County Fair Italian Sausage Sandwiches

The only difference between mine and the ones you get at the county fair is that mine are much better -- more TLC! This has become my favorite sandwich over the years and when I serve them at cookouts along with other items (brats, burgers, dogs, etc.) these are ALWAYS the first to go. The recipe is primarily set up as an outdoor cooking technique but they are easy enough to do on the stovetop, except you don't get that great smoke flavor. I prefer to do mine over a campfire of hot coals in an all-steel wok but a charcoal or gas grill and pan will do just as well. If you're using a gas grill, toss a few wet wood chips on the lava rock to make some good smoke. Bon Appétit!

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 6  Italian sausages
• 6  buns, bratwurst-type
• 1  green bell pepper, trimmed and de-seeded, cut into chunks
• 1  red bell pepper, trimmed and de-seeded, cut into chunks (or yellow)
• 2  fresh jalapeno peppers, de-seeded and chopped
• 2  medium sweet onions, peeled and cut into chunks
• 4  tablespoons olive oil
• 32  ounces beer, divided (not "lite")

Directions

1. Parboil the sausages in 24 ounces of the beer for 10 minutes, then drain and discard the beer. Place the sausages aside in tinfoil or in a covered bowl where they'll stay warm.
2. Place a wok or pan over high heat and after it has heated, pour in the olive oil. Before the olive oil smokes, dump in all the peppers and onions. Toss and stir them with some frequency and when you see the first indication of any browning, add in the sausages.
3. When the sausages have browned a bit, pour in the reserved 8 ounces of beer and stir.
4. When the beer has pretty much evaporated, serve the sausages, peppers and onions on pre-warmed (or steamed) buns. The buns are easily steamed at home by placing them in a gallon-sized zip-lock bag, flipping in about a tablespoon of water with your fingers and microwave the nearly-closed bag for about 15-20 seconds on the defrost mode -- don't do them on HIGH or they'll get rubbery!