If you live without air conditioning, dread the idea of heating up your oven in the last days of summer, are too hungry to light a campfire, and have other excellent, first-world excuses for not grilling, “brats in the toaster oven” is for you. They come out beautifully – you’d almost guess they’d been grilled. Plus, it could hardly be easier.
What you need:
3-4 locally-sourced, small-batch, artisanal brats 😉
How to do it:
- Don’t bother to preheat.
- Consult your manual for the best rack position. For my Cuisinart convection toaster, it’s in the lowest position, upside down.
- Put the grill pan into the drip tray, lay the brats on the grill pan, and slide it all into the oven. Set the oven to “convection bake,” set the temp to 400°F (which, unintuitively it seems, requires a final confirmation push of the “temp” button), then hit start. Set the timer for 20 minutes. (Oddly, this requires no confirmation. Super confusing.) Meanwhile, get out a cooling rack.
- When the timer goes off, turn the brats. Return them to the oven for another 20 minutes.
- When the final timer goes off, move grill-pan-drip-pan apparatus to the cooling rack and maybe rest the brats for five minutes.
Notes:
Timings vary! This could be due to many factors: your particular oven, the particular type of brat you’re cooking, how many brats your cooking, etc. So, watch carefully. At the halfway point, when you have to turn them, they should look like they’re obviously cooking with a bit of browning, but they shouldn’t look like they’re close to being done. If they are looking close-to-done, cut way down on the timing after you turn, and then next time you make brats in the toaster oven, reduce the timing in general. Once you get it down, I guarantee that this is an easy and delicious way to cook brats.
How many brats can you cook? As many as will fit without stacking them. For me, that’s about five. You can cook as few brats as you like; one or two will take less time to cook.
You’ll need to soak the grill pan and the drip pan in hot, sudsy water. Do this immediately. After that, you’ll be surprised how easy it is to hand wash these things. However, if your manual says it’s OK, you can pop them in the dishwasher. Once the oven is fully cool, you’ll need to clean the glass and wipe down the interior. It wouldn’t hurt to give that thing a thorough cleaning now and again, by the way.
You’ll need to experiment with different types of brats. Forty minutes at 400°F may dry out some brats, depending on what they’re made of and how.
Backstory:
I’m really not much of a grillmaster. That may underscore the irony of my site’s name. I do own a grill, though, and it’s a kick-ass, manly-man’s grill: it’s a huge, old-school, charcoal grill that could probably host six or eight whole chickens at once. When I fire that baby up, I mean business.
I spend my summers near a mom-and-pop butcher shop (I mean, don’t you?) where they make an endless variety of that’s-probably-the-best-sausage-I’ve-ever-had brats. I’m talking blue cheese jalapeno, asparagus and cheddar, “Roadhouse salsa,” feta and spinach, brown sugar and pineapple, Asian sriracha, “Mountain Man,” and my favorite: mango habanero.[1] It’s an unassuming shop in the middle of nowhere that looks like it’d sell nothing but Miller Lite and Doritos, but you walk in and are slapped in the face with an astounding assortment of obscure local brews, sushi rice, gluten-free pasta so good that it would make you never care if you had wheat pasta again, hand-cut steaks, and house-made bacon. They don’t have a website, and the cashiers have to ring everything by hand – yes, by hand – but you’ll find several brands of small batch, locally-roasted, artisan coffee beans (whole bean, of course), locally made fudge, and old-school items like “bacon ends,” which are so useful but so hard to find.
So, I reconcile my love of these brats and my desire to save
the big grill for monumental occasions by using the toaster oven. It’s a pain
in the ass to make toast with, I have to say, but you won’t believe what a
fantastic job it does with brats!
[1] Mango habanero brats, by the way, make an awesome taco filling. Slice them into rounds and toss them onto a homemade, wheat tortilla with Colby-jack cheese and taco sauce.
Brats in the Toaster Oven
Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man!
This content was not solicited, nor written in exchange for anything. That’s right. Cuisinart did not give me a toaster in exchange for writing this post. Randy the IT Consultant to the Stars gave me the toaster, and even he did not do so in exchange for this post!
Thank you, Kesor.
