The Perfect Backcountry Bratwurst

Mornin' to everyone saying "Bubbler" this week. This is the Wiscampsin Weekly - the email that gets you in the know on the Wisconsin outdoors in 5 minutes or less. New reader? Subscribe here.

🇺🇸 This week's mouthwatering-edition is in honor of all the 'Scons celebrating America's birthday via good food in the great outdoors 🌭

The Perfect Backcountry Bratwurst

Wait - brats, in the backcountry?

Oh, you betcha. Most people don’t realize this, but when it comes to campfire food, you don’t have to settle for a stinkin’ ol' hotdog.

C’mon, it’s Wisconsin! Land of the bratwurst! And what better way to enjoy a nice campfire than by horking down a few of our state’s finest, eh?

The Foods:

-Bratwursts

-Buns

-White onion

-Sauerkraut (duh)

-Brown mustard (yellow works, too)

-Olive oil, grapeseed oil, etc. Just not motor oil, ok there guy?

The ‘Tools’:

-A campfire (wood, fire... you know the drill)

-Tinfoil

-A poker of some sort. Not your hand, Uncle Joe!

-Maybe a fork and spoon for the sophisticated readers

The Brat

This is the most important part of the process right here - Choosing. Your. Meat. You’re already doing your "business" in the woods, so make it easier on your guts by eating a worthy sausage.

We recommend the State Champ bratwurst from Karl’s Country Market. The short cruise northwest from Milwaukee is well worth it once you sink your teeth into this juicy piece of heaven. If ya can’t swing it, then ya can’t swing it, but don’t say I didn’t tell ya so.

Ok, so you’ve got your meat. Now, the tricky thing with brats is that, unlike their inferior cousin the hotdog, they’re almost always raw.

Which makes campfires a bit tricky. Some are too hot. Some are too cold. Some your brother Kyle tried to make and, well, we all know how Kyle makes his fires.

Regardless, the surest way to cook your brat is by wrapping that baby up in some tinfoil and sticking it in the hot coals for a good 15-20 minutes.

And when those juices come sizzling out through the casing, occasionally spraying all over your shirt in a glorious bratwurst shower... you know it’s dinner time.

The Onion

Some people treat their brats like they treat their off-days -- completely naked. If that’s you, then read no further. And put some pants on, for cripe’s sake!

For the rest of us God-fearing people, we’re gonna want the works. And at the top of that list is the onion.

We recommend chopping it up while you’re still at home, but if you’re trying to impress your girlfriend or boyfriend with that knife that’s way too big, but you saw it at REI last Christmas and you just had to have it ‘cause there was a picture of BEAR GRYLLS on it then hey, chop away, folks.

Regardless, take that chopped onion (and any other veggies), toss it in a separate tinfoil, drizzle some olive oil on it, and set it next to your brat on those hot coals. It’ll take about the same time to cook as the brat.

Ope! Don’t forget the Kraut (and other fixin’s)

We swear, we weren't gonna forget!

This part of the meal is pretty easy. Just pack a little baggie of your sauerkraut, relish, maybe some mustard packets… Ok, throw a ketchup packet in there too if you got some little tots tagging along.

Assembly

We shouldn’t have to write a whole section with a subheader and everything for this, but we love ya folks so here it goes.

Once you got your brat and veggies all cooked up nice, roll em out of the fire with a poker or a long stick, maybe your friend’s iPad if they were square enough to bring one camping (dang Chicago folk), and start to peel that tinfoil off.

Careful! It’ll be hotter than Bradford beach in July. Plop that savory sausage onto a bun if you have one, and layer on the other goodies.

And for the final step -- drumroll please…

EAT!

The "Holy Cripes" Moment of the Week❗️

Things are about to get dark. Dark Sky, that is!

Three Driftless Region properties are vying to be an International Dark Sky Desitination - the Kickapoo Valley Reserve, Wildcat Mountain State Park and Tunnelville Cliffs State Natural Area. Get a glimpse of their star-wonder below.

Nuts and Seeds 🌰 

🥾 These boots were made for walkin'... In about a week, a Massachusetts woman is gonna reach the eastern end of Wisconsin's Ice Age Trail, becoming the first female hiker to finish each and every national scenic trails in the US (eleven in total). Badass.

🏔 To the top: James Edward Mills of Madison, WI just helped document the first all-Black American team’s historic summit of Mount Everest. Why? Well there's a bit of an ‘Adventure Gap’ and he wants more representation for people of color in this field. Come one, come all!

🐠 RIP Fishy: The DNR announced that a large-scale fish die-off is happening at the Fox River and lower Green Bay waters, and they want your help. Keep an eye out for and report dying fish, dead fish, or any other whacky fish behaviors you find.

This week's Wiscampsin Weekly is brought to you by White Bridge Coffee Co.

Someone asked me recently if I've ever been in love... and the answer is absolutely.

It happened one perfect morning on a camping trip. I woke up in my tent, surprised at the full-night's rest I'd had.

I opened the door to birds, singing hello in the canopy above me. What's more, there wasn't a mosquito to be found. Was this a dream?!

Then I smelled it:

White Bridge Coffee. Kevin, bless his sweet heart, brought a steaming mug over to me. My lips, quivering, touched the delicious treat that was this dark roast, and the rest was history...

Based out of Madison, WI, White Bridge Coffee Co. offers specialty roasts that absolutely knock your socks off (still looking for mine).

What's more, they're 1% For The Planet and donate another 1%+ of revenue to environmental non-profits.

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See you next week!

A Review from the Trail...

Well, how'd we do this week?

• 🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀 Better than a finely-aged cheese

• 🧀🧀🧀 Still better than Illinois, but could be better

• 🧀 Boo. This made me lactose intolerant