It’s been quite a weekend. I consumed three dozen plus oysters at Tilghman Day on Saturday. Our dog went with us and was so worn out she snored for about five hours last night after we got home. Today we went to the farmers market, came home and made eight pounds of sausage, three pounds of hot Italian and five pounds of bratwurst. (Mary high-fived me as we finished stuffing the last three pounds. <grin>) We also started a pork belly curing for pancetta and cabbage is submerged in a brine for sauerkraut.

But this post is about the brats. It was our second batch. We made the first about six weeks ago. The idea is we will eat brats each Sunday during football season as we cheer on our new teams, the Redskins and the Ravens and mostly, my wife Mary’s beloved Green Bay Packers. (The Bucs will get some love, too, but their food amulet is Spanish Bean Soup.)

The first batch of brats was only a half batch and was made from Ruhman’s recipe in Ratio. That’s the one with marjoram and no veal, eggs or cream. The second batch, made today, is the richer one found in Charcuterie.

During the Ravens game we tried them both side by side. We figured the “lighter” version would be good for the late summer/early fall games and the richer one with veal, eggs and cream would be our cooler weather game food. Both are divine and both will be made again. As far as which one we prefer goes, that is still an open question and will require further testing. Since we ate the last of the first batch, we’re just gonna have to do that one again to see if one can be declared our favorite. In the meantime all I can say is, “Go Packers!”.