anyone freeze bratts?

[Lloyd Smale]

I just made up 50lbs of bratts and was grilling a few for the wife and i and got thinking. Why not if im going to fire up the grill cook 20 of them or so and vacuum pack them for later. Do they loose anything if you do it? Winters coming and the grill will be put up soon and it would be nice to have grilled bratts in the winter. I think there much better that way then fried.

[fastdadio]

We freeze them all the time. GTG.

[Pipefitter]

Grill them just long enough to get some char on the outside, leaving them pink in the middle. When you take them out of the freezer and reheat them cook them all the way through. Otherwise you will end up with overcooked brats.

[8mmFan]

If you can’t grill a decent brat, you can’t qualify for your driver’s license in this state. I don’t know EVERYTHING there is to know about making a killer bratwurst, but I’ve made a heck of a lot of ‘em. We freeze them all the time! Have never frozen one that was half-cooked, though, as Pipefitter has. We freeze them in the (store-bought) package. If we’re in a hurry, to thaw them we put them in a ziploc bag, and place them in a big bowl of cold cold water. They thaw pretty quickly that way.

We love bratwurst, chorizo, Polish, and all the rest. Nothing says Saturday like an awesome smoky Brat fresh off the grill, with condiments, on a great bun, and a cold drink.

8mmFan

[dverna]

I have never frozen cooked brats. I don't think they would come out right but might be worth trying out.

Freeze them overnight and try some the next day and you have your answer. It will not matter if they are frozen for 12 hours or 12 months.

[gwpercle]

We grill and freeze Smoked Cajun Sausage all the time ... defrost and heat back up in oven or microwave or use in cooking and they taste just fine ...Bratts is just a fresh German sausage , should do well ... vacuum packed and should be just like fresh off the grill .
Don't over cook them on grill ...might get slightly dry when re-heated .
Gary

[MaryB]

Yes BUT, they can dry out when reheating! I usually reheat in kraut to add moisture...

[georgerkahn]

Yes BUT, they can dry out when reheating! I usually reheat in kraut to add moisture...

I was just about to suggest... same as MaryB suggested :). Exactly what I/we do... Just thawed sans the sauerkraut, they seem to lose that added touch from grilling; in the 'kraut, they're pretty much like just made.
geo

[centershot]

I would not recommend cooking halfway, too much risk of bacteria. I have cooked them until done and vacuum-sealed them, they stay perfectly fine in the freezer for months. To re-heat just gently steam them in a vegetable steamer.

[Winger Ed.]

I make various kinds of sausage, usually with a shot of liquid smoke. and freeze all of it raw.

If there is a noticeable difference, between that and fresh cooked- my uncultured, certified red neck pallet can't tell.

[BJK]

I was just about to suggest... same as MaryB suggested :). Exactly what I/we do... Just thawed sans the sauerkraut, they seem to lose that added touch from grilling; in the 'kraut, they're pretty much like just made.
geo

Fully cooked before freezing to dodge bacteria. (they are killed @ 140°F)

That's pretty much was I was thinkin'. To warm, a pan with gentle heat and a TBL of water added to them and a lid placed above to trap the steam. Not boiled, steamed. Or nuked just to warm and no further.

As long as they're treated gently I don't see how it won't work with full flavor.

Please let us know what you did and how it worked.

[Minerat]

I would not recommend cooking halfway, too much risk of bacteria. I have cooked them until done and vacuum-sealed them, they stay perfectly fine in the freezer for months. To re-heat just gently steam them in a vegetable steamer.

Or throw them in a pot of boiling water while still sealed in the vac bag to reheat them. We do that for hunting camp all the time.

[Lloyd Smale]

im talking cooked bratts. My guess isnt that they would be dry if nuked enough to warm them up but would get "soggy" for lack of better words.

[Lloyd Smale]

Yes BUT, they can dry out when reheating! I usually reheat in kraut to add moisture...

every try leaving them out to thaw then nuking them in the cut open vac bag?

[jonp]

I buy them when on sale but never cook them before freezing. I vacuum pack them and thaw when needed. We do eat them with grilled onions and green peppers but I am a sauerkraut and mustard guy. Sometimes grill but also in a frying pan with some water or beer and partial steam them.

I saw some on closeout clearance sale the other day and almost bought several packages then saw that they were Pumpkin Spice. Almost hunted down the Meat Dept Manager and slapped him for stocking such an abomination. No wonder they were on clearance.

