Recipe for grilled bratwurst, on a toasted bun, with fresh salsa

I came up with this recipe one day as it combines three things that I love: 1) grilling, 2) bratwurst, 3) salsa. Actually, I got the idea of this from the Tijuana hot dog vendors, as they put a mild form of salsa on their hot dogs, and boy are their hot dogs good! So if you want the Midwest to meet Mexico, put a little salsa on your brat!

Special tools: Grill, indoor or outdoor, see text
Preparation time: About 5 minutes
Cooking time: About 5 minutes
Yield: 1 or 2 servings; can be very easily multiplied

2 bratwurst sausage links
2 hot dog buns
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1/4 white onion, finely diced; any variety of onion can be substituted
1/2 cup tomato, finely diced; I prefer a firm tomato, such as Roma, but any firm tomato will do
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely diced
Mustard and mayonnaise to taste
Beer for marinade, any brand; see text
Olive oil; see text

You'd have kick an extra field goal to mess up this recipe, as this recipe is as easy as it gets...

At least 6 hours prior to grilling, soak the bratwurst in beer; I usually soak my sausages overnight.

Left: Bratwurst marinated in beer, with a couple of onion and pepper slices included for extra flavor. Right: The George Foreman grill is warming up, and I had pictured all of the other necessary ingredients. This recipe works indoors as well as outdoors on a grill at a football stadium.

Fire up your grill, indoor, outdoor, propane or charcoal, to high heat, about 400 f. If you're tailgating at the ball park, your little-bitty charcoal grill will work just fine... and even your mom's uncle's little-bitty, low-tech hibachi will work. If you're at home, fire up your propane grill. You really don't need to add any wood for flavor, as the bratwurst is already smoked, and the cooking time is only about 5 minutes, which isn't enough time to implant a smoky flavor. As for me, when I'm at home, I cook my bratwurst on my indoor George Foreman grill, which is one of the most treasured cooking appliances that I own. If you're using an indoor grill, such as a George Foreman, it will behoove you to swab the grill plates with olive oil, as it will make the cleanup chore much easier.

While grill is heating, dice the tomato, onion, pepper and cilantro. Mix together and set aside.

Place bratwurst on grill. Grill for about 3 minutes, or until grill marks appear. Turn over once and grill for another 2 minutes, until grill marks appear. Remove from grill and reserve.

Open buns and place, open side down, on grill, and toast for about 30 seconds, until grill marks appear. Remove from grill.

Left: Bratwurst cooks on our George Foreman grill. Note the attractive grill marks. Right: Bratwurst, garnished with salsa. Note toasted buns, which add a nice flavor.

To serve, place buns on plate, grilled side up. Add mustard and mayonnaise to taste. Spoon salsa mixture over condiments. Place bratwurst on top of mixture and enjoy.

If you use an indoor grill, such as the George Foreman grill that I use when I'm to lazy to grill outside, be sure to make the necessary cooking adjustments, which deviate from this recipe, which is catered to the outdoor, charcoal grill-using, tailgating crowd.

Don't forget to bring the beer, as naturally you'll need to sample it before you marinate your bratwurst in it!

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