It’s been so hot so far this summer (yes, even Washington State has hot weather and not much rain during the summer months), and since we didn’t have central air up until this weekend (thank goodness we got it just before an excessive heat wave descended upon us!) we like to utilize our grill as much as humanly possible.
Of course burgers and dogs get humdrum after a while, in spite of mixing it up with chicken and ribs and steak. You know the kids would live off burgers and dogs if we’d let them. The hubby and I are a little pickier when it comes to redundancy, and of course I’m always trying to mix it up in the cooking mode to keep things interesting.
Luckily Johnsonville has some delicious alternatives:
We’ve always loved Johnsonville products – especially since it happens to be our namesake. We also joke about the fact that you are what you eat, so the Johnsonville Brats are perfect for the minions. Jokingly of course. Most of the time.
We were so ravenously hungry I neglected to go out and take pictures of the brats on the grill to show them off, so you’ll just have to live with a picture from Johnsonville’s website on their tailgating hints and tips:
Now that I’m drooling, I’m thinking I need to run out and get more Johnsonville Brats and fire up the grill again tonight – I’m getting hungry writing about it!
Did you know…
Last year, Americans cooked up $3 billion worth of sausage with the summer months seeing the most spending. Summer 2014 is poised to be the Summer of Sausage and Johnsonville is setting out to inspire people to turn basic backyard barbecues into sizzling sausage fests.
According to the Johnsonville Sausage Report, a new survey of more than 1,000 Americans, grillers say they are looking to get creative this summer (57%) and many (29%) are bored of the same old burger and hot dogs. As Americans pull out the grill on average 3 days a week at the height of grilling season (Memorial Day – Labor Day), there’s never been a better time to savor the variety and flavor of sausage.
New hot products offerings including Firecracker Brats with spicy peppers, Chipotle and Monterey Jack Brats, and Cheddar and Bacon Grillers – sausage patties with extra ingredients designed to be a more flavorful alternative to the typical hamburger.
The line of sausages and brats from Johnsonville provides your favorite grill-master with lots of options to get creative this summer. We’ve been adventurous to thwart the same old boring mode, and I’m here to tell you that all the varieties Johnsonville has are amazing.
Even the kids have easily gobbled down things like my favorite, the Apple Chicken Sausage Links, and Princess Nagger is always thrilled when I get the Pork & Chicken Maple Breakfast Sausage Links (both with 50% less fat). The hubby and Little Dude are looking forward to trying out the Firecracker Brats, since they both like things spicy.
I love that they have no fillers – I can be confident I’m not feeding my family grotesque stuff, also known as ‘junk’.
The summer is still young – many weekends (and weeknight) cookouts await! I’m actually jonesin’ to try out this looks-so-delicious recipe from Johnsonville during our next cookout (which may be later tonight, because now I’m hungry!) it’s called a Brat Hot Tub:
(Source: Johnsonville):
INGREDIENTS
1 large (11-inch x 9-inch x 2 3/8-inch) aluminum foil baking pan
2 to 3 cans (12 ounces each) beer
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium yellow or white onion, sliced
Johnsonville® Brats
Directions
- Put the pan right on the grill, being careful not to singe your knuckle hair. Pour in the beer, and add the butter and onions.
- Grill your Johnsonville Brats to a juicy, golden-brown perfection.
- Serve immediately and place any remaining brats into the steaming hot tub.
Credit: The Kitchen at Johnsonville Sausage
Doesn’t that look and sound yummy? What’s on your cookout menu this summer?
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A big thank you to Johnsonville for providing the coupons to purchase the delicious products for review. No other compensation was received for this post, implied or otherwise. The opinions are all mine and not influenced by any outside sources. See my Disclosure Policy here.
Thank you! That had been great so easy to cook.