I’m usually a coffee drinker but this time of year is when I switch to apple cider. In fact, I usually have a gallon or two in my fridge to drink up but I also try to use apple cider in recipes as well. When cooking or baking with apple cider, I tend to reduce it to a syrup like consistency for a more intense flavor. This time, I used the cider as a braising liquid for bratwurst, which reduced down to a glaze. These Cider Glazed Bratwursts had the perfect touch of sweetness from the apple cider, making it a nice change from the traditional beer braised bratwurst recipe
I prepared this with minimal ingredients – 3 to be exact. And preparing these were just as easy. Boil the brats in the apple cider until the cider reduces and thickens down to a glaze, then serve it up in a bun! You could adapt the recipe for the grill if you wanted as well. Either way, it’s a great way to serve up brats if you don’t want to use beer or if you just want a little sweet apple flavor with your brat.
recipe adapted from Weber
1 cup apple cider
1 onion, thinly sliced
5 fresh bratwurst, pierced several times
5 submarine sandwich buns, halved lengthwise
In your Instant Pot:
Plug in the IP with insert set in place.
Add the apple cider, onions and bratwurst.
Press MANUAL and adjust the time to 8 minutes on HIGH pressure.
Once at pressure, the display will reflect 8 (the number of minutes you initially set) and will begin to countdown to 0 minutes.
When the display reflects L5:00 (which is 5 minutes since the IP has beeped), turn the setting on top of your IP to VENTING. Doing so allows the IP to quickly release any remaining pressure (also known as QPR or QR). I use a wooden spoon to carefully turn the setting to avoid close contact with the potential steam. You may also want to turn your IP away from cabinets to allow the released steam to escape freely. The pin at the top of your IP will drop when all pressure has been released and it’s safe to open.
Open up your IP when the pin has dropped (allow a few minutes for this to happen).
Place the brats in the buns and garnish as desired. Serve hot.
* You can easily double the recipe by cooking 10-12 brats with 2 cups of apple cider and pressure cooking for 10-12 minutes instead of 8.
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