Into the Wild

Perfect Bratwursts

Courtesy of Joe Walsh, North Branch Restoration Project volunteer

How to cook them over a brushpile on a restoration workday (and make instant and loyal friends)

Serves 8 people (16 if sharing)

1 4-quart cast-iron Dutch oven
8 hotdog buns
8 brats or Italian sausages
olive oil
1-2 bell peppers
1-2 large onions
2-3 tsp basil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried red pepper flakes
other spices to add: tarragon, marjoram, chervil, oregano
condiments (optional)
1 can beer (optional)

1. Call site steward to make sure a brushpile will be burning.

2. Get a 4-quart cast-iron Dutch oven; larger ones can be too heavy to carry.

3. Get 1 bag of hotdog buns, any brand, usually 8 per bag.

4. Get some brats or Italian sausages (I get them at Jewel); they typically come in packs of six, so get two. Save the four bun-deprived brats for the next workday. Buying cheap sausages has allowed me to provide lunch each week; the relatively low quality is made up for by voracious, work-induced appetites. But everyone will appreciate Johnsonville brats, brats from a good butcher, or sustainable meats from Chicago’s Green City Market (try Bison bratwurst from the Illinois Bison Company).

5. Drizzle a little (1 teaspoon) olive oil in bottom of oven. Prick brats with fork to prevent from exploding in brushpile inferno. Arrange brats in bottom.

6. Slice 1 or 2 large bell peppers (green, red, or both) in strips, lay on top of brats.

7. Slice 1 or 2 large onions very thinly and put in bowl. Add dried herbs. I usually use 2 to 3 teaspoons of basil, and then "other stuff": sometimes tarragon, marjoram, or chervil. Oregano is good, but 1 teaspoon max—dried oregano has a strong flavor. Also add a teaspoon or two of black pepper, salt, and dried red pepper flakes (chiles); go easy on red pepper (less than a teaspoon) unless you know your audience. Toss the onion-spice mixture and lay it on top of peppers. Drizzle another tsp of olive oil over onions.

8. Once out of the refrigerator, the brats will stay cool for hours*, so go out and cut buckthorn. Assuming the workday goes from 9 a.m. to noon, cut a buckthorn branch at 11:45 to use as a fire hook for the oven, rake a spot in the burning pile free of fresh wood, and lay pot directly on coals. When steam starts coming from the under the lid (10 minutes), take off fire, push veggies aside, turn the brats. Keep brats in contact with the metal as much as possible; the veggies against the bottom or sides will simply turn to carbon in the intense heat. The key is the outrageously high temperature in the oven right in the coals—it's roasting, steaming, pressure-cooking all at once. The liquid in the veggies prevents scorching. Place back on coals, wait another 10 minutes, and enjoy.

9. Consider other embellishments, such as putting a can of beer in the pot just before it goes in the fire, and lugging some condiments along.

*Food safety is the chef’s responsibility, especially with raw meat. Although sufficient cooking should kill any bacteria in the meat, brats should be kept below 40óF before cooking. Chefs may want to use a cooler, especially on warmer days.