Ingredients and Cooking Instructions for Costco Bratwurst!

The Kirkland brats at Costco are absolutely delicious and are part of the reason that I am working my butt off to lose the 30 pounds that I have put on over the past two years.

These bratwurst are both a guilty pleasure and a Costco value.

Keep reading and we will cover the calories and nutrition for these guys as well as the cooking instructions.

Calories and Nutrition

Let’s take a closer look at what you get with this package of sausages.

Nutrition Facts

You get 3.5 pounds of bratwurst per package.  One sausage is considered a single serving and there are 14 servings per package.

The nutritional facts for a single serving are:

• Calories: 290
• Fat: 23g (35% DV)
• Cholesterol: 60mg (20% DV)
• Sodium: 730mg (30% DV)
• Carbohydrates: 2g (1% DV)
• Protein: 16g

Keep in mind that if you plan on eating your brats in a bun then the total calories count will end up at around 500.  And of course, these brats taste so good you will end up eating at least two of them which will put 1,000 calories in your happy belly 🙂

Ingredient List

The bratwurst have the following ingredients:

• Pork
• Water
• Salt
• Dextrose
• Sugar
• Vinegar powder
• Natural flavors

There are no preservatives or MSG in the Kirkland bratwurst.

Cooking Instructions

Costco provides three sets of cooking instructions for their Kirkland bratwurst.

• Grilling
• Stovetop
• Broiler

Regardless of how you cook them they must be cooked to an internal temperature of 165F.

Grilling Instructions

1. Heat your grill to “Medium Heat”.
2. Place the brats on the grill and turn them every few minutes.
3. Grill for about 20 minutes until an internal temperature of 165F is reached.

You need to keep a close eye on the brats because if one of them overcooks it will split open and spew grease onto the flames.  This can result in a grease fire that will scorch the rest of the brats.

Stovetop instructions

1. Spray your skillet with a little Pam.
2. Turn the heat to Medium High
3. Add the brats and cook for about five minutes until browned.
4. Add 1/2 cup of water to the skillet and cover with a lid.
5. Let the brats simmer for another 12-14 minutes until an internal temperature of 165F is reached.

This is the easiest way of cooking the brats.  You can really amp up the flavors by adding some peppers and onions to the skillet and substituting beer for the water.

Broiler Instructions

1. Place brats on a foil lined broiler sheet pan.
2. Place the pan 7-9 inches below the broiler.
3. Broil  the brats and turn them with tongs every three minutes.
4. Continue broiling for 11-13 minutes until an internal temperature of 165F is reached.

Using the broiler is pretty much the same as grilling them.  Keep an eye on the brats while broiling so you don’t cause a little grease fire and smoke up your kitchen.

Taste Test

These brats are full of delicious, incredibly juicy pork flavor.  The fat makes these links incredibly succulent. The flavor profile is close to what you get with a Johnsonville brat but is milder and less salty.

These are great when served:

• On a bun with mustard.
• Nestled in a bed of sauerkraut.
• Sliced and served with cheese and crackers.

You can even use any leftovers to make a couple bowls of Bratwurst Soup!

Costco Value

The Kirkland Bratwurst are Item Number 1141000 and are found in the refrigerated coolers near the deli section.

The 3.5 pound tray of brats costs $8.49 at Costco which works out to a cost of $2.42 per pound.   You can get a 19 ounce package of Johnsonville brats at Walmart for $4.98 which works out to a cost of $4.19 per pound.

This means that you will save $1.77 per pound (42%) when you buy your brats at Costco.

Another way of looking at the price is that there are 14 brats per package which means each brat costs $0.60 which is one heck of a great deal.