Oven-Braised Beer Brats with Apples & Onions

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter (real butter, none of that fake stuff)

2 big yellow onions, thinly sliced

2 apples — I like Honeycrisp or Braeburn — cored & sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

6 bratwursts

1 cup good beer — nothing fancy, just what you’d drink

1 cup beef broth

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Salt & black pepper

A sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley if you feel fancy

DIRECTIONS:

First, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Get that Dutch oven or big oven-proof skillet ready — you want something with a lid or high sides.

Warm the olive oil and butter over medium heat until the butter’s melted and smelling buttery.

Toss in the sliced onions and apples. Stir them now and then — you want them golden and soft, not burnt or rushed. This might take 20–25 minutes, but it’s worth it.

Stir in the garlic and let it get fragrant — about a minute.

Nestle your brats right on top, pressing them down into that bed of sweet onions and apples.

Pour in the beer and broth, then whisk in the Dijon mustard. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper — taste and trust your gut.

Let it come up to a soft simmer on the stovetop, then pop the whole thing into your oven, uncovered.

Bake for 30–40 minutes, until the brats are cooked through and juicy and the house smells so good the kids keep asking, “Is it ready yet?”

Sprinkle with fresh parsley if you like — or skip it. Nobody at my table complains either way.