Six-pack brat stew
Ragout and stew
Throw me a brat and a brew, and I’ll tell you a thing or two about Madison, Wisconsin, where I learned to consume both in liberal quantities. Ha! Spoken like an ol’ Boomer, coming-of age in those heady years of campus “unrest” (as it’s euphemistically recalled) during the late 60’s and early 70’s.
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<br />Fast forward: today the touristy and chirpy State Street Brats, a sports bar and grill, bears little resemblance to The Brat Haus of my memory, a Madison institution, serving brats, cheese curds, and beer since the 30’s, forty years before I set foot through its doors.
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<br />A quick scan on the Internet will reveal no end to “bratwash” instruction and the protocols of preparing, serving, and sharing the Perfect Brat Experience.
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<br />To chill or not to chill the brats before cooking?
<br />To prick or not to prick the meat?
<br />To simmer in beer before or after the grilling?
<br />To charcoal grill or to braise?
<br />Yellow mustard or Dusseldorf brown?
<br />Bun or Bavarian roll?
<br />One brat or two to the roll?
<br />Light beer or dark?
<br />Toppings? Sides? Potato salads?
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<br />I concede that Best Brats Ever are grilled. Simple. What I have in mind here is an improvisation I call Six-Pack Brat Stew. Think of it as a coq au vin without the coq or the vin. Or cassoulet without the beans or the olé. This recipe is my interpretation of pub food for a crowd, so by all means, proceed at your own discretion.
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