I Tried 7 Bratwurst Brands & the Best Was Juicy and Spicy

The summer grilling season is prime time for meat lovers, but far too much attention is given to standard fare like hamburgers and hot dogs. Want to make your next cookout more special? Try cooking up something a little different, like bratwurst.

Though popular in the Midwest, brats generally don't get the credit they deserve. The German-style sausages offer a great deal in the way of flavor diversity, spiced with seasonings typically more adventurous than those found in hot dogs. Traditionally made from pork, brats are also often less processed than conventional franks, and the best part is that they tend to come in larger-sized links–because who doesn't want more meat for your money?

As is the case with hot dogs, you'll often find multiple bratwurst options as you peruse the fresh meat section of your local grocery store—although the Johnsonville brand does admittedly take over the lion's share of cases.

I recently gathered up a sampling of these choices from both big-name and store brands available in my Ohio area to test them for taste and that juicy wow factor. Naturally, I grilled them all to bring out their best potential—or rather, my husband grilled them—and then I paired each with a soft bun. Let's dig into my final results, ranked in descending order from my least favorite to the best brat of all.

Boski Cheesy Brats

Boski is a brand owned by the Smith Provision Company–a premium meat manufacturer based out of Erie, Pa.–and one which has been slinging old world-style sausages for 90 years. Boski is debatably most well-known for its Polish kielbasa, but I was able to dig up a sampling of its Cheesy Brats at my neighborhood Giant Eagle as well. Fully cooked and made with cheddar cheese specifically, a package containing four pork-based brats rang up at $5.49. I was excited to give these a go considering they are the only cheese-filled links on the list.

The look: A bit bulky, measuring in at over an inch across, and of a medium length. The coloring here is unique, though, in a shade of bright orange with splotches and specks of what looks like spices.

The taste: The first thing I noticed was the odd lack of cheese. I thought the cheddar might come spilling out like a molten lava cake or at least be seen in clumps lodged inside the meat. But, I never caught a single sight or taste of it. Without this sole identifying factor, to me, this bratwurst really just boiled down to an average, everyday hot dog. Despite being tender, it's somewhat flavorless and lacks the zing that its bright hue promised. Overall, Boski was forgettable, but with the cheese flub, also disappointing.

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Guardians Bratwurst

This particular meaty selection is the official bratwurst of the Cleveland Guardians baseball team, and I was somewhat surprised to find it tucked into the cooler of my local Giant Eagle all the way down here in my Ohio hometown of Columbus. These pork links come fully cooked and along with classic seasonings like salt and garlic powder, this recipe includes a paprika as a main attraction. The pack of just four cost me the stiff price of $6.99, or $1.75 each. It's still better than actual stadium pricing. But, at that retail cost, I hoped they would really knock it out of the park.

The look: On the skinny side, but one of the only brats that reached from end to end on the bun. They come in a brighter pinkish-red color–likely influenced by the paprika.

The taste: Again, it's really just a glorified hot dog. The links have that very obvious pork flavor that tastes lower quality compared to other bratwurst brands–and its scrawny stature doesn't help its case. The paprika does add some flavor diversity into the mix, giving the brats a smokey element that pushes them past Boski. However, a different complaint arises related to the outer casing. While the inside maintains a nice juicy texture, the surface layer of skin became very crunchy when cooked on the grill–almost impenetrable and certainly difficult to chew. So, unfortunately, it was one, two, three strikes you're out for the Guardians.

Walmart Marketside Beer Bratwurst

Marketside is one of Walmart's many private-label brands. It focuses heavily on fresh-made foods, which is why you'll find its tags sprinkled throughout the store's produce section, bakery, and meat department. The latter is where I located its Beer Bratwurst among an array of other sausage options. These links are, in fact, made using beer, as well as 100% premium pork. They do not, however, come cooked. So, they require a little more time on the grill—a total of about 15 to 20 minutes, according to the packaging. I ended up buying a larg pack of 12 brats since that was the only size available and paid $8.97 for the dozen.

The look: This is the appearance I think of when I think of a brat. Short, stout, and formed together into logs like pieces of fatty and meaty patchwork. It did, however, shrink up a touch on the grill so it look quite small on the fluffy bun.

The taste: Not only is this the first selection that looked like a bratwurst, it was also the first to taste like your typical brat. Therefore, I had to rank it above the previous hot dog masqueraders. I think much of its success comes from the consistency of the pork itself which is coarse but also full of moisture. Unfortunately, though, it doesn't have much else going for it. Aside from a mild meat taste, flavor is limited and I noticed more grease here than on any of the other options.

