Grilled Johnsonville Brats on Nature's Pride Natural Deli Rolls

It was brats night at our house. Brats and other sausages or hot dogs are easy to grill, but you do need to know what type of wurst you are using.

In the South, the variety on brats is slim, but Johnsonville makes really good ones, so I go with Johnsonville brats.



Before I grill brats, I simmer them in beer with a half stick of butter and onions. I put a few holes with a fork in the brats so that they absorb the flavor.



I keep the brats on a low simmer for around a half hour or until they look kind of gray as you see above. They are pretty well cooked by this point and have absorbed a lot of flavor.

Sometimes I simmer the brats and then put them right on the grill and sometimes I do that ahead and grill later in the day.



When brats are simmered ahead, they really just need to be heated through well and on the grill to pick up that outdoor smoked flavor. By the time they have grill marks, they are ready to come off and that is just a few minutes.



Rolls for the brats have been the biggest issue. The main kind of rolls they have here are hot dog buns which are too small for brats and huge hoagie rolls that too big.

But, the Food Buzz team put me on a test program to check out Nature's Pride white deli rolls. They mailed out the bread, and I just try the buns and let readers know what I think - good or bad.

The Nature's Pride deli Rolls turned out just perfect for the brats and had a nice fresh flavor. I hope they get them in the stores around here soon, because these work better than what I've been able to find locally.

The Nature's Pride bread products are 100% natural. They do not use arificial pperservatives or colors and no high fructose corn syrup. Also, the buns are split prior, and some people around here have a heck of a time getting a clean cut on rolls that have to be cut with a knife.



Our brats turned out fabulous. Boiling them in beer and butter makes a huge difference. The boys love our brats. They got some at a ballgame and were quite disappointed. It is sure hard to beat homemade as they've discovered. They much prefer meals at home than at a restaurant - even when the meals are super easy like grilled brats on deli rolls.