[smithnframe]

Freeze them and throw them away!

[Thundarstick]

I've never frozen grilled bratts, but I have frozen other grilled sausages, hot dogs, and burgers. They do lose an edge when being frozen, but there tolerable. My experts is they tend to dry out rather than get mushy. If your making your own I'd suggest adding a little more fat.

[DDriller]

We do it all the time. We Seal-a-Meal them in meal size packages. When ready we thaw them and place the bag either in boiling water to heat or my favorite way is put them in the microwave. Heating in the microwave heat until the bag starts to swell and they are hot and just like off the grill.
We do the same thing with burgers and chicken.

[MaryB]

every try leaving them out to thaw then nuking them in the cut open vac bag?

I have dropped the sealed bag in simmering water... they can still dry out of cooked to long... I freeze with some of the kraut(kraut freezes very well, very little texture change) to combat this. I like my food steaming hot...

[Lloyd Smale]

I have dropped the sealed bag in simmering water... they can still dry out of cooked to long... I freeze with some of the kraut(kraut freezes very well, very little texture change) to combat this. I like my food steaming hot...

now one of my wifes favorites is my beany weeny with brats. I cook up a big batch of baked beans and add about 5-10 lbs of chunks of bratt depending on the batch size instead of nasty hot dogs which i wont eat. Then i can the whole batch. You can take it out dump a jar in the pan and heat it and its a ready made meal.

[MaryB]

I started making my own hot dogs, coarse ground all beef, natural casing with a light smoke.

[samari46]

Johnsonville brats,Italian sausage and Dietz & Watson weiners and franks all get frozen.Frank

[megasupermagnum]

Freezing is the only way I do it. It seems to me the flavors settle down, and blend after a while, which can be a good thing. I like to season mine a little strong, so after being frozen for a few weeks, they taste really good. I've never had any last a year, so can't say on the long term thing. All of mine get cooked first, almost always smoked too. I like the taste. I find the key is the same as making them fresh, don't over cook them. I wouldn't go above 200 degrees if smoking, and I like to shoot for lower. Somewhere in that 175-200 range. You usually see recommendations for 225 or even 250, but that's usually for only smoking an hour or less. I like to let them cook an hour, then smoke at least an hour. I like a smoky taste. I like to thaw in the microwave, then fry or grill hot, to get a nice crisp. They seem juicy to me. When I overcooked them originally, I found boiling worked really well, but did make them more bland.

All I do is wrap in freezer paper. I've heard wrapping in saran wrap first might help too, but I have no problems with freezer paper alone. I tried vacuum pack. They work good when the machine does. Seems like a lot of screwing around to me, so I never gave it another go.

[MaryB]

I don't have one of those cheap seal a meal things LOL I use a chamber vacuum sealer...

[DDriller]

I don't have one of those cheap seal a meal things LOL I use a chamber vacuum sealer...

One of these days I will get one of those good ones. :wink: Still trying to convince the better half we need one.

[Winger Ed.]

. They work good when the machine does.

That's been my problem with them. I've burned out 3 of them in way too short of time.
I went back to the name brand zip-lock freezer bags from the grocery store.
I push as much air out as I can, and they seem to do as good as the vac. bags did.

[JimB..]

That's been my problem with them. I've burned out 3 of them in way too short of time.
I went back to the name brand zip-lock freezer bags from the grocery store.
I push as much air out as I can, and they seem to do as good as the vac. bags did.

I’ve done this by putting the stuff in the bag and then sinking it in a pot of water, it squeezes out most of the water. But did just by a food saver. Going to hook it up to the gauges on my industrial vac pump and see how much vac it really draws. Didn’t ever occur to me to just hook that pump up to the canning jar attachment, but gonna try that too, probably collapse the lid into the jar, but we’ll see. I’m just starting to learn about this stuff, it’s interesting.

Oh, and meat or bread in the microwave is never a good thing IMHO.

[downzero]

Why do people not grill in the winter? I am originally from Illinois and have certainly fired up the grill in 0 degree weather. Now I live in the desert so I don't have to worry about that. But when I grill, the grill is 600-700 degrees. Why would I care if it's 100 or 0 outside?

[MaryB]

I used to grill/smoke all winter... now not so much, my body doesn't like the cold!