Butcher’s Guide · Minnesota Original
Wild Rice Brats
Wisconsin gave the world the beer brat. Minnesota answered with the state grain folded into cheddar bratwurst. We’re not calling it a rivalry, but we’re not not calling it that.
Stittsworth Meats · Bemidji, MN · Butcher shop since 1940
Wild rice isn’t rice. It’s the seed of a grass that grows in the lakes and slow rivers of northern Minnesota — traditionally knocked into canoes by hand, parched over fire, and eaten here for a thousand years before anyone thought to put it in a sausage. It’s the official state grain, and Bemidji sits in the middle of the country’s best wild rice water.
A wild rice brat folds that cooked, nutty rice into a pork-and-cheddar bratwurst. The rice does two jobs: a toasted, almost tea-like flavor that plays with the smoke, and little pockets of chew that a plain emulsified brat can’t give you. It’s the brat we hand visitors when they ask what Minnesota tastes like.
The Method
Cook them like the flagship they are.
Ours come out of the smokehouse fully cooked over real hardwood, so the job is gentle reheating — the cheese pockets punish high direct heat.
01
Grill: 10 minutes, indirect
Two-zone fire, brats on the cool side, lid down, turn once. When they hit ~140°F internal, roll them over the hot side for one minute of color. Done.
02
Skillet: covered, medium-low
A pat of butter, a splash of water or beer, lid on, 8–10 minutes with a turn halfway. The steam warms the center before the outside overbrowns.
03
Never: a rolling boil or screaming grate
Cheddar pockets + high heat = cheese on the coals instead of in the brat. Low and patient keeps everything where the sausage maker put it.
Cooking fresh (uncooked) wild rice brats instead? Use the full smoked brats method — 225°F to 160°F internal.
The Recipe
One-skillet wild rice brat supper.
Serves 4 · 35 minutes · one cast-iron pan, zero regrets.
You need
- 4–5 wild rice cheddar brats
- ½ head green cabbage, in ribbons
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 1 crisp apple, sliced
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ cup chicken stock (or a splash of lager)
- Salt, pepper, whole-grain mustard
Do this
- Brown the brats in butter over medium, 2 minutes a side — color, not doneness. Set aside.
- Build the bed: onion into the drippings for 3 minutes, then cabbage and apple, salt and pepper, 5 more minutes until it slumps.
- Nestle and simmer: brats back in, stock around them, covered, 12–15 minutes — 160°F internal fresh, ~140°F if starting from our fully cooked smoked ones.
- Serve from the pan with mustard and dark bread. The cabbage picked up everything the brats gave off; waste none of it.
Beyond the Bun
Four more ways Bemidji eats them.
In wild rice soup.
Sliced coins dropped into creamy wild rice soup in the last ten minutes. Rice-on-rice sounds redundant; it’s actually the point.
Breakfast hash.
Diced brat, leftover potatoes, onion, one hot pan, eggs on top. The cheddar pockets do the cheese-sauce work for you.
Hotdish duty.
Anywhere kielbasa or smoked sausage shows up in a casserole, sliced wild rice brats show up better.
The classic, correctly.
A sturdy bun, whole-grain mustard, kraut if you must — and nothing else. This brat doesn’t need a topping strategy.
The Wild Rice Family
The state grain runs deep here.
FAQ
Wild rice brat questions.
What are wild rice brats?
Bratwurst with cooked Minnesota wild rice — and in our case cheddar — folded into the sausage. Nutty flavor, little pockets of chew, real smoke.
How do you cook them?
Ours are fully cooked: 10 minutes indirect on the grill or a covered skillet to ~140°F. Fresh ones follow the standard brat method — 225°F to 160°F internal.
What sides go with wild rice brats?
Braised cabbage, caramelized onion, apples, mustard, rye bread. Or slice them into wild rice soup and thank us later.
Is wild rice actually rice?
No — it's an aquatic grass seed native to northern Minnesota waters, hand-harvested by canoe for centuries. State grain since 1977.
Next step
Taste what Minnesota put in a casing.
The Minnesota flagship. Ships frozen nationwide.
Shop Wild Rice Cheddar Brats