Johnsonville Grillers

So, that there is two of the coolest things ever delivered to my house -- sneak peak boxes of the new Mushroom Swiss and Bacon Cheddar Johnsonville Grillers patties. Free food!

Johnsonville is one of my three favorite companies. One of the others is a favorite because of their customer service. The other other is on the list because of their product quality. Johnsonville is a favorite for both reasons, and also because they've sent me cool stuff in the past. Stuff like Brattender tongs...

Grill on I shall, Brattender.

Certified!
These tongs are used for brats, and brats only.

Knowing that the package was on the way, I thought it wise to try Johnsonville's currently-available Bratwurst patties in advance. I can't believe I haven't tried them before, but it's only because I didn't know where to find them and I'd never noticed them. They're in the frozen section of your grocery store, and if your store is like mine they'll be hidden away near the bags of frozen chicken wings and weird things like cooked frozen duck breasts.

Bratwurst patties, New Mexico Green Chili Cheeseburger-style.

Those brat burgers played a trick on my mind. Without the casing I expected them to dry out and shrink down quite a bit, but they did neither. They are BIG, they taste like a juicy bratwurst sausage, and yet they aren't a sausage because they're a burger. It doesn't make sense. Magic? I don't know. But I knew that the cheap skimpy hamburger buns wouldn't suffice when my package arrived. These patties like big buns.

Round I

For the first test, we just grilled up one of each along with some other things (pancetta-pesto chicken and peppers). The idea was to try them without condiments the first time.

Like the bratwurst patties, they are big.

My kind of sampler platter.

There were only three people on hand for this first tasting and one of us is a two-year-old, but we were all impressed. I knew my wife would prefer the Bacon Cheddar, and she did. I didn't expect our toddler to like it so much. I loved both -- each had plenty of the designated flavors mixed in with the pork. I truly enjoyed them bare on a bun.

Round II

For the second try we grilled up more of each (and some brats) for a bigger crowd, and we included condiments and toppings.

Grilled onions & peppers.

Happy grill.

Johnsonville Grillers:  Bacon Cheddar, Mushroom Swiss, and Bratwurst.

We had more folks on hand this time and the Bacon Cheddar was most requested (everybody loves bacon!).  Our 12-year-old ate two, which was more than anybody else and pretty impressive when you see how big they are. Before grilling, I weighed a couple for fun and they were both 5.4 ounces. So then we weighed the rest and they were all the same. 1/3 pounders indeed.

They were even better when dressed up a bit for this second round. Positive comments all around. Two folks thought they were homemade and asked me how I made them. I think I'm the only one who sampled all three, and being a brat guy I would go with the brat patties if I had to choose one. Fortunately, I don't, so I'll be grilling all three in the future.

These quality products are coming soon to a store near you. Try them!

Thanks a bunch, Johnsonville...