Beer, Brats, & Football

The beer and the brats were good today... not so much on the football though. The Packers just couldn't pull out a W today, but it's only week one and there is plenty of time to recover. Now on to the beer and brats! I experienced two firsts today: my first time cooking brats in a Crock-Pot and my first Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. 

I had a few friends over today and I wanted to prepare a Wisconsin themed spread, so brats were the first thing to come to mind. Normally I would grill them, but I didn't want to be tied up outside while I had company and the game was on. And with the horrendous temperatures outside, no one wants to stand in front of a 400 degree grill. 

So I did a little internet research and found several recipes for cooking the brats in a Crock-Pot. All of the recipes were pretty easy and similar... brown brats in a pan, put in Crock-Pot, add sliced onions, cover with beer, cook on low for 5 hours. Straightforward. Simple. Oh, but wait... what kind of beer to use. I'm a light beer or fruity beer drinker and I don't think an orange shandy or strawberry lager would provide the kind of taste I'm going for. No one wants to eat a brat that tastes like a dessert. And then it dawned on me... why not continue the Wisconsin theme by using a Wisconsin beer... Pabst Blue Ribbon. Actually, to be quite honest, it didn't happen quite like that. PBR was just the first beer I saw at the grocery store. But it does make sense! 

Anyway... The brats turned out fairly well. Although, I would make one or two slight changes. I think they cooked for a little too long and I would probably throw them under the broiler for a few minutes at the end to brown them a bit. Browning them at the beginning gave them good color, but didn't really provide much for the texture. For now, I'll call it a work in progress and share the recipe was I perfect it. And since there is a full season of football ahead, I'll have plenty of opportunities.