Beer Brats with Kohlrabi-Carrot Slaw

I've gotten a little out of order here. I was just so excited to share the white gazpacho I made last week that I skipped ahead. Anyway, rewind back to the the 4^th of July, the quintessential day to grill. I'm not a huge fan of fireworks, so instead I focus my attention on the food. We made delicious beer brats using a recipe from Cooks Country. I like that they extensively test their methods and recipes so you can feel confident that they will work really well when you try them.

To go with the brats, I made a super easy and tasty kohlrabi and carrot slaw that my friend Amy told me about. If you've not had kohlrabi before, it's a purple or green alien-looking bulb that tastes like raw broccoli.  First, peel the carrots and kohlrabi, then slice into thin matchsticks (I used 3 medium carrots and half a large kohlrabi, because that's what I had). Then you heat up about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small skillet, then add 1 teaspoon or two of ground cumin and heat until fragrant. Pour this over the carrots and kohlrabi and toss to combine. Drizzle with fresh lemon juice, to taste. That's it!

Grilled Beer Brats

adapted from Cooks Country.com

serves 5

Notes: Use a light bodied lager for this recipe (like Keystone or Coors, aka, a cheap beer). Where it calls for Dijon, we used a whole grain Dijon, which I thought looked more visually appealing, but I'm sure it will taste the same either way.

2 onions, sliced into ½ inch rounds

1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil

Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

1-12 ounce beer

1/3 cup Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon caraway seeds

5 bratwurst sausages

5 6-inch sub rolls (we used whole grain hot dog buns)

If using a propane grill, turn all the burners to medium-high and heat, covered, for 15 minutes. For a charcoal grill (what we used) set up a hot, even layer of coals (I'm sure everyone with a charcoal grill has their own way of doing it, we like to use a chimney starter). Scrape and oil cooking grate.

Brush the onions with oil and season with salt and pepper. In a 13x9 inch disposable aluminum pan, whisk together the beer, mustard, sugar, caraway seeds, and ½ teaspoon pepper.

Place the disposable pan on one side of the grill and the onions on the other. Grill the onions until lightly charred, about 6-10 minutes. Transfer the onions to the pan with the now simmering beer mixture and put the sausages in their place on the grill. Grills those until browned, another 6-10 minutes. Transfer the sausages to the pan, cover grill, and cook until the sausages are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Return the sausages to the grill for about 4 minutes to let them get nice and charred. Transfer the sausages to a plate and tent with foil.

Let the beer mixture simmer on the grill, uncovered, for about 5 more minutes. When the onions are tender and the sauce has thickened slightly, it's done.

To serve, place bratwurst in rolls and spoon the sauce and onions over the top.