smoking bratwurst?

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goat4444

Fire Starter
Original poster
Feb 14, 2010
72
10
Can bratwurst be smoked or are they better on the grill i seen on t.v. to grill em till there about done then put em in 1 stick of butter and one 12 ounce beer to finish,so should i smoke or grill?
 
They are great smoked! Mine are usually in for 2-3 hrs., but go by internal meat temp. not time.
 
I love them smoked! They're very good grilled, but nothing tastes better than a smoked brat with onions and peppers and spicy mustard!! IMHO
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Smoking time will depend on smoking temp. I always finish brats on a medium hot grill, I agree with the others ,they taste great!
 
I love smoked brats. I've also found that it adds a nice little tweak to the flavor of other foods in the smoker, the grease running through the smoker really smells good to me.
 
Now I have smoked brats before and they are really good too. I have also made fresh brats and they are even better. Now I have made some and smoked them so all you have to do is re-heat them to eat them. If you are going to smoke them done you want to start out really low temp maybe 70°-80° for a hour and then move up in temp every hour maybe by 10°-15° till you get up to about 170° pr so and the sausage get to be 156° internal temp.
 
I smoke these constantly. Of course I buy the pre-done Johnsonville, or the schwans version, but just let them plump up for awhile over some apple wood & wow!! For an added bonus try adding the peppers & onion to the smoker
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Man I'm Hungry
 
Now I have smoked brats before and they are really good too. I have also made fresh brats and they are even better. Now I have made some and smoked them so all you have to do is re-heat them to eat them. If you are going to smoke them done you want to start out really low temp maybe 70°-80° for a hour and then move up in temp every hour maybe by 10°-15° till you get up to about 170° pr so and the sausage get to be 156° internal temp.
What does starting this low and gradually coming up do? I've never seen this method for anything else. Have you tried it both ways. I mean starting with normal smoke temps? Say 200? Can you talk a little more about this method? I love the idea of smoking brats. I'll be doing this soon!
 
I tried smoking brats a couple of weeks ago and was very pleased with the outcome. Gave one to a friend to try and she raved about it. I am doing 10 in the smoker now.
 
I smoke brats all the time, I get fresh brats from my butcher. I smoke the for 3.5 - 4 hours. I start out at a low temp around 100  for about hour, 125 for another hour, 150 another hour, 175 till internal temp reaches 160. 

Smoke_Chef I can't speak for mballi3011 as to why he does it this way but I suspect its the same reasoning as I have.

I do it this way so the brats are in the smoke for a longer time, and take on more of the smoky goodness. If I was to start smoking them at a higher temp say 200 they would reach an internal temp faster, and not be in the smoke as long. I have tried smoking at the higher temp and got good results just not the smoke flavor I was looking for. Also when I smoked at the higher temp I got some case splitting that I do not get when I start low and gradually move up.
 
can anyone tell the best way to smoke good ole Johnsonville brats.
I have smoked these with marginal results. It does add some smoke flavor, but not allot in my opinion. I find the fresh brats produce the best results. If you can find some try the way I smoke them and I think you will be very pleased with the results.

If all you have excess to is the Johnsonville brats then by all means throw them in the smoke and smoke them up. I never tried the gradual method with them so I dont know if it would add more flavor or not. Give it a try it cant hurt any thing. 
 
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I have some Johnsonville brats and a homemade smoker. the smoker is a deep stainless steel pot, tinfoil on bottom then wood chips then more tinfoil and then a steamer rack. ill cover it and wrap lid with tinfoil to hold in smoke. how long do you suggest i smoke the brats for? it's a gas stove btw.
 
Unless i missed it, i think we should explain fresh brats smoking method and smoking brats.  Smoking fresh brats at low temps such as 120 for an hour and slightly higher for another hour is risky with no cure..  To me if your going to put a fresh brat in a smoker you should do them at 225 deg right away. You could do them at a lower temp such as 190 or so but 225 is my preffered temp for fresh brats. 

The grill though is my preffered method for "fresh brats".  Simmer them in beer and onions till they get that white color and then brown them on the grill.

"Smoking" brats generaly is done with the meat mix, seasonings, and insta cure #1. There is a lot of info on this site on meat/fat ratio's , recipe's, and more.  Once cured the brat's then can be put in the smoker at lower temps initialy at lower temps to help the links dry and the smoke is better absorbed this way. Then you finish it out to the proper internal temp.

So, in general, my opinion is to prepare a "fresh" brat and a "smoked" brat appropriatly.  There is a difference.  Reinhard
 
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