Today is my lovely mother’s birthday. She would have been 54 years old this year. I can’t believe it has been almost 4 years since she passed away and I miss her all the time. One of my favorite memories is my mother making this delicious meal for us. It was our special dinner and a royal treat!
My mother always said that when you try this recipe you either love it or hate it. And I absolutely love it! Thankfully, most of the guests we served it to loved it as well.
In our household we call this “Bratwurst and Sour Cream” but I realize that this name is a little confusing for an outsider.
We’ve got hearty bratwurst, onions, a mellow beer flavor and the creamy goodness that sour cream brings to the mix. All of that delicious sauce is served over a mountain of spaghetti noodles and all is right with the world.
Seriously guys, this meal soothes my soul and brings back many happy memories.
Here is a toast to my lovely mother, she was my rock while growing up and she did everything in her power to give me everything even when it felt like we had nothing. I’m sad that Sam doesn’t get to know my mother as his grandma but I won’t let her memory be forgotten. I know we are well looked after from heaven.
Bratwurst and Sour Cream: Bratwurst with a Creamy Beer and Onion Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1 (6 count) package beef brats
- 2 yellow onions, halved and sliced
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 (12 ounce) bottle dark beer, any brand will do
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, to taste
- 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
- 1 lb spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
Directions: In a heavy pot or dutch oven add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and turn heat on to medium-high. Once hot add the brats and sear on all sides until browned, 5-10 minutes, remove the brats to a plate and set aside. If the pot seems dry add a little more oil then add the sliced onions and cook until they begin to pick up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cover the pot with a lid and allow the onions to continue to cook and steam, stirring every few minutes, until the onions are completely cooked down, 15-20 minutes or so. Once they are completely cooked add the butter and allow it to melt, stir in the flour and stir until the flour has combined with the butter. Cook the roux/onion mixture for a minute to cook out the flour flavor. Pour in the entire bottle of beer and continue cooking until the sauce has begun to thicken, turn heat down to low and add your salt and pepper as well as garlic powder. Add the brats back into the pot, cover and continue cooking on low while you prepare the pasta. Cook the pasta according package directions, drain, and toss with a a few tablespoons of olive oil. Set the pasta aside until you are ready to serve. After the brats and onion mixture has had a chance to cook together scoop the sour cream into a bowl and temper it by scooping some of the onion/beer sauce into the sour cream and stirring to combine, repeat 2-3 more times before stirring the whole sour cream mixture into pot with the rest of the sauce and brats. Stir to combine and serve hot over the spaghetti noodles.
Step-by-Step Photos
Even those this recipe has several steps there is nothing too complicated or daunting about it.
I found this bottle of black lager hiding under my kitchen sink and I thought “How did you get down here?” Poor fella was forgotten after making another recipe ages ago.
Mama always said the darker the beer the better the sauce. And mama is always right.
Toss the brats into a nice hot pot with a couple of tablespoons of oil.
While the brats are browning slice up the onions. As you can see I sliced my onions nice and even with perfect cuts.
Ha! Just kidding.
Try to slice your onions a bit more evenly than I did, I had a screaming toddler in the background and was just a little bit distracted.
By now your brats should be good and browned. I love it when they just burst with flavor!
This is exactly what we want on the bottom of our pot, that’s flavor baby!
If the pot seems dry add a little more oil along with the onions.
I hope you love the smell of onions because your itty bitty 1200 sq ft apartment will smell like onions for at least 2 days after making this.
Continue cooking the onions until the start picking up the browned bits from the bottom.
Now, cover the whole pot and allow the onions to continue cooking and steaming. Stir the onions every few minutes until the look a little something like this……
Perfect! The onions picked up all of that flavor from the bottom of the pot and are nice and tender.
Toss in the butter, oh lawdy!
This is the only place that I deviated from my mother’s original recipe, she would add a little more vegetable oil but I think everything is better with butter, don’t you?
Now that the butter is melted add the flour, time to make a roux baby!
Stir to incorporate the flour and cook this whole mixture for a minute or so to help cook out the flour flavor.
Pour in the whole bottle of beer, yes siree!
Continue cooking for a minute or two until the sauce has thickened up nicely.
Then turn the heat to low so it doesn’t get too crazy. If it gets really thick you can add a little bit of water to thin it down, I added about 1/2 cup this time.
Now season the sauce with a generous amount of salt and pepper along with the garlic powder.
Nestle those little brats back into the sauce, pop the cover back on, and allow everything to cook on low while you prepare the noodles.
The flavors of the sauce and the brats get to know each other very well while they cook and boy howdy is it a wonderful union!
Pretend like there a photo of perfectly prepared spaghetti noodles before this photos, okay? Thanks a bunch!
After your pasta is ready and the sauce has had time to simmer on low plop the whole carton of sour cream into a bowl. We’re going to temper the sour cream next so it doesn’t curdle once it hits the hot sauce.
That’s how mama always did it.
Stir in one scoop of the sauce at a time into the sour cream until you have stirred in 3 or 4 spoonfuls. Then it should be ready to add to the pot.
Throw in all of the tempered sour cream… Yes, I am aware that this is a lot of sour cream, but it is soooooo good!
Give it all a good stir to incorporate all of those delicious flavors.
Just look at how creamy and luscious this sauce is! There is seriously nothing better.
Swoon.
Give it a taste and add more salt and pepper to your liking. Perfect.
To serve, grab a pretty little bowl and start with a nice big layer of spaghetti.
Spoon a generous helping of the sauce over the top.
And finish it off with one of the brats.
Is this a dream?
In honor of my mother I chose a bowl she would have definitely approved of.
She loved her flowers and butterflies. ❤
Make sure to get a bite with a little bit of everything.
Please give this recipe a try and tell me what you think. I hope you fall in love with this recipe and share it with your family.
Make food and memories, ta ta for now!
Modest Bites 