Johnsonville Smoked Brats on Traeger

Johnsonville smoked brats are a delicious lunch or dinner idea you can make in your pellet or electric smoker this week! If you haven’t tried smoking bratwurst in a Traeger yet, try this! 

Traeger Brats

It actually doesn’t matter what brand you have, we actually started with an electric smoker that was inexpensive to make sure we really liked this method of cooking. We loved it so much we grabbed a Green Mountain grill/smoker online which was bigger and used wood chips vs. pellets.

Both worked great really and I don’t just because of the brand of style you have. Now that we’re really into it we upgraded to the Traeger you see below. Here they are done at the top, and where they started that afternoon below. Yes they start out as raw pork links, not precooked.

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To get your meats absolutely perfect we have this printable meat smoking chart to refer to so each and every time it will be fork tender.

Johnsonville Smoked Brats

We’re not reheating them, they’re being cooked. Ready to soak up that smoky flavor. I mean if you just want to heat and serve one of those kielbasa links you can do that too but it won’t really soak up much flavor at all, and won’t take much time either.

We’ve cooked bratwurst many ways but this is probably my favorite. They get tender on the inside, with a great applewood flavor but still maintain that snap of the outer skins I love. There are many brands out there to choose from.

How to Cook Johnsonville Smoked Brats

Just like it doesn’t matter what smoker brand you use, the kind of bratwurst isn’t a big difference either. The size is what makes the biggest difference as far as the cook time is concerned.

How long does it take to smoke sausage at 225?

You have two options. If you choose to cook your sausages at a lower 225 temperature then it will take approximately 2 hours, flipping halfway through. This is usually our go to method since lower and slower is the way to go with these machines to get that smoky flavor you desire.

We have also smoked them at 350 degrees for just 30 minutes, turning them after 15 minutes, and they’ve turned out great. Costco brats are many times much larger so those may take longer to cook all the way thru.

Bratwurst on Traeger

This is personal preference, and how much time you have as well. The general rule of smoking meats is the lower the temp. and the longer your meat is in there, the smokier the flavor will be. 

I would say this is very true, but when you’re smoking bratwurst I feel an hour still gives it a great flavor. Now for something like our smoked pork recipe, it does matter because the meat is so much thicker. You want to break down all of those connective tissues so it is as fork tender as possible.

With thinner items like these and our smoked bacon I feel like you can go for the shorter time and higher temp if necessary.

• Speaking of bacon, next time we are going to make bacon wrapped brats and we will share the photos once we do that!

How do you smoke Johnsonville brats?

I do like this type. They come in packages of 5-6 which is just enough for the 5 of us without any leftovers typically. I think they have a nice snap to them when they’re done but the skins aren’t too thick and hard to chew.

• Of course you can use any brand you’d like, this is just what we chose. We like the sweet style, but their beer brats are great too!
• Now you’re going to want to preheat your smoker / grill to 350 degrees if you want a shorter cook time, or 220 for a longer smokier flavor. We use hickory or apple pellets or wood chips to achieve a great smoke flavor.
• Open your package of sausages and place them on to your grate once you have a hot grill. Do not overlap them. 
• Close your lid and set a timer for yourself. If you set to 350 you will flip after 15 minutes. If your smoker is at 225 degrees you will flip after 60 minutes.

Smoking Bratwurst

Step 4 – Continue cooking for the remainder of time and then remove. Check internal temperature to ensure they are fully cooked inside. This meat smoking chart shows pork needs to be at 180 degrees to be safe.

Then enjoy your smoked brats!

• Looking for other ways to cook these? Try our Instant Pot brats recipe that gets raving reviews! You can grill brats too which is similar to this without the smoke. AND this is how to cook bratwurst in the oven. 

What condiments do you put on a bratwurst?

This whole process will probably take you 45 minutes from start to finish including the time it will take you to get your smoker up to the right temperature. Now that you’re done you need to add “all the things” right??

• Serve them inside hoagie rolls
• Good toppings for brats:
  • German mustard
  • Quick sauerkraut – jarred or homemade 
  • Pickled cabbage and/or vegetables
  • Warm cabbage slaw
  • Onions

Some insist on Swiss cheese on top and let it melt, then eat. If you ate these growing up I bet you can picture how they were served way back then and that is your go to. My grandfather was from Germany and so we ate these quite often, with all the traditional things so they’re a must with our spread.

You can try our air fryer sausage and potatoes recipe too this week! They’re another favorite amongst the link family, seen here were deer sausages from our local butcher, spicy, and just incredibly delicious.

Other easy smoker recipes you will love and we would recommend making after this one would be:

1. Smoked sausage and cabbage is amazing.
2. Our smoked beer can chicken gets thumbs up every time we make it.
3. Smoked burgers are cheap and easy to do.
   1. and smoked steak