Oktoberfest Sheet Pan Brats with Apples, Potatoes and Sauerkraut

The product page lists salt, pepper, spices, and sugar, and describes sage, ginger, and nutmeg. Those warm spices are a natural match for roasted apples and tangy kraut, which is about as Midwest-in-October as supper gets.

Made with

• Bratwurst Seasoning

Ingredients and steps

Makes: one 25 lb batch of fresh brats (about 100 links); the sheet pan serves 4 and uses 2 lb

Amounts: one package is sized for a full 25 lb batch. Follow the package directions for the seasoning and water. There's no cure pack, so these are fresh brats.

Ingredients

• For the brats: 25 lb lean pork trim, very cold; 1 package Frisco Bratwurst Seasoning; distilled water as the package directs; 32mm hog casings, soaked and rinsed
• For the sheet pan: 8 fresh brats (about 2 lb), 1 1/2 lb baby potatoes (halved), 2 firm apples (cut into wedges), 1 large onion (cut into wedges), 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 2 cups sauerkraut (drained), 1 teaspoon caraway seed (optional), and brown mustard

Steps

1. Grind the pork through a 1/8 inch plate. Add the seasoning package and the water the package calls for, and mix until tacky.
2. Stuff into the 32mm casings and twist into 5-6 inch links. Refrigerate what you'll cook in 1-2 days and freeze the rest.
3. Heat the oven to 425F. Toss the potatoes with 1 tablespoon oil on a sheet pan and roast 15 minutes.
4. Toss the apples and onion with the rest of the oil and add them to the pan. Nestle in the brats. Roast 20 minutes, turning the brats once.
5. Scatter the sauerkraut and caraway over the pan and roast 5-10 minutes more, until the brats are browned and read 160F in the center.
6. Serve with brown mustard and a cold one.

Pair it with

Beer Bratwurst Seasoning. For the next batch, the product page uses the same pork trim, water, and 32mm casing method and adds beer extract to the blend.