It’s October and we’re talking Street Food! As you may have noticed by now, my definition of street food is pretty broad. I use the term to mean basically any food that you buy at a place that has no designated seating.
So it wasn’t long before we were bound to stumble onto the topic of Oktoberfest! The Bavarian festival to celebrate beer, food, and feasting (and more historically, agriculture and livestock). And if it’s Oktoberfest, there’s got to be Bratwurst!
If you’re not familiar with Bratwurst, they’re basically just a really delicious sausage. They’re commonly made from pork or veal, and are subtly spiced with interesting ingredients like marjoram, nutmeg, white pepper and lemon zest.
The recipe changes from region to region and maker to maker, which is why I strongly suggest hunting out a good source for these. Sausages are one of those foodstuffs where you really do get what you pay for, so it’s worth seeking out a specialist producer of Bratwurst!
I imagine that October in Bavaria is pretty chilly, but dammit if these don’t seem like perfect hot-weather food to me! It’s definitely an Aussie tradition to go sit out in the baking sun and eat a sizzling-hot sausage in bread.
Sure, this is a super fancy (and super-delicious) version of that, but I still can’t help but feel that the smell of sunscreen and the feeling of my pale Anglo-saxon skin slowly turning pink is what’s really missing from this experience.
But maybe that’s just because I’ve never been to Bavaria, and experienced the full joy of a German Oktoberfest celebration! Bavarian Tourism Board, are you listening? I’m open to the experience, and I also love your cakes. *sassy wink*
So what do you think? Let me know in the comments – are Bratwurst hot weather food, or cold?
xx Sarah.
- 4 good quality bratwurst
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 3 brown onions, peeled and sliced thinly
- 1 tbsp butter
- ⅔ cup (170ml) beer (I used a German wheat beer)
- Crusty bread rolls and mustard, to serve
- Heat a heavy based frying pan over a medium low heat.
- Prick the bratwurst once each, and place the oil into the pan, followed by the sausages. Cook until golden brown.
- Shuffle the brats off to one side of the pan, and add the butter, followed quickly by the onions. Stir them around to coat them in the butter, and then shuffle the sausages in and around the onions.
- Cook until the onions are soft and beginning to darken and brown.
- Add the beer to the pan, and cook gently for about 10 minutes, or until the beer has cooked away.
- Serve the brats hot from the pan, stuffed into crusty bread rolls and slathered with hot mustard.
Oh wow. Yum! I’ve recently returned from some travels in Bavaria – this looks like the perfect kind of thing to help revisit the adventure!
I’ve never been to Bavaria but this reminds me so much of the German Christmas market we go to every year. It always freezing cold but so good with hot mulled wine and some bratwurst.
To me Bratwurst means Christmas markets and trying to eat this standing up trying not to get any onions on your mittens. But I would never turn one down on a scorching July.
I would so love to eat a bratwurst at a Christmas market!
Craving these sausages, and that refreshing beer! I don’t eat enough bratwurst! ;)
That is the best thing about beer isn’t it? It SO DAMN refreshing!
You sure know how to make street food irresistible!
Thanks Kiran – it’s probably just that I find it so irresistible myself!
Hi Sarah, thanks for popping by my blog and leading me over here to admire your fonts, yummy food and approach to butter!
And thanks for reminding me about bratwurst, I don’t have them often as I’m not sure of a reliably good producer here, and it’s not worth getting the cheap ones – I’ll have to hunt around!
My pleasure! I love finding new blogs to read! And some good brats are DEFINITELY worth hunting down.
xx
Sarah
I literally just got back from oktoberfest in munich. Never have I ever eaten so much meat and beer. Glorious Germany, thanks for the memories/flashback :)
We are big fans of sausage in our house! Must try!
I love bratwurst!!! Like…maybe to an unnatural extent. this looks delicious!!
I live in WIZ, USA. We have tons of Polish and German immigrants here. Brats are a summer and fall tradition in this area! And, people take it seriously! Here, brats are first boiled in a deep stock pot with a few cans of beer and sliced onions. Then, they are finished on the grill for crisping and smokey flavor. Served on a thick brat bun with mustard and onions (from the boiled beer pot) or saurkrawt. So good! People here would never cook a brat in a sauce pan with oil! To each their own, I guess.
Absolutely! This is a home-cooked version for people who aren’t feeding a major crowd and don’t want to bust out the grill. Thanks for commenting!
To feed a crowd, an easy way to do this ahead of the party……
Get a nesco cooker, load it up with beer and sliced onions, about 1/3 full, bring it to a simmer.
Sear your brats on the grill to get a nice brown on them, add the bats to the beer and onions and let simmer..
Your guest can serve themselves from the Nesco and be prepared for praises.