What can do with this loose brat?

August 21, 2008 7:47 AM

What can I do with a pound of un-cased bratwurst?

I picked up some bratwurst at the local farmers market, but it's loose meat, like ground beef, not cased like a traditional bratwurst. I'm having trouble finding decent recipes/ideas detailing what I can do with this. Halp?

posted by nitsuj to Food & Drink (16 answers total)

You can make patties out of it and grill it, which is pretty simple. Take a handful, smoosh it into a ball, then flatten the ball into a patty and grill. You could also make spicy meatballs out of it- add an egg, blend well, add some flour to stiffen it up, roll it into balls and fry or bake until done all the way through. Serve them plain, or in a red sauce, or with dipping sauces.
posted by headspace at 7:58 AM on August 21, 2008

Make into sausage patties and freeze it, if you can't eat it all right away.

It'd make a nice shepherd's pie too. Could use it anywhere you'd use ground beef, and it'd be good.
posted by glip at 7:59 AM on August 21, 2008

Make small patties, fry. Cut a potato into one inch cubes, boil. Toss together in a tarragon vinaigrette and chill. This is my favorite option.

Or, fry with green peppers and onions, place on roll.

Or, fry. Make a sweet potato hash. Mix together. Place fried egg on top.

Or break into pieces, fry, use with caramelized onions as a topic for pizza.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 8:08 AM on August 21, 2008

Sausage in place of ground beef in chili is great.
posted by electroboy at 8:17 AM on August 21, 2008

Or...a kind of wilted lettuce salad, fry, place on endive or other hearty green, make a vinaigrette out of pan drippings....
posted by A Terrible Llama at 8:24 AM on August 21, 2008

I love using browned ground brats in spaghetti sauce.

My recipe:

browned brats (in olive oil w/ a bit of garlic)
jar of Prego
1/4 c sugar
mushrooms
sprinkle garlic salt in

dump it all in a crock pot on low for about 4-5 hours.

Mmmm good.
posted by saucy at 8:35 AM on August 21, 2008

Bratkartoffeln with sausage instead of the bacon. I cheat and buy my potatoes for bratkartoffeln at Germandeli.com, but their outlet store is in my vicinity. You can find the packaged potatoes at most European groceries, but homemade is probably better as long as you can get some good waxy potatoes.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:35 AM on August 21, 2008

Roll it into balls and make meatballs. Serve with spaghetti in a rich tomato sauce.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 8:37 AM on August 21, 2008

Best answer: If you're going to make patties with it and grill them, I suggest you poach them first in beer, or do what I recently tried from an issue of Cooks' Illustrated: Put the meat in a pie pan over some chopped onions and spices, seal it with tin foil, and let that steam itself for about 30 minutes, then grill the rendered meat. I don't remember the exact recipe and I could be missing a step. Someone else may fill in the details, or perhaps Google would help.

All that fat makes me worry that you'll have flare ups if you don't do something about it, especially if you use charcoal (I prefer charcoal, FWIW).
posted by mccarty.tim at 8:57 AM on August 21, 2008

going along with the suggestion to grill it, you can then put them on hamuburger buns with a little kraut, mustard, and onion.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 9:20 AM on August 21, 2008

Roll them into sausage form and 'case' them in bacon or thinly sliced veal. mmm rich man's sausages.
posted by sunshinesky at 10:06 AM on August 21, 2008

Mix it with ground beef and make awesome burgers. Or, even better, stuff the resulting patty with some cheese, serve with fries (or potato salad) and two beers, and pre-dial 911 for the inevitable heart attack.
posted by wenestvedt at 10:12 AM on August 21, 2008

It would make an awesome omelette. I used to do this with chorizo until I found out what it was made of... bratwurst is a little less alarming, and tasty too.
posted by crapmatic at 10:36 AM on August 21, 2008

How about a layered casserole with sliced potatoes and sauerkraut? I'm envisioning something a little like a brat lasagne...
posted by vorfeed at 1:45 PM on August 21, 2008

Chorizo - as in made from lip meat, etc?
posted by A189Nut at 3:20 PM on August 21, 2008

Diced Apples, Garlic, Maple syrup, Cayenne and Cinnamon to taste. Serve with roasted potatoes.

Call it apples and sausage.
posted by schyler523 at 10:28 PM on January 22, 2009