Easy beer brats and sauerkraut cooked in one pan on the grill with beer, butter, onions and sauerkraut. Delicious on buns with a swipe of mustard or melted provolone and perfect for summer grilling and fall Oktoberfest celebrations!
One of my husband's favorite things in the whole, wide world is sausage ~ any kind, cooked any way. He makes really good brats on the grill, with beer and butter and onions and sauerkraut. I just hand over a dozen brats to Meathead and he takes over. This grilled sausage and sauerkraut dish has become his specialty.
We got the recipe out of our newspaper and it's from a local meat market. It's all cooked on the grill in a disposable pan, so easy and so damn good!
The sausages are grilled first and then submersed in a mixture of beer, butter, onions, sweet banana peppers and sauerkraut. Cover and simmer on the grill until all the flavors meld and the brats are super tender and flavorful.
These brats are great on toasted buns with the sauerkraut mixture piled on and a swipe of spicy brown mustard. But we skipped the buns and opted for a plate of beer brats and sauerkraut, with mustard on the side ~ and we promptly wolfed down two brats each!
Next time you get a hankering for brats, fire up the grill and try Meathead's specialty, you will love this dish, I promise. Prost! ~ Kelly🍴🐦
Looking for more fall inspired Oktoberfest food? Then check these recipes out, too!
- German Potato Salad this authentic recipe is a perfect sweet and tangy side dish!
- German Sausage Skillet, more sausages cooked this time on the stovetop with apples, potatoes and sauerkraut, yum!
- Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner with lots of roasted and caramelized veggies.
- And how about some Beer Cheese Soup? Just swap out the Irish beer for a good German beer, no worries, it works.
- Maybe not necessarily for Oktoberfest but definitely try Beer Braised Beef and Onions, perfect fall cozy comfort food.
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Grilled Beer Brats and Sauerkraut
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 12 ounces beer (pale ale, lager or summer seasonal beer)
- 1 cup coarsely chopped yellow onion
- 2 sweet banana peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped or green bell pepper
- 2 pounds sauerkraut, drained
- 12 brats
- 12 bakery buns, hoagie-style or pretzel style, optional
- Dusseldorf mustard or other mustard
Instructions
- Prepare grill, either gas or charcoal. If charcoal, set up coals to one side.
- Melt 1 stick of butter in a disposable aluminum pan (at least 2 quart capacity, preferably 10-by-13-by-3 inch). Add beer, onions, peppers and sauerkraut; mix well. Place the pan on the cool side of grill.
- Place the brats on grill and sear on all sides, being careful not to pierce the casings. When they're seared and have good grill marks, transfer to sauerkraut mixture in aluminum pan; nestling each brat down into mixture and covering with the sauerkraut.
- Cover the pan tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil, close lid, and cook for 40 - 45 minutes. Remove from grill and serve: either plated or on buns, with mustard and sauerkraut piled on. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Recipe works with fewer brats also, anywhere from 8-12 brats.
- We usually omit the green pepper but this time we used some sweet banana peppers and really liked it. Green pepper is optional, use it if you like or try with seasonal banana peppers.
- Sweet banana pepper rings in a jar works great in this recipe, use about half a cup.
- We like sweet Bavarian-style sauerkraut in this recipe and used two 16-ounce cans.
- My husband melts the butter on the stove and mixes the sauerkraut mixture off the grill. If you're doing on a gas grill, place the aluminum pan over the off flame, we use a M-O-M setting.
- This recipe is adapted, with a few slight changes, from Kendrick's Meats and Catering.
Nutrition
*Adapted from Kenrick's Meats and Catering
Megan
Sunday 4th of June 2023
These brats were amazing! Super easy to make and not a lot of clean up which is a win in my book. I made homemade hoagie rolls to serve the brats on and it took the meal to the next level. Highly recommend!
Kelly
Monday 5th of June 2023
Homemade hoagie rolls sound fantastic!
Dan
Friday 19th of August 2022
My family loves these. It makes eating them so much easier as well. Sometimes when you cook brats the skin is so tuff but these come out perfect every time.
Monica
Friday 20th of May 2022
Made these last summer but never thought to review them. Grilling season is here and I'm planning on definitely making these again. I like brats but I'm never happy with how mine turn out for some reason. These were amazing and SO simple! I can't wait to make them again! Thanks!