How to Cook Bratwurst

We're showing you how to cook bratwurst using 6 different methods including brats on the stove, baked, steamed, grilled, air fried, pressure cooked, and in a crockpot too. They're all a Whole Lotta Yum!

With my husband's family being from Germany, we are a bratwurst obsessed family. Our favorite sausage appears on our table just about weekly. Having a variety of bratwurst recipes on hand makes for a simple yet delicious dinner any day of the week.

Since brats are already pre-seasoned and don't need much added, learning how to cook bratwurst is a snap! With just one ingredient (the sausage of course), and maybe 1 or 2 extras like a cooking liquid of veggie side, you have a simple yet savory meal.

To have an easy German-style meal, serve any of our bratwurst recipes with sauerkraut, our German mustard potato salad recipe, a pretzel, and of course a German beer.

The Best Way to Cook Bratwurst?

What you consider the best way could come down to how much time you have, how many brats you need to cook, and what kitchen appliances you have available. There actually isn't a bad way 😉

Brats in a skillet is best when you're just cooking a few, either the grill or in the oven works best for cooking a large batch, and in a pressure cooker is one of our personal favorites because it's hands-off cooking. And the air fryer is perfect when you want golden juicy sausages cooked fast.

What you'll need

Our favorite brand is locally made by a company called Hemplers because fresh and local is always best! For a national brand, Johnsonville produces a terrific bratwurst sausage, and the larger Costco packs of uncooked brats are also a great way to buy many at a time for a good price.

We've included the ingredients for cooking bratwurst on the stovetop, which first has you simmer the brats in a skillet in beer, onion, and butter to partially cook the sausages. Then you finish by quickly pan frying the sausages to get the exterior nice and brown.

• 1 lb of bratwursts (typically 4-5 brats per pack)
• 2-12 bottles of beer
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 large onion, sliced

Popular add-ons - sauerkraut, buns, stoneground mustard

Doubling- feel free to cook up to 2 lb of brats with this method if you have a large pot. Add enough bottles of beer to cover the sausage, and then we recommend doubling the butter and using 2 onions.

On the stove

Some people might prefer to simmer the brats in liquid and then do a quick grill on the BBQ or gas grill to finish browning. Cooking brats on the stove before browning is a great way to prevent them from splitting.

1. In a deep skillet or Dutch oven, add the bratwursts, 1 sliced onion, the beer, and ½ of a stick of butter cut into cubes. Make sure the beer is just covering the meat. 
2. Bring the beer mix to a slow boil, turn the heat to medium-low, and simmer the bratwurst for 10 minutes. They’ll be par-boiled at this point, meaning partially (but mostly) cooked. They’ll finish cooking with the next step.
3. Remove the sausages from the liquid and clean out the pan, making sure to scoop out the savory onions as a side dish.  Pan-fry them in a skillet with a little oil for 3 minutes on each side until brown.

In the oven

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Lay the uncooked fresh bratwurst on the baking sheet, making sure to spread the sausages out and give them plenty of space.
2. Bake them on one side for 10 minutes. Flip the sausages over with a spatula or tongs, and continue cooking for 5-7 more minutes until they're cooked through and have an internal temperature of 160 F.

Pressure cooking

1. Turn on your Instant Pot on Saute High. Once the pot is heated, brown the sausages lightly in 2 tablespoon of butter on both sides, which will take about 2-3 minutes each. You might need to brown these in two batches, depending on how many brats you're cooking and the size of your pressure cooker.  Remove them.
2. Place a rack on the bottom and add the sausages. Carefully pour 1 cup of liquid such as beer, apple juice, water, or chicken broth into the bottom of the pot.
3. Set your instant pot to Manual or Pressure Cook (depending on your model) and cook for 6 minutes. Once done, do a Natural Release until the steam is released.

