We walked into Cook’s Meat Locker and the great variety of sausages, meat sticks, jerky, and much more caught our eyes right away. Think about all the classic bratwurst flavors. Traditional, smoked, cheese filled, jalapeno, breakfast and gummy bear. Waaaaaaait….Gummy bear? You heard that right… and the sausage makers at Cook’s swear by it! Here’s what we did with this brat and other that we got in Parnell!
Hold on! Introductions first! Just about every locker we’ve visited is family owned and operated and Cook’s is no different. When I asked for a pic of some of the crew I heard “Hey, Mom! This guy wants a picture!” That’s why I love this project, folks. Back to that gummy bear teaser…
Cook’s takes their gummy bear game up a level and stuffs it into delicious and juicy brats. We seared them up and added sweet pickle relish, hot peppers, grilled white onion, and sweet red cabbage. The bears melt into the meat and interact with the salty and savory flavor of the meat and add a bit of sweetness with each bite. Go ahead and say you’re picking these up for the kids, but we know you’re loving these too. Don’t worry, this wasn’t all we took home..
Buffalo chicken wings are best served with Buffalo Bratwursts! Cook’s nailed down a recipe that’s spicy and loaded with rich Bleu Cheese. As you can see, we topped it with more crumbles and that familiar crunch of celery with red onion. Cuz veggies that’s why. What’s next!
Look out East Coast…..A locker in Iowa County has your number on all your classics! The Philly Beef Steak Brat from Cook’s is the absolute truth. All beef sausage filled with cheese, peppers, and masterfully spiced for that real deal Philly you love. We went the extra mile and topped it with grilled bells, mushrooms, onion, and melted Provolone. Does Cook’s have what it takes to win our Wurst Award in December? We’ll seeeee….
Be sure to read about the other communities contending in Iowa’s Wurst Road Trip!
Cook’s brats are so amazing we had 400 of their sauerkraut brats delivered to our Maui Oktoberfest last year. Incredibly good and worth the effort to serve the best! Aloooooha!