Buzz
You can cook Bratwurst sausage in various ways, but nothing beats the simplicity of oven baking. This method is ideal for days when grilling outdoors isn't feasible due to bad weather, and the result is juicy, flavorful sausages with minimal effort. Whether you're using Bratwurst in a recipe or enjoying it on its own, you won't regret trying this approach!
Ingredients
Beer-Braised Bratwurst Sausage
- 1 medium white onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1-2 tablespoons (15-30 ml) olive oil
- 2-3 tablespoons (30-45 ml) Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 5 Bratwurst sausages
- 2 cans of beer, 350 ml each (optional)
- 5 small round buns or rolls
Prepare 5 servings
Steps
Grilling the Sausages
Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place it in the oven. Cover the baking sheet with foil and fold the edges around the rim to secure it. This makes cleanup easier and prevents the sausages from sticking to the pan. Once the foil is in place, put the baking sheet in the oven and preheat it.
- You can use a cookie sheet, roasting pan, or any baking tray you have, as long as it's large enough to hold all the sausages without them touching.
- A rimmed baking sheet ensures the sausages won't roll off.
Preheat the oven to 204°C (400°F). Allow 10-15 minutes for the oven to reach the desired temperature. If your oven has a thermometer, you can monitor it to know when it's ready.
- Preheating the oven ensures even cooking, as the temperature is stable when you put the food in.
- Heating the baking sheet along with the oven helps the sausages develop a beautifully golden exterior.
Remove the baking sheet and arrange the sausages in a single layer. Using oven mitts, carefully take the baking sheet out of the oven. Place it on the stovetop or a heat-resistant mat, then lay the sausages on the foil-lined tray.
- To ensure even cooking, make sure the sausages don't touch each other on the tray. They don't need to be too far apart—just about 1.3 cm of space is enough.
Bake the sausages in the oven for 45 minutes, flipping them once. After about 20 minutes, carefully use tongs to turn the sausages over. This step ensures both sides develop a golden-brown color. Return the tray to the oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes or until the sausages are golden on the outside.
- Remember to use oven mitts when handling the baking sheet, as it will be very hot.
Ensure the internal temperature of the sausages reaches 71°C. Fully cooked sausages must reach a minimum internal temperature of 71°C. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of a sausage to check.
- When cooking meat, always assess doneness by internal temperature rather than cooking time. Smaller sausages may only need 30 minutes, while larger ones could take up to an hour.
Let the sausages rest for about 5 minutes before serving. When meat is cooked, juices tend to concentrate in the center. Allowing the sausages to rest for 5 minutes lets the juices redistribute, resulting in a moist and flavorful dish!
- Store leftover sausages in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, or freeze them for 1-2 months.
Sausage Side Dishes: Try serving the sausages with sautéed onions and bell peppers, roasted vegetables, or baked potatoes!
Broiling
Remove the top rack from the oven. Most modern ovens have a broiler element located near the top of the oven. This element emits intense, direct heat to quickly cook food, and the best way to utilize it is by placing the food as close to the broiler as possible.
- In older oven models, the broiler element might be located in a drawer below the main oven compartment. In this case, you don’t need to remove the rack.
Preheat the broiler for 10 minutes. Most broiler elements allow you to adjust the temperature. Some only have an on/off switch, in which case simply turn it on. Set it to “high” if available, or “low” if not. It will take about 10 minutes to reach the appropriate temperature.
- Since the broiler heats up very quickly, it’s important to adjust the oven rack before turning it on to avoid burns.
Arrange the sausages on the broiler rack, ensuring they don’t touch each other. The broiler rack has slots and is usually placed inside a separate pan. These slots allow hot air to circulate around the sausages, ensuring even cooking.
- It’s essential to have a drip pan placed under the broiler rack, as the sausages will release juices while cooking. Drippings falling to the bottom of the oven can cause flare-ups.
Broil the sausages for 15-20 minutes, flipping them every 5 minutes. Use tongs to carefully turn the sausages every 5 minutes to prevent burning. You may need to pull the rack out slightly to make flipping easier. If you do, always use oven mitts to avoid burns.
- Be extremely careful not to touch the top of the oven while flipping the sausages. The broiler element is extremely hot and can cause severe burns.
Remove the sausages when they are golden brown and have grill marks. While oven-baked sausages typically don’t have grill marks, you might notice a few when broiling them in the oven. This is a fantastic way to enjoy the flavor of grilled sausages even on rainy days when outdoor grilling isn’t an option!
- Since Bratwurst sausages are made from pork, it’s crucial to use a meat thermometer to check for doneness rather than relying on their appearance.
