YIELDS:
4 servings
PREP TIME:
1 hours 10 mins
COOK TIME:
0 hours 20 mins
TOTAL TIME:
1 hour 30 mins
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INGREDIENTS
1/2 Cup Soy sauce
1/4 Cup Bourbon
1/4 Cup Brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Stone ground mustard
1Tsp. Kosher Salt
1/2 Tsp. Onion powder
1/2 Tsp. Granulated Garlic
1/8 Tsp. Freshly ground black pepper
1/8 Tsp. Chili flakes
8 Small mushrooms, or 4 Large cut in half
Red bell pepper, four 1-inch pieces
Orange or yellow bell pepper, four 1-inch piece
1/2 Small Onion, cut into 4 wedges
4 Smoked bratwurst links, each cut into 1-inch chunks
DIRECTIONS
1) If using wooden skewers, soak in water for at least 1/2 hour to prevent burning. In a measuring cup or medium sized bowl, mix the soy sauce, bourbon, sugar, mustard, salt, pepper, onion powder, granulated garlic and chili flakes. Add the cut veggies and stir everything to coat. Alternatively, place the veggies and marinade in a large resealable plastic bag and seal. Close the bag and turn several times to coat the veggies with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours. If leaving in the bowl, toss a couple of time during the marinading process.
2) On four metal or wooden skewers, alternately thread the vegetables and bratwurst chunks. Place them on a plate. Keep the marinade for basting the skewers as they cook.
3) Spoon some reserved marinade over the bratwurst on the plate. You can grill these on an outdoor grill or indoors on a grill pan. If grilled outside, heat the grill until medium high and grill covered for about 20 minutes turning every 5 minutes until the bratwurst are no longer pink and are completely cooked through. If grilled on the stove in a grill pan, turn the skewers every 3-5 minutes ensuring all sides are cooking evenly. Note: there are bratwurst that you can buy that are completely cooked. That is what I used. Charcutnuvo is the brand and I purchased it at Whole Foods. If using fully cooked bratwurst, you are just cooking the veggies and heating the bratwurst. I like to get grill marks on both.
4) Baste the skewers frequently during the last 5-8 minutes of cooking. The marinade will create a glaze on the meat and will concentrate the flavors in the veggies. Serve on a platter and enjoy.
NOTES: When fall is in the air and Oktoberfest is calling my name, out come some of my favorite German foods and bratwurst has to make the list. These glazed smoked bourbon bratwurst skewers are on the menu this year and with good reason. They are fabulous! Easy to make, really tasty and a crowd favorite that you can throw on an outside grill or make on a grill pan in the house. Be sure to check out my full Oktoberfest Menu.
To get started, make your marinade. Simply mix all the ingredients in bowl or measuring cup. A note on the brown sugar. If yours is rock solid (doesn’t it always get hard when stored?), just pop the bag in the microwave for 1 minute and it will soften it right up.
When marinating the vegetables, you have a choice of keeping everything in the bowl and tossing the veggies several times OR adding the marinade and veggies to a large zip lock bag. Turn it several times to coat. Your choice.
Cut up your veggies into equal sized pieces so they grill evenly. You’ll need four piece of red bell pepper and four pieces of yellow or orange bell pepper. Yes, you can use green but I was going for a colorful skewer. You’ll need four small wedges of onions andfour small mushrooms or 4 halves of large mushrooms – one for each skewer.
While the veggies marinate, cut your smoked bratwurst into 3 or 4 pieces. I found these great completely cooked smoked bratwurst at Whole Foods and really like them. Use your favorite smoked sausage and if you can’t find a smoked variety, regular will do just fine. You’ll get some of that smokey flavor from the bourbon and the grilling.
After the veggies have marinated for at least an hour and up to overnight, you’ll want to skewer them with the bratwurst alternating veggie and sausage so you have four colorful skewers. Keep that marinade for basting.
Put the skewers on a plate and pour some of the marinade over the bratwurst. You are ready to grill.
Lightly oil the grates of your grill or spray the grill pan with cooking spray and let them heat up.
Add the skewers and grill for about 20 minutes, turning every 3-4 minutes so all the meat and veggies get cooked evenly. Using a basting brush, start basting the skewers the during the last 8 minutes of cook time. The marinade will create a nice glaze over the veggies and bratwurst.
Plate and enjoy!
Looking for other Oktoberfest recipes? Be sure to check out these:
