A Wisconsin Institution

I'd like to start today off by clarifying a thing or two. One, while I do live in Wisconsin, I'm not originally from here. Not that it would be a bad thing if I were, but I'm not. I grew up in the lovely city of Detroit, Michigan just off Eight Mile Rd. Yes, like the Eminem movie. I, however, never got into rap and never worked in the auto industry. I moved from Detroit to Wisconsin to get into radio, which I did. That's a story for another time. So I'm here now, with a ten year stint in Minneapolis in-between stays in beer & cheese land.

The Wisconsin institution I'm referring to is the bratwurst. Anywhere else in the country it's just a sausage, a meat-stuffed bit of intestine...or whatever it is they use as sausage casing. In Wisconsin, however, it's a way of life. You won't find hot dogs on the grills here, you'll find brats, along with a thousand different ways to cook them. The most popular way by far is to first slow-cook them in beer, grill them, and then put them back in a mixture of beer and sauerkraut. This, my friends, is the Beer Brat.

In my city-life-fueled ignorance I thumbed my nose at the beer brat when I first moved here, to the country. I have since learned to love the brat in it's many incarnations, but the beer brat remains my favorite. A toasted bun, grilled beer brat covered in onions with a bit of mustard...and a cold beer of course (Miller is the preferred brand, or another good Wisconsin Beer...hey, there's another post altogether!), makes for a wonderful meal, especially if you happen to be tailgating. I don't know that tailgating was invented here, but rest assured that the folks here have perfected it. At both Brewer and Packer games I've seen folks that came just to tailgate, that didn't even have a ticket to the game (and if you know anything about the Packers you know it's impossible to get tickets anyway). They bring free-standing awnings, couches (no joke) chairs, tv's with satellite dishes (again, no joke) kegs of beer, massive barbeques, smokers and even their own port-a-potties. It's a beautiful thing.

But back to the brats...

If you ever find yourself in Wisconsin, whether on purpose or by accident, let me know. If you're anywhere near Waupun (such as Milwaukee or Madison...or Oshkosh) I'd be happy to intoduce you to this wonderful bit of America's Dairyland. And perhaps I can introduce you another Wisconsin institution, the supper club. We'll have fried fish, prime rib and old-fashioneds.


M. PotPie