Use a meat thermometer to ensure the internal temperature of the sausages reaches 71°C. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the sausage. If it reads 71°C, the sausages are done!
- If the sausages aren’t fully cooked, return them to the oven for another 5 minutes until they reach the appropriate temperature.
Let the sausages rest for 5 minutes before serving. This prevents burns and allows the juices to redistribute evenly throughout the sausages. The result will be a juicy, flavorful sausage that tastes almost as good as one fresh off the grill!
- You can store leftover sausages in an airtight container or a resealable plastic bag. They can last 3-4 days in the fridge or 1-2 months in the freezer.
Beer-Braised Sausages in the Oven
Preheat the oven to 204°C. You’ll be simmering the sausages in beer along with onions, so the oven needs to be hot enough to ensure everything cooks thoroughly. Allow 10-15 minutes for the oven to reach the desired temperature before adding any ingredients.
- Preheating the oven helps you calculate cooking time more accurately. If you add ingredients while the oven is still cold, you’ll need to account for the additional time it takes to heat up.
Slice the onion into rings and mince 2 garlic cloves. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut a white onion into 0.6 cm thick rings and separate them by hand. For the garlic, mince 2 cloves as finely as possible.
- If you don’t like too much onion or the onion you bought is too large, you can use just half of it.
- If you tear up while cutting onions, try freezing the onion for 10-15 minutes beforehand. Don’t leave it longer, or the onion may become mushy.
- Some people skip the garlic in this recipe. While garlic enhances the flavor of the onions and beer, you can omit it if you prefer.
Spread the onions and garlic in a deep baking dish. As long as the dish is at least 5-8 cm deep, the size isn’t a major issue. However, a standard 23cm x 33cm baking tray works perfectly for this.
- One-pot meals are already easy to clean up, but you can also use disposable aluminum trays to make cleanup even simpler!
Drizzle olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, and sprinkle salt and pepper over the onions. After adding the onions and garlic to the baking tray, drizzle 1-2 tablespoons (15-30 ml) of olive oil, 2-3 tablespoons (30-45 ml) of Worcestershire sauce, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix all the ingredients well.
- If you prefer a sweeter flavor, you can add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.
- For a spicy kick, include 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes.
Arrange 5 sausages on top of the onion mixture. Gently press the sausages into the mixture when placing them in the baking tray. As the onions soften while cooking in the beer, they will envelop the sausages and enhance the dish’s flavor.
Pour 2 cans of 350 ml beer into the baking tray. The choice of beer is entirely up to you. You can use the cheapest beer from your local store or a limited-edition craft beer from a local brewery. Regardless of the type, ensure the beer covers about half of the sausages.
- Different beers will impart different flavors. For example, lager offers a mild taste, IPA leaves a bitter aftertaste, and stout provides a richer, more robust flavor.
- If you want something richer than lager but not as heavy as stout, consider using amber or red ale.
- Depending on the size of your baking tray, you may not need to use the full amount of beer listed in the recipe.
Cover the baking tray tightly with aluminum foil. Place the foil over the tray and fold it around the edges to seal it. This will allow the sausages to steam, resulting in a flavorful and juicy dish.
- If one piece of foil isn’t enough to cover the tray, you can use two overlapping pieces.
Place the tray in the oven and bake for about 1 hour, flipping the sausages once. Once the tray is sealed with foil and the oven is hot, place the sausage tray on the middle rack. After about 30 minutes, flip the sausages. Carefully use oven mitts to remove the tray and turn the sausages, then return it to the oven for another 30 minutes.
- Be cautious when opening the foil, as steam will escape. Avoid placing your hands or face in the steam to prevent burns.
- Avoid piercing the sausages with a fork, as this will cause the juices to escape.
- After 1 hour, use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the sausages at the thickest part. If it reads 71°C, the sausages are done! If not, return them to the oven for an additional 5-10 minutes until they reach the proper temperature.
Place the sausages on a soft bun and top with the onions. The beer-braised onions make the perfect topping for sausages served on soft buns. If desired, you can toast the buns and add mustard to the sausages, or simply enjoy them as they are with the soft buns.
- Store leftover sausages in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, or freeze them for up to 2 months.
Additional Toppings for Beer-Braised Sausages: Try topping the sausages with German-style sauerkraut, mustard, or pickled jalapeños!
What You’ll Need
Grilling Sausages
- Rimmed baking sheet
- Aluminum foil
- Oven mitts
- Heat-resistant mat (optional)
- Food thermometer
- Tongs
- Oven
Broiling
- Broiler element
- Broiler pan
- Tongs
- Oven mitts
- Food thermometer
Beer-Braised Sausages
- Oven
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife
- Baking tray
- Aluminum foil
- Oven mitts
