Cheddar Brats Recipe: Homemade Pork or Venison Bratwurst

A good brat is hard to beat. A cheddar brat, with little pockets of melted cheese in every bite, is even better. They're also one of the easiest sausages to make at home: no cure, no smoker, just a grinder, a stuffer, and a hot grill or skillet.

Here's our 10 lb. cheddar brats recipe, plus a venison version for deer season, how to cook them without splitting, and how hot they need to get inside.

The Short Answer

To make cheddar brats, grind 10 lbs. of pork butt through a 3/8" plate. Mix in 4 oz. Bratwurst Seasoning, 3 eggs, 1 pint milk, and 10 oz. soy protein concentrate, then gently fold in 1 lb. High Temp Cheddar. Stuff into natural hog casings and prick out any air pockets. Cook over medium heat until the internal temperature reaches 155–160°F (160–165°F if you add venison). Keep raw brats in the fridge and cook them within 3 days.

What Makes a Cheddar Brat?

A cheddar brat is a classic bratwurst with cheese mixed in. The brat is fresh pork sausage, and nutmeg is the spice that gives it its brat flavor. Because brats are fresh sausage, not smoked, you don't need any curing salt.

The cheese is what matters. Regular cheddar melts and runs out through the casing on a hot grill. High Temp Cheddar Cheese holds its shape up to 400°F, so it stays in little pockets inside the brat. It also keeps the brat moist, even if your grill runs a little hot.

Cheddar Brats Recipe (10 lbs.)

Meat:

• 10 lbs. pork butt

Seasoning and binder:

• 4 oz. Bratwurst Seasoning (or 5 oz. Midwest Bratwurst Seasoning)
• 3 whole eggs
• 1 pint fresh milk
• 10 oz. Soy Protein Concentrate (2 cups, not packed)

Cheese:

• 1 lb. High Temp Cheddar Cheese (already diced to 1/4")

Casings:

• 32–35mm natural hog casings (see your options below)

The soy protein is the binder. It gives brats their tender, slightly springy bite. Want some heat? Swap the cheddar for High Temp Pepper Jack.

Make It With Venison

Venison makes a great brat, but it's too lean on its own. You have two options:

• Venison and pork butt: use a 1:1 ratio, so 5 lbs. of venison and 5 lbs. of pork butt or shoulder.
• Venison and pork fat: use 8 lbs. of venison and 2 lbs. of pork fat (fatback or belly), so fat makes up 20% of the meat. Don't count the milk, eggs, or soy protein in that 20%.

Keep everything else in the recipe the same. Trim the venison well first, removing sinew and silver skin. Our beginner's guide to turning wild game into great sausage walks through it. Venison brats need a higher internal temperature than all-pork brats. See the cooking section below.

New to natural casings? Our guide on how to prepare natural hog casings covers soaking, rinsing, and stuffing.

How to Make Cheddar Brats, Step by Step

Step 1: Prep the Casings

Rinse the salt off your hog casings under cool running water, flush the insides, and soak them in cool water in the fridge for about 2 hours. Skip this step if you're using collagen.

Step 2: Grind

Keep your meat well chilled. Grind all of it through a 3/8" plate.

Step 3: Mix

Add the seasoning, eggs, milk, and soy protein to the ground meat. Mix thoroughly until everything is evenly spread through the meat.

Step 4: Fold in the Cheese

Add the High Temp Cheddar last. Mix gently, just until it's spread through, so the dice stay whole.

Step 5: Stuff and Link

Stuff the mix into your casings and twist them into brat-length links. Stuff firmly but don't overstuff. Then go over every link with a Sausage Pricker. Air pockets are the number one reason brats split or burst when you cook them.

Step 6: Cook or Refrigerate

Cook the brats right away, or refrigerate them and cook within 3 days. See "Storing Cheddar Brats" below before you plan to freeze.

How to Cook Cheddar Brats Without Splitting

The secret is gentle heat at the start. High heat hits the casing too fast and burns or bursts it before the inside cooks. Whatever method you use, check the brats with an instant-read thermometer, like the INKBIRD Instant Read Thermometer.

Can You Smoke Cheddar Brats?

Yes, but smoking changes the recipe. Smoked sausage spends hours at low temperatures, so add Insta Cure #1: 2 level teaspoons per 10 lbs. of meat. Our guide to curing salts explains why.

With cheese in cured sausage, the meat around the cheese can sometimes turn brown or gray. It's perfectly safe, but it doesn't look great. To prevent it, add Sodium Erythorbate, 1 tsp per 10 lbs., along with the cure. It speeds up curing and keeps the color even. Then follow our beginner's guide to smoking sausage.

Storing Cheddar Brats

Because this recipe uses milk and eggs, keep raw brats in the fridge only, and cook them within 3 days.

Planning to freeze some? Leave the milk and eggs out of that batch. Brats made without them keep their quality for 2–3 months, vacuum sealed in the freezer. Past that, the texture won't be as good when they thaw. For more on storage, see how long homemade sausage lasts.

How to Serve Cheddar Brats

Keep it simple and let the brat shine. Serve them on a sturdy bun that can hold the juice, with grilled peppers and onions, sauerkraut, or a good spicy brown or whole-grain mustard. Leftover cooked brats are great sliced into eggs, pasta, or a pot of chili.

Cheddar Brats FAQ

Are cheddar brats pork or beef? Traditional brats are pork, and our recipe uses pork butt. You can also make them with half venison. If you make an all-beef version, cook it to at least 155–160°F.

What's the difference between cheddar brats and regular brats? The base sausage is the same. Cheddar brats add 1 lb. of High Temp Cheddar per 10 lbs. of meat.

Why do my brats split when I cook them? Air pockets are the number one cause. Prick your links with a Sausage Pricker before cooking, and start on medium heat instead of high.

How do I know when cheddar brats are done? Use a thermometer. All-pork brats are done at 155–160°F internal. Venison brats need 160–165°F.

Can I freeze homemade cheddar brats? Not this recipe, because it has milk and eggs. Keep those in the fridge and cook them within 3 days. If you want to freeze brats, make the batch without milk and eggs. Vacuum sealed, they'll keep 2–3 months.

Do I need curing salt for cheddar brats? Not for fresh brats that you grill or pan-fry. If you smoke them, add Insta Cure #1.

Your Cheddar Brats Shopping List

• Bratwurst Seasoning or Midwest Bratwurst Seasoning
• High Temp Cheddar Cheese or High Temp Pepper Jack
• Soy Protein Concentrate
• Natural Hog Casings, Pre-Tubed Natural Hog Casings, or Fresh Collagen Casings 32mm
• Sausage Pricker
• INKBIRD Instant Read Thermometer
• For smoking: Insta Cure #1 and Sodium Erythorbate
• All-in-one: the Cheddar Bratwurst Kit

Ready to make your first batch? Grab a Cheddar Bratwurst Kit and some pork butt, and you're set. Need the gear too? The Bratwurst Kit with 15 lb. Sausage Stuffer gets you started, and our guide to choosing the best sausage stuffer for home use can help you pick the right size.