Can Bratwurst Be Cooked In An Air Fryer?

First things first, just what is a bratwurst? Is it just another name for a hot dog? While very similar to hot dogs, both being a sausage made from ground meats like pork, chicken, and beef, bratwursts have a rougher texture than hot dogs and usually sold fresh rather than pre-cooked. Now that we have a clearer understanding of what a bratwurst is, the question now moves to whether or not you can cook the bratwurst in an air fryer.

According to Patty Catalino of The Kitchn, it's not only entirely possible to cook bratwursts in an air fryer but it's also a very good method of cooking bratwurst altogether. Catalino describes how the sausages come out golden and juicy every time and that, thanks to the air fryer's generous cooking capacity, you could cook many bratwursts at once in a shorter amount of time than you would cooking them on the grill. These air-fried sausages are described as being good served on a bun and topped with peppers and onions, stirred into pastas or soups, or even sliced and served  with fruits and cheeses on a charcuterie board. 

But while we have confirmation that you can cook bratwursts in an air fryer, how exactly can you do it? After all, wouldn't frying sausages dry them out and make them tough and flavorless? Fortunately, there are a few ways you can safely cook your brats in the air fryer and still keep their juicy flavor with a deliciously crisp skin.

As we mentioned before, bratwursts are usually sold fresh, being raw and uncooked rather than being already pre-cooked. It is possible, however, to get pre-cooked bratwursts, so all you would need to do is simply reheat them.

If you have pre-cooked bratwursts, a good method to prepare them is to cook at them at 360 degrees for 7 minutes. After the end of the first 7 minutes, flip them like you would as if you were cooking them on the grill and then cook them for another 7 minutes. It's a good idea to add only enough bratwursts to make a single layer rather than try to add a lot of them all at once. Not only does this making flipping them easier but the bratwursts will cook more evenly all over. 

If you have fresh, uncooked bratwursts, the cooking method is very much similar to how you would cook pre-cooked brats. Put the raw bratwurst in a single layer in the basket and cook for 14 minutes, stopping at the 8 minute mark to flip the sausages so they brown equally on all sides. You may also want to puncture the skin with a fork as the juices that build up inside of the meat may cause the skin to rupture and the meat to "blow out." 

Bratwursts, along with many other types of sausage, are naturally a very fatty meat, producing a lot of grease and juices as they cook. If you're not careful, all that grease and fat from the bratwursts could collect at the bottom of your air fryer near the heating element. This could lead to a potential fire hazard, especially if you notice your air fryer smoking during the cooking process. 

Before you cook any type of sausage in your air fryer, it's best to clean the basket and the interior as thoroughly as you can, removing any small pools of grease or built-up fat. After you cook the sausage, you should then clean the basket out once again to clean any excess grease or oil leftover. This may be somewhat tedious if you use your air fryer to cook these types of fatty meats, but it's a small price to pay to keep your air fryer in working order. So long as you practice safety and cleanliness, you should have no problem making brats or any kind of sausage for that matter in your air fryer.