In an air fryer

1. Air fry the brats at 360 F, there's no need to preheat the unit first.
2. Lay the brats in a single layer on the air fryer basket, leaving room on all sides.
3. You'll be cooking the brats for a total of 11-12 minutes, and flip them over after 6 minutes. The key is making sure the internal temperature of the meat is 165 F.

In a slow cooker

1. In a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat, sear the brats on both sides for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add 1 sliced onion, 2 cups of sauerkraut in liquid and 1 can of beer or 1.5 cups of chicken broth to the bottom of the crockpot.
3. Place the sausage on top and gently press them down into the liquid as much as possible. Add 2 tablespoon of cut-up butter and place on top and around the meat and veggies.
4. Cook on low for 4 hours, or until they're cooked through and juicy.

On the grill

1. Grill the uncooked brats over indirect heat for about 18 minutes, or until the sausage is "almost" cooked through but not quite.
2. Grill them for 1-2 more minutes over direct heat to brown the outside of the sausages, the internal temperature should be at 160F+. 
3. Serve with buns and hot dog toppings to go American style, or serve the German classics like sauerkraut and mustard. If you need to keep them warm, put the bratwurst in beer and simmer on low until you're ready to serve them.

Side dish ideas

The most popular sides for brats are sauerkraut, cooked onions, potatoes, cooking them in beer, or serving them on a bun. 

If you're looking for a traditional German bratwurst meal, then you'd serve the sausages with sauerkraut, mustard, potatoes, and beer. If you  Barvarian style for Oktoberfest perhaps, then cooking them with classic German sides makes a fun and festive meal.

In the US, bratwurst is often served as a hot dog on a bun with classic hot dog sauces OR in a bun with warm sauerkraut and onions served on top of the sausage. 

Brat internal temp?

Bratwursts are technically considered cooked through at 160 F but the sausage often is not browned at this point.

Because of the high-fat content, sausages stay juicy up until 185-190 F which will give you just enough time to finish browning the sausage to a nice golden color.

We usually cook ours longer than 160 F to get a nice golden finish on the outside.

Recipes for sausage

• Crockpot Italian Sausage and Peppers
• Air Fryer Kielbasa
• Creamy Kielbasa and Sauerkraut
• Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana

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Recipe

How to Cook Brats

WholeLottaYum

Our six methods of cooking bratwurst: in a skillet, in the oven, and in an air fryer are all quick and easy ways to make brats. See our post to learn even more methods like pressure cooking, grilling, and boiling too!

4.61 from 53 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Pork

Cuisine German

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 lb of bratwurst typically 4-5 brats per pack
• 2 bottles of beer
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 large onion sliced

Instructions

 

• The beer and butter listed in the ingredients list are just for stovetop brats. Air frying or baking them just requires the sausages only or perhaps peppers and onions if you want to add them at the same time.

Stovetop

• In a deep skillet or Dutch oven, add the brats, 1 sliced onion, the beer, and ½ of a stick of butter cut into cubes. Make sure the beer is just covering the meat. 
• Bring the beer mix to a slow boil, turn the heat to medium-low, and simmer the bratwurst for 10 minutes.
• Remove the bratwurst from the liquid and clean out the pan, making sure to scoop out the savory onions to serve as a side.  Pan-fry them in a skillet with a little oil for 3 minutes on each side until brown. The internal temperature should be at least 160F to be properly cooked. 

Air Fryer

• Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes at 360 F.
• Place the bratwurst in the air fryer basket, leaving space between the sausages.
• Air fry for 11-15 minutes or until browned to your liking, flipping halfway through cooking.

Baked

• Preheat the oven to 400 F.
• Lay the uncooked sausages on a baking sheet or in a cast-iron skillet, making sure to spread them out on the pan.
• Cook them for a total of 18-20 minutes, flipping after halfway through cooking or until the internal temp reaches 160 F.
• If you want the sausage a little more brown, just pop them under the broiler for 1-2 minutes.

Notes

Serve Bavarian style with a side of sauerkraut, stone ground mustard, and beer.

Serve them on a bun like a hot dog with all your favorite American toppings.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!