Oktoberfest Pheasant Bratwurst and Sauerkraut

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Prep Time: 2 Weeks - Cook Time: 1 Hour

We recently saw our son off to join the Air Force and we couldn't be more proud. We know that the Air Force will provide him with the skills he needs to be successfully and accomplish whatever he wants to do in life. While also allowing him to travel the world and experience things most people never get the opportunity to do. My father is also a retired Air Force officer and according to him, I'm still an Air Force brat. I remember going to all the air shows as a little kid, walking the runways looking at planes and climbing up in the cockpits. My favorite was watching the Air Force Thunderbirds perform and watching the SR-71 Blackbird fly. To this day, I still drag my wife around to any Air Shows that are within driving distance, just to see those planes fly. I've always been a big fan of the Air Force, but after moving around our whole lives, I wasn't ready to enlist. We were stationed in ... California, Louisiana, Missouri, Michigan, Virginia, plus overseas in Turkey and Germany. In fact, Germany is where I was born. That was my very first experience with the Air Force and since it's currently Oktoberfest ( Sept 16th to Oct 3rd ), I thought this meal would be a good way to commemorate my step sons enlistment. You were probably starting to wonder what the Air Force had to do with Bratwurst!!


While I'm not Germany by any means, I do love Germany food and Sauerkraut is one of my favorites. If my mom had told me what it was as a little kid, I probably would have never eaten it. As a kid, I was never much of a vegetable person, especially the green kind. My mom would be shocked seeing me make my own Kraut. I actually grew the cabbage in my garden, sadly I planted several different plants but only one survived long enough to become kraut. Making your own kraut can take several weeks, so you would need to plan this meal several weeks in advance if you were making everything from scratch. Of course, nobody would fault you for buying it off the shelf. The same can be said for the stone ground mustard, pretzel buns and even the pheasant bratwurst. You can buy all these things already made. I decided to make everything myself just to have the experience of doing it. I'm not a chef, so some of these things I'm doing for the first time, it's a learning experience for me and I think that's what I enjoy the most about it. I try to document these recipes as much as I can, so I can go back and make them again or tweak them in the future.


Oktoberfest is an annual festival that celebrates Bavarian culture for a two-week period of heavy beer drinking and German food!! The festival supposedly originated in the 1800's with the marriage of a royal couple. The citizens were invited to celebrate with multiple days of drinking and feasting. That was over 200 years ago. Now days over 6 million people attend the festival and consume over 2 millions gallons of beer. Traditionally, a Marzen style lager was served at Oktoberfest and while I didn't brew one this year, I did include one in my meal and picture. Usually the Oktoberfest style beers disappear from the stores before October, so get them now!

Prost!


 

Ingredients



Pheasant Bratwurst


  1 lbs Ground Pheasant meat
  1 lbs Ground Pork
  12 oz Pilsner Beer
  1 tbsp Kosher Salt
  1 tbsp Ground White Pepper
  1 tbsp Ground Yellow Mustard
  1 tsp Marjoram
  1/2 tsp Crushed Caraway Seeds
  1/2 tsp Ground Mace
  1/2 tsp Ground Allspice
  1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
  1/2 tsp Ground Coriander
  1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
  1/2 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes
  1 Sweet Yellow Onion

Sauerkraut


  1 whole Cabbage
  1 tbsp Caraway Seeds
  1 1/2 tbsp Kosher Salt
  1 Clean Mason Jar

Stone Ground Spicy Mustard


  2 tbsp Brown Mustard Seeds
  2 tbsp Yellow Mustard Seeds
  1/4 cup(s) Apple Cider Vinegar
  1/4 cup(s) Pilsner Beer
  3 tbsp Ground Yellow Mustard
  1 tbsp Honey
  2 tsp kosher salt

Pretzel Buns


  3 cup(s) All Purpose Flour
  1 Package of active dry yeast
  1 1/2 cup(s) Warm Water
  1 tbsp Honey
  1 tbsp Olive Oil
  1/2 cup(s) Baking Soda
  2 tsp Kosher Salt
  1/2 gallon(s) Cold Water
   Course Finishing Salt


Instructions


For Sauerkraut


Step #1 Remove the white core from the cabbage, leaving only the leaves. Shred or cut leaves with knife into fine pieces.




Step #2 Put into mixing bowl and cover with 1 1/2 tbsp of salt. Work the salt into the cabbage with your hands then allow to rest for 30 minutes. This will help draw the moisture out of the cabbage. Using a mallet or pestle, crush the cabbage in the mixing bowl, this will help release more water from the cabbage.



Step #3 Continue crushing the cabbage for about 10-15 minutes.



