SARASOTA'S SO-CALLED CROCKPOT BEER BRATWURST & VEGGIES

Sarasota's So-Called Crockpot Beer Bratwurst & Veggies image

This is nothing fancy and just true comfort food. A family style platter of slow cooked carrots, onions, potatoes, bratwurst and sauerkraut, all braised in a beer broth. The crock pot works great for this or you can use any oven proof pot as well. Just a little chopping, a bottle of beer, some seasoning and you are set. Before serving, I do like to take a little of the cooking liquid, cool for a few minutes and add some sour cream, horseradish, and stone ground mustard to make a great warm sauce for the brats and vegetables.

Provided by SarasotaCook

Time 6h10m

Yield 8 , 8 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 19

Ingredients

10 bratwursts, cut in 1/3 's on a angle (brats I buy are fresh, but come in a package of 5, so I happen to use 2 pkgs but I don't mind having)
2 large sweet onions, rough chopped
24 small red potatoes, skin on
2 cups carrots, cut on an angle about 2-inch pieces
2 cups sauerkraut, rinsed and drained (you can use 1 can, 15 oz, but I prefer a fresh bagged sauerkraut from the Deli or meat aisle of your)
12 ounces a honey lager works beat but any beer will work, stay away from a heavy Guinness stout or 12 ounces stout beer
1 teaspoon stone ground mustard (you can use dijon is you don't have stone ground)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoons butter
salt
pepper
1 cup cooking liquid
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon horseradish (to taste, more or less)
1 tablespoon stone ground mustard (more or less to taste)
salt
pepper

Steps:

Chop -- Simply cut the brats in 3 pieces each on a angle. Carrots, peel, again chop on a angle (I just like how it looks) in about 2" pieces. Onion, I use 2 large onions, rough chopped. Potatoes, small ones I leave whole, if they are large I will cut in half. Not too small or they get mushy.
Crockpot -- Brats on the bottom with the carrots, then onions and topped with potatoes. Top all that with the sauerkraut.
Sauce -- In a small bowl or measuring cup, add the butter and melt in the microwave for 10 seconds, remove and then add in the beer, mustard, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon black pepper and garlic. Pour over the brats and vegetables. Lay 3 springs of thyme right on top of the sauerkraut.
Cook -- Crockpot - low 6-8 hours. My crock pot takes 7 hours, but every crockpot is different. You just want the potatoes and carrots to be tender. The brats will easily be done. Right at the end of cooking, check for seasoning. No salt was added, but the sauerkraut even though it was rinsed can be salty, so go easy. Besides you are serving a sauce with this dish which also has seasoning.
Sauce -- This is a great compliment to this dish. You can always just serve it with some mustard, but I love this sauce served on each persons plate in a small side bowl for dipping or for pouring over the vegetables. It is similar to the consistency of gravy.
Remove the cooking liquid to let it cool slightly before you add it to the sour cream so it does not break the sour cream. It will cool in just a few minutes. In a small bowl add the sour cream, horseradish, mustard, salt and pepper. It is a nice creamy spicy sauce to serve with the brats and vegetables. My Mom always adds more mustard to her portion, so just go by taste. I happen to love my horseradish sauce, so -- each person is unique in their own taste.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 832.6, Fat 37.8, SaturatedFat 14.6, Cholesterol 92.6, Sodium 1244.1, Carbohydrate 94.7, Fiber 11, Sugar 8.7, Protein 26