Pretzel Wrapped Brats are bratwurst or sausage wrapped in a fabulous pretzel dough, boiled and then baked. Takes a bit of time to let the dough rise, but so worth it. A grown up version of pigs-in-a-blanket.
OMG these may be the best thing I’ve made all summer. Soft pretzel dough surrounding fresh bratwurst from a local butcher. As if their bratwurst is not great all by itself, I boiled them in a beer and onion broth and then grilled them before wrapping them in the most amazing pretzel dough. I have to give a disclaimer, this recipe does take some time, but let me tell you they were phenomenal. If you’re feeling reminiscent of childhood pigs-in-a-blanket, think of this as the gourmet version.
You don’t have to use bratwurst, Italian or smoked sausage would also be great. I think we liked the pretzel bread even more than the sausage because when I suggested that there was a lot of bread and we could have used less dough per sausage, I was met with resistance. But really, the dough is enough for eight and the second time I made these I made made it into eight and it was perfect. I have a feeling I will be making them again for Taylor when she comes home at the end of the summer, if not sooner.
The only drawback to these is the time involved when making any yeast dough. If I were making these for company and did not want to be in and out of the kitchen, I would do everything up to boiling them and put the wrapped sausages in the refrigerator. This will stop the dough from continuing to rise. Then your friends can help, boiling dough is fun and a good way to get everyone involved. Don’t forget to add the salt to the top of the pretzel dough while they are still damp, it stays on better that way.
Watch them carefully in the oven, you don’t want to get them too brown, but they need to cook long enough for the dough to cook all the way through. Since the sausage is already cooked before they go in the oven, you don’t have to worry about whether your sausage is done or not. If they are getting too brown, you can cover them with aluminum foil. These are great served with a side of spicy mustard.
Pretzel Wrapped Brats
Pretzel Wrapped Brats are bratwurst or sausage wrapped in a fabulous pretzel dough, boiled and then baked. Takes a bit of time to let the dough rise, but so worth it. A grown up version of pigs-in-a-blanket.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Entree
Ingredients
- 6–8 bratwurst
- 12 ounces beer
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- Pretzel bread dough
- ½ cup baking soda
- salt
Instructions
- Bring 4 cups of water to a simmer in a large pot. Add bratwurst, beer, butter, onion and pepper. Cover and cook for 25 minutes. Drain the bratwurst.
- Cook bratwurst over direct heat on grill, turning for 2-3 minutes until browned. Let cool.
- Preheat oven to 400º line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Divide dough into 6 to 8 pieces roll each into a 12 inch rope about 1 inch around. Wrap around bratwurst tucking ends under so it does not come unwrapped.
- Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil and slowly add baking soda.
- Drop 1 rolled brat into the boiling water at a time, turning to make sure both sides are covered in water. Cook for 30 seconds and remove to a cooling rack. While still damp, sprinkle with salt. Repeat with remaining brats. Bake for 20 minutes or until dark golden brown. Let cool slightly before serving. Serve with mustard.
can’t believe you posted this tonight!! I made German kartoffelsalat for tomorrow, to go w authentic weißwurst from Chicago deli,and was worried about finding a suitable pretzel vehicle!! will let you know how it turns out! want my mom’s potato salad recipe? 😉
I would love it, I bet it’s fantastic. Have fun making the pretzels.
quick check – is that really 1/2 c baking soda or should it be 1/2 tsp?
(In reply to above comment) I’m sure the 1/2 c soda is accurate. That amount isn’t going into the dough, just the water to boil. That’s a standard amount for a water bath for pretzels and bagels.
★★★★