Forget the cheese(heads), Midwest’s Bratwurst is best for NY football fans

Vince Lombardi set the standard for excellence in sport by being the first coach to not only hoist the sterling pigskin but to earn the right twice in a row thus cementing himself in the annals of NFL history and insuring that the twenty two inch silver trophy would eventually bear his name. In the forty six years since those first two Super Bowls only a hand full of coaches have ever been able to win the Lombardi Trophy twice and a week from this coming Sunday Tom Coughlin will look to be on that auspicious roster as he takes the G Men to their second Super Bowl appearance in the past five years. And as most of the country sits down to watch the New York Football Giants take on Bill Belichick and his pet quarterback there will be one very important question to ask yourself and that question is what will you be serving your guests?

Super Bowl parties often lean on regular staples like hoagies or Buffalo wings coupled with snackable items like chips, pretzels and various dips. While I whole heartedly approve of this fare I feel like it’s way too overused and that football party guests would be pleasantly surprised by a something a little different. That is why this year I am looking towards Vince Lombardi’s town of Green Bay for culinary inspiration. Now I have been to Green Bay and can definitively tell you that there is no kosher in Title Town but what they do have is a rich tailgating tradition that made a German sausage an icon of football cuisine. I am talking of course about the bratwurst.

Bratwursts were rare in the kosher world up until about a year ago when sausage company Jack’s Gourmet burst onto the scene with their innovative products. I had written previously about my love of their chorizo but since then all of Jack’s Gourmet sausages have become a regular in my home. Their bratwurst is particularly good and though it differs from the traditional brat in that it is made entirely of beef rather than pork or veal it none the less has a flavor that is exceptional and can best be compared to the Nuremburg Brat which is the most popular bratwurst flavor in the Midwest. In addition to their bratwurst Jack’s makes a Spicy Buffalo Chicken Sausage which was recently released and is out of this world. The flavor parodies chicken wings to a tee and is the perfect Super Bowl Party accompaniment as it satisfies the tastes of football food traditionalists with an out of the box flair.

To prepare your brats I suggest purchasing inexpensive German ale. Place sliced white onions in a pot with the beer and boil the brats until hot. Serve the brats on a hearty bun (or pretzel bread) with good spicy mustard and either the onions you used with the beer or with sauerkraut. If you really want to be adventurous go and get a package of Dayia “cheese” which is an excellent tapioca based cheese substitute that you can melt on top of the brat. For the Buffalo Chicken Sausages serve on a soft bun with celery, shredded carrots and whatever parve ranch dressing is available in your local grocery store. These two sausages are easy to make and a perfect centerpiece to any Super Bowl party and will make your guests take notice of what they are eating rather than mindlessly scarfing down slices of grinder while they holler at the television.

Let’s face it the Giants look fierce right now and though I am sure that Tom Brady is going to be chomping at the bit to redeem himself for the way he was beaten in Super Bowl 43 I just don’t think the Patriots have the defense necessary to keep Coughlin and Manning from carving them up offensively. So I hope to see Tom Coughlin and the Giants able once again to raise the trophy named for Green Bay’s iconic coach while I will be eating the bratwurst Green Bay’s iconic dish.

LETS GO GIANTS!

Zechariah Mehler is a widely published food writer and expert in social marketing. Follow him on Twitter @thekoshercritic