wisconsin recipes: fish boil, cheese soup, sheboygan style brats

[kappydell]

Growing up in Wisconsin we had our own culinary specialities.   I kept recipes because sometimes I get  craving for those special things....even if they are calorie laden they sure are tasty!

 

DOOR COUNTY STYLE FISH BOIL AT HOME

Fish boils are a popular picnic item along Lake Michigan...and a fixture on Friday Nights when they are done by many restaurants on a huge scale. Of course, a good fish boil always includes lots of melted butter to dip the fish in (a poor mans lobster kind of thing) pour over the boiled potatoes, and sop up with rye bread!  Dont forget lots of coleslaw!  This is a smaller version....serves two at my house.

1 lb . of Pollock fillets cut into 3 inch pieces  (a good rustic fish boil contains whatever fish is freshly caught that day - mixtures of everything from lake trout, to white fish, to salmon,...)
8 baby red potatoes
1 large onion quartered
any  Shrimp and Crab Boil seasoning in a tea infuser (optional)
Butter melted
Lemon
Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
Add the potatoes, onion, and seasoning, if desired.
When the potatoes are soft, add the fish. It will cook quickly, so start checking the fish after a minute or two.
When the fish is done, drain in a colander and return to the pot.
Serve with melted butter and lemon, salt and pepper, rye breead and coleslaw.
 

WISCONSIN CHEESE SOUP

This stuff is calorie laden, but delicious....a great soup on a meatless day.

2 (14-ounce) cans (3 1/2 cups) chicken broth  or veggie broth if it is Lent and you are abstaining from meat

1/2 cup chopped carrot

1 small (1/2 cup) onion, chopped

1 rib (1/2 cup) celery, chopped

1/2 cup beer or milk

20 (3/4-ounce) slices Land O Lakes® Deli American, chopped

4 drops hot pepper sauce

1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Place 1 cup broth,  the carrot, onion and celery in 4-quart saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat 8-10 minutes or until onion is softened.

Add 2 cups remaining broth, milk, cheese, and hot pepper sauce. Reduce heat to medium; cook 5-8 minutes or until cheese is melted.   Place flour into bowl; stir in remaining chicken broth. Stir flour mixture into soup. Cook, stirring constantly, 1-2 minutes or until soup is slightly thickened.

 

SHEBOYGAN STYLE BRATS

Johnsonville  Bratwurst do indeed come from that red barn in a town called Johnsonville, just a few miles west of Sheboygan.  Every year they have a bratwurst festival where the beer and brats attract wurst lovers far and near!

4 cups beer (not dark)
1/4 cup Bavarian mustard
2 tablespoons ketchup
4 large onions
12 uncooked bratwursts
6 hard rolls, halved and well buttered
Accompaniments:
sliced dill pickles
Bavarian mustard

In a large deep heavy skillet stir together beer, mustard, and ketchup.
Cut 1 onion into thick slices and add to beer mixture.
Bring beer mixture to a boil and in it simmer bratwursts, uncovered, turning occasionally, 20 minutes.
Prepare grill.
Remove bratwursts from beer mixture, discarding beer mixture. Cut remaining 3 onions into thick slices, keeping slices intact.
Grill bratwursts with onion slices on an oiled rack set 5 to 6 inches over glowing coals, turning onions once, until bratwursts are cooked through and golden brown and onions are cooked through, about 5 minutes.  Put a pair of "brats," cut in half lengthwise and stacked, on each roll.  Top brats with grilled onion, pickles, and mustard.

For the bratwurst stands, they keep a "bath" of beer and grilled onions simmering at the back of the grill and put the grilled bratwurst back in it to keep warm until needed.   No waiting that way and the Boy Scouts make oodles of money with their brat-frys.  

 

SAURKRAUT SALAD

Kraut and brats just seem to go together but not everyone likes the sour relish.  This salad tames the sourness to a sweet sour salad instead and is a popular smorgasboard and buffet dish

on Friday nights.  It makes up well using artificial sweetener instead of sugar adding a little zing to a low-calorie or diabetiic diet. Any leftovers do not last long for me.

SAUERKRAUT SALAD
1 (1 lb) can sauerkraut, drained but not rinsed
1 cup celery, chopped fine
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped fine
2 tablespoons onions, chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup salad oil
1/3 cup cider (I use white) or 1/3 cup white vinegar (I use white)

Mix chopped vegetables with sauerkraut.  Heat sugar, oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper over low heat just until sugar dissolves.  Cool and pour over vegetables.  Chill overnight.

 

 

Edited February 18, 2020 by kappydell

[Littlesister]

  Now I'm hungry and I ate dinner. Those are keepers. Going in my collection.  Thank you Kappy.