Oktoberfest Food: Traditional Dishes and Recipes
When and how is it celebrated?
Oktoberfest begins on a Saturday in mid to late September and ends on the first Sunday in October. If 3 October, the Day of German Unity, falls on the following Monday, the festival is extended to include it. It began with the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese in October 1810, celebrated with a horse race outside the gates of Munich. Today the festival lasts 16 to 18 days. People eat at long benches in the big festival tents and at stalls around the grounds. Candied roasted almonds and gingerbread hearts with icing are part of any stroll, although the hearts are more often hung around the neck than eaten.
What is on the table?
The best-known festival dish is the half chicken, roasted until crisp, with hundreds of thousands sold in a single season. Close behind comes pork knuckle with crackling, served with dumplings and cabbage. If you get hungry in between, you reach for a large pretzel and a plate of Obatzter, the cheese spread made from ripe Camembert, butter, onions and paprika. In the morning there is Munich White Sausage with sweet mustard. The old rule that it must not hear the noon bells dates from the days before refrigerators. Around the grounds you will also find Steckerlfisch, usually mackerel grilled on wooden skewers over embers, and the Ochsenbraterei has served roast ox since 1881. The sweet finish is Kaiserschmarrn with apple sauce.
Tips for your own festive meal
For a Wiesn-style snack spread at home, all you need is Bavarian meatloaf (Leberkäse), Obatzter, radishes and fresh pretzels. It can all be prepared ahead and served cold. If you want something warm, roast a pork knuckle or a pork joint and serve it with Bavarian potato salad, dressed with stock and vinegar rather than mayonnaise. The knuckle needs a good two and a half hours in the oven, so plan to start early. Apple strudel, which you can bake the day before, makes a good dessert.
