Serve Easy Grilled Beer Brats to Feed a Crowd for Cheap!
These juicy beer brats with buttery sweet onions are an easy summer grilling idea or game-day meal for parties and tailgating!
Looking for something EASY to make at your next BBQ?
Try making grilled beer brats for a crowd! They are so simple to prepare and are always a family favorite! This beer brats recipe is also a fairly inexpensive option too as brats are not pricey and you can use your favorite cheap beer if you want.
How long to boil brats in beer?
You really only need to simmer your bratwurst for about 15 minutes. Just enough to be tender inside, yet not mushy. As far as what beer to use, everyone will have a personal preference. I personally just use a light pilsner-style lager we have on hand such as Coors Light or Modelo.
I always claimed to not love brats basically my whole life, until I prepared them in a beer bath first before grilling using this method. Honestly, this step makes them tender on the inside and yet they still have that snap on the outside. Serve them with the buttery onions on top, for an easy crowd-pleasing idea!
Grilled Beer Brats
yield: 10 SERVINGS
prep time: 10 MINUTES
total time: 10 MINUTES
Soaked brats in beer with onions and butter that get grilled to perfection.
Ingredients
- 4 - 12 oz. cans beer
- large yellow onion, sliced
- 1/2 stick of butter
- 10 bratwurst
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- hot dog buns for serving
- mustard for topping
Directions
1
Combine beer, onions, and butter in a medium or large pot. Bring to a boil.
2
Add the brats and seasonings. Turn down the heat to simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
3
Finish the brats on an outdoor grill for about 5-10 minutes until they are browned on all sides. Use a meat thermometer to check they have reached 160 degrees.
4
Remove the remaining onions from the pot, and use them to serve the brats alongside mustard, and any other desired toppings.
Tips for making the best beer boiled brats:
- Load up on whichever topping you prefer! We tend to stick with spicy grainy mustard and the yummy beer-soaked onions from the first step in cooking. You can add sauerkraut, ketchup, and sauteed bell peppers as other ideas for toppings. Consider building a large hot dog bar and include brats as well with all the toppings!
- if you don’t have a grill consider finishing them on a hot cast iron skillet instead. They need to reach 160 degrees internally, so a meat thermometer is handy to check.
- If I was doing this for a tailgating event, I would prep ahead the brats by boiling them first and then taking them along to grill at the stadium.
- Consider grabbing top-sliced buns as I feel like they are easier to eat and to serve.
I am such a fan of this beer brats recipe!
Honestly, these are so good and easy. We make them all year long now for various family gatherings and sports-related parties. I love that you can sometimes find bratwurst at the store for less than a dollar a piece! This makes it a frugal meal for a large group. Consider making extra as they disappear quickly. My teenage son can take down a few at a time! LOL
Curious about what to serve with brats?
Consider some of these easy side salads:
I live in Central Wisconsin and we eat these at least once a week, especially in the summertime since they’re so amazing on the grill. But you can pan fry them too over med high just to brown them up if it’s too cold to grill. The key is definitely boiling in beer. And lots of spicy mustard and sauerkraut, chopped onions too! Nothing like an ice cold beer and a brat on a summer day.
Yum! 😋 Thanks for mentioning how to brown them up by pan frying if it’s too cold to grill outside! ❤️
Yes for us stuck in the frozen tundra all winter! Though a lot of us still grill during the winter months. LoL Also really good if you split a brat in half lengthwise and put it on top of a burger. 😁
I love to grill too, so I completely understand even in the winter! LOL Never tried one on top of a burger, but it sounds delicious! 🌭🍔
Thank you! 🙂
You bet! 💕