Braised Bratwurst with Bacon, Apples, and Sauerkraut

I found this on the Rachael Ray meal planner. You can see the original here.

• 4 Servings
• 
• Prep 10 min
• 
• Cook 25 min

Ingredients:

• One 12-ounce bottle beer
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 8 cooked bratwurst sausage
• 5 slices bacon, chopped
• 2 onions, sliced
• 1 pound sauerkraut, drained
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 2 granny smith apples, cut into matchsticks

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, simmer the beer, chicken broth and bratwurst for 10 minutes. Reserve the bratwurst and cooking liquid separately.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat for 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate. Add the onions to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat until softened. Add the reserved cooking liquid, bring to a boil and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Add the sauerkraut, carrots, bacon and bratwurst and cook, covered, until heated through. Stir in the apples.

We enjoyed this recipe, but it took WAY longer than the suggested time frame.
I used a bottle of Yeungling Lager, which added a nice flavor, and I also used beer flavored brats.
I basically halved the recipe, using 4 brats (although still 1 c of chicken broth and a whole bottle of beer, and 1 lb of sauerkraut..woops!), 4 slices of bacon, 1 onion, 2 carrots, and 1 apple. It was a bit too much for my skillet to handle, but it did work.

I would have liked the apples to be a little bit softer, but perhaps had I sliced them smaller, they might have been. Next time, I will add them to the heat a little bit earlier.

So, I'll probably make this again, but not for a weeknight...