October is Bratwurst season! From Fall Festivals to Oktoberfests, Gameday Tailgating to Backyard Grilling, brats are on the menu!
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First off, what is a Bratwurst, and how many different kinds are there?
Interestingly, according to Wikipedia, “Bratwurst” is a type of German sausage made from pork or, less commonly, beef or veal. The name is derived from brät-, finely chopped meat, and Wurst, sausage. Although in modern German it is often associated with the verb braten, to pan fry or roast. Wikipedia goes on to say that recipes for the sausage vary by region and even locality. Some sources list over 40 different varieties of German bratwurst!
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Brats in the USA.
Here in the good ‘ol US of A, Bratwurst processing and consumption started in the mid west, where many German immigrants settled in the early part of the 20th century. Furthermore, bratwurst was popularized in the 1920’s in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. There, local German butchers would take daily orders for brats from the growing population. Because of the high fat content in the sausages, coupled with a lack of good refrigeration, bratwurst was made to be consumed the same day. So they were casing hundreds of sausages daily. Legend has it that introduced bratwursts to Major League Baseball in 1954, when he began selling them in Milwaukee County Stadium during Braves games. The story goes that Brooklyn Dodger, and future Hall Of Famer Duke Snider loved them so much he took a case back home to New York, and bratwurst consumption in America really took off!
MILWAUKEE, WI – OCTOBER 09: The Chorizo #5 leads the Brat #1 during the Sausage Race in between innings of Game one of the National League Championship Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on October 9, 2011 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Some fun Bratwurst facts.
American Family Field, the home of the Brewers, actually sells more bratwurst during the season than hot dogs. Meanwhile, every Memorial Day Madison, Wisconsin holds their annual “Brat Fest”, billed as the world’s largest bratwurst festival. However, the town of Bucyrus, Ohio bills itself as the “Bratwurst Capital Of America”, has held it’s annual Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival annually since 1967.
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You might not find a Bratwurst Festival anytime soon in New Jersey. Although that doesn’t mean you can’t sink your teeth into some hot brats locally this Fall!
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Best Of The Wurst German Kitchen 626 Harrison Street Riverside
Best Of The Wurst not only has a cool name, they have excellent scratch made German dishes, highlighted by their Wurst Platter. The choice of two bratwurst, knackwurst, wurstchen, or kielbasa, served with sauerkraut and a German salad for just 15 bucks!
