Festival season is a great time to learn some new German Oktoberfest Recipes. Naturally, I want to be able to cook staples like Brathändl /Roast Chicken and Bavarian Kartofelsalat /potato salad (my northern German version is vastly different). But I also wanted recipes for the less well-known, and quite delicious foods that you would find at Oktoberfest… but now have to make at home. Julia Skowronek, the author of the Biergarten Cookbook, also wrote the Oktoberfest Cookbook which covers more recipes and tips than I ever expected.
Find everything from meats to baked goods, Brotzeit platters to sweets… there is even a section for Vegetarian cooking (a trend that I know is growing across Germany). So, set your table with a blue and white checked tablecloth, fill your Maß with Oktoberfest beer, and serve up the foods of Oktoberfest.
Oktoberfest Cookbook: Authentic Recipes from the World s Greatest Beer Festival
German Oktoberfest Recipes –
The Oktoberfest Cookbook
I’m always surprised when I hear people say that German food is all hunks of Pork and Sausages. Germans really do eat a fairly varied diet… even at Oktoberfest. YES, Schweinehaxn are extraordinarily popular! And naturally, you can get Wurst (Weißwurst, Bratwurst, Wurstchen). Now, after satisfying your cravings for these foods, open up your belt another notch, and try some of these German Oktoberfest recipes…
Start with a Brotzeit Platter. This is more than just cold cuts on a board. In the Oktoberfest you get recipes for Obatzda (a cheese spread perfect for Pretzels), Radish dip, and home-made Liverwurst. Ready for a salad? Try the Wurstsalat (Sausage Salad), a mixed salad with fried Camenbert, or Kraut Salat (Cabbage Slaw). Soup at Oktoberfest? Yes! Chicken soup, liver dumpling, and even a modern Squash soup. You find fish recipes, like Stecklerfisch and Fried Fish, but also Matjes Herring.
Naturally there are meat dishes. Her version of Rouladen looks a lot like my mom’s, with bacon and pickle inside. You’ll also find Sauerbraten, Tellerfleisch (a boiled beef dish), Pork Roast, Venison stew, and Lung Stew (don’t knock it until you’ve tasted it… most things taste heavenly when they are cooked in a gravy).
Vegetarian Frikadellen (nope, the vegetarians don’t have to be satisfied with just Spätzle), Vegetable Ravioli, and Knödel with Wild Mushrooms will satisfy any appetite! Speaking of Knödel and Spätzle, there are a few recipes to choose from. Duck, Chicken and Vegetable Hash, Pork Cordon Bleu.
My favorite though, the Brathandl... Oktoberfest Chicken Recipe. I have a go-to substitute when I run out of the season salt that I bring home from my travels, but I see now, my substitute was missing a crucial spice!
I love all the sweets and grazing food... perfect for an afternoon of friends and beer. Millirahmstrudel and Kaiserschmarrn, Donuts and Strauben, Potato spirals and nuts, Magenbrot and Gingerbread Hearts. Yes, there is a recipe for Pretzels
More than just Oktoberfest Recipes
But the Oktoberfest Cookbook is more than just a simple recipe book. In between the mouth watering photos and step-by-step instructions, you also get a crash course in Oktoberfest. The history of the event, when is the best time to go. What can you expect from the tents. What should you never do… and what should you do. There are even some handy phrase guides for you to study (or write on your arm).
Each chapter is a new “lesson”, from what to wear to the best spot to stand for the parade. Everything is covered. Even how to get a table and how to tie your dirndl bow (oh… and don’t bother showing up in a cheap Oktoberfest “Costume”… it’s just sad).
My favorite is the “better not to” list…. don’t dance on the tables (you will be escorted out), don’t smoke, don’t steal a bier glass, and DON’T be a cheapskate with tips!
The Oktoberfest Cookbook is More than a Cookbook
The Oktoberfest Cookbook is a handbook for celebrating Oktoberfest. Whether you host an Oktoberfest at home, or you get the chance to travel back to Munich next year.
My only complaint (and it’s one I see a lot in German Cookbooks) the Recipe names are all in English. So Brathändl is Oktoberfest Chicken, and delicious Tellerfleisch is called a very bland sounding Boiled beef. Luckily, Granatsplitter are still Granatsplitter, and Brotzeit is Brotzeit.
Order the Oktoberfest Cookbook here… and celebrate Oktoberfest at Home
Oktoberfest Cookbook: Authentic Recipes from the World s Greatest Beer Festival