[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.