The Best And Worst Brats To Buy At The Grocery Store, Ranked

With summer upon us, it's time to fire up the grill and fill it with your favorite meats. While burgers and hot dogs tend to get the seasonal shine, and there is a nearly endless list of great recipes for the grill, I'd like to enter my favorite grillable item for consideration: the bratwurst.

Brats are German in origin and are usually made with pork and a variety of seasonings. Though as we'll explore in the list below, there are options beyond pork available. I tried out 10 different grocery store brands to help you determine which bratwurst is the best. All of the brats I sampled were classic, no-frills sausages in an effort to truly determine which brat stands above the rest. As any brat-loving Midwesterner will tell you, grilling these special sausages is the best way to prepare them, so that's exactly what I did. Read on to discover which brat came in at number one on the list and which is truly the wurst (sausage pun intended).

It's always good to have a plant-based option at any barbecue. Vegetarians and vegans have to eat, too, but just because a veggie bratwurst is good to have on hand doesn't mean it tastes good. Gardein's Plant-Based Bratwursts feel like someone was tasked with replicating the flavor of a brat without ever having eaten the real thing.

Before we get to flavor, though, we have to talk about the texture. The casing on this "saus'ge" is paper-thin and easily peels off the filling it's charged with containing. As for that filling, it's composed primarily of pea and wheat proteins, resulting in a mixture that's dry and heavily spiced. My wife suggested some kind of Mediterranean spice blend, while I just couldn't get past how little this tastes like a real brat. The shape is almost there, but it doesn't even have the trademark curve that a traditional sausage has, so your eyes won't be fooled any more than your taste buds. Equally disappointing is the price; at around $8 for a package of four, this is by far the most expensive option on this list.

On the positive side, these brats are individually packaged, and they can be heated up from thawed or frozen. The box offers cooking instructions for the grill, stovetop, or microwave. My 1-year-old liked this bratwurst — spoiler alert: he liked them all — so at the very least, I can feed him the rest, because I won't be touching them.

From here, the brats become more traditional. I grilled all of my brats and tried them first plain and then with a little bit of ketchup and yellow mustard. I would usually be a bun-loaded with onions, sauerkraut, and condiments person, but for tasting purposes, I wanted to isolate the sausages as much as possible.

A package of StoneRidge brats cost me $3.99 for a 16-ounce pack. These sausages are just the first of many on this list that are produced in Wisconsin, and this was the first StoneRidge I'd ever had. It was just OK. The casing is a little chewy and lacks much of a snap. The flavor is very mild, and while it's not dry, it isn't particularly juicy, either. I wouldn't be mad if someone handed me this brat at a cookout, but if a good burger or hot dog was also on the grill, I'd pick one of those every time.

Generally speaking, the sausage patty is the exclusive domain of breakfast foods. I'm not anti-sausage patty — they are excellent for sandwiches — but I'd rather see a sausage link. The same goes for the brat patty. It's not wrong, but it does feel like the bratwurst — wurst literally means "sausage" in German — infringes on the hamburger's flat-top territory.

That being said, Johnsonville knows brats and executes the brat patty as well as anyone could hope. It browns up really well on the grill and the flavor is there, even if it's not nearly as juicy as a traditional sausage. It's a good sausage patty, but from a flavor standpoint, I'm not sure it screams bratwurst. Plus, the price is $6.50 for a six-pack, which is just a little more expensive than Johnsonville's traditional sausages. If you're feeling lazy and don't want to buy different-shaped buns, the brat patty isn't going to upset anyone, but no one is jumping out of their chairs for one of these.

While the veggie brat was a major dud, there is hope for alternative pork sausages in the form of Lombardi Sausage Company's Turkey Bratwurst. First and foremost, they're adorable, chubby little things that swelled up a lot on the grill. Had I broken out a pack of brat buns, I'm guessing the first full bite on either end would have been sausage-free, thanks to the stubby stature of these turkey brats.

The casing is decent, offering a little bit of snap, but unfortunately, the meat itself is on the dryer side. Pork naturally imparts so much flavor that any pretenders are left turning to a heavier spice blend to compensate, and Lombardi's effort is no exception. Plus, turkey has a fairly distinct flavor, and this sausage is unquestionably descended from a gobbler.

Lombardi's Turkey Bratwurst is a decent option if you're looking to avoid pork and at $3.99 for a pack, it's not going to hurt your bottom line. However, I'd still opt for a turkey burger instead. It turns out the bratwurst is just a hard product to duplicate.

The Kroger brats are a bit confusing. They're really dense, more like a hot dog than the generally juicer brat. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's unique. Kroger's brats are standard in size and look a lot like some of the entries further down this list, particularly Marketside and Johnsonville. In a world where the phone eats first, seeing a brat that looks like a brat is comforting.

The casing is a little on the chewier side, but not enough to really complain about. The flavors are there, too, it's just the texture that holds this bratwurst back from climbing higher on the list. As the official store brand of more than a dozen grocers — including Pick 'n Save, Metro Market, and Ralph's — and retailing for about $5, there's a decent chance you'll see a Kroger Classic Bratwurst sizzling away on a grill sometime this summer. Rest assured, knowing it's an acceptable, if not exciting, option.

