching. Luckily, he did find it!
In the original recipe, the bratwursts were braised in beer. However, this leads to extremely inconsistent results depending on what beer you use. In fact, one result is to cause the brats to have a very bitter taste. Kyle first used a popular dark beer (which will remain unnamed) for the recipe, causing such a bitter sauce that he needed to almost double the amount of sugar to balance out all the flavors.
Looking to craft a gluten free version, Kyle made a decision to avoid GF beers, since these beers can be even more inconsistent than traditional beer. He instead opted for using beef stock as his cooking liquid, eliminating the severe bitterness in the recipe, and yielding a more uniform result.
This modification exceeded all expectations and created a wonderfully flavored onion jam. The caramelized onions soaked up the drippings from the bratwursts and reduced in the beef stock. They took on a scrumptious beefy flavor, that is very reminiscent of the savory jam version of French Onion Soup.
One of the dreamy by-products of creating this recipe in your kitchen is the delicious aroma that will be wafting throughout your home. You may have to fend off hungry friends and family that wander into the kitchen wanting a preliminary tasting.
For those that have a desire to make dishes ahead of time, this is the recipe for you. It is the perfect addition to any football or tailgating entertaining one might be doing this season. These brats can easily be reheated and served with toasted rolls (GF and regular) along with some spicy mustard to top them off. For this recipe, six brats were made, but you can definitely double the recipe. Just brown the sausages in two batches; there will still be plenty of onion jam to serve everyone.
Then again, maybe you should double the onions, you will be grateful to have some leftover jam! That is a plus in my book!
Inspired by Chowhound.
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
- 5 to 6 uncooked bratwursts
- 2 medium sweet yellow onions, sliced into ¼-inch-thick rings
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 cups beef stock, preferably low sodium
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 5 to 6 hoagie rolls (or gluten free rolls), toasted
- Sweet-hot mustard, or more dijon mustard, for serving
- Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat until foaming. Add the bratwursts and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Remove the bratwursts and reserve.
- Reduce the heat to low, add the onions, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened and caramelized, about 30 minutes. Stir in the dijon mustard.
- Add the reserved bratwursts and any accumulated juices, nestling the brats in the onions. Pour in the beef stock and vinegar, increase the heat to medium and braise the bratwursts, turning every few minutes, until they are completely cooked through and the liquid has almost completely reduced, about 25 to 30 minutes.
- Place a bratwurst in each bun and serve with the onion jam and extra mustard on the side.
Karly says
Gotta try this! Thanks for sharing!