Beer Marinated Brats with Beer Carmelized Onions

For me, summer means beer. The amount of nostalgia I feel when taking that first, crisp sip of beer on a hot summer day is unreal. The last two summers have found me lounging in a pool with my best friend, drinking Bud Light Lime and taking in the sun and the smell of barbecue that always seemed to be wafting through the air.

To be honest, we had a barbecue back then, and we could have barbecued, but I'm not to great with grills. I always end up burning the food...and myself. 

This summer, I decided to tackle my fear. Sausage seemed like an easy place to start, so we picked up some bratwurst and a case of lager. And damn, was that a good idea.

Beer Marinated Brats with Beer Caramelized Onions

Ingredients:

• 6 beef bratwurst links
• 24 ounces of beer (We used a lager)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 golden onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 hot dog buns
• sour kraut
• mustard (We used whole grain spicy mustard)

Directions: 

1. Pour 12 ounces of beer into a ziplock bag with the brats. Allow them to marinate for 1-8 hours. (I realize this is a huge variance in time, but in a pinch, an hour is enough time.)
2. Saute oil and garlic in a pan over medium heat for one minutes. 
3. Add onions and 6 ounces of beer. Cover and allow beer to simmer.
4. Uncover and stir onions. When the mixture becomes dry, add the remaining beer and sauté until the onions have reached a deep, brown caramel color.
5. Grill brats on medium heat until heated through.
6. Toast buns on grill until heated through.
7. Put your brat together and eat up!