wherein Liz talks about bratwurst

[edenfalling]

Apropos of nothing in particular:

I mentioned a while ago that eating at Dano's Heuriger had inspired me to acquire some bratwurst and sauerkraut, with the intention of making bratwurst-and-sauerkraut sandwiches. It is basically impossible to buy actual proper bratwurst in your average American supermarket, and even the closest variation I could find is beer-infused... but while I strongly dislike beer on its own, it's fine as an ingredient in bread or fried-fish coatings, so I took a gamble. (The brand is Zweigle's, made with Rohrbach Highland Lager, FYI.)

I am pleased to report that the results are quite tasty. The sausages are helpfully pre-cooked, so I have simply been frying them (one at a go) in my smallest pan with some butter. I also brought the sauerkraut to a boil the first time, just in case something nasty had gotten into the package, but with my second sausage I didn't bother reheating it. (I mean, it's pickled. It doesn't exactly go bad.)

There can be slight technical difficulties with keeping the roll together under the combination of somewhat damp sauerkraut and a hot sausage, but that is what napkins are for. :-)

Comments

[rurounitriv.livejournal.com]

Have you been toasting the buns? That can help with keeping the buns from falling apart. What I usually do is either pop them in the pan before the sausage for a few seconds or just prop them up against the side of the pan while the sausage is cooking. (Depends on the relative sizes of pan, bun, etc.

[edenfalling]

That had not occurred to me, as I highly prefer the mouthfeel of bread over that of toast. But yeah, a slightly stiffer bun might help. I may experiment with the next sausage. :-)

[rurounitriv.livejournal.com]

Usually I do just enough to crisp the surface, not even enough to warm it through. Keeps the bready mouthfeel but stiffens it enough to hold up to juiciness.