Cheesy Stuffed Brats Recipe
First and foremost, I want to say that I cook these Cheesy Stuffed Brats in the air fryer first and finish them in the oven. This process may seem tedious and if you don't have the time, nor the air fryer to follow the way I'm about to explain, then just cook them with whichever method you'd prefer because it's a pretty simple recipe regardless.
One thing I'd like to note, I love my air fryer. I use it for everything. I did the research before I made the purchase, spent a lot of money and it has been well worth it because I use it all the time. The one I got is the Cuisinart TOA-60 Convection Toaster Air Fryer. Amongst the several things that this air fryer does, it is also a much more eye appealing design than most air fryers you see and with it being rectangle in shape, you can fit more in the tray and things fit better than they would in a round tray.
This recipe might look daunting, but I promise this will become a favorite once you get your process down. We were having this at least once a week because it's so easy and so flavorful.
Cheesy Stuffed Brats
1 Package of our farm raised Pork Brats (hot or regular)
4 String Cheese
8oz. of red sauce of your choice (I used home canned sauce, we'll have canning lessons another day!)
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
You will need a knife & a baking dish
Cheesy Stuffed Brats Cooked in Air Fryer & Finished in Oven
Thaw out brats
Pre-heat your big oven to 375 degrees
While big oven is heating up, make a slit down the middle, cut pretty deep, but not all the way through
Put brats on your air fryer tray first with the slit down and cook first in air fryer on 350 degrees for approximately 6-8 minutes
Flip brats over with slit side up, press your string cheese into the brat and cook again on 350 degrees for approximately 6-8 minutes
Transfer brats to glass baking dish
Pour your sauce over brats
Sprinkle with as much mozzarella as your heart desires
Bake in oven for approximately 8 minutes
If you want to really get your cheese cookin' on the top, at this point flip your broiler on high for 3 minutes.
Things to note:
*The reason I do this in steps like this and not just put the cheese in from the beginning and be on my way is because I like to air fry bottom sides of the brats which doesn't always happen when you don't flip them. If you put the cheese in them first, then go to flip them, guess what happens? Correct, cheese everywhere.
*Step 7 I find to be important. I have made these where I have put the sauce on the bottom and put the brats on top. Couple things happen. When the sauce is on the bottom, I've found these don't have as much flavor overall. Contrary to that, when the sauce is placed on the top, it keeps the cheese from melting really good, that's why I do this in the order and steps that I do.
Cheesy Stuffed Brats Cooked in the Oven
Thaw out brats
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
Make a slit down the middle, cut pretty deep, but not all the way through
Stuff with your string cheese and pinch edges
Put about 4tbsp. of sauce on the bottom, enough to make a very thin layer
Place brats over top of sauce
Bake in oven for about 20 minutes
Take out of the oven, pour the rest of the sauce over the brats
Sprinkle with as much mozzarella as your heart desires
Place back in the oven for 5-10 minutes
If you want to really get your cheese cookin' on the top, at this point flip your broiler on high for 3 minutes.
Things to note:
*You can skip the step where you have to take these back out of the oven to finish the ingredients but the cheese doesn't melt as well when the sauce is covering it.