Wisconsin brats in Seattle

[cxt]

I want to have beer-boiled brats for the 4th of July so I've been consulting experts from Wisconsin. They say it all starts with a good brat and recommend Klements or Usingers brands. Does anyone know a Seattle source for these?

(I've tried Whole Foods, Don&Joes, Trader Joes and they all make their own or have (god forbid) only turkey brats. The Wisconsinites, shuddering, say they have tried all these and they are all far too lean. Larry's has Johnsonville, which I'm told would be acceptable.)

Thanks!

Chris

[ScorchedPalate]

Have you asked at Uli's at the Market? I love their sausages. You could try a few before the 4th and pick the one that's closest to your preferred taste/fat profile.

Edited to add:

Or you could mail order brats from Usinger's or Klement's.

~A

Edited June 28, 2005 by ScorchedPalate (log)

[WhiteTruffleGirl]

Why not make your own?

Amy

[ScorchedPalate]

I'm a big fan of home sausage making, but IMHO emulsified sausages like midwestern-style bratwurst are not worth the hassle, and definitely not for amateurs.

~A

Edited June 28, 2005 by ScorchedPalate (log)

[eje]

I dunno about there; but, the problem here is all the brats I've seen sold in markets and butcher shops are smoked and/or pre-cooked.

Real WI Brats are fresh sausage ala Italian Sausage. The two most popular methods for cooking are to either pre-cook them in beer and onions, then grill to order, or to grill and then store in simmering beer and onions. Our family always went with the first method.

I grew up in WI and we always had Johnsonville. My parents tell me they can get them fresh frozen at Safeway in AZ.

Usinger's has a website with online ordering and two day shipping:

http://www.usinger.com/

Erik

edited for usage

Edited June 28, 2005 by eje (log)

[WhiteTruffleGirl]

I agree they are not for beginners or as fast as buying a good quality brand-name, but making sausage is fun, so why not?

JMO...

Amy

[bbqer]

As a born and bred Wisconsinite from Sheboygan, the self-proclaimed bratwurst capital of the world, and veteran of many annual Bratwurst Day celebrations there, I would recommend getting either Klements or Usingers bratwurst shipped. Both are excellent.

A cheaper and easier alternative which I generally fall back on is to purchase some Wisconsin-made Johnsonville brats locally. They're available at nearly every supermarket around here...you don't have to go to Larry's unless you want to. They're an acceptably tasty, juicy alternative.

Grilling bratwurst: sure, you can parboil them first in beer or a beer and onion mixture, but please, please, then cook them ONLY over a charcoal fire and cook them SLOWLY (not too hot a fire), turning them often so they don't burn. The parboiling will help keep the skins from bursting, so people say, although most Wisconsinites I know just grill them over charcoal and keep them warm in beer afterward. Or just grill them over charcoal, drink the beer, and eat 'em hot off the grill. You do have a Weber, don't you?

I've enjoyed many of Uli's hand-made sausages, but I can't say that his bratwurst compares to the Wisconsin-style I grew up loving. It's just a different flavor. From a 2002 New York Times article on Sheboygan and its famous sausage:

"No self-respecting restaurant here, whether humble hole in the wall or soigné supper club, can make do without a proper charcoal grill, because the bratwurst catechism specifies that the stout little sausage must be grilled over charcoal, not boiled or fried or sizzled on a stove top griddle."

Happy grilling!

[Placebo]

I'm a big fan of Uli's for brats and that sort of thing. Hell, there's a born and bred 'Scony as one of his chief guys and he approves.

[cxt]

You guys are amazing. It sounds like I really must check out Uli's.

Rest assured, bbqer, I will treat whatever brats I buy with the Miller High Life-love and Weber-care they deserve!

I love Amy's suggestion, although conventional wisdom says to avoid making a recipe you've never made before when guests are coming, so I think I'd better not since the guests number 40 and the recipe is for sausage! Next time...

But if anyone else knows of a local source for Usingers or Klements and can save me the shipping costs, please post or pm. THANKS!

[moke]

There is a German deli in Burien that makes their own brats which are quite good--

Hans Sausage & Delicatessen

717 SW 148th Street

Burien, WA 98166

(206) 241-7575 - Fax (206) 244-4978

Edited June 29, 2005 by moke (log)

[rockdoggydog]

Try Central Market as well, they have some house made fresh ones at the meat counter as well as Cascciopo's suasages there, also fresh.

Rocky