Although we live in California, we always eat a traditional German Christmas Dinner menu for Christmas Day. When I was growing up, we would alternate Christmas dinner between our house and my godmother’s house. All the kids dressed in our new Christmas Clothes (nice sweaters, even though it could be in the 80s in Southern California). Mom’s or Tante Annemarie’s nicest china on a freshly ironed white tablecloth with linen napkins. And while the venue changed, the menu was always the same (and so were most of the jokes). Our mid-afternoon Christmas meal sticks in my mind as a favorite childhood memory.
We are still making the same meal a generation later, but now, it’s my kids dressed in nice sweaters and listening to the awful jokes.
You can find most of the recipes, including Christmas Goose, Kartoffelklöße, and Rotkohl HERE–> Easy German Cookbook
Now, Christmas EVE dinner is different… Christmas Eve is a quick and simple meal that cleans up fast so we can get to Church on time and then have the Bescherung (present exchange) without a big kitchen mess. A recent poll in Germany showed that Würstchen with Kartoffelsalat is the most common Christmas Eve Meal. Usually, in our house, it was Bratwurst, Mashed Potatoes mit Soße, Sauerkraut, and a Salad. Bratwurst may not seem like a “special” meal, but remember that during my childhood, getting REAL German Bratwurst took a road trip to Fred Reich in Los Angeles, so it was special. Mom told me that when she was growing up, people served Carp on Christmas Eve. She’d laugh because the Carp would swim in the family bathtub for a few days to “clean out,” which meant that the family went without bathing for a few days…(YIKES!).
Our Traditional German Christmas Dinner Menu
Goose or Gans
Because it’s not very traditional here in California, the toughest part is finding a Goose ( apparently, you aren’t allowed to get the ones that live on the golf course). Do yourself a favor and take care of the cleaning the day before you plan to roast it. Rinse inside and out. Cut away the flaps of excess fat. And remove the extra bits like the neck and liver.
Prepare the goose by liberally salting it inside and out, then sprinkle on a generous amount of Thyme. Stuff a peeled onion and a peeled apple inside to roast. Prick the skin so that the fat can come out into the pan. You will want to roast the goose on a rack (collect all that melted fat after cooking; it’s kitchen gold). Roast until the temperature reaches 170 F at the thigh.
Side Dishes:
Side dishes vary by household, but this is how OUR Traditional German Christmas Dinner Menu looks….
Klöße or Knoedl with Gravy
Kartoffel Klöße fit perfectly with Gans. These incredible balls of fluffy, sticky potato have the consistency of giant gnocchi but the absorbency to mop up endless gravy. They are delicious and one of the most quintessential comfort foods I know. One could easily use them as a replacement or an addition to mashed potatoes. Note, while potato dumplings are more common in the North, in Southern Germany, you’ll find Semmelknödel, dumplings made with bread. (And really, what is stuffing, if not deconstructed Knoedl?) You can make them from scratch, but my practical mother generally used a Pfanni packet. With everything else going on during the holidays, a shortcut is perfectly acceptable. But they aren’t hard to make! You’ll find the recipe in my book.
Red Cabbage / Rotkohl / Blaukraut
I love my mother’s Rotkohl because it’s not too soft. It’s made by cooking shredded red cabbage with seasonings, onion, apple, some butter (it needs fat), and a lot of red wine. In Southern Germany, Blaukraut gets Bacon or more fat, which makes a softer texture. It’s all what you are used to. As an added bonus, you can make it in advance and freeze it! Here is my mother’s Rotkohl recipe.
Brussels Sprouts/ Rosenkohl
My mother insists that Brussels Sprouts or Rosenkohl belong on the holiday table. Usually, you can chase me around the room with Brussels Sprouts, but I will make an exception for this recipe from All Tastes German for Brussels Sprouts Casserole
Green Salad
In Germany, my Oma made Feldsalat with a sweet dressing made from cream, vinegar, onion, salt, pepper, and sugar. We didn’t have the same lettuce in California, so we use mixed greens with fresh ripe tomato, some green onion, and maybe pomegranate seeds or almond slices for crunch. Because of the occasion, serve it on special cut glass salad plates. (This also keeps it from being soaked in gravy.) A simple vinaigrette made with Salat Krönung would dress it. Or you can use Oma’s dressing and toss it with Butter Lettuce.
You can add other German salads to create a real Salat Teller.
Beet Salad -lightly pickled beets make a great addition to any salad.
Green Bean Salad– Beans in a vinaigrette.
Celery Root Salad- Celeriac cooked to soften, then tossed in a vinaigrette
Desserts:
Cherries
I don’t know if it belongs on a Traditional German Christmas Dinner Menu, but we didn’t have a rich dessert after a heavy meal. Instead, she always served a bowl of Cherry Compote. She made it herself from the cherries that she froze in the summertime. It’s pretty simple. Put the cherries into a pot, add some water and sugar (maybe a cinnamon stick), and cook until the cherries soften. Taste to ensure it’s sweet enough. (Start with 2 pounds of cherries, 1/2 cup water, and 1/4 cup sugar). The syrup shouldn’t be too thick. (Put out little bowls or make sure there are saucers to collect the pits)
Then we would all stagger off to the kitchen to clean up and take a walk. Then it was time for CAKE.
Most of these Recipes Can be Found in the Easy German Cookbook
I did it! I managed to put most of my favorite recipe… including the Christmas Goose, Kartoffelklosse, and Rotkohl in one cookbook! Find it here in paperback or as a Kindle….
