This post is sponsored by Johnsonville. All opinions herein are my own.
As a foodie, I’m always on the lookout for the daily ‘national food holiday’. It’s a fun and exciting way to switch up meals and meal plan. So I was excited to see that this month we are celebrating National Bratwurst Day (or, as we call it, Johnsonville Bratsgiving) on August 16th. I grew up in the Midwest. And, here in Ohio, we LOVE a sandwich called the Polish Boy. A traditional Polish Boy is made up of kielbasa, topped with french fries, cole slaw, and barbecue sauce, in the middle of a hoagie roll. So why not put a Cleveland twist on Bratsgiving with the Bratsgiving Polish Boy?
Well that’s exactly what I did.
Why Johnsonville Brats?
I personally love the flavor of Johnsonville Bratwurst. The Beer Brats and Original Brats are staples in our house. They don’t take long to grill (or cook on the stovetop) and our whole family will eat them up!
Why the Cleveland twist?
Cleveland is a foodie haven. What was once a rundown city in the rustbelt has turned into a bustling foodie travel destination. We have world renowned chefs, like Michael Symon and Dante Boccuzzi. But we also have critically acclaimed restaurants all over the place. It’s truly an incredible place to live. So why not “Cleveland”-up the Bratwurst?!
What makes it a “Polish Boy”?
A traditional polish boy is on a hoagie bun and topped with coleslaw, french fries, and barbecue sauce. The french fries are a DEAD giveaway to this Cleveland twist. And, in this case, I ended up using both traditional coleslaw and a beet-sauerkraut.
I opted for fresh cut fries, using this knife. While it does make it slightly more labor intensive, it makes the Polish Boys 100x more delicious. My kids, however, are ‘weird’ about crinkle cut fries — so I sliced some string thing fries for them.
How to make your own Cleveland Bratsgiving Polish Boy Sandwich
Cleveland Bratsgiving Polish Boy Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1 (5-count) package of Johnsonville Bratwurst
- 5 large yukon gold potatoes
- Cleveland Kraut, Gnar Gnar or Beet Red
- 5 hoagie rolls
- Coleslaw
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Clean potatoes well. Using the crinkle cut knife, cut 5 large potatoes into fries.
- Line a baking sheet with the cut french fries. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle salt on potatoes. Bake for 45 minutes.
- Prepare Johnsonville Brats according to the package instructions.
- Once Johnsonville Bratwursts are cooked thoroughly, remove and place in hoagie rolls.
- Remove baked fries from oven. Add on top of bratwurst.
- Add your choice of slaw or sauerkraut.
- ENJOY!
Vote for your favorite Midwest Cities #Bratsgiving Creation!
Here’s what I need you to do. Head to the Johnsonville website and choose which Midwest city has the best Bratsgiving recipe creation. Vote for your favorite chef-inspired recipe and Johnsonville will donate $5,000 to the winning chef’s charity of choice. How great is that?! I love when a company gives back!
Tell me — What’s your favorite type of Johnsonville Brat!?
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My husband would love these, He loves brats on the grill.
I had no idea there was a Bratsgiving, but I’m most certainly going to celebrate it with gusto and lots of brats!
I can’t believe in all my years, I’ve never had bratwurst before! I have to try it! It looks so good.
I love these, especially on the grill!
I love brats so much so I would love to try this recipe! This looks so yummy with all the toppings and extras!
Kileen
cute & little
I would love this kind of sandwich with smoked sausage! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
I’d love to try this! I’m keen on the beet coleslaw! Looks delicious!
We love sausages and this is a great summer snack!
This looks really yummy! Thanks for sharing the recipe with us, looking forward to recreating this sometime!
I love how simple this sandwich is.,..I am a huge fan of sausages, can’t wait to make it tomorrow…
This looks so delish! I didn’t know cleveland was a such a foodie destination!
This looks so good! This is my kind of hot dog sandwich 😀
I’m Polish, but I don’t know this kind of a sandwich! Need to give it a try soon! 🙂
that sounds so yummy and tasty one…glad you shared this with us..found it quite interesting and amazing one..great work though…
Oh goodness I’m so hungry looking at these delicious photos! I’ll have to try these!
I remember my family use to cook these all the time when I was growing up!
What an amazing recipe. I would love to give it a try!
This is so delicious and my husband will totally love this. YUM!
My husband and daughters would be so happy to have these sausage sandwiches. I will make for them this weekend.
yum, looks great and very simple to make.
Oh this sandwich looks just the kind of thing my son will enjoy. Will surely give it a try.
I love the food holiday idea. I’m homeschooling my son, and we love to learn about different places and cultures through food! This looks delicious too!
This is new to me, but it sounds delicious. I am surprised I didn’t know about this since I used to go to Cleveland a lot as a kid.
I will pass this recipe to my boyfriend. He should like these sandwiches very much.
mmmmmmm these look so good!!!!! i want to try these!!!