Hard Cider Beer Brats

It’s grilling season and I kicked it off with these Hard Cider Beer Brats, yum! Traditional beer brats are delicious, but I thought I’d change it up and use a local hard cider beer instead. It gives the brats a hint of sweetness that gets balanced out with the tangy, savory mustard.

Boil the brats in the hard cider and beef broth for about 10 minutes before heading to the grill. Both liquids really enhance the brat flavor, and it does come through in the meat. A few minutes on each side is all it takes on the grill, just make sure the brats reach 160 degrees internal temp.

I like my brats and dogs a little charred, so I usually leave them on a little extra to get that crispy skin bite! Serve them up in toasted or gilled buns, along with some grilled onions and your favorite mustard.

I actually used to really dislike all mustards. I still don’t love regular yellow mustard, but paired with other flavors it’s great. For these brats I found a couple really tasty varieties at my local grocery store. A champagne honey mustard, and a garlic dill mustard were really good with these brats!

Paired here with my all-time favorite summer salad, Blueberry Goat Cheese Salad with Blueberry Vinaigrette. Must try if you haven’t yet!

Pro tip: for an extra hard cider flavor boost, add some hard cider to your sautéed onions and they’ll take on a similar cider flavor as your brats, yum!

Happy grilling! Here are a couple other grilling favs:

BBQ Grilled Vegetables

Lemon & Garlic Herb Chicken Thighs

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Hard Cider Beer Brats

Up your grilling game with your favorite hard cider beer and brats!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 8 brats
Author Laura Doerr

Ingredients

  • 8 bratwurst
  • 24 oz hard cider beer
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 8 brat buns toasted or grilled

Serving suggestions

  • Grilled sliced onions
  • Spicy mustard

Instructions

  1. Bring hard cider and beef broth to a boil. Add in brats, and reduce heat to med-high heat, and boil for 10 minutes.

  2. While brats are boiling, preheat your grill to about 400°. Place boiled brats on grill, and cook for about 3-5 minutes per side, or until internal temperature reaches 160°. I like my brats and dogs pretty charred when grilling.

  3. Serve brats on toasted buns with sliced *grilled onions and a spicy Dijon mustard of choice. I use a store bought garlic dill mustard that I love!

Recipe Notes

*if you’re making grilled or sautéed onions, deglaze the pan when cooking by adding a little hard cider beer to bring in more of that flavor, delicious! 

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