Bratwurstsuppe and Brötchen

In 2007 we went to Germany and had the most delicious soup at Schlenkerla Brewery in Bamberg. Then we came back to the US and poked around online a bit and discovered that apparently the soup doesn't actually exist on the internet. Not sure if it was just an invention of Schlenkerla's or if we just don't know enough German to know what we're looking for.

Today I managed to come fairly close to recreating it, and I found a really good and simple Brötchen recipe - so I had better record what I did or I'll be really annoyed next time I want some and I can't remember what I made.

Keep in mind - I'm a very poor recipe writer. I don't measure things, which drives Russ up the wall and is why he's so much better at the precision aspect of brewing. This is all my best guess on what I did today!

Bratwurstsuppe

2 large yellow onions

1/2 lb of Nuremberg sausage or similar German-style bratwurst (Trader Joe's currently has a good one!)

2 C. good beer

4 C. stock (beef, chicken, or veggie would all work - I used chicken)

4 C. water

1-2 Tbsp beef bouillon

salt and pepper to taste (I used Lawry's seasoned salt and Trader Joe's lemon pepper grinder)

Slice the oinions and caramelize them in a pan as if you were making French Onion Soup. Once they're browned and soft, add the stock and simmer for a while.

While those are simmering, put a soup pot on, turn to med-high heat, slice the bratwurst into thin medallions, and brown them up. Once they're nice and browned, deglaze the pan with the beer, simmer for a bit, and then add the stock from the onions. Depending on your taste, you may want to leave the onions in - they weren't included when we were in Bamberg, but I tried it both ways tonight and liked it better with them included.

Then add beef bouillon, salt, and pepper to taste and simmer for a bit. Serve it with the above-linked Brötchen recipe.