Easy German Cookbook: 80 Classic Recipes Made Simple
Interesting recipe for Rotkohl. Before she passed away a few years ago, my mother (who grew up in Munster), taught me to make her version. It’s pretty basic, just red cabbage, apples, salt, pepper, vinegar, sugar, and bacon fat. My twist on it is to render the bacon in the pot prior to cooking down the cabbage, and leaving the bacon in the pot. Because who doesn’t need more bacon in their lives! Wonderful article, takes me back. Frohliche Weihnachten to all!
thank you… my mother landed in the Münsterland as a child… I may try that way
What do you call the Christmas stuffing with apples and raisins?
Christmas in Germany is so different then here in America. I have wonderful memories of our German Christmas. My mother made Rothkohl often. It belongs on a German Christmas dish. I cannot get my children to eat it. They hate it. So no Rothkohl on our table. We all love Brussel sprout specially the way I fix it. I boil mine till almost tender. I then strain the water off. In a pot I melt unsalted butter, add the Brussel sprout and cook it till it gets lightly brown. Season it with salt and pepper and sometimes I add crispy brown bacon to it and a bit of fine chopped Garlic. Even Americans who say they don’t eat or like Brussel sprout, will always asked for more. I’m not a turkey fan, so I make a ham with scolloped potatoes as a side dish. On Christmas Eve I make my potato salad and bratwurst or Wieners. I make my potato salad different. I don’t like warm potato salad. I boil my potatoes, peel them and slice them. While it is still warm I add a 1/4 cup of vegetable oil or a little more. It depends how much you make. Onions, a hint of fresh garlic, a teaspoon of hot German mustard, diced hard boiled eggs, small diced dill pickles and light Hellman mayonnaise. Mix it all together till it’s nice and creamy while still warm. Season with salt and pepper. Put in fridge till it’s cold. Decorate the top with small cherry tomatoes, half hard-boiled eggs and sprinkle a small amount of paprika over it and if you like chopped up green onions or chives. I never have any leftovers. My American friends always want to know the recipe. So far I have not given it to anyone, except you all. They can never detect the very small amount of garlic in it. Whenever I got invited to some ones cook off, I always get asked to bring my potato salad. Of course I use the no Cholesterol vegetable oil. We never had all the hoopla they have here. My mother actually used real candles on the Christmas tree. The whole month of December smelled of cookies waving through the house. We burned pine wood in our Kachelofen and the smell was heavenly. Of course we also had an Advent Kranz and an Advent calendar. Christmas Eve shortly before midnight, the church bell were ringing calling us to midnight mess. We all bundled up. Soft fat snowflakes were falling from the sky, people were singing Christmas songs. The whole month of December was magical and zauberhaft. Here in America my children always asked me to sing Silent night holy night in German. I can’t do it, I will break out in tears. Can’t sing it in English either. It brings so many wonderful memories of my German Christmas to me. My mother had a beautiful voice and she always sang Leise rieseld der Schnee still und star liegt der See, Wheinachtlich glanzes der wald, freue dich Christmas kommt bald. To me our Christmas is so much prettier then here and I miss it so. Christmas Eve we were are called into the Christmas room. At 6 pm we heard the tinkle of a bell and we gathered in that room. The oldest person would read the story of Christs birth. We children said our poems we had learned in school. A person played a piano with soft Christmas songs. No one moved to open Christmas presents till we had permission. With our hearts beating franticly we opened our presents. My mother was the poorest. I got a full fader halter with ink. I never had one and to me it was the best present ever. For a very long time I believed the Christ child dropped our presents off. I believed that till I was 13 or 14. Oh yes I sill miss my German Christmas. Cookie wise I used to start baking so many different kinds a couple month before Christmas. But everybody preferred the Russian tea cake cookies I made. Since my husband died and my health declined if I’m able that’s the only ones I bake now. Since I can’t stand up very long anymore because I have a leg infection, my children need to help me. My younger daughter lets every one she knows taste them. Then I get a request for more. I just can’t do it anymore and I wished she would stop doing that. It’s also quite expensive making them. Last year she actually baked one batch. I didn’t get one cookie out of that batch. She ate most of them and gave some to her friends. It’s OK, I didn’t mind it at all. She always bragges about my cooking. Well, I’m just not able to do it anymore. I told her if she keeps this up, she better start learning how to cook. Y’all have a very pleasant day. Be safe and be healthy.
What a lovely post! It made me want to make a bunch of cookies. Thank you for sharing your lovely memories ❤️❤️🎄🎄
Thank you!
What a great posting about our homeland Germany. Your memories are almost like mine. Thanks for sharing and best wishes fuer Weihnachten. Auch ich spuere mein Alter und es wird immer schwerer dieses Weihnachtsessen zu servieren!
Tja…so ist es. I’m stepping in for my mother this year (she will supervise) and the grandkids are being tasked with helping. It just goes to the next generation that way.
My hubby loves to cook, so one year he made Goose, unfortunately he didn’t like it. He also doesn’t like red beets. Only baby Brussel sprouts and his taste for Sauerkraut it’s too sauer for me. Just saying, not complaining.
Frohe Weihnachten alles! Prosit Neues Jahr!
Rotkohl is indeed a tradition in our Pennsylvania Deutch family. My version is to start with butter in a saute pan, add thinly sliced (on a mandolin) red cabbage and sweet onions to soften for a few minutes. Then add thinly sliced (also mandolinned) apples (Stayman Winesap) from the Lancaster, PA farm market and spices as Karen suggested. I use a reisling white wine for the acid in the recipe. Cooked for a shorter time, the vegetable mix stays slightly crisper. Who would have thought that my Philly cheese steak husband would like this and ask for the recipe to be repeated? We have this with weiss wurst or pork roast.
I should try with white wine… I bet it’s tasty!