Butcher Eric's Beer Brats

It's Eric, the butcher here at Whitt's Place. I've been making a beer brat back in the cut room, and it's turned into one of the hardest things in the case to keep in stock. Here's what goes into it.

There's real beer in the seasoning

The seasoning itself has barley, hops, and yeast in it, and it's made with a Foster's golden lager. That's the part folks don't expect. It isn't a splash of beer poured over the meat at the end — the beer is built into the seasoning from the start, so it's worked all the way through the brat instead of sitting on the outside.

How I make them

It's a simple job. I put the meat in the grinder, pour the seasoning in, then activate it with a tablespoon of yeast and water and mix the whole thing up. That's the whole process. The yeast wakes up right there in the mix, and everything comes together in the grinder.

You can smell it before it's ever cooked

That's my favorite part. Once it starts mixing, the smell comes up out of the grinder and fills the whole cut room with beer. Anybody who walks back there while I'm running a batch says the same thing.

Made from steak and roast trimmings

Worth saying plain: the beer brats are made with steak and roast trimmings — same as our other brats and our hot dogs. When we cut steaks and roasts up front, the trim off those cuts is what goes in the grinder. It's the same beef you'd buy in the case, just in a different shape.

Customers can't leave them alone

They love them. I can't keep them on the shelf — they fly off about as fast as I can make them. So if you see them in the case, grab them while they're there.

How to get some

Beer brats go out in the case as I make them, and you can put them on your order at our preorder page. If you want something to do with them once you get them home, Chef Ali's Bratwurst and Kraut is hard to beat.