The 3 Best Grilling Tips for Sausage

a charcoal grill with hotdogs and kielbasa roasting

We’re a firm believer in live-fire cooking. Not only do you get the delicious snap of our natural casings after a proper sear on the grill, you also get the bonus of a natural smoke. If you’re unable to cook over a wood-fueled-fire,  never fear! These tips and tricks for grilling work across any grill whether it’s a Big Green Egg, a Traeger, a Weber or simply your classic wood burning flame. It is the best way to cook up our bratwursts, kasekrainers, frankfurters… really all of our sausage (except for the weisswurst)!

  1. Build your fire with hot and medium heat zones. This ensures you have a section of your grill where you can gather additional coals to continue to stoke your fire. It also allows for a milder heat to cook your sausages. You don’t want your casings to crisp up too fast! Low and slow gives you the perfect cook and eliminates the potential for your bratwursts to burst open. Everyone loves a snappy casing! 
  2. Slowly boil your sausages in beer before they hit the grill. If you’re cooking for a group, this is the ticket to success. Use a grill-safe pot, like a Dutch oven, to heat up your sausages in hot water or beer. We prefer a nice lager or pilsner to slowly cook the sausages in. You want a simmer - not a rolling boil (which could compromise the casing, and remember; you want to keep that casing intact). Level it up and dump a jar of our Sauerkraut into the pot. Shift frankfurters, kasekrainers and bratwursts to the grill after a few minutes and give them a quick sear to crisp up the casing. Since these sausages have been heated up already in the pot, they can go on a hotter portion of the grill to get that quick crisp. Use this boiling element as a precursor to the grill, and you’ll be feeding the family quickly, with more time to spend hanging out and less time sweating over the grill. Everyone will be so happy with the juicy, plump sausages that result from this technique!
  3. Don’t pre-slice! This is different from how we cook on the stove top, but it helps keep all the juices inside the sausage, allowing for a more even cook. Get that plump, snappy bite every time.

Follow these three keys to success, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at just how much a wood burning fire and a pot of beer can contribute to the best tasting sausages!