Last weekend I finally completed my quest to determine the Best Brat in Wisconsin. The event was two months in the making and included 30 different bratwurst brands from around Wisconsin and across the U.S.A.



The brats were cooked in batches and groups of 3 or 4 were judged against each other in a bracket format with my guests voting on their favorites. The judging took a total of 5 hours to complete.



When the final round was completed, we had a tie - Schwai's Meats from Fredonia, WI and Roseland Bratwurst from ALDI. The tie was broken by Brad Olson, who was my grilling assistant for the day.

The winner: Schwai's Tender Hometown Bratwurst, the Best Brats in Wisconsin.



If you scroll to the middle of this page at The Roadfood Forum, you'll find a discussion of the results.

More event photos are here and here.

I was hoping to see a recipe for the best brat. I luv's me some good brats!!

That last pic takes me waaaay back to 1982 ~ Last time I had a Schlitz .. And that cooler... !!!

Thanks for the post.

Bill

Bill,

They recently reintroduced the 1960's version of Schlitz. It really does have Gusto and went especially well with the brats. One of my guests brought the beer and the cooler.

Buffalo was represented in the taste-off. I had a guest bring Spar's brats. They were not the big winner, but were darn good brats.

Jim

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JRPfeff,

What a great time that must have been!

Brats look great! Only having (knowingly) tried Johnsonville I'd pretty much written brats off as sausage I didn't like.

The Johnsonville ones I've gotten here are too coarsely ground IMO and there's nothing like getting a pea sized hunk of gristle in a bite to ruin the experience. Anyway, your post has given me an inclination to try some brats from other sources.

by the look of the beer caps on the table i'm assuming that the beer swilling did not alter the taste of the brats at all.

George - The beer was to cleanse the palate. The bottle tops were used for voting.

Jim

Looks like a fun time!

The place settings and Weber grills are very colorful.

Any info on the yellow kettle shown in the additional pictures?
Looks like a OTG.

I had no idea about Schlitz! Gonna look for it tomorrow. Never heard of Spar's .. Gonna look for that too.

Now, Let's hear about Pete and the can of whipped cream! And, the German potato salad...

Thanks again..

Bill

All the pictures look great and looks like a fun time. I noticed the picture of the "Best Potato Salad Ever". It looks really interesting. Is this something you could share the recipe on?

Thanks,

Chris

Sounds like a great day and I love the old school cooler. I'm going to cook some beer brats tomorrow while we watch football. Just wish the weather was a little cooler to make it feel like football season.

Bob,

The yellow grill appears to be a Homer Simpson OTG. I have two of them. I was afraid they'd be more likely to burst into flames, but so far that hasn't been a problem.

Bill

quote:

Originally posted by Bill Freiberger:
Bob,

The yellow grill appears to be a Homer Simpson OTG. I have two of them. I was afraid they'd be more likely to burst into flames, but so far that hasn't been a problem.

Bill

Thanks Bill!
I knew they made a Simpson Smokey Joe, but didn't know about the OTG.

I don't feel like typing the German Potato Salad recipe. Try this image.

Tommy Schwai makes the best Hungarian Brats.

By the way, did you know he runs a retail shop closer to you in Jackson.

The West Bend Piggly Wiggly also carries his brats.

Did you try Held's (Slinger) onion brats?

On edit. I see that you also tryed poultry brats. I suggest you try the Garlic Chicken brats from Blau's Saukville Meats. Very Very tastey brats. You can't really tell they are made from chicken.

Mike,

We limited the taste-off to Traditional/Sheboygan style brats - no Hungarian's or fruit flavored sausages allowed. Schwai's was tops among the traditionals. We did not get Held's, the complete list of entries is here.

I'll let you bring your favorites next time, although I keep saying that I'll never do this again.

Jim

That 60's Schlitz cooler reminds me of the way that brats were served during that era at Road America in Elkhart Lake WI. They used to slice them in half length ways and go on a hamburger bun that had been toasted. A brat and a Schlitz made for a great lunch at the track. Or maybe an original Heilemanns Old Style.

Thanks for the recipe, Jeff.

Bill

Bob H,

Brats are still served that way in Sheboygan County. I had some guests insist that I buy hard rolls from the City Bakery of Sheboygan and one guest brought butter for the rolls. The buttered and toasted rolls really make for a tasty bratwurst.

Jim

Jim said,

"George - The beer was to cleanse the palate."


LOL!!! I will be using that line.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill Hays:
Thanks for the recipe, Jeff.

Bill

Bill,
Were you able to produce a readable copy of the German Potato Salad recipe?

I've enlarged it, and put on my cheaters and still can't make it out.
I would really like to try this recipe.