Nürnberger Bratwurst at Aldi!

[randomness]

Nürnberger Bratwurst were one of my favorite foods in Germany. They were inexpensive and easy to find, both from grocers and at sausage stands. I really missed them when I went back to the States, where they are not so common.

One of my complaints about Aldi USA always was that while they carried some German food, they didn't have these tasty little bratwursts.

Now they do, at least for a limited time.

I went to Aldi yesterday evening on my way home largely because I was driving past and wanted to pick up something for dinner. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that in their refrigerated foods display they had packages of Nürnberger Bratwurst for $1.99 per package of 12:


package front and back


Here they are being heated up in a skillet with sauerkraut.


The German style Sauerkraut was also Aldi's store brand, Deutsche Küche.
The bratwursts are on the salty side but within the range of variation of those I had in Germany. They are actually German and might even come from the same supplier that Aldi uses there. Because they are salty they go very well served with sauerkraut.

The sauerkraut is not simply German-style but actually from Germany also. German sauerkraut tends to be drier than its American counterpart, and it comes in a variety of sourness levels. This sauerkraut was towards the less-sour end of the range in terms of German sauerkraut, which means that it was much less sour than American sauerkraut.

I heated it up in a pan that was too hot, but they still came out ok. I tossed the sauerkraut in after the sausages had browned a bit, but there was much less juice than I expected. Too little juice, in fact, to unlock the rather meager drippings. digitalemur helped me out with that. Thanks! :)

Serve with a dollop of mustard, perhaps a slice or two of dark German bread or a couple of potatoes, and you have a very basic but tasty traditional German meal.

Aldi has the bratwursts identified with a shelf label that says they are a limited time item "while supplies last". I'll be getting some more while I can.

Comments

[tla]

Hey guess what I'm about to have for breakfast, brought home from Bavaria the other week? :) Without the sauerkraut though.

[digitalemur.livejournal.com]

That operation is called "deglazing." It takes a little practice, but the idea is to throw in just enough liquid to release the tasty compounds that are sticking to the pan. Beer is a perfect deglazing for this bratwurst-- can you bring home more?

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Sure.

Beer or bratwurst? :)

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Yay!

Lucky you, Bavaria is a much shorter trip than for me. :)

[digitalemur.livejournal.com]

There's plenty of beer in the fridge. Bratwurst is what I meant.

[allyphoe.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I should see if the Aldi local to me has those. What's sold as bratwurst here is nothing like what's sold as bratwurst in Bavaria.

[cityratbuddy.livejournal.com]

Delicious! Though they are a bit smaller than the bratwurst I remember. Still, they only cost $1.99? No wonder they sell out!

I found your comments about sauerkraut very interesting. I prefer it drier than I usually get in the US, like the Germans.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

They also have larger bratwurst from Germany, as well as some American bratwurst.

I may try the other German bratwurst next time I go. If I do I'll try to remember to take a picture.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Though they are a bit smaller than the bratwurst I remember.

They do have larger ones, also from Germany. There are also some American bratwurst that I'm not as interested in but may try at some point.

No wonder they sell out!

It's not so much that they sell out but that this is an item they may not decide to continue to stock, or in any case make no commitment to keep in stock. Sad.

Say, if you like German food, have you made it to Bei Otto yet? It's my favorite German restaurant in Bangkok. Really it's my favorite in all of Southeast Asia, there being not that much competition.

Soi 20 Sukhumvit. Pretty easy to find. Has a pretty good deli attached, too, although last time I went I couldn't find any spätzle.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

I can stop over there today, if I get back before they close.

[digitalemur.livejournal.com]

There isn't a rush, I am going to a 7 PM concert here on campus, so it might make sense for me to have dinner here.

[rednikki.livejournal.com]

We do not have Aldi in California and I am jealous! We do get some awesome sauerkraut out here, but I really miss my dark German bread.

[flit.livejournal.com]

Hee, I was poking in to see if anyone had mentioned beer for this purpose.

[cityratbuddy.livejournal.com]

No, I haven't tried it yet though I've been half heartedly meaning to for years. There's just so many options on that one part of Sukh. that I didn't go for German food. I also hear there's a great German place on soi 11, btw.

So anyway, I went by today to try Bei Otto and the dining room was closed for a staff party. Bad timing! I did check out their deli. Very impressive bread selection. I got a delicious traditional brezeln with big chunks of salt in a classic pretzel shape.

So now at least I can tell you, "Yeah, I've been there." I'll have to go back and try the restaurant. Looked a tad expensive. The schnitzel better be good if it wants to beat Half Man Half Noodle! I can't imagine very many places in the world making a better value schnitzel (only $3.50).

[cityratbuddy.livejournal.com]

Check out HMHN's website. http://halfmanhalfnoodle.com/? Looks like they remodeled the place. Funniest of all is the front page with placeholder Latin text and placeholder special food items. Do you think the webmaster doesn't kknow enough English to realize it's in Latin?

[cityratbuddy.livejournal.com]

My cashflow is doing okay, so today I decided to treat myself to lunch at Bei Otto. I had the schnitzel and was happy with it. Very moist and tasty. They served it with a side of jam, which I found odd. Do some people use that for the schnitzel or the potatoes?

I'd rate it an 8 from 1-10, and the value as a 6. Half Man Half Noodle's schnitzel I'd rate a 7.5 and the value as a 9.5.

The quality is better at Bei Otto, but you're paying for it. Thanks for the recommendation!

[(Anonymous)]

Can you still get them at aldis

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

No, but you can get them, or similar ones, at Trader Joe's. At least, you could the last time I checked.

[alexanderroy890.livejournal.com]

Hi