Slow-Cooked Reuben Brats

Name: Slow-Cooked Reuben Brats
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 7 h 15 min
Total time: 7 h 45 min
Yield: 10 servings.
Ingredients: 10 Johnsonville® Original Brats; 3 bottles (12 ounces each) light beer or nonalcoholic beer; 1 large sweet onion, sliced; 1 can (14 ounces) sauerkraut, rinsed and well-drained; 3/4 cup mayonnaise; 1/4 cup chili sauce; 2 tablespoons ketchup; 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion; 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish; 1 garlic clove, minced; 1/8 teaspoon pepper; 10 hoagie buns, split; 10 slices Swiss cheese

Sauerkraut gives these beer-simmered brats a big flavor boost, but it’s the special chili sauce and melted cheese that put them over the top. Top your favorite burger with some of the chili sauce; you won't be sorry. —Alana Simmons, Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Ingredients

10 Johnsonville® Original Brats
3 bottles (12 ounces each) light beer or nonalcoholic beer
1 large sweet onion, sliced
1 can (14 ounces) sauerkraut, rinsed and well-drained
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chili sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
1 garlic clove, minced
1/8 teaspoon pepper
10 hoagie buns, split
10 slices Swiss cheese

Directions

In a large skillet, brown bratwurst in batches; drain. In a 5-qt. slow cooker, combine beer, sliced onion and sauerkraut; add bratwurst. Cook, covered, on low 7-9 hours or until sausages are cooked through.
Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, chili sauce, ketchup, chopped onion, relish, garlic and pepper until blended. Spread over cut sides of buns; top with cheese, bratwurst and sauerkraut mixture. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Nutrition Facts

1 sandwich: 733 calories, 50g fat (16g saturated fat), 94mg cholesterol, 1643mg sodium, 45g carbohydrate (10g sugars, 2g fiber), 26g protein.

Originally published as Slow-Cooked Reuben Brats in Taste of Home Cookbook Contest 2010/2011

Reviews

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Average Rating:

PrplMonky5

Feb 20, 2018

These were pretty yummy but they needed something. Draining the sauerkraut and putting it in beer took away a lot of the sauerkraut flavor. Next time I'll lower the amount of beer and add in some of the liquid from the sauerkraut. The sauce was really good, we liked that. Instead of swiss I used smoked provolone. I omitted the onion as personal preference. Because my slow cooker runs REALLY hot (I hate my slow cooker), it only took about 2.5-3 hours to cook fully. I'm looking forward to trying this recipe again with some of my own tweaks.
patty2222

Dec 18, 2017

Love this!!!! I take the ingredients with us camping and everyone always asks for the recipe, it's a nice change from hot dogs and hamburgers. I just put the ingredients in the crockpot and it's done when we get back. I usually serve with german potato salad. Thanks for sharing!!!!
kennedy22

Apr 5, 2017

Amazing!!! loved them.... I get so tired of hamburgs and hot dogs camping in the summer, can't wait to share this recipe. Really enjoyed the reuben sauce too, no more thousand island dressing from a bottle. Thanks for sharing!!
ddagle

Mar 21, 2017

This has become a much requested family favorite. Much tastier than I expected. The dressing is so good, it can stand alone as a salad dressing. Of course, I buy locally made brats & buns from our local grocery. This makes a big difference , I think.
Corwin44

Feb 5, 2017

My family really enjoyed these. Flavor was great. The brats were really tender. I can't really compare these to other ways of preparing brats as this was my first time making brats. I appreciated how easy these came together and didn't require my attention while I enjoyed the Super Bowl. The only change I made to the recipe was to serve these brats on outdoor rolls (aka stadium rolls).
hunter6295

Oct 17, 2015

The sauce is amazing! I was tempted to just buy a bottle of Thousand Island dressing and save myself time. I am so glad I didn't! I made the sauce (which really only takes a few minutes) and let it refrigerate all day. Being Wisconsinites we eat brats with kraut all the time so that part was nothing extra special. However the addition of homemade sauce, a toasted bun and melted cheese made this recipe FABULOUS!
Tipsymcstagger

Jul 28, 2015

Great recipe!!! My picky girlfriend and I polished off 1/2 a crockpot by ourselves!
BabblesfromBoise

Mar 19, 2015

Brats & Beer - What could be better?My husband is not only a beer connoisseur, but also a bratwurst snob as well.I halved the recipe and used one can of porter-style beer and sweet onions and it was AMAZING! The porter and the sweet onions helped to mellow the sauerkraut. But the special sauce was the icing on the cake.I'm going to try a different bun other than a hoagie as it fell apart while eating - even though I drained the liquid quite well before toasting. A surprising plus - the crockpot cooking softens the casing on the brats - making everything nice and tender.My husband asked a few years back to make a list of all the dinner choices I make so he can refer to it when I ask him "what do you want for dinner". He told me to definitely add this to it!!Thanks for sharing!
knwygt

Jan 25, 2015

My family didn't love the sauce. We used some high quality spicy mustard.
crettenberger

Aug 29, 2014

I am from Johnstown PA.. This was a staple in my household for many years! To this day I still do Pork (of all kinds), sauerkraut, onions and apples in my crock-pot and every "Southern Californian" who thinks they are SOOO healthy, cant get enough of this dish...especially during Football season. It was nice to see someone from my hometown (which I return to see family every 2 months) bring this to the table!!!You'ens did good!