We’ve been on a bratwurst kick in my house lately. It’s high season around here with summer theater and sports and way too much garden to look after, so simple meals that yield easy leftovers have been on regular rotation. Brats, once eschewed by my kids, have suddenly become the new favorite. I’ve taken to cooking a double batch for supper early in the week and within days any remaining links are quickly scarfed up under a pile of kraut or stuffed into a roll for a quick lunch.
And while a juicy brat isn’t exactly considered health food, I’d argue that fresh sausages are a fine addition to any omnivore’s diet, especially when they’re sourced from a local farm and made with good quality ingredients. Farmer Mitch Cave owns 4-Lees farm, a fourth-generation family farm west of Springfield in Virginia, where he raises pastured, free-range chicken and pork which he sends off to a local processor to be transformed into roasts and sausages, which are made without fillers or nitrites. The farm’s Korean barbeque brat is a particular favorite in our house, grilled and served with punchy kimchi and a squeeze of sriracha mayo. 4-Lees takes online orders and makes deliveries (all products come frozen) to the Springfield area every Friday.
For those seeking fresh brats on demand, Humphrey’s Market, Springfield’s oldest locally owned and family run grocery, is open six days a week and serves up a hearty helping of nostalgia in addition to fresh chops and steaks cut by actual butchers. Humphrey’s, 1821 S. 15th St., also makes a dizzying array of fresh sausages daily, including its traditional family recipe apple brats as well as new flavors such as Philly cheesesteak, spicy jalapeno cheddar and “cowboy butter.” Cowboy butter is a new flavor that one of the Humphrey’s butchers described as “comfort food with a little kick of spice.”
Warm Swiss chard and brat salad
This recipe makes the most of one of summer’s most generous greens. It started out as a riff on the iconic hot spinach salad with bacon dressing, but then took a pub house turn with the addition of juicy brats, beer mustard and crispy pretzel crumbs.
Ingredients:
1 large bunch Swiss chard, trimmed
1 tablespoon butter or bacon fat
½ cup breadcrumbs or broken pretzel pieces
4 bratwurst
2 tablespoons olive oil or bacon fat, as needed
1 medium red onion, sliced
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2-3 teaspoons brown sugar, to taste
1 tablespoon grainy beer mustard
Salt and black pepper
Wash the chard and dice the large bottom section of the stems and set aside. Roll up the leaves like a cigar and finely slice them into fine ribbons.
Melt the butter in a large, non-reactive skillet over medium heat. Toast the breadcrumbs or pretzel pieces in the skillet until they’re crispy and golden brown. Transfer to a small, paper towel-lined bowl and set aside. Wipe out the skillet and return it to the heat.
Cook the sausages in the skillet until they’re nicely browned and cooked through, then set aside. Add two tablespoons of oil to the skillet if needed (depending how fatty the sausages are – you’ll want 2-3 tablespoons of fat in the skillet) and sliced onion and diced chard, cooking until softened and lightly caramelized, about 5-8 minutes. Add the vinegar, sugar, mustard and two tablespoons of water along with any juices from the resting sausages. Bring the dressing to a bubbly simmer, then remove the skillet from the heat. Add the julienned chard leaves to the hot dressing in the skillet and toss until just beginning to wilt. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then divide the greens between four plates and top with the sausages and a sprinkle of crispy crumbs.
Curried sausages
This was one of the only meals that my college roommate in New Zealand knew how to make so we had it often, which was totally fine because it was cheap and tasty. Undoubtedly inspired by German currywurst, this retro dish will stick to your ribs. It is standard fare throughout New Zealand and Australia.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil or bacon fat
8 bratwurst
1 onion, sliced
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
1 carrot, sliced into thin coins
1 tablespoon mild curry powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 cup chicken stock
¼ cup ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon each soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce
Cornstarch, if needed to thicken
Salt, black pepper and brown sugar, to taste
Cook the sausages in a large skillet over medium high heat, then set aside. Add the onion, apple and carrot and sauté until softened, about five minutes. Add the curry powder, paprika, chicken stock, ketchup, soy sauce vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Slice the cooked sausages and add them along with any accumulated juices to the skillet and cook 10-15 minutes more until the sauce is thick (to make a thicker sauce, add a teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in cold water to the pan and simmer five minutes more). Season to taste with salt, pepper and brown sugar as needed. Serve with mashed potatoes, rice or, for a truly authentic experience, French fries.