Bacon Wrapped Brats with Beer Cheese Sauce
On January 25, 2021 (Updated April 16, 2022)
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Bacon Wrapped Brats with Beer Cheese Sauce are a delicious mash-up of some of the world’s tastiest foods. Juicy grilled brats, crispy bacon, and melty, rich beer cheese sauce come together for brat unlike any other. They’re the perfect handheld food for your backyard get-togethers or tailgating parties!
Bacon Wrapped Brats
This recipe starts with tradition German style uncooked bratwursts. Don’t buy anything pre-cooked for this recipe or your brats will be overdone and dry before your bacon is crisp.
Speaking of bacon, keep it simple. No need to go crazy with super thick cut maple or peppered bacon. Just make sure it is nice and meaty and preferably hickory or apple wood smoked. If you have it available, definitely try making these with my homemade bacon. Game changer! Plan on 2 pieces of bacon per bratwurst.
Beer Cheese Sauce for Brats
This beer cheese sauce is the secret element in making these brats so darn good. This is a really simple recipe that you can easily adapt to use as a dip or a soup depending on how much liquid you add.
The amount called for in the recipe below makes this perfect for drizzling all over the bacon wrapped bratwursts, but if you wanted to make a thicker dip for crackers or vegetables, reduce the amount of milk and beer. If you want to eat it as a soup, increase the amount of liquid until you reach the consistency you like!
How to Grill Bacon Wrapped Brats
When preheating your grill, you’re going for High, indirect heat. You want your grill to be hot enough to crisp the bacon (around 400-450 degrees F), but you don’t want the bratwursts sitting directly on top of the flames. The rendered fat will drip down onto the flames and cause some serious flare-ups that can cause your brats to taste ashy.
Place the coals on one side or turn on the burners on one side (or if you’re using a pellet grill, you’re already cooking indirect) and grill your bacon wrapped bratwursts just on the edge of that high heat without being directly over the flame. If you want to add a little extra crispiness, move the brats to the direct flame side for 1-2 minutes when they are almost to the correct internal temperature. Most of the fat will have rendered at this point so you shouldn’t have to battle flare-ups too much. Just make sure you are turning regularly at this point.
When the brats are finishing up, don’t forget to toast your buns as well. Toasty buns make all the difference. That little bit of crunch from the bun mixed with the brat and beer sauce is perfect meal harmony.
From there, you are ready to load up with a bacon wrapped bratwurst and some ooey gooey beer cheese. If you want to add a little extra crunch or flavor, some tasty additions would be chopped white onions, pickle relish, and some nice whole grain mustard.
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Bacon Wrapped Brats Recipe
Bacon Wrapped Brats with Beer Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 bratwursts
- 12 slices bacon
Beer Cheese Sauce
- 3 Tablespoons salted butter
- 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ¾ cup beer preferably an ale
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper less if you want the sauce to be mild
- 3 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the grill. Preheat your grill to 400-450 degrees F for indirect grilling.
- Wrap the brats in bacon. Wrap each bratwurst with two strips of bacon. Tuck the ends of the bacon strips or secure with toothpicks so the bacon doesn't unravel on the grill.
- Grill the bacon wrapped bratwursts. Cook the brats on indirect heat for 10-15 minutes, turning frequently, until the internal temperature of the bratwursts reaches 165 degrees F.
- Make the beer cheese sauce. In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour until a thick paste forms. Pour in the milk and whisk constantly, breaking up any clumps, until the mixture comes to a boil. Stir in the beer, again whisking constantly, until the sauce is smooth. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the Dijon mustard, salt, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. Add the cheese to the sauce in batches and stir in slowly until the cheese is entirely melted.
- Toast the buns. Toast your bratwursts buns on the grill sliced side down for 1-2 minutes until the bun is crisp.
- Assemble the brats and enjoy. Place each bacon wrapped bratwursts in a toasty bun alongside the warm beer cheese sauce. I find it best to keep the sauce warming in the skillet during serving to prevent the cheese from getting hard. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
**This post was originally published in February 2018. We recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
Thanks so much for again another knockout recipe . This was Fantastic even tho i got cooked brats (forgot glasses in car) i pre cooked the bacon on a grill mat and then wrapped the brats and tossed back on the grill mat . Turned out super. I could eat them all myself , And i might lol.
Going to try them tomorrow on the smoker; maybe 1 1/2 to 2 hours at 225. We’ll see what happens.
Excited to hear how they turn out for you!
Can the cheese sauce be made ahead of time?jojo
Sure, just store it in the fridge and then you can heat up when you are ready to eat.
Susie,
I must tell Ya YOU are a grilling genius!!! Hope I didn’t make your head too big!! (wink)
The Bacon Wrapped Brats with Beer Cheese Sauce I’ve had before but not your recipe. There were 6 people counting me, and I gotta tell Ya your recipe is wrong big time!!! There would’ve been no way I could have got away with only 1 a piece so I doubled it, & they still went poof!! Way to go and Susie keep ’em coming!!
Take Care…….Sandhills Joe
Wow!! Thanks for the comment Joe, I’ll try to keep it cool! That’s always the thing with BBQ, always make extra!!
Can the cheese mix be refrigerated and be used as a spread on crackers?
I haven’t tried that myself, but I don’t see why not!
These were absolutely FANTASTIC! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe!
The whole family was excited and impressed! It definitely brought home fall in a hurry for us! I have done beer cheese previously, but loved what the dijon and cayenne did, perfect Brat topper!
I combined it with some beer bath onions, and it was phenomenal.
Here’s my take on Beer Bath Onions:
– 3 large onions cut into rings about 1/4 inch thick.
– I typically use a foil buffet tray, goes between the stove top or grill, whichever way you want to do this.
– Throw in about 3 Tbsp of butter cut into pats, when the butter melts, pour in your favorite beer (just one for now). – Cover and keep it cooking for a while, this will be about an hour or two, depending on heat and your preference for onions. Check it every so often to top off with another beer and stir.
– When they are dark and sweet, you are ready to go!
I also often use this as a brat bath before I go to the grill. Either way, delish! Hope you enjoy!
Thanks so much Kirk for coming back and leaving me some feedback and this awesome beer onion recipe!!
Firing up the grill right now. Using real Bratwursts, Glier’s from Cincinnati. Hope the cheese sauce is as good as what we had at the Hoffbrau Haus.
Well, now I need to know what you thought?!?
Can I use a heavy whip cream instead of milk?
Of course! That would make it super creamy and delicious!
Are the brats precooked?
They are not precooked.
This is really nice. Yummmmmmmmyyyyy