Step #4 Move your crushed cabbage to a clean, empty mason jar and submerge it with the water extracted from the cabbage leaves. Your cabbage should be completely submerged by the liquid, if not mix 1 cup of water with 1 teaspoon of salt, then pour into mason jar. Add 1 tablespoon of caraway seeds to your mason jar. You'll probably want to weigh your cabbage down with something heavy, they sell mason jar weights for this, but I used a zip lock bag filled with salt. You need to ensure all the leaves are completely submerged; any leaves not submerge may spoil. Place mason jar in warm place for about a week to ten days, burping every few days to release air. After one week, place in refrigerator.




For Stone Ground Spicy Mustard


Step #1 Add Brown Mustard seeds and Yellow mustard seeds to mortar and lightly crush.



Step #2 Add crushed seeds to saucepan with Vinegar, Beer, Honey, Salt and 2 1/2 to 3 tbsp of Yellow Mustard powder. Bring the mixture to the boil, then remove from heat. Place in the refrigerator a few days before you plan on having your meal.




For Pretzel Buns


Step #1 Combine flour, yeast, kosher salt to mixing bowl




Step #2 Now add the wet ingredients... honey, olive oil, and warm water to the mixing bowl.



Step #3 Using a spatula or your hands mix until all the ingredients are incorporated.



Step #4 Dump out onto well-floured surface and knead with hands for 5 minutes, until dough bounces back.



Step #5 Form into a round loaf




Step #6 Spray inside of mixing bowl non-stick cooking oil then place dough ball in bowl and set in warm place to rise for one hours



Step #7 I usually cover mine with a moist towel that's been microwaved for a few minutes.



Step #8 After one hour, punch the dough down and divide out into equal size buns. Cover your hands and tools with flour to prevent dough from sticking.



Step #9 Place buns on baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Cover with warm towel and let rise another 30 minutes




Step #10 Preheat oven to 425 and bring 1/2 gallon of water to boil then add 1/2 cup baking soda. Place buns in water for a 30 second, flip and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove with slotted spoon to baking sheet and allow to dry.



Step #11 Dust with finishing coarse salt and cut slits across the top with sharp knife. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes.



Step #12 Transfer to wire rack to cool.




For Pheasant Bratwurst


Step #1 Crush the caraway seeds in Mortar then mix remain spices together in a bowl.



Step #2 Grind meat into a fine consistency.



Step #3 Combine ground pheasant and pork meat, seasoning mix and 1/4 cup Pilsner beer in a mixing bowl, using your hands, incorporate everything together. Place in refrigerator to 30 minutes.



Step #4 Meanwhile, soak sausage casing in cold water. Rinse with warm water and place on sausage stuffing tube. Tie knot into casing end.




Step #5 Load cold sausage into hopper and feed meat mixture into casing.



Step #6 When casing is filled 6 to 8 inches twist sausage and continue to start another link. You should end up with about 8 equals links.



Step #7 Place in skillet and cover with remained of pilsner beer and sliced up sweet yellow onion. Poach in liquid for a few minutes, but don't cook all the way through.



Step #8 Remove from heat and allow to rest. Before putting them on the grill for a few minutes to brown the outside.




Step #9 Set everything you prepared out and let everyone build their own Brat!



Recipe Card

Oktoberfest Pheasant Bratwurst and Sauerkraut

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Prep Time: 2 Weeks - Cook Time: 1 Hour



Ingredients



Pheasant Bratwurst


1 lbs Ground Pheasant meat
1 lbs Ground Pork
12 oz Pilsner Beer
1 tbsp Kosher Salt
1 tbsp Ground White Pepper
1 tbsp Ground Yellow Mustard
1 tsp Marjoram
1/2 tsp Crushed Caraway Seeds
1/2 tsp Ground Mace
1/2 tsp Ground Allspice
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Ground Coriander
1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1/2 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 Sweet Yellow Onion

Sauerkraut


1 whole Cabbage
1 tbsp Caraway Seeds
1 1/2 tbsp Kosher Salt
1 Clean Mason Jar

Stone Ground Spicy Mustard


2 tbsp Brown Mustard Seeds
2 tbsp Yellow Mustard Seeds
1/4 cup(s) Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup(s) Pilsner Beer
3 tbsp Ground Yellow Mustard
1 tbsp Honey
2 tsp kosher salt

Pretzel Buns


3 cup(s) All Purpose Flour
1 Package of active dry yeast
1 1/2 cup(s) Warm Water
1 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 cup(s) Baking Soda
2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 gallon(s) Cold Water
Course Finishing Salt


