What'd I do wrong?

[missed-em]

Picked up some beautiful German brats at the butcher and decided to do the on the Bradley. Cooked at 225 and they reached 165 in 90 minutes. Looked great, put into a bun and couldn't hardly bite thru the caseing. What made the casing so tough? First smoke of brats, usually pre boil in beer then grill.

 

[smokerjim]

i don't think you did anything wrong, sometimes some casing are just tough. just my opinion.

 

[TNJAKE]

You can try smoking them to 140 then hitting them with some higher heat till they are finished. Should improve casing texture

 

[SmokinAl]

It has happened to me too, I usually cook brats on the grill at a temp of around 350 & they are always good, but when I smoke them, the casings are sometimes a little chewy. I think Jake has the best way, smoke, then finish on a hot grill.
Al

 

[chef jimmyj]

Smoke then Grill X3...JJ

 

[Amos_Moses]

You can try smoking them to 140 then hitting them with some higher heat till they are finished. Should improve casing texture

I did brats in the inaugural run of my Pecos after the initial marathon 8 hour seasoning burn-in and this is essentially how I did it. Ms. Moses soaked em in Guinness the night before and I put them on the grill while everything was heating up. The guinness went in a foil quarter-size roaster pan set over the baffle, and the hamburgers right next to the brats.

The burn-in was performed with Kingsford but after that it was fed with oak deadfall. I have a white oak in my neighbor's yard that drops enough wood to grill twice a month for free. :D