How Common Is Bratwurst in the US?

[Lizgistix]

Not from Milwaukee but a bit further north in Wisconsin and...can you believe there are places around this country steaming brats?
My family always boils them in cheap beer (cheap beer is actually important, don't use anything expensive) and then they go on the grill to finish.

 

[Wild4Walt]

Yes, those of us from the Midwest are very familiar with their delicious ( if artery clogging ) deliciousness.

 

[shoreward]

I believe there is a state law in WI that all pro and college sports venues must sell brats.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

Cheeeshead here, and BRAT LOVER

My FAV Brat recipe for Potluck
It all goes into a Crockpot.
Grill your fresh Brats. Cut them into 1/2 inch think slices. Add a thinly sliced sweet onion and a thinly sliced green pepper. Add enough of your favorite pizza sauce ( in my area it's Pastorelli's) My cousin brings this every year to our Xmas Eve family party, Delish!!

 

[billlaurie]

East coast mid-Atlantic state and brats are a common summer and sporting event staple.

 

[agavegirl1]

I live in an area of WI where every meat store/custom butcher shop competes in the brat category and win bunches of awards. We have blueberry brats, wild rice brats, cranberry brats, and even gummy bear brats. Pretty experimental brat territory up here.

I’ve learned about other unfamiliar foods from the varied ethnic communities in the Midwest. I come from the melting pot iron range of MN and my favorite cookbooks are written by church ladies.

BTW...I don’t much care for brats. The seasoning just hits me as “wrong” ever so slightly. I have noticed not everyone knows what everything is everywhere.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

I live in an area of WI where every meat store/custom butcher shop competes in the brat category and win bunches of awards. We have blueberry brats, wild rice brats, cranberry brats, and even gummy bear brats. Pretty experimental brat territory up here.

I’ve learned about other unfamiliar foods from the varied ethnic communities in the Midwest. I come from the melting pot iron range of MN and my favorite cookbooks are written by church ladies.

BTW...I don’t much care for brats. The seasoning just hits me as “wrong” ever so slightly. I have noticed not everyone knows what everything is everywhere.

OK - Gummy bear brats just does not sound good AT ALL.

 

[Uncledave54]

My family always boils them in cheap beer (cheap beer is actually important, don't use anything expensive) and then they go on the grill to finish.

Now that's good eating!
It doesn't get any better than that!

 

[kbelle8995]

You know everytime I see this thread I get really hungry. Someone send me a brat and some saurkraut please.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

You know everytime I see this thread I get really hungry. Someone send me a brat and some saurkraut please.

Me too!

When I first moved out to CA, I had a terrible time finding sauerkraut and brats in any of the grocery stores, and when I did find it, it would be really nasty canned kraut and bland generic branded brats. The first time I brought sauerkraut to a potluck, I had to explain what it was to several people there, and ended up describing it as "German kimchi", since so many of them knew and ate Korean food but didn't know anything about German cuisine. My DH still cracks up at that description.

Thankfully, I can now find better sauerkraut and bratwurst, and during Oktoberfest season I can usually find a couple different kinds of brats. And Trader Joe's now has pretzel buns which are one of the few buns I've ever found that can hold up with a fully loaded brat!

 

[billlaurie]

Brats are definitely a thing on the east coast, midatlantic region.

 

[tguz]

Brats are definitely a thing on the east coast, midatlantic region.

Midwest too! IDK what I would do without them.

 

[WIll C]

Grew up in the CA Bay Area. My family is of German descent so I was very familiar with bratwurst and sauerkraut (red is my fav). We also had Harry's Hoffbrau and they served great bratwurst.

 

[Farro]

Chicagoan! We love our brats here!

 

[violina]

When I lived in NY, bratswurst was not something I was familiar with however I had a lot of exposure to other cuisines that did have a variant of some sort.

My husband is half German, so upon living out here in CA, I just happen to know whereabouts to find a variety of brats.

 

[Chrisizzle]

In the recent video where Steve, Deni, and Fiasco go to Disney Springs to try a few of the WonderFall seasonal menu items, I was surprised at Fiasco's lack of familiarity with bratwurst.

Just how familiar with bratwurst are people in different parts of the US?

Well, this is a timely question. I live in Toronto and worked with some people flown in from the New York /New Jersey area yesterday. The catered lunch had brats and one lady asked what kind of sausages they were.

I thought it was odd she’d never had one, especially because she had a very German last name through marriage. I also assumed brats were popular in the USA.

Anyways, this was a completely new and foreign sausage to her.

 

[KingLlama]

Last year I had my first bratwurst in the best possible spot in America to have one.....Milwaukee. And while it was okay, I didn't love it the way I expected to. And I'm a sausage guy, so I'm wondering if it's the beer taste that turned me off? I'm not a drinker, so I'm thinking that's what did it. Is is blasphemous to NOT soak them in beer before grilling them?

I want to give bratwurst a second chance. But I'm not sure I'm ready to have my heart broken again.

 

[tguz]

Last year I had my first bratwurst in the best possible spot in America to have one.....Milwaukee. And while it was okay, I didn't love it the way I expected to. And I'm a sausage guy, so I'm wondering if it's the beer taste that turned me off? I'm not a drinker, so I'm thinking that's what did it. Is is blasphemous to NOT soak them in beer before grilling them?

I want to give bratwurst a second chance. But I'm not sure I'm ready to have my heart broken again.

I don't soak them in beer before I grill them. I sautee a combination of green and red peppers and onion and they are fantastic.

 

[rteetz]

Last year I had my first bratwurst in the best possible spot in America to have one.....Milwaukee. And while it was okay, I didn't love it the way I expected to. And I'm a sausage guy, so I'm wondering if it's the beer taste that turned me off? I'm not a drinker, so I'm thinking that's what did it. Is is blasphemous to NOT soak them in beer before grilling them?

I want to give bratwurst a second chance. But I'm not sure I'm ready to have my heart broken again.

You can do it both ways.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Kansas girl here. If there weren't brats, it wasn't an actual cookout.