This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Johnsonville. The opinions and text are all mine.
Low Sodium Beer Brat And Cheese Chowder
As summer turns to fall, the changing of seasons is marked by the start of…..Football! Here in Minnesota we love our Vikings, Gophers, and High School Prep Football. Football season means a lot of parties. We have Game Day Parties, Tailgate Parties, and Viewing Parties. We love football so much we will even party over Fantasy Football for our Draft Parties. A classic food option at these parties is some variation of a Beer Cheese Soup. So to kick off this year here is my Beer Cheese Chowder re-mastered into a low sodium Beer Brat and Cheese Chowder.
Kicking Off The Football Season
If you can’t guess, we take football very seriously. Once the preseason has begun, it’s time for friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers to gather together and conduct our Fantasy League Draft. A serious affair requires some serious eats! We have a roster of game day dishes that could rival a pro-teams starting lineup.
Even better, is that they have been remade as low sodium versions of traditionally salty foods. There are my Buffalo Wings with Ranch Dipping sauce, Turkey Chili, Buffalo Chicken Sliders, Honey Sriracha Tuna Sliders, Black Bean Sliders, Tortilla Chips and Tomatillo Salsa, and our rookie – low sodium Beer Brat and Cheese Chowder!
Making A Low Sodium Dish Out Of Traditionally Higher Sodium Items
If you are remaking a traditional recipe that has meaning to yourself and others, you need to hack the salt out without losing the integrity of the dish. You especially need to make sure none of the flavor is missing. One of the hardest foods to find low sodium, without making it from scratch is bratwurst. Brats are a classic football food, especially here in the Midwest. The problem is there is so much salt in the processing. The skins, meats, curing process, and cooking process usually incorporates copious amounts of sodium, nitrites, and nitrates.
I was thrilled to have an opportunity to partner with Johnsonville to figure out how to make a low sodium version using their bratwurst. After reviewing the labels of all of their brats, the first thing that was clear to me is that the Johnsonville Brat Links, have less sodium than the Regular brats. Then I noticed the brats differ by flavorings.
The Stadium Brat Links are the lowest at 510 mg per full brat. You could slice them lengthwise in half and have one half on a bun, which kind of seems a bit of a letdown. I knew would cut sodium everywhere else, so I went with the Beer Brat Links at 550 mg. per brat. I wanted to be able to dice up the brats so my Beer Brat and Cheese Chowder would be a perfect vehicle!
An Electric Bratwurst Grill – Take Your Game To The Next Level
Johnsonville has a cool new toy that I got to test drive, a Johnsonville Sizzling Sausage Grill. I know, right? How have we gone so long without one? If you’re like me and you rock a George Foreman Grill you need this grill. This electric grill works anywhere you have an electrical source to plug into. From your home to the campground and to the stadium for the tailgate, the Sizzling Sausage Grill makes perfect sausages every time. It takes less than 15 minutes.
The grill has an enclosed design that seals completely when locked so that the sausages are cooked and browned evenly. The juices and flavor don’t escape, and no drippings splatter outside the grill. You can grill a single sausage or five at a time, making the grill convenient for a single meal or for your team. You can find out more at the Johnsonville Sizzling Sausage Grill website.
Reducing Sodium From The Recipe
To help offset a higher sodium ingredient in your dish, you need to cut as much as possible everywhere else. Instead of cheddar cheese, we are of course using Swiss. For all of the vegetables we are using fresh rather than canned. You could probably find low sodium frozen vegetables, but we went fresh here. We also are making a cheese sauce from scratch like I do for my Swiss Potato Au Gratin.
We are using low sodium dairy choices and unsalted butter. The recipe calls for the use of ale which is alcoholic. If you prefer to omit because of choice or health, I recommend using malt vinegar and water in a 2:1 water to vinegar mix. You can also try a NA Beer, but please check the labels to make sure it is 100% alcohol free. Now, if you do use a regular ale, a majority of the alcohol will burn off in the cooking process. It just won’t be 100% alcohol free. Please do as you need to do for health or choice. We also wanted this recipe to be family friendly, so even the ale we chose had a lower alcohol content. To make sure the majority burned off.
Crafting The Chowder
If you don’t grill your brats separately, you can dice them up and add them to the pot when you are sauteing the onions carrots and corn in the beer. If you are grilling, start by grilling up the brats and then set them aside until you add them back into the chowder. Always start by building your cheese sauce as that requires at bit more attention than the rest. You can also make the cheese sauce and do the sauteing of the veggies (and brats if needed), and then transfer the whole mix to your slow cooker. Cook 3 hours on high or 5 hours on low if using a crockpot.
The Recipe For Low Sodium Beer Brat And Cheese Chowder
Low Sodium Beer Brat and Cheese Chowder
Ingredients
For The Cheese Sauce (Chowder Base)
- 1 1/2 cup Swiss Cheese (look for under 40 mg per oz ) grated, divided into 1 cup and reserve a half cup for garnish
- 1 1/2 cup 2% Milk
- 3 tbsp Butter unsalted
- 3 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder salt free
For The Beer Brat & Cheese Chowder
- 2 12 oz. cans Ale (Beer) Sub with NA if desired.
- 1 tbsp Butter unsalted
- 4 Bratwurst diced, Use lowest sodium brats you can find.
- 1/2 cup Onion chopped into 1" cubes
- 2 large Shallots chopped into 1" cubes
- 2 large Potatoes chopped into 1" cubes
- 3 medium Carrots chopped into 1" cubes
- 2 cups Corn
- 2 cups Vegetable Broth I use Swanson's unsalted
- 1 cup Half and Half used to thin chowder if needed
- 1/3 cup All-Purpose Flour used to thicken chowder if need be
Instructions
To Make The Cheese Sauce (Chowder Base)
- Have your milk, flour, butter, and cheese, pepper and garlic within hands reach of your sauce pan as you will be whisking this sauce continuously to ensure a silky smooth sauce.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir to make a roux. Cook the roux, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes.
- Slowly add milk to the roux in small increments, stirring with a whisk until smooth between each addition. Once all of the milk has been added, bring the mixture to a low boil, stirring constantly.
- Slowly add 1 cup of Swiss cheese to the sauce, stirring until melted. Add black pepper and garlic and mix into the sauce.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and add it all to the pot with the beer and vegetables.
To Make The Beer Brat & Cheese Chowder
- In a large pot, pour in one of the cans of beer and add the 1 tbsp of the butter, potatoes, carrots,onions, shallots, and bratwurst. Cook for 20-30 minutes over medium high heat, turning the sausage occasionally with a tongs and stirring the vegetables.
- Cook bratwurst until no longer pink inside. Remove the brats from pot and set aside.
- Add the cheese sauce, vegetable broth, half and half, flour, and remaining beer to pot. Bring to a simmer
- Cut the bratwurst lengthwise and crosswise and add back to the pot.
- Reduce the heat and allow to simmer on low for an hour to allow flavors to meld. If the Chowder is too thick, add water to the chowder. If it is not thick enough, you can add some flour or half and half to thicken it to your preferred tastes.
- Season with further garlic powder or black pepper to taste.
- I like to have popcorn, some more shredded Swiss Cheese and seeded and sliced jalapenos as a garnish for those that want to add to their chowder.
Notes
Nutrition
Let me know if you try this in the comments below. Comments submitted may be displayed on other websites owned by the sponsoring brand.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Johnsonville. The opinions and text are all mine.
I am so going to make this! It looks and sounds wonderful. My only problem will be keeping the husband from eating it all!
I have printed the recipe for future use. My husband loves brats, Italian sausage, all that stuff. This recipe looks like a winner for him.
Thanks!