By the way, when I say “brats,” I’m talking about bratwursts. Don’t try to cook your snotty-nosed nieces and nephews, even if they might be consummate little brats. It requires the construction of a large cottage – full size – built of gingerbread, cakes, and candy, with window panes of clear sugar: exorbitantly expensive, very short shelf life, not to mention a royal time suck.
Keep up with us on Bloglovin’
I was gifted a Johnsonville bratwurst electrical appliance and have not used it yet. Maybe it’s time to use it and see how it cooks 🙂
That’s interesting. I wonder how it works.
I will have to do a post some time soon… I even have a cookbook!
Nice!
I can’t remember when I last had a Bratwurst. Using toaster oven is such a neat idea!
angiesrecipes recently posted…Red Rice Salad with Green Beans, Mushrooms and Sardines
Well, I have to confess to you that bratwurst isn’t something I’d normally gravitate toward. In fact, I think it’d be accurate to say that I’ve avoided them. But because these are made by my local butcher, and I’ve always loves their other stuff, and I love supporting them, I thought I’d give them a try. And they’re fantastic!
My husband loves Bratwurst, and I like them too. Now, if only I had a toaster oven! 🙂 I used to have one and found it so convenient for so many things.
I’ve never had one until recently. It’s pretty handu.
Wow, that shop sounds amazing, Jeff. I have to admit that I laughed (and was quite intrigued) when I saw the title of this post pop up. (Coincidentally, since it’s a toaster oven, there was no popping up going on. Can you imagine if you put these in a traditional toaster. Hah!
David @ Spiced recently posted…Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Stuffed Brownies
Thanks, David!
I love any kind of sausage. Sometimes that’s what I have for dinner, with some fun condiments. I even recently bought a jalapeño sausage that was fully cooked, and just heated it in the microwave. And those were good. It’s a local brand – no MSG or nitrites. We save brats for football games and the like, and I include sauerkraut, even though my husband doesn’t. I don’t own an appliance like you have, though, although I’m sure it’s very handy!
Mimi recently posted…Campechana
I would not have thought that I would like a toaster oven, but it was given to me, and I find that I really liked it.
I never heard of the word ‘brats’ before. I thought you may be referring to some undisciplined children! It’s hard to find ‘real local butchers’ in San Diego- the large supermarkets have most of their meat shipped in and packed from a large warehouse. However, Australia still has many butchers that will tailor-make your order. Those habernero sausages must be fiery hot!
They’re just the perfect amount of hot. I guess “brats” must be an Americanism. Pronounced with an “ah” sound. But looks just like the word for selfish little kids! Who would never fit in my toaster oven, by the way. 😉 And yes, most grocery stores in the states are decked out to look like they have a butcher shop, but it takes not much more than a glance to realize that it’s all for show, and that there’s no butcher. Butcher shops are so awesome!
I never knew that you could make brats in a toaster oven. Sounds super simple. You are lucky to live close to a butcher shop.
I didn’t know either, but I’m so glad I found out, because it’s so easy, turns out so well, and doesn’t use as much energy as a large oven.
I just made a sausage stir fry with all kind of vegetables I found in my refrigerator…using the toaster oven is a great idea…thanks Jeff!
Have a great week!
Juliana recently posted…Indonesian Vanilla Chiffon Cupcake
Any time!
Brats are wonderful. And I haven’t had one in ages! What HAVE I been thinking??!!! This looks like a good method to make them — thanks.
John / Kitchen Riffs recently posted…Dark and Stormy Icebox Cake
🙂
The cleaning bit does not enthuse me to cooking bratwurst like this. Usually I just microwave them. But yours look better.
Tandy | Lavender and Lime recently posted…Singapore Stir Fry Using Rice Vermicelli
I get that.
I could eat brats once a week. Our butcher shop has some amazing ones! I need to cook them IN the kitchen when the weather gets cold—great idea!
Cheers!
OMG! These brats sound awesome but please just send me the store!
Abbe@This is How I Cook recently posted…Grilled Citrus Chicken in a Yogurt Marinade
Right?
I have to say the toaster oven is a practical solution when grilling a brat (or any other sausage) isn’t an option. And truth be told, it’s the easiest way to get nice even browning. Our toaster oven gets a lot more use than the regular oven—so convenient for a small household like ours.
Frank recently posted…Sgroppino
Toaster ovens are new to me, but I’m liking mine.
