To poke or not to poke

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Got some locally made brats at the butcher yesterday. Fondly remembered brats in beer at an authentic old world butcher shop in MN when I was a kid in the 80s. Did some research on beers and marinades and whether or not you should poke the brats.

A lot of people on various forums would start a thread saying they made great brats and poked them. Every time, 10+ other members would jump in and say DON'T POKE THE BRATS!!!

Made a marinade yesterday:
Tuckerman's Headwall Alt (wanted a bready, malty brown beer)
brown sugar
country dijon
horseradish
soy sauce

Grill isn't out yet so I got a cast iron skillet hot, a little oil, browned on one side, browned on the other, turned the heat up, put some of the marinade in to steam, covered and put in the oven for 6 minutes.

Had them with the dijon and chopped onion with sourdough.

Poked or not poked.

The poked were significantly better, by a lot. They were sweeter and tastier. By a lot.

Definitely poke your brats when marinating overnight.

Not going to bother testing, I don't think marinating for an hour or two will do anything.

[widebody911]

Poke the wrong brat and you'll end up in the pokey

[70SATMan]

If you end up in the pokey, you might become the pokee.

I always poke em when marinating but, never in front of the wife.

[nota]

aldi has real german worsts knock and brats
but only seasonally and I have no idea the seasons

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by nota

aldi has real german worsts knock and brats
but only seasonally and I have no idea the seasons

seasons?
Prolly coriander, sage, paprika, cayenne pepper, dried rosemary, and dry mustard.

[KFC911]

Be careful where you poke yer brats...I'm just sayin'....

[MRM]

Shaun, the issue of poking brats before grilling is different than whether you poke them before marinating them. To get marinade into the brat you of course have to poke it. The marinade or beer or whatever will eventually work its way into the brat if you wait ling enough, but you really need to puncture the tube to get the liquid inside where it can saturate the ground pork mix. Cooking a marinated brat that has holes in the casing doesn't matter because the taste comes from the marinade burning off and thickening and boiling up out of the brat and covering the surface.

If you don't marinate the brats, don't poke them until they're almost done. They'll probably pop before then, but if not, you have to poke them at the end or they'll explode on your plate when you cut into them or bite into them. You don't poke them until they're cooked because you want un-marinated brats to simmer in their natural juices as long as possible to keep their flavor inside.

[GH85Carrera]

Use the scientific method. Cook two brats in the exact same way EXCEPT poke only one of them. Leave the other one un-poked. Eat them both. Evaluate which is the best. Cook the rest that way.

[craigster59]

Aldi has decent Bratwurst but I've found that the Nurenberger Bratwurst that their sister company Trader Joe's sells is the most authentic tasting. Although they are small they are like the thin Brats that are sold on the street in Franconia and Bavaria....
Article | Trader Joe's

[rusnak]

I don't always go to Poke restaurants.

But when I do, they put it in the bowl.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I took this picture a few weeks ago to remind me to go.

[cabmandone]

If you're doing Brats right on the grill it doesn't matter. I cook mine using indirect heat. If I have someone who likes theirs with a bit of char, I'll pop it on the hot side for a few seconds when it's done cooking. Me, I would have injected the brat from both ends and avoided the multiple holes.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by MRM

Shaun, the issue of poking brats before grilling is different than whether you poke them before marinating them. To get marinade into the brat you of course have to poke it. The marinade or beer or whatever will eventually work its way into the brat if you wait ling enough, but you really need to puncture the tube to get the liquid inside where it can saturate the ground pork mix. Cooking a marinated brat that has holes in the casing doesn't matter because the taste comes from the marinade burning off and thickening and boiling up out of the brat and covering the surface.

If you don't marinate the brats, don't poke them until they're almost done. They'll probably pop before then, but if not, you have to poke them at the end or they'll explode on your plate when you cut into them or bite into them. You don't poke them until they're cooked because you want un-marinated brats to simmer in their natural juices as long as possible to keep their flavor inside.

Mike, all the threads I've investigated were about poking prior to marinating. People were emphatic about not poking before going in the marinade. Of course they are wrong.

The marinade permeated my brats so well you would have thought the filling was made in a wok and then stuffed into the casing and then cooked in the pan. They were juicy and tasty. If anything leaked out while in the pan, it was minuscule.

Grilling testing will have to wait a few weeks.

I'll also do some smoked brats that were marinated, too.

If you ever find yourself in Stillwater, see if Brine's Meat Market is still there.

[nynor]

boil the brats in beer. then grill, no poking necessary. done.

[masraum]

Years ago, I knew a girl who was into bdsm. She told me that her boyfriend (or was it ex-bf) liked to poke his brat. Apparently, he liked to staple his brat to things. I just REALLY did not understand that at all.

[wdfifteen]

It seems the type and quality of the casing would have a lot to do with it. In my experience in sausage making I have found a huge variance in casings. I've pretty much settled on collagen, it's the most consistent and is permiable by smoke and marinades.

[Tobra]

If you are going to marinate pretty much anything, the marinade will penetrate better if you poke holes in it. That said, meat in a casing that I am going to cook on a grill is not getting holes in it. Injecting the marinade works very well, have done deep fried turkey after doing so and it was overcome with awesome deliciosity

[Pazuzu]

Take pan.
Fill pan with beer. Dark sweet beer.
place brats in beer.
Cut up onions and peppers, place in beer.
Take lots of whatever spice you want, place in beer (try Colman's dry mustard...)
Place pan on fire.
Leave for 45 minutes. Watch beer reduce to a sauce.
Char brats on fire.
Eat brats on buns with the sauce and well caramelized onions and peppers.


No poking. If you're going to waste time marinading, do it over heat anyways.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by Tobra

If you are going to marinate pretty much anything, the marinade will penetrate better if you poke holes in it. That said, meat in a casing that I am going to cook on a grill is not getting holes in it. Injecting the marinade works very well, have done deep fried turkey after doing so and it was overcome with awesome deliciosity

You don't cook brats on a grille. You can mark them, but you don't cook them. Well, unless you put them in some foil off to the side, that's fine.

[Jolly Amaranto]

I was at a German Festival in Tomball, Texas a month or so ago. At a booth, I bought a brat in a bun with sauerkraut and mustard on it. The big old brat was hot off the grill. I bit into the end and it exploded, shooting scalding hot juice into my mouth. Not only did it burn my tong but my gums and cheeks too. My mouth was miserable for a couple of days. Next time I plan to take one of the plastic forks and poke the heck out of it before trying to bite it.