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Sunday, August 12, 2012

Gold Medal Brat Sandwich

I'm feeling the Olympic fever lately, and this sandwich is clearly a winner.

Most of the time, a bratwurst sandwich around here is a pretty simple thing. Maybe some mustard, maybe some sauerkraut. Grilled onions are always a good thing.

This time I added all that and more. It's all dressed up with all sort of bling.

The beauty of this sandwich is that you can have all the components cooked ahead of time and reheat it all and assemble the sandwiches right before serving. Or make it and serve it right away. Whatever works best for you.

The sausage I used was from Boulder Sausage, a local company, and according to the label, the beer in the beer brats is from a local brewery. I'm not sure which brewery, but it's kind of a neat idea to use local beer in the sausage. I suggest drinking a local brew along with the sandwich. It just seems right.

Towards the end of August, Boulder Sausage will be holding a contest on Facebook, where this sandwich will be entered. If you'd like to vote, I'd appreciate it. If not, that's cool, too. I totally appreciate everyone who stops by and reads this blog, whether you comment,vote, make any of my recipes, or just pop in and read once in a while.

I used my own homemade sauerkraut for the recipe - a pint jar - but you can use any canned or jarred or bagged sauerkraut that you like.

Gold Medal Brat Sandwiches

4 links Boulder Sausage beer brats
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound fresh mushrooms
1 can sauerkraut (weight varies by brand, about 14 ounces)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large tomato
8 slices Swiss cheese (or shredded)
1 loaf soft French bread

Cook the bratwurst on the grill until nicely browned and cooked through.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a frying pan. Clean and slice the mushrooms and add them to the pan. Cook, stirring as needed until the mushrooms lose their moisture and most of it has evaporated again.

Drain the sauerkraut (you can also rinse it, if desired) and add it to the pan with the mushrooms. Cook, stirring as needed, until the sauerkraut browns just a little. The mixture shouldn't be watery at all.

When the bratwurst is done, slice it thinly and add it to pan with the sauerkraut and mushrooms. Stir to combine and cook for a few minutes.

In a separate pan, add the oil and heat on medium. Peel and quarter the onion and slice it. Add it to the pan with the oil and cook, stirring as needed, until the onions have softened a bit.

Quarter the bell peppers, remove the stem, core and seeds, and slice them the same thickness as the onions. Add them to the pan with the onions. Cook, stirring as needed, until the peppers are as cooked as you like them.

To make the sandwiches, slice the loaf of French bread horizontally. Slice the tomato and arrange the slices on the bottom half of the bread. Add the sausage/mushroom/sauerkraut mixture. Layer the pepper/onion mixture on top. Add the cheese*. Divide the sandwich into 4 portions. Serve.

*If you want melted cheese on your sandwich (and who doesn't?) there are several ways to get that done. Or you can simply put the cheese on the sandwich and let it soften from the heat of the rest of the components. To melt the cheese, you can put the assembled sandwich under your broiler for a few seconds, or warm it up on the grill..

If you don't want to get the bun toasty, you can put the cheese on top of the vegetables in the pan and let the cheese melt there, or put the vegetables on a plate and top it with cheese and give it a few seconds in the microwave. Then just portion the vegetables onto the sandwiches along with the melted cheese.

This post is sponsored by Boulder Sausage.

This has been submitted to Yeastspotting.