* We strongly recommend that you avoid driving, operating machinery of any kind, or getting into any discussions about religion or politics during or after consumption of bratwash.

Tailgating gets its name because it began with a spread of food laid out on the tailgate of a station wagon.  Now, the food is likely to be laid out on a folding table set up in the parking lot.  Then and now, the main course mainstay for tailgating is bratwurst.

See recipes for tailgating (pronounced tailgaten) from the Tailgaten Cookbook.
 

How To Cook Bratwurst
As with all cooking, the key is to use quality ingredients and proper technique.  Buy good brats.  Care about what you're doing.  Pay attention to the details.

One important point - don't ever boil bratwurst!  You may see recipes that call for parboiling or boiling.  What they mean to (or ought to) say is simmered in beer or water, usually with chopped onion added.  Simmering means bringing the liquid to the temperature at which steam rises from the surface, but not so hot that it bubbles.  Boiling will cause the casings to burst.

Also, you may see or hear the term "brat fry". The term is technically a misnomer.  Bratwurst can be pan fried, and you may see recipes that call for it.  Nevertheless, at a Wisconsin "brat fry", the bratwurst are cooked on a grate over charcoal, usually on a kettle grill.

Authentic bratwurst is a fresh sausage which must be cooked thoroughly before eating.  You may see pre-cooked bratwurst for sale - they do not look, feel, or taste like fresh bratwurst.

Rule #1: Do not serve bratwurst on a hot dog bun!  Brats are eaten on a brat bun, or in Sheboygan, on a Sheboygan hard roll, which is based on a Bavarian semmel roll.  Brat buns resemble hot dog buns, but are larger and more substantial and chewy, and are designed to hold a single brat.  Sheboygan hard rolls are moderate-sized round buns, suited to the Sheboygan-style double-brat sandwich. In Sheboygan, most folks put two brats on a round roll.  In the rest of Wisconsin, they put one brat on a brat bun.  Both types have a golden brown surface and are substantial enough to hold onto the brats, condiments, and for most folks in Sheboygan - lots of butter (This is not low-calorie cuisine).  For those of you who live outside Wisconsin, it can be nearly impossible to find a proper brat bun or Sheboygan hard roll, so you'll have to take matters into your own hands.  Here's a recipe.

Rule #2: Do not put yellow mustard on a brat!  It is an abomination.  The classic mustard for brats is a brown Wisconsin German-style Düsseldorf, medium to dark in color and pungency, slightly sweet-sour and sometimes flavored with herbs. Dijon is also nice.

Beyond those two rules, which are widely accepted in Wisconsin, there are differences of opinion, especially between Sheboygan (self-proclaimed Bratwurst Capital of the World), and the rest of the state.

Brats are rarely consumed with white wine or similarly pretentious beverage.  Brats are nearly always washed down with beer, a/k/a "bratwash".  Eating brats is meant to be a relaxed, social activity - part of the celebration of an all-too-short summer in Wisconsin.