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Johnsonville Stadium Brats

Each store I visited on my brat hunt was inundated with Johnsonville sausages. It seems that the brand has a major monopoly in this area that I'd never noticed before. The selection of just bratwurst alone includes everything from cheddar links to beef brats and everything in between. And, since there were such a beefy number of options to pick from, I decided to add two Johnsonville contenders to the taste test, starting with the Stadium Brats. They come cooked and are made with 100% premium pork as well as salt, spices, and other natural flavors. A pack of six cost me $4.69 at Kroger.

The look: The lightest coloring so far—a muted grey in the packaging which turns into a pale pink or tan after grilling. They are also the longest and thinnest of the bunch.

The taste: A better showing than the Guardians stadium brats, to be sure. The links have an authentic brat-like essence and a peppery or spicy taste to them. I also took their lanky size as a positive since it helped them to grill up much more quickly than the rest. The entire time I was munching on these, however, I couldn't help but think they should be served alongside eggs and pancakes instead of tucked inside a roll since their flavor is reminiscent of breakfast sausage links. This wasn't necessarily a bad revelation, nor do I think badly of breakfast sausage. I just think other brats did a better job of living up to their own meaty category.

Deutsche Kuche Smoked Bratwurst

Sold at the German-based grocery store Aldi and by a brand named Deutsche Kuche, you better believe I had high expectations for these bratwursts. They are the first and only of the lot to not only come fully cooked but also smoked. Plus, the links are molded with a mixture of both pork and beef. I paid $3.39 for four of the links and also noticed that the brand sold a similar pack of Knackwurst—a different type of German sausage—at the discount grocer, in addition to other foods like German soups and sauerkraut.

The look: Like thick and stubby hot dogs. Their look is uniform throughout and they acquired a pleasing burnt orange hue after spending time on the grill.

The taste: As I bit into one of the links, I was immediately reminded of andouille—yet another type of sausage that hales from France and is used often in Cajun cooking. The two share many similarities as they're both smoked and are close in thickness and texture. However, the Aldi brats are not heavily spiced or seasoned and their inclusion of beef in addition to pork gives them a slightly different flavor profile. Even so, I think these would taste best mixed into a flavorful jambalaya or thrown into a creamy pasta dish—palatable for sure, but again, not exactly what I'm looking for in a brat.

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Johnsonville Original Brats

At last, we reach Johnsonville's second offering in the taste test, and this time it's the very product that sparked a sausage empire back in 1945: the brand's Original Brats. Like most others listed here, they are made with premium cuts of pork and, according to Johnsonville, also seasoned with a secret blend of herbs and spices. They are sold raw, so similar to Walmart's brats, a bit more time is needed on the grill. It's also recommended to cook them low and slow—we did our best to oblige. The pack of five bratwursts cost me $5.44.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

The look: Almost identical to Walmart's Marketside offering, but just a touch longer and with even more marbling. These also take on less of a curved shape.

The taste: An undeniably classic makeup. The brats are succulent, robust, and plump—you definitely won't leave the cookout hungry with these on the menu. Grilling them was also the perfect choice, helping to bring them to life and giving them even more flavor with the addition of a slight char. My only complaint is that they could use a bit more pizazz all on their own. The so-called seasoned blend of herbs and spices didn't make a noticeable appearance, allowing some of the fatty flavor to show through. But, ultimately, when I popped one of the links into a roll and covered it with a dribble of yellow mustard, my taste buds were plenty happy. Even so, there was one brand that I liked even better than the standard bearer.

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Trader Joe's Uncured Bavarian Bratwurst

With its eclectic array of foods and products, it should come as no surprise that Trader Joe's sells a bratwurst rendition–and, not just any bratwurst, Uncured Bavarian Bratwurst. These are pork-based and incorporate a diverse blend of spices including marjoram, black pepper, nutmeg, ginger, coriander, cardamom, pimento (also known as allspice), and mace. The "uncured" piece of the title simply means that the meat wasn't preserved using unnatural additives like nitrates or nitrites. The $4.99 package includes four total sausages, and to reassure you that it is, in fact, a German-inspired product, its design mimics that of the Bavarian flag.

The look: In the package, these share the same coloring as Johnsonville's Stadium Brats. But, after they're cooked they become almost unrecognizable in a much deeper shade of speckled grey (and also sporting grill marks of course). In terms of sizing, they're middle of the road.

The taste: Trader Joe's has done it again! These brats are tremendously juicy, balanced, and well-spiced. The pepper stands out and all the other seasonings seep into each bite, becoming hard to identify individually but working together in unison to create a very signature kind of palate. This is exactly the kind of sausage I have been served time and time again at places like Hofbrauhaus or other Bavarian beer halls and I was shocked that the chain was able to replicate this kind of experience in a packaged product.

Each link is good enough to eat all by itself–forget the bun. But, I bet pairing it with Trader Joe's Sauerkraut with Pickled Persian Cucumbers would be an absolute game-changer.