I'll be honest: some food items are easier to rank than others. The more variety, the easier it is to pin down the elements that make one product stand out over another. I've ranked cereal, mochi, and a host of other foods and appreciate the wild swings in flavor and texture that come with those products. When it comes to bratwurst, there are differences, sure, but generally speaking, a sausage is a sausage.

Usinger's Bratwurst is the perfect example of a brat that doesn't try too hard. It's definitely the snappiest on this list, with each bite offering that satisfying combination of sound and mouth feel, and it's also very juicy. There aren't many bad things to say about this sausage, other than that the price of $5.25 for a package is a little higher than some on this list. There's nothing wrong with Usinger's brat, but there's also nothing terribly exciting about it, which is why it lands smack dab in the middle of the ratings. If you're dying to try one, stop by the Brat House in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and find out why this brat made our list of the best sausage sandwiches.

For the purposes of this article, I wanted to focus exclusively on classic bratwurst. No flavors, no special additives, and nothing but sausage. As a resident of Wisconsin, most meat counters are stocked with multiple brat varieties, including cheddar, jalapeño, and even the occasional seasonal wild card like candy corn. Despite the siren's call of those fun flavors, I kept it traditional and scooped up a classic brat from the meat counter at my local grocery store.

The deli bratwurst was significantly longer than any of the others. It grilled up really well, cooked evenly, and only ruptured a small grease fountain towards the end of the cook. (If you've never grilled a bratwurst, this is an expected and slightly dangerous part of the process). The casing had a good snap, though the ends tended to be chewy. At $1.65 for a single sausage, this was one of the more expensive options on the list. Is this regular brat, albeit a larger one, worth a few cents more? Probably not, but my experience tells me that the specialty brats on display next to this one at the meat counter are definitely worth trying, candy corn inclusions or not.

I've mentioned my standing as a Wisconsinite, so brats are a deeply ingrained part of my summers, not unlike Milwaukee Brewers baseball. If you've never been to a Brewers home game, then you've yet to experience one of the most magical traditions in sports: the Famous Racing Sausages. Each home game, a group of lucky fans dress up as a Hot Dog, an Italian Sausage, a Chorizo, a Polish Sausage, and a Brat and then race around the outfield warning track during a mid-inning break. Klement's — another Wisconsin company — was the race's original sponsor, and while the spectacle no longer bears the Klement's name, the brand remains synonymous with the quirky tradition.

As for real, non-athletic bratwursts, Klement's is a good one. This sausage is on the denser side, meaning it's not overly juicy, but the taste is great. This is a slightly thinner brat, with a profile more akin to a hot dog than some of the others I tried. It was also the only precooked brat I purchased, making the cooking process super simple. Maybe it's nostalgia, or maybe Klement's really does make a good brat, but to me, this sausage tastes like the ballpark. And for $4.50 per package, you can bring that taste home any time of the year.

The store brands showed up strong in this review and Marketside is the best of the private labels when it comes to bratwursts. The price tag of about $4.40  for a five-pack represents a good deal, especially compared to the top sausage on the list. But this bratwurst is more than just a frugal purchase; it's the juiciest sausage on this list. I cut into this brat and was surprised by just how much liquid gushed out. In the world of meat, juices tend to mean flavor, and Marketside's bratwurst is the definition of flavorful, thanks to a savory, rich taste.

The casing offered a nice snap, and the size of this brat is perfect for any standard bun. Speaking of buns, it might be time to question why, like the disparity in the hot dog world, brats tend to come in packs of five, while their buns are sold as a six-pack. Regardless of nonsensical bun mathematics, this is a brat worth buying. I've explored some of Marketside's frozen seafood options in the past and came away pleasantly surprised by the quality. As Walmart's higher-end store brand, Marketside delivers once again with a great bratwurst.

A package of Johnsonville brats is around $6, making it the most expensive package on the list. It could be $16, and I'd still probably buy a pack or two a summer. This is the king of bratwursts, hands down, no questions asked. It's the classic by which all other brats should be judged. The thinner casing has a good, but not great, snap. That's fine because the taste is unmatched. It's a little saltier, a lot more savory, and juicer than all but the Marketside brat. Plus, this sausage is absolutely perfect for grilling.

I cooked all of the brats for this article straight from the package, but if you're able, the best way to cook a brat is to boil it in beer along with a chopped-up onion. The flavors bring out an extra element in the meat, and it takes a lot of pressure off the grilling process since all you need to do is add some color and, if you prefer, a little bit of char. Johnsonville brats are all but made for this cooking method, and they are my unquestioned go-to for summertime cookouts.

It's hard to go wrong with a brat. Plant-based efforts aside, I enjoyed every sausage on this list.

If bratwursts are not on your usual cookout menu, I highly suggest adding them. To me, a brat is the perfect midpoint between a hot dog and a hamburger and it might just be the ideal summer food.

I purchased all of the brats I sampled from three of my local grocery stores. I cooked all of them on the grill to the appropriate internal temperatures, then brought them inside to photograph with their packages. I sampled all of the brats plain first, cutting a section from the center of the sausage and then with my preferred ketchup and mustard. My review was based on taste, texture, and appearance, with price also considered. None of the brands mentioned were aware of the review or compensated myself or Mashed in any way for this article.