I’d buy a toaster oven just to be able to make my brats look as good as yours look. Yum. Can’t beat a good Bratwurst!
Neil recently posted…Roast Vegetable Filo Parcels
You know, I would never have bought a toaster oven. This one was given to me, because my toaster died. I have to stress that the toaster oven seems like overkill for toast, but I’m loving it as a small oven! I haven’t turned my big oven all summer!
Lucky you to have personal access to homemade sausage! I’m jealous! I used to eat a lot more sausage because there was a sausage shop about a mile away. Well, it closed down after 40 year and I have found a good replacement. Next time I can find some good brats, I’ll try your method. They look fabulous.
I’m definitely very lucky.
I grew up using a toaster oven so we don’t heat up the house in the summer. Recipes need slight adjustments because the element is so much closer to the food but it’s a fantastic alternative! Great idea to use them for brats! I can see how you could think they were grilled.
Eva Taylor recently posted…Lemon Miso Sauce
Thanks, Eva!
The place you talk about sounds like a dream shop and the sausages look fantastic! I am always looking forward to sausages whenever I go to London and these remind me of the typical British sausage texture… (or maybe I’m wrong: they do look very finely ground though).
I’ve never had a toaster oven, but maybe I should start using the grilling function of my microwave oven (have had it for years and never used it this way).
Sissi recently posted…Korean Cucumber Salad
The different sausage varieties from this store have different textures. The ones I photographed indeed did have a find grind.
Now the shop sounds even better!
Sissi recently posted…Korean Cucumber Salad
We don’t have a toaster oven, but I would totally try this if we did. The little store is right up my alley. I love places like that.
Now, about the big charcoal grill, I for one would love to see an image of you tending those chickens on the grill. Great back story as well.
Ron recently posted…Oh, what a Summer!
I had to refinish the deck this summer, and the bbq stood sadly in the garage while I did that. I’m done now, so maybe I’ll get a chance to do some fall grilling.
This is a very practical and delicious idea, Jeff! We do have AC but sometimes especially in late summer when it starts getting dark early I really don’t feel up for going out to grill when getting home late and the bugs are out.
Thanks, David!
Brats in the Toaster Oven – by which I mean bratwurst. The toaster oven is a great alternative to the oven, which is in turn a great alternative the grill.
Hey chef i really dont have any good toaster to make that delicious recipe. chef can you please suggest me a good toaster also. Please i ll be thankful
jones recently posted…3 Best Toaster For Bagels 2020 | [Ultimate Buying Guide]
Is this possible to make it without toaster oven? I don’t have this in my kitchen. This article is really great.
Of course! You could do it in a regular oven. The timings and temperatures are formulated for a convection oven, so if you have a standard oven, you’d have to make some adjustments.
Hey if those brats leave a mess inside your toaster oven feel free to check out our guide/tips on cleaning a toaster oven. 🧼
OK, cool!
look delicious! I’m hungry..
Bryan recently posted…Comprehensive Guide On How To Make Cortado Coffee At Home
Thank you so much for the delicious recipe! I love cooking with the toaster oven. But sometimes I have trouble with the sausages – I overdry them. I have a suspicion that it’s the sausages themselves. I am becoming more and more convinced of this thanks to your recipe:)
Hey, thank YOU for the comment! Yes, I think I agree with you. I’ve tried all sorts of brats, and have noticed that different ones cook in different times. It very likely depends on what kind of meat is in the brat, and how fatty it is. I’m convinced, though, that if you dry them out, then next time reduce the time by five or ten minutes, you hit the sweet spot!
My son loves Bratwurst, and I like them too. Now, if only I had a toaster oven! I used to have one and found it so convenient for so many things.
Well you could of course do this in any oven!
We just had a large event for a bunch of Argentinian workers at our winery I had our local sausage place make a special blend for them pork beef garlic paprica and red wine plus s&p it was amazing we made a dish they call Choripan so we garnished with chopped tomatoes and red onions and a home made chimichurri sauce i had some left and cooked them in our toaster oven and still amazing not as fast as my Blackstone for the event
Cool! That sounds fantastic!
I work in an office, so naturally there isn’t an oven, but there is a contraband toaster oven. We’re having a football themed birthday party, thank you for the helpful tips and hilarious commentary.
A contraband toaster oven. I love it!