A Different Kind of Burger

Many, many moons ago, you could find Johnsonville Bratwurst Burgers in the frozen food case of the grocery store. I don’t know if they don’t make them anymore or if the stores around here don’t bother to carry them. Regardless, I sure can’t find them. And that simply will not do.

Every now and again, I will whip up a burger that is actually a blend of ground beef and breakfast sausage. The spices in the breakfast sausage give the burger extra flavor, and that’s good, but it’s not why I originally came up with such a concoction. When my children were just toddlers, it was the three of us. I could barely make ends meet. I’m not sure why beef was so expensive back then, you know how meat prices swing. Anyway, a pound of sausage was half the price of ground beef. So I stretched my food budget by mixing a little hamburger with a lot of sausage. My kids loved it. These days I make Sausage Burgers simply for nostalgic reasons. But that got me to thinking, if I can do it with breakfast sausage, why not Bratwurst? Really – what have I got to loose?

Oh my goodness – these were so good. The sausage to ground beef ratio was perfect. They cooked up fast – really fast. Kiddo had his with cheese, but Hubby and I treated the burgers as we would an actual Bratwurst Sausage. No – I take that back. I handled mine property – onion and spicy brown mustard. That’s the way a normal, rational person would eat a Bratwurst. Hubby went for the onions, but used Ketchup instead as his condiment of choice. And yes, he does that same thing with a true Bratwurst. Silly man.

Bratty Burgers
1 package Johnsonville Original Bratwurst Sausage
1/2 lb Ground Beef
1/2 Yellow Onion
1/2 Red Onion
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
4 slices Sharp Cheddar Cheese, optional
4 large Hamburger Buns
Condiments of Choice

Remove casings from sausage, place just the meat into a bowl. Add ground beef. Mix to incorporate together. Divide into 4 equal portions, about 6.75 ounces each. Shape into patties. Place burgers in the freezer for several hours until frozen solid.

Peel and thinly slice onions. Place in a skillet with just a touch of butter. Grill onions until nicely caramelized and brown. Set aside.

Heat grill to medium-high heat. Season burgers with salt and pepper. Grill burgers about 3 or 4 minutes per side. If desired, place sliced cheese over the patties and let melt before pulling burgers from the grill.

Split open the hamburger buns. Add condiments as desired to the buns. Top with burgers, server and enjoy with Air-Fryer Crinkle Cut Fries.

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I am the living bread that came down from heaven,
says the Lord;
whoever eats this bread will live forever.