Instant Pot Beer Brats and Sauerkraut

Well, that’s okay, as long as I got your attention. Speaking of game day recipes, today, we’re sharing a personal favorite, beer and brats.

I’ve been making this one for years and it’s one of my favorite meals. Best of all, Kim found a way to adapt it for pressure cookers.

We’ve even made an Instant Pot hot dog recipe without the sauerkraut and beer. It’s perfect for kids!

After looking around, we noticed there weren’t a lot of Instant Pot bratwurst recipes. Sure, there are plenty of cheese dips and chicken wings, but very few options for sausage lovers, except maybe a kielbasa and sauerkraut recipe.

It seemed pretty obvious that a bratwurst and sauerkraut combination would be perfect for a pressure cooker. The dish itself is pretty much dump and go anyway, except for sauteing the onions and sausage.

Now, Kim decided not saute the brats. Personally, I feel like she should have because I love the snap you get from a seared casing.

Skipping the searing step didn’t hurt anything and if fact, it made for a tender and juicy brat. But, I will leave that up to you.

If you don’t have a pressure cooker, but still want to make this recipe, skip down to the tips section for a quick rundown on how to pan fry beer and brats.

There’s not really much more I can add than, let’s get started!

How to make Instant Pot Brats:

First and foremost, gather up all the needed ingredients into a pile. It just makes everything easier that way. Oh, a quick word, don’t skimp on the sauerkraut.

The price difference might seem unreasonable, but trust me, you get what you pay for. The only ingredients you need for sauerkraut are cabbage, sea salt, and water. Be wary of brands with a large list of additives.

It sounds silly, but I make homemade sauerkraut all the time and those three components are all I need.

Anything more and you end with a limp, bitter (not briny) tasting condiment. Speaking of briny tasting treats, you might like this olive tapenade I made a few years ago.

Sorry, I shouldn’t get side tracked, let’s stay focused.

Once you have everything together and your onions sliced, turn on your pressure cooker to the saute function. Your pressure cooker might not have that function, if that’s the case, do this step on your stove top.

Next, add the oil and onions to your liner or pan and saute them for until they are soft. After that, add the sauerkraut, beer, and bratwurst to the Instant Pot.

Toss all the ingredients on top of the onions and oil. Put on the lid and set the valve to, “sealing.”

Using the manual button or pressure cook, set the time for 15-minutes.

Then, allow your cooker to complete a natural release for 10-minutes before turning the valve to release the remaining pressure.

Last, remove the pressure cooker lid and get ready to start serving. As noted below in the recipe card, the brats might have sank to the bottom of the pot.

That’s okay, simply use tongs to get them out and into buns. A word of warning here, these brats will be very tender, so be gentle; otherwise, they might fall apart on you.

Honestly, I think sauteing the brats, with onions, might help keep the integrity of the skin together. However, I can’t say that for sure at this time.

Well, the brats are done and in their buns, simply top them with the sauerkraut and onions and your good to go.

Instant Pot Brats Tips:

• Like I said in the opening, you can make this recipe in a pan on your stove-top or make Baked Brats in the oven. Simply find a saucepan large enough to accommodate the ingredients then sauté the brats and onions in oil, then add the beer and sauerkraut. Cover the dish and let it boil on your stove top (or in your oven on 425° F.) until the sausage is fully cooked.
• Alcohol not your thing and your’e wondering how to cook brats without beer? Then substitute beef or chicken stock in place of the beer.
• When grilling or searing the bratwurst before finishing in a beer bath, I only grill them until they are about 1/3 done. A quick way to tell is to look at the side of the link and see how much of it is still raw.
• You can actually watch as the, “done-ness,” works it’s way to the center of the brat on each side (gray to pink ratio).
• Some people have asked me, how long should I soak my brats in beer? I usually let mine soak for about 30-minutes, stove-top, as they cook in the beer.