Campfire Bratwurst and Sauerkraut

Campfire beer bratwurst on hot dog buns with mustard.

5 from 1 vote

Campfire Bratwurst and Sauerkraut

These easy campfire bratwurst and sauerkraut are cooked with beer in a Dutch oven. Sear the brats in a hot pan just before serving!

Cook Time20

Total Time20

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Calories: 588kcal

Author: Sarah Trenalone

Equipment

cast iron dutch oven (campfire-style preferred)
10" or 12" cast iron skillet
Meat thermometer (if using uncooked sausages)
metal tongs
Spoon (to serve sauerkraut)
plates + napkins for serving

Ingredients

24 ounce jar sauerkraut
1 cup stout beer I use Guinness
1 cup water
8 bratwurst or brat-style sausages, or more as desired See Recipe Notes
8 hot dog buns
brown spicy mustard

Instructions

Place the Dutch oven on a hot campfire grate. Add sauerkraut, beer and water to the oven. Nestle the brats into the sauerkraut and close the lid.
For pre-cooked brats: Cook until the brats are heated through.
For uncooked brats: Cook until the brats reach the internal temperature indicated on their packaging.
It's fine to leave the brats in the sauerkraut for a few minutes until everyone is ready to eat. The timing for this meal is quite flexible. That said, if the sausages begin to burst on the ends, it's time to take them out of the sauerkraut!
Place a cast-iron skillet on the campfire grate until the skillet is hot. Use tongs to move a few brats from the sauerkraut to the pan. Rotate the brats occasionally until they're evenly charred, and then remove from heat.
If your campfire grate is too small to fit both the Dutch oven and the skillet, you can remove the Dutch oven from the heat at this point.
While the sausages cook in the pan, place the hot dog buns on the campfire grate over indirect heat. Allow the buns to toast, turning occasionally. Once toasted, remove the buns from the heat and replace with remaining buns.
Serve the brats and sauerkraut in the hot dog buns and top with mustard.

Notes

Pre-Cooked or Uncooked Brats? For camping, pre-cooked sausages are much easier to deal with. If using uncooked sausages, make sure to bring a meat thermometer. Cook sausages to the internal temperature indicated on the packaging.

Meat + Meatless Options: This recipe works well with any variety of bratwurst or bratwurst-style sausage. I like the vegan brats from Beyond Meat. If you prefer chicken sausages, we like the apple chicken sausages from Trader Joe's or the Never Any! brand apple chicken sausages from Aldi.

Nutrition