Homemade Brat Burgers feature homemade brat patties made with ground pork and everyday spices. They're a dead ringer for the real thing!
“I made these for dinner tonight and they were fantastic!! Definitely adding to our summer grilling rotation. I’ll admit I was a little skeptical, being a Sconnie we hold brats (and brat burgers) to a pretty high standard and these definitely did not disappoint.”
Feast your eyes on your new go-to burger recipe: Homemade Brat Burgers with Beer-Braised Caramelized Onions!
Homemade bratwurst patties made from ground pork and everyday spices are topped with luscious, beer-braised caramelized onions to create the most craveable meal.
You’ll never look at burgers OR brats the same way again. They really are a dead ringer for juicy, sizzling brats!
Burger + Brat Mash Up
Here in the Midwest, you’ll find both burgers and brats on the menu at pretty much every summer cookout and, like I said, this recipe combines both into one incredibly delicious dish.
Normally I don’t acknowledge a world in which brats aren’t first drizzled with bright yellow mustard before devouring, but the sticky-sweet beer-braised caramelized onions totally outshine the traditional combo.
Best of all? The homemade bratwurst patties taste just like my favorite store-bought brats but only contain pork and spices. No preservatives (besides salt), sugar, or funky additives!
Serve with Best Ever Pasta Salad
How to Make this Recipe
Step 1: Make the Beer-Braised Caramelized Onions
Heat extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat then add a sliced jumbo sweet onion and saute until the onions turn golden brown, about 10 minutes.
Next add worcestershire sauce, salt, and beer – gluten free or regular depending on your dietary restrictions.
A Note on Gluten Free Beer
Since I have Celiac Disease I use gluten free beer made with gluten free grains like rice or sorghum – NOT gluten-removed or gluten-reduced beers.
Turn the heat down to medium then simmer until the onions are tender and the beer has nearly cooked off, 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Onions = done!
Step 2: Make the Brat Patties
To a large mixing bowl add ground pork plus the following dried herbs, spices, and seasonings:
- Ground sage
- Dry mustard
- Ground coriander
- Dried rosemary
- Paprika
- White pepper
- Nutmeg
- Salt
Stir the mixture with a fork or your hands just until the ingredients are well combined, then form the mixture into four patties. They’ll be a little soft, but that’s ok.
Spray the tops of the patties with nonstick spray then grill for 4-5 minutes per side over medium heat, keeping the lid closed between flipping.
Want Great Grill Marks?
Heat your grill over high heat then turn it down to medium just before adding the patties. The grates will be screaming hot and sear the patties quickly.
Place the patties onto buns then top with a mountain of beer-braised caramelized onions, and dig in!
More Sizzling Grilling Recipes
- Perfect Grilled Steak
- Simple Grilled Chicken Thighs
- Steak Salad with Crispy Shallots, Dried Cherries, Candied Pecans and Goat Cheese
- Grilled Chicken Salad
- Fool Proof Grilled Pork Tenderloin
- Chicken Fajita Cheeseburgers
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground pork
- 3/4 teaspoon ground sage
- 3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed between your fingers
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 jumbo sweet onion
- 2 teaspoons gluten free worcestershire sauce
- 12 oz gluten free beer
- 4 gluten free buns
Directions
- Heat extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions then saute until evenly caramelized, 10 minutes. Add beer, worcestershire sauce, and a little salt then bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium then simmer until onions are tender and beer has nearly been absorbed, 10-15 minutes. Taste then add salt if necessary and set aside.
- While the onions are simmering, preheat grill on high heat for at least 10 minutes (I like to let my grill get to 400-450 degrees.) Combine pork and spices – sage through nutmeg – then form mixture into 4 patties – patties will be soft, but that's ok.
- Turn grill down to medium heat then spray tops of patties with nonstick spray. Place patties sprayed-side down on the grill then cook for 4-5 minutes per side, or until cooked through, keeping the lid closed between flipping. Briefly grill buns to soften and toast then place brat burgers onto buns and top with beer-braised caramelized onions before serving.
Notes
- The fat content in ground pork can vary wildly, so don’t be surprised if your burgers shrink up a bit.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Congrats on #2! Our oldest is the same age and Lincoln and our youngest just turned 7 months. One thing that either no one told me or I didn’t listen to was, 2 kids = 4x the work. I love the chaos, but man, was I caught off guard by that! :) Enjoy the rest of your pregnancy and your time with Lincoln as an only child. I definitely appreciated my second pregnancy much more.
Wow!!! Just catching up reading and what wondeful news! I feel like I have been reading your posts forever and really watched you grow up, although you have always been super grown up to me!
Congrats to you! Love the pic of your mom with all her kids!
Xoxo
Okay, for starters, I stinking love brat burgers. Aaaaaand I totally cannot stop staring at those caramelized onions. I honestly think I could eat them by the bowl-full! This burger looks incredible!
I basically did – they are sooo good! :)
Hey!! Just read somewhere that you can make some amazing caramelized onions in the crockpot! Just saying!! I’m gonna be trying it out. Love your blog!
I totally saw you and your mom and Lincoln at Farmer’s Market and I was too starstruck to say hello. I grabbed my husband’s arm and was like, “OMG THERE SHE IS.” And he thought I was crazy and then we were carried along in the crush of people. But I totally waved at you in my mind. ;)
Oh my gosh, you totally should have said hi!! Next time (if we can reach each other that is – praying for less people next time!!)
Yum!! Can’t think of a better recipe to kick off grilling season!
What brand of gf graham crackers did you try? I bought a box that were terrible- cant remember the brand.
They’re called “S’moreables” – almost double the thickness of regular graham crackers so they’re actually not that great for s’mores, but I really liked the flavor!
Hi there- Where do you have luck finding ground pork without “stuff” in it?
Good question – I usually buy mine from the Whole Foods meat counter, but have been wanting to check out the packaged ground pork at Trader Joe’s too.
These look delicious, Kristen! I can’t wait to make them for my family! The caramelized onions sound like the perfect complement to the pork.
What kind of gluten free hamburger buns do you use? I would love to fix my daughter a hamburger on a bun instead of just on a bed of lettuce all the time. Thank you and keep up the fabulous work! You are a God send with your wonderful recipes.
You are too kind, Dana! I have tried several brands of GF buns and Canyon Bakehouse has the softest/least crumbly. I find them at Super Target in the bakery, or in the special diets freezer section at the regular grocery store! :)
this is perfect timing! I took out a package of brat meat that was extra from our butcher (so not in casings) and wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to do with it tonight. Burgers with caramelized onions it is! :)
Marshmallows can have gluten??? Now I’m freaking out because I thought they were always GF. What brand has gluten in them? Those burgers look amazing!!!!!!
Sorry I should have been very specific! Marshmallows are inherently gluten free (just gelatin, sugar, and water,) but we had a bag of Kraft marshmallows and they only label the package GF when they can guarantee production lines and ingredient sources are not contaminated. So I should have said, the brand of mallows we had on hand wasn’t guaranteed GF!
Phew!!! I didn’t know that about Kraft. I don’t check labels every time for products I buy all the time (I always check for new products. Guess I need to up my game!
Look at those pictures! I love the way that garden looks. And those burgers, for sure!