No. Wisconsin’s public records law expansively defines the term record. “Record means any material on which written, drawn, printed, spoken, visual or electromagnetic information is recorded or preserved, regardless of physical form or characteristics, which has been created or is being kept by an authority.” Wis. Stat. § 19.35 (2).

However, there are exceptions to this definition. “Record does not include drafts, notes, preliminary computations and like materials prepared for the originator’s personal use or prepared by the originator in the name of a person for whom the originator is working; materials which are purely the personal property of the custodian and have no relation to his or her office; materials to which access is limited by copyright, patent or bequest; and published materials in the possession of an authority other than a public library which are available for sale, or which are available for inspection at a public library.” Id.

In Wisconsin, bratwurst is a favorite food for tailgating, picnics, fairs, holidays, baseball, football and any other time with the possible exception of when we are under a winter storm advisory. Even in the dead of winter groups will be out in front of stores frying out and selling brats for a fund raiser. Frying out is the popular terminology in Wisconsin for grilling out of doors. Germans brought their sausage recipes to Wisconsin when they settled throughout the state in the 1800′s. Bratwurst differs slightly in taste because of the spices and other meat fillers and how fine the pork is ground by the sausage makers. The main ingredient for what having have always considered authentic bratwurst is pork though there are other sausages called bratwurst that are all beef or a mix of various meats other than pork.

Sheboygan, a city of just over 50 thousand people, located on the shores of Lake Michigan half way between the Green Bay Packers and Milwaukee Brewers, is the Bratwurst Capitol of the World. Their Bratwurst Day Festival has been an annual event on the first Saturday in August, for almost 60 years. In the 1950′s Sheboygan crowned a new Miss Bratwurst Queen every year which was a festival highlight. While there is no longer a Miss Bratwurst Queen, a brat eating contest is a big event in the day long celebration. What makes bratwurst unique in Sheboygan is the semmel roll in which they are served. The roll has a thin, crisp crust and soft middle baked in a special oven. There is an indentation running down the middle of the roll so people know which way to put a double brat. While Wisconsin bratwurst can be bought in grocery stores across the country, the roll is a local tradition.

Legend has it that the semmel roll was invented because eating bratwurst with fingers was too messy, especially when one man decided he wanted a pickle on his brat. With the advent of the roll, the sky was, and still is the limit when it comes to piling condiments on a brat. While brat connoisseurs have their favorite brand of bratwurst, the one thing that brings out their distinctive flavor is grilling them over charcoal. Restaurants serving bratwurst will fry them on an indoor charcoal grill. Frying bratwurst in a pan on the stove alters the taste to a, better than most, very big breakfast sausage. Some bratwurst makers now make bratwurst in a patty form to save grilling time. Grilling a link bratwurst takes a minimum of twenty minutes over hot coals. Brats need to be turned regularly and flames doused with water to get an evenly well done, and not burned sausage. Patties are more forgiving, still taste good, but are usually snubbed by traditionalists.