Finding a Better Bratwurst, Packaged or Not

Have you ever noticed how a brisk walk on a crisp, sunny fall day can make a person hungry? Something about falling leaves and cool breezes arouses certain cravings. Some are satisfied with hot chocolate or a cappuccino; others crave a beer and a burger. For me, it is sausages sizzling in a cast-iron pan with apples and onions.

But where do you get good sausages these days?

Choices can be limited at supermarkets. There are lots of sausage-shaped options, in assorted flavors, precooked and vacuum-packed, sold in the grab-and-go cold case, near the hot dogs. They make a quick, cheap dinner, but many I have tasted are not exactly thrilling. There is good news, however: There are some pretty delicious new-generation packaged sausages, stocked at some grocery stores and always available online.

To find the best supermarket bratwurst, I assembled a little team for a blind tasting. We looked, unofficially, at a few criteria, assessing flavor, authenticity, texture and deliciousness, among other qualities.

The packaged brands that passed muster were made by the Piggery in Ithaca, New York; Flying Pigs Farm, sold at the Union Square Greenmarket and online; Olympia Provisions in Portland, Oregon; Niman Ranch; The Meat Hook in Brooklyn; and Brooklyn Cured (also in Brooklyn).

There are still good butcher shops, though, that make sausages in-house, both traditional establishments with European roots and new wave places run by earnest young butchers with high standards and sustainable values. Given the choice, I prefer a butcher shop, where my sausages come wrapped in paper instead of impermeable thick plastic.

There are often more choices at a butcher shop, too. Besides brats, there may be bockwurst, veal frankfurters, fat knackwurst or delicate weisswurst (the pale, finely ground sausages similar to the French boudin blanc), a particular favorite of mine. You may need to do a bit of traveling to find such a shop, but it is well worth venturing afar, if just for the intoxicating olfactory experience. I returned from a recent outing with a bag of assorted plump sausages, a chunk of slab bacon and a smoked ham hock.

But let’s face it: No matter where you buy your sausage or which sausage you choose, savory spiced caramelized onions and apples fried in butter make the perfect accompaniment.

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Recipe: Sausages With Apples and Onions

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Total time: 40 minutes

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 large yellow onions, cut in 1/4-inch half-moons (about 4 cups)

Salt and pepper

1 bay leaf

2 cloves

3 allspice berries

1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds

1 thyme sprig

4 large tart apples, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices (about 4 cups)

8 bratwurst or other sausages, about 3 to 4 ounces each

Parsley sprigs, for garnish (optional)

1. Put 2 tablespoons butter in a large cast-iron skillet or wide, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, season generously with salt and pepper and stir to coat with butter. Add bay leaf, cloves, allspice, caraway and thyme. Cook, stirring frequently, until soft and nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat as necessary to keep onions from browning too quickly.

2. Remove onions from pan and arrange on a platter. Put 2 more tablespoons of butter in pan, and add apples. Raise heat to medium-high and brown apples on both sides, using a spatula to turn them, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove apples and arrange them on top of onions. Keep platter warm in a low oven.

3. Keep stovetop heat at medium and place sausages in pan in one layer. Prick each sausage in several places with the tip of a sharp paring knife or toothpick.

4. Let sausages brown slowly on one side (check their progress by turning them over with a fork or tongs) for 6 to 8 minutes. Lower the temperature if they are browning too quickly.

5. Turn sausages over, and add 1/2 cup water to the pan. Let water evaporate completely, then continue to let sausages brown slowly for about 5 more minutes. (Cooking sausages at too high a temperature will cause them to burst; err on the cooler side.)

6. To serve, place cooked sausages in the center of the onion-apple mixture on platter. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

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Where to Look in New York

If you would like to take your own autumn sausage tour in New York City, why not start on Long Island at Karl Ehmer in Patchogue (since 1932)? There is Stammtisch Pork Store next to Zum Stammtisch restaurant in Glendale, Queens (since 1972) and Morscher’s Pork Store in Ridgewood (since 1957), too.

In Manhattan, check the venerable Schaller & Weber on Second Avenue near East 86th Street, and Fleishers Craft Butchery on Third Avenue and East 76th Street. In Brooklyn, there is the 100-year-old Staubitz on Court Street in Cobble Hill, and the sustainable, whole-animal butcher The Meat Hook at 397 Graham Ave. in Williamsburg.

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And to Drink …

When deciding what to drink with cooked sausages, it is hard to go wrong. The biggest risk is transgressing traditions. In Bavaria, for example, weisswurst is often a morning snack, consumed with pretzels, mustard and wheat beer, which happens to go great with it any time of day. If you prefer wine, good dry riesling from Germany, Alsace or Austria would be fine. So would a pinot blanc from Alsace, or a weissburgunder, as the grape is often called in Austria and Germany. If you are eating bratwurst, opening wine rather than beer might get you drummed out of the tailgate. So what? Make it riesling, or, if you prefer a red, Beaujolais or gamay from the West Coast, or a German pinot noir. Other light-bodied reds, as well as grüner veltliner, would also be good.

— Eric Asimov