What a great wait to sit around and eat with friends that will feed a crowd! The combination is a German feast that works well for an easy yet fun Saturday night get together. Feel free to add or omit components based on your tastes and what you find at your local grocery store. If you can find specialty brats made by a local butcher, please substitute. I chose the Johnsonville® brand brats for convenience, taste and they were on sale. If you have any leftovers, you can easily modify one of my quiche recipes to incorporate the sausages and the cheese. You can easily stagger adding each component to the oven, so all the components will come out at roughly the same time. The last thing that you will need to do is make the fondue right before serving so it will not harden, which only takes about 10 minutes. Also you do not want the fondue heat to be to hot or it will burn the cheese on the bottom of the fondue pot. To prevent this from happening melt the cheese on the stove top and add to the fondue pot maintaining a very low steady heat. Also, keep a little extra beer on hand to add to the fondue in case the cheese thickens. This thickening may occur from too high of heat and /or the length of time you enjoy eating and chatting with your company. I guess if it thickens everyone is have a great time! For another version of a German platter that has similar ingredients see Simple German Sausage, Cheese and Pretzel Platter.
Ingredients
Platter Components
1 lb. of Brussels sprouts, stems removed rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons of olive oil
A sprinkle of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 lbs of fingerling potatoes, scrubbed
2 tablespoons of olive oil
A Sprinkle of kosher salt
1 – 16 oz. package of precooked Johnsonville® brand smoked brats
1 – 16 oz. package of precooked Johnsonville® brand beer brats
1 – 16 oz. package of precooked Johnsonville® brand stadium brats
1 – 14 oz. package of precooked Johnsonville® brand beef brats
Non stick cooking spray
1 – 16 oz. package of Kim and Scott’s Gourmet brand frozen pretzels, either Bavarian style or Sourdough Parmesan or your favorite brand
1 – 13 oz. package of frozen Super Pretzel brand pretzels or your favorite brand
Fondue
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/4 cup of shallots, finely diced
1 – 16 oz. beer, Oktoberfest or amber if possible
1 1/2 lbs. of German Butterkäse cheese, cut into chunks
Additional Accompaniments
A grainy Dijon style mustard
Düsseldorf Style Mustard
Schaller & Weber Bavarian-Style Sweet & Spicey Mustard
Schaller & Weber Düsseldorf-Style Horseradish Mustard
Pretzel rods
Technique
Toss Brussels sprouts, olive oil and a sprinkle of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper in a medium sized baking dish, cover with lid or foil and place into a preheated oven at 375 and bake for 40 minutes or until tender. In another medium sized baking dish, toss potatoes, olive oil and a sprinkle of kosher salt, cover with lid or foil and place into a preheated oven at 375 and bake for 40 minutes or until tender.
While potatoes and Brussels sprouts are baking. Spray a large baking sheet(s) with non-stick cooking spray. Remove all brats from their packages and place onto the baking sheet(s). Cover with foil and place into a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 20 minutes to heat. Slice when cool enough to handle, but you do want them to be served somewhat warm. If they have cooled the cheese will warm them.
Spray two additional baking sheets with a non-stick spray. Place pretzels onto sheets and place into a preheated oven at 375 for about 15 minutes. Read the package for any additional instructions.
For fondue heat olive oil over medium high heat in a medium sized non-stick skillet and add shallots. Sauté until edges begin to brown. Add the beer to the skillet and deglaze the skillet. Cook for about 3 minutes to reduce the beer somewhat. Lower the heat to simmer and add the cheese. Stir continuously until well combined and melted. Transfer to a fondue pot heated over a very low flame. Assemble platter as shown with pretzel rods on the side. Let your guests pick and choose combinations for dipping and have an “oompa†good time!
Suggested Beverage
Try Paulaner Oktoberfest Märzen German Amber, Hacker-Pschorr Original Oktoberfest Amber Märzen (Germany), Saint Arnold® Oktoberfest (Houston, TX), Samuel Adams® Octoberfest (Boston MA) , Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken (Germany) or Weingut Joh. Haart Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling (Germany).
Leave a Reply