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

Yield: 5

Cleveland Bratsgiving Polish Boy Sandwich

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

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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