The first day of fall is the perfect way to wrap up Oktoberfeast week! I’ve had so much fun making my favorite Bavarian recipes to share with you. Now here’s your all-in-one guide for hosting your own Oktoberfest feast!
For everyone who’s been following along, you know you’re in for a treat. For anyone playing catchup: we’re making roasted pork knuckle surrounded by sweet-tart red cabbage and cheesy noodle dumplings. YES. This is such an amazingly rich, over-the-top meal that you’ll feel just like you’re in Munich! Top it off with a big slice of flaky apple strudel and a stein of dark German lager and we’re simply done for.
Here’s the truth, friends: I’m so type-A. I want to be at least 90% done in the kitchen by the time friends arrive, because it’s impossible to enjoy your own party when you’re still hovering over six pans on the stove while everyone else sips drinks on the porch.
So this is a guide for prepped-early, stress-free entertaining. I’ve got printouts below for your grocery list and your complete cooking guide, from day-before prep to warming the strudel during dinner. This meal is perfect for a Saturday or Sunday evening when you can get all the little things out of the way that afternoon and relax!
To start things off, I set out a cheese plate with camembert, alpkäse, and jarlsberg swiss along with some fig butter and pomegranates. Gruyère or emmentaler cheeses would also be delicious with this meal.
Pretzels and coarse, grainy mustard are also great to have on hand for snacking, especially with all that beer!
German food just speaks to my soul.
Meat, potatoes, cheese, and the most brightly-colored veggies are the recipe for happiness.
Going to Oktoberfest in Munich is truly a one-in-a-lifetime experience! I jumped at the chance while I was living in Berlin and it was an absolute whirlwind. Along with my best girlfriends, we charmed our way into the tents, danced on benches, and drank a truly unbelievable amount of beer – I loved every minute. If you go, you simply have to dress the part in lederhosen or a dirndl!
To really get in the spirit, set your table with the traditional blue-and-white diamond pattern and serve beer from steins! Fair warning, the classic one-liter stein holds 33 oz. of beer – almost three bottles! You’ll be singing Ein Prosit before you know it.
Steins
Table Setting
Dress for Munich
Märzen is the traditional Oktoberfest bier, and there are some fantastic craft breweries here in the States that make it! Bavaria used to have a law that beer could only be brewed between the end of September and the end of April, so märzen was brewed in March, aka März, to be drunk in September before more beer could be brewed.
Our local favorite is Prost Brewing in Denver for delicious beers that remind me so much of the classic beers in Germany. I definitely encourage you to check out your local craft brewers for märzen or oktoberfest brews – all about drinking local!
Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Löwenbräu, Augustiner, and quite a few other major German brands are carried regularly in our local liquor stores as well, if you want more of the authentic experience… but all that matters is great beer & better friends.
These recipes are all written for 4 people, although this is admittedly a lot of food for 4 people; you could definitely stretch it to 6 if you include the cheese plate & pretzels, or just double everything but the strudel for 8 people.
So what are you waiting for? Create your own Oktoberfest dinner party evite, print out your grocery list, and get ready to host a wonderful Bavarian-style beer garden in your own backyard.
Prost!
Oktoberfeast Recipes
Schweinshaxe (Roasted Pork Knuckle) |
Käsespätzle (Cheese Noodles) |
Rotkohl (Red Cabbage) |
Apfelstrudel (Apple Strudel) |
Oktoberfest Party Guide
Ingredients
Produce
- 1 1/2 lb. red cabbage
- 3 white onions
- 1 large yellow onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 lb. baking apples
- 2 tart apples
Meat
- 2 large pork knuckles
Dairy
- 3 eggs
- 10 T. butter
- 6 oz. butterkäse or melting cheese like fontina or mild gouda
- whipped cream optional
Baking
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 t. vanilla
- 2 T. vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Spices
- 2 T. salt
- 1/2 t. pepper
- 1/2 t. cinnamon
- 1/2 t. nutmeg
- 1/2 t. ground cloves
Other
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 t. lemon juice
- 2 T. raisins
Alcohol
- 12 oz. dark lager
- 1 T. dark rum
- 12 bottles märzen or oktoberfest beer to fill 4 steins
(Optional) Cheese Plate
- 3-5 hearty cheeses camembert, alpkäse, swiss, gruyère, emmentaler
- 1/2 cup fig butter
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
(Optional) Pretzels & Mustard
- 1 bag thick pretzels
- 1 cup coarse grainy mustard
Instructions
The Day Before
- Open the pork shank packaging to let the skin dry overnight in the fridge for ultimate crispiness!
The Morning Of
- Make apfelstrudel and bake. Let cool completely before covering with plastic and storing in the fridge.
- Slice onion into thick halves for schweinshaxe.
- Slice 2 onions into thin rings for käsespätzle.
- Dice yellow onion for rotkohl.
- Grate cheese for käsespätzle.
- Thinly slice cabbage for rotkohl.
- Thinly slice tart apples for rotkohl.
Three Hours Before
- Begin roasting schweinshaxe.
- Caramelize onions for käsespätzle.
- Make dough for käsespätzle.
One Hour Before
- Make rotkohl. Cover and keep warm in oven if done early.
- Make käsespätzle. Cover and keep warm in oven if done early.
Ready To Eat
- Turn up the oven to finish roasting .
- When schweinshaxe is done, reduce oven to 200°. Remove plastic from apfelstrudel and warm in the oven while you eat so it's ready after the meal. Don't warm for longer than an hour.
Notes
Oktoberfeast Recipes
Schweinshaxe (Roasted Pork Knuckle) |
Käsespätzle (Cheese Noodles) |
Rotkohl (Red Cabbage) |
Apfelstrudel (Apple Strudel) |
Adrienne says
Everything looks delicious!!! Perfect for fall 🙂
Kate says
Thank you so much Adrienne!