I find people can be really particular about how they go about cooking their brats, and to a point so can I. If you let them cook for to long they’ll dry out and health concerns come into play if you under cook them. Everybody has a certain way they like to go about cooking brats as well, for me it’s all about the grill. Why the grill? Well brats and hot dogs speak nothing but summer to me, even if I’m having them in the winter, and summer food just does best on the grill. Typically I’ll give the brats a good run for about 7 to 10 minutes on the bbq before they’re done. Generally one rotation mid-way into cooking will help evenly cook the dog. Adjust the time if you’re dealing with large hot dogs or smaller ones.
Grilling for everyone isn’t always an option, perhaps it’s winter and making food in the snow doesn’t appeal to you. The next best option to me is the oven broiler. Put the dogs in a pan, line the pan with aluminum foil for easy clean up, and set the oven for broil. How close the brats are to the broiler will determine how quickly they’ll cook. Typically six inches between the broiler and the food is fine, but everyone’s ovens or stoves are all different so some experimentation may be needed on your part. It also takes 7 to 10 minutes to using this method, again sometimes depending on the broiler.
There are a few other options for cooking brats as well but they don’t usually turn out so good. Baking one or more typically dries them out to much. Like wise, the microwave will do the same, only giving the brat rubbery texture as well. I’ve never been a fan of boiling meat of any sort, you lose to much of the flavor and the nutrients. Surely that’s something you’re not concerned with if your eating hot dogs but still should be known. I would recommend sticking with broiler and grill as the best way to cook up a mean brat. Those are the best ways I’ve found to do it.