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.
Spot on flavor! I grilled the onions with the burgers as we don’ t do alcohol. Thank you that we don’t have to buy sausage with preservatives or additives. This was the recipe that brought me to your site. Great job!
YAY!! Thrilled these were a hit, Chris. Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Tastes like brats. Great!
Wohoo! I’m so glad you loved these, Erica! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
can eliminate beer
Made these for dinner. ( not the onions ) and they were fantastic! Im not normaly a brat person. I was really surprised at how much they tasted like a brat burger I would get the meat counter, but better. I did use 1/8 teaspoon of ground rosemary because I didnt have fresh. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
These were awesome! I didn’t have beer, so I subbed fresh cider – delicious!
These were absolutely delicious!! My husband and I loved these!
Made these tonight and they were so good! Tons of flavor. Thanks!
So glad to hear it, Sara, thanks so much for the great feedback!
Kristin, I made these tonight for supper, but used ground turkey instead of ground pork; chopped some portobello mushrooms and sweet Vidalia onions to add to the meat mixture with 1/8 c panko. Delicious indeed! Will do this again! Yummy and thanks! Hope you and all the family, and the new boy on the way are doing well!
Sounds yummy, Nancy! I love the addition of mushrooms and onions in the patty!
These look so amazing! We just had brats last night but now I am like we need to do this ASAP. Maybe I can hold out till Memorial Day grilling.
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. My husband loved them too. Thanks!
Woot, got the WI stamp of approval – I love it. ;) Thanks for the feedback, Tracy!
Where to you get your hamburger buns? What brand are they or do you make them yourself? They look yummy!
Those are Canyon Bakehouse which you can find in most grocery stores and even Super Target now!
I have saved this recipe and hope to add it to the menu soon. I laughed at the picture of the chocolate chips sitting on the graham cracker. Have you seen Divvies chocolates? They make an allergy friendly chocolate bar that is great for s’mores. I know the chocolate is free of dairy, eggs, nuts and I think that it is gluten free.
Haha, no! I need to look for it – making s’mores with chocolate chips is difficult. ;)
These burgers would make my brat-crazed daughter and hubby go crazy! Love how you braised the onions in beer – this is perfect for upcoming Memorial Day :)