Instructions



For Sauerkraut


Step #1 - Remove the white core from the cabbage, leaving only the leaves. Shred or cut leaves with knife into fine pieces.
Step #2 - Put into mixing bowl and cover with 1 1/2 tbsp of salt. Work the salt into the cabbage with your hands then allow to rest for 30 minutes. This will help draw the moisture out of the cabbage. Using a mallet or pestle, crush the cabbage in the mixing bowl, this will help release more water from the cabbage.
Step #3 - Continue crushing the cabbage for about 10-15 minutes.
Step #4 - Move your crushed cabbage to a clean, empty mason jar and submerge it with the water extracted from the cabbage leaves. Your cabbage should be completely submerged by the liquid, if not mix 1 cup of water with 1 teaspoon of salt, then pour into mason jar. Add 1 tablespoon of caraway seeds to your mason jar. You'll probably want to weigh your cabbage down with something heavy, they sell mason jar weights for this, but I used a zip lock bag filled with salt. You need to ensure all the leaves are completely submerged; any leaves not submerge may spoil. Place mason jar in warm place for about a week to ten days, burping every few days to release air. After one week, place in refrigerator.

For Stone Ground Spicy Mustard


Step #1 - Add Brown Mustard seeds and Yellow mustard seeds to mortar and lightly crush.
Step #2 - Add crushed seeds to saucepan with Vinegar, Beer, Honey, Salt and 2 1/2 to 3 tbsp of Yellow Mustard powder. Bring the mixture to the boil, then remove from heat. Place in the refrigerator a few days before you plan on having your meal.

For Pretzel Buns


Step #1 - Combine flour, yeast, kosher salt to mixing bowl
Step #2 - Now add the wet ingredients... honey, olive oil, and warm water to the mixing bowl.
Step #3 - Using a spatula or your hands mix until all the ingredients are incorporated.
Step #4 - Dump out onto well-floured surface and knead with hands for 5 minutes, until dough bounces back.
Step #5 - Form into a round loaf
Step #6 - Spray inside of mixing bowl non-stick cooking oil then place dough ball in bowl and set in warm place to rise for one hours
Step #7 - I usually cover mine with a moist towel that's been microwaved for a few minutes.
Step #8 - After one hour, punch the dough down and divide out into equal size buns. Cover your hands and tools with flour to prevent dough from sticking.
Step #9 - Place buns on baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Cover with warm towel and let rise another 30 minutes
Step #10 - Preheat oven to 425 and bring 1/2 gallon of water to boil then add 1/2 cup baking soda. Place buns in water for a 30 second, flip and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove with slotted spoon to baking sheet and allow to dry.
Step #11 - Dust with finishing coarse salt and cut slits across the top with sharp knife. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes.
Step #12 - Transfer to wire rack to cool.

For Pheasant Bratwurst


Step #1 - Crush the caraway seeds in Mortar then mix remain spices together in a bowl.
Step #2 - Grind meat into a fine consistency.
Step #3 - Combine ground pheasant and pork meat, seasoning mix and 1/4 cup Pilsner beer in a mixing bowl, using your hands, incorporate everything together. Place in refrigerator to 30 minutes.
Step #4 - Meanwhile, soak sausage casing in cold water. Rinse with warm water and place on sausage stuffing tube. Tie knot into casing end.
Step #5 - Load cold sausage into hopper and feed meat mixture into casing.
Step #6 - When casing is filled 6 to 8 inches twist sausage and continue to start another link. You should end up with about 8 equals links.
Step #7 - Place in skillet and cover with remained of pilsner beer and sliced up sweet yellow onion. Poach in liquid for a few minutes, but don't cook all the way through.
Step #8 - Remove from heat and allow to rest. Before putting them on the grill for a few minutes to brown the outside.
Step #9 - Set everything you prepared out and let everyone build their own Brat!


About the Author

Jeff Davis
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You may think cooking and recipes don’t have much to do with a website dedicated to hunting dogs ... but really, why do we hunt? Sure, we enjoy watching our dogs work in the field and being outdoors, but ultimately, hunting is about survival and feeding our families. We might as well try to do it well. I'm not a chef and definitely no food authority ... but I do like to eat and enjoy cooking. After searching for people willing to share their recipes on Gundog Central, without much success, I decided to try to do a few on my own, with my wife Tami's help. The recipes I share here are things I like to eat and have made here at home. I've tried to include step-by-step instructions with each meal describing exactly how I did it, but my method may not be best, if you decide to try a recipe posted here, please use whatever technique you think works best, I'm simply sharing how I did it. You'll see a lot of recipes where I've tried to make things from