Pan Grilled Bratwurst and Sauerkraut

Pan Grilled Bratwurst and Sauerkraut. A pan full of brats and sauerkraut make a great grilled dinner.

A few years ago, I fermented and canned my own sauerkraut, trying to duplicate the wonderful choucroute (sauerkraut) I had in Paris at Brasserie Flo.

This experiment left me with a LOT of sauerkraut to use up. Now, I love it, but my family…not so much. The kids are sure sauerkraut is a trick, a weird kind of dad joke. I mean, sour is right there in the name, and they're supposed to eat it? Right. Sure thing, Dad.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• How to make Pan Grilled Bratwurst and Sauerkraut
• Substitutions
• Can I Pan Grill Frozen Brats?
• Equipment
• Scaling
• Tips and Tricks
• What to Serve With Pan Grilled Brats with Sauerkraut
• Pan Grilled Bratwurst and Sauerkraut
• What do you think?
• Related Posts
• 💬 Comments

I've been using the kraut up over the last year, and this is my favorite recipe. The brats and kraut steam together in a foil-covered pan on the grill, sharing their flavors. Then the foil is removed. The brats are grilled over the open flames while the kraut boils in the uncovered pan, steaming off any excess liquid.

Are you looking for a weeknight dinner on the grill with great bratwurst and sauerkraut? Give pan grilling a try.

Ingredients

• Sauerkraut
• Onion
• Apples (preferably tart Granny Smith apples)
• Juniper berries (or cumin seeds or coriander seeds)
• Vegetable oil
• Bratwurst (uncooked)
• Beer (or white wine)
  See the recipe card for quantities.

How to make Pan Grilled Bratwurst and Sauerkraut

Prepare the bratwurst pan

Toss the sauerkraut, onions, apples, and juniper berries in a 9-inch by 13-inch foil pan to mix them. Drizzle the mix with oil and toss again to coat, then spread and pat into an even layer across the bottom of the pan. Set the brats on the mix, then pour the beer over everything. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and crimp the edges shut.

Prepare the grill

Set your grill up for cooking on direct medium heat (350°F). For my Weber Summit, I preheat the grill for 15 minutes with all burners on high, scrape the grates clean with my grill brush, then turn all the burners down to medium. In my Weber Kettle, I light a chimney of charcoal, wait for it to be covered with gray ash, then spread it over the bottom of the grill in a tight single layer.

Steam the Bratwurst in the Pan

Put the foil-covered pan on the grill over direct medium heat. Cook with the grill lid closed for 20 minutes.

Grill the Brats, Simmer the Sauerkraut

Remove the foil from the pan and leave the pan over medium heat. Move the brats from the pan to the grill over direct medium heat. Grill the brats until they get grill marks, about 2 minutes a side, then remove from the grill. (I put them directly into the waiting brat buns.) Watch out for flare-ups while the brats are over direct heat, and move them around as necessary. While the brats are grilling, keep cooking the sauerkraut in the pan, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid cooks away, about 10 minutes uncovered.

Serve

Top the brats with some sauerkraut. Pass the extra sauerkraut and spicy brown mustard at the table, and enjoy!

Substitutions

• Juniper berries substitutes: If you can't find Juniper berries, you can substitute cumin seeds or coriander seeds. Or skip the Juniper; enough is going on in this recipe that you won't miss them.
• No Alcohol: Most of the alcohol cooks off during the cooking time of this recipe, but there is still some left at the end. If you want to avoid alcohol entirely, substitute chicken broth or water.
• Pre-Cooked Brats: Most brats at my local store are uncooked, but If you have pre-cooked bratwurst, cut the covered cooking time back to 15 minutes. Pre-cooked brats are already cooked (it's right there in the name), so they only need to heat through to be ready to serve.

Can I Pan Grill Frozen Brats?

Yes! When I forget to take the brats out of the freezer, this recipe can cover for me. Increase the beer or wine to 1 cup, and increase the covered cooking time to 25 minutes. (When I start with frozen brats, I temp them before moving on to the grilling step, confirming they are at least 150°F. If they're not there, I re-cover the pan with the foil and let them cook for 5 more minutes or until they reach 150°F. The grilling step will take them to 160°F, the USDA-recommended cooking temperature for Brats.)

Equipment

• A grill (You see my Weber Summit in the pictures)
• A grill-safe pan, about a 9-inch by 13-inch rectangle
• Aluminum foil to cover the pan

Scaling

This pan-grilling technique is great when cooking for a crowd. It doubles or triples easily. When I get a "party pack" of 12 brats, I get a larger pan (about 13-inch by 19-inch "Roaster pan") and double all the rest of the ingredients. Increase the covered cooking time to 25 minutes to give the extra ingredients enough time to heat up. (If you want to be sure, check the brats with an instant-read thermometer to ensure they reach 150°F before the grilling step.)

Tips and Tricks

• Foil pans make for easy cleanup: The least expensive ones I can find are Half Size Steam Table pans. That said, I do a lot of pan grilling, so I bought an enameled steel roasting pan that I can reuse in the grill. (That's what you see in the pictures - and they're available in many fun colors!).
• Flare-ups: Watch out for flare-ups during the "grill the brats" step. There are going to be flare-ups - bratwurst has a lot of fat in it, and fat dripping into flames is an invitation for fires. A little fire on the brats is OK to add some charring around the edges. But, if there is a persistent grease fire, move the brats to a different part of the grill to get them away from the flames.
• A trick for stretching the brats to feed kids: After cooking, I cut the brats in half before putting them in hot dog buns to stretch the standard 5 brats package out to fill 10 buns. My oldest can rip through three or four brats on his own; cutting the brats in half leaves enough for the rest of us.

What to Serve With Pan Grilled Brats with Sauerkraut

I always serve brats and sauerkraut with bratwurst buns and spicy brown mustard. Actually, I serve a variety of spicy brown mustards. My favorites are Bertman Original Ball Park Mustard (from my beloved Cleveland Stadium) and horseradish mustard. I'll also throw a pouch of my Grilled Green Beans in Foil on the grill while I've got it lit for an easy vegetable side to go with this meal.

Adapted from Grilled Sausages with Peppers and Onions, Cooks Illustrated Magazine, July 2008

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What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Please leave them in the comments section below.

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Choucroute Garnie
Pan Grilled Bratwurst with Peppers and Onions
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Instant Pot Pork and Sauerkraut

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