20 Oktoberfest Recipes: German Recipes to Celebrate Autumn (2024)

FAQs

What is traditionally served at Oktoberfest? ›

Popular cold dishes are headcheese (Presssack), sausages, salted radish (Radi), pickles (Essiggurken), sausage salad (Wurstsalat), cold pork roast, and spread cheese (Obazda/Obatzter). All tents offer mixed platters of cold dishes (Brotzeitbrettl). Some of them even include chicken or duck.

The staples of most of a Bavarian charcuterie board are smoked and cured meats, sausages, cheese, radish, grapes, and onions. Ingredients that are simple but of great quality. The so called "Bayerische Brotzeit" is served with pretzels or bread and washed down with a refreshing mug of Oktoberfest beer.

Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture, having been held since the year 1810. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations that are modeled after the original Munich event.

– Brez'n – The number one Oktoberfest food, eating by the gazillions (probably). Nothing goes better with a giant-sized beer than a salty, soft Bavarian pretzel that's also the size of your face. Half Chickens – Hendl – C'mon, over 550,000 people are doing it. You'll see them behind the bars in the beer tents…

German charcuterie is all about hearty, savory flavors. Think bratwurst, liverwurst and black forest ham. This style often uses strong spices like caraway and mustard to give the meat its signature flavor.

To make a simple toast (ein Prosit), lift your mug or stein and call out, ''Prost! '' (''Cheers! ''). Die Maß (or Mass), a Bavarian word for ''measure,'' refers to the single-serving liter of beer in the standard Oktoberfest mug or stein.

Bratwurst. One of the most famous of German sausages, second only to the Frankfurter Würstchen, the bratwurst is typically made from veal, beef or pork. The recipe for the actual sausage vary from region to region and has to date, over 40 varieties. Cooking method: Listen to them sizzle in a pan or over coals.

Oktoberfest Pretzel

During Oktoberfest in Munich a much larger pretzel is baked. The crust is light golden brown, and the texture of the bread is more like a soft, white bread.

What do Germans celebrate in October? ›

Oktoberfest, annual festival in Munich, Germany, held over a two-week period and ending on the first Sunday in October.

Every September, Munich hosts the largest folk festival in the world. Here's how the tradition got started. Every year, millions of revelers descend on a tent-filled meadow in Munich to celebrate the love of long-ago Bavarian royals at a celebration known as Oktoberfest.

The Day of German Unity is Germany's national holiday. It commemorates the German reunification in 1990 and is traditionally celebrated with a festival around Platz der Republik, Straße des 17. Juni and the Brandenburg Gate. October 3rd is the Day of German Unity and a nationwide public holiday.

Sauerbraten. Sauerbraten is a traditional German dish that literally translates to “sour roast”, and is often regarded as the national dish of the country. As the name suggests, this dish is made from heavily marinated meat, usually beef, lamb, pork, or venison.

All the beer that is served at the Oktoberfest comes from famous Munich breweries, such as Paulaner and Augustiner. If you don't like one of Germany's favorite beverages, you can also get all kinds of other drinks, including non-alcoholic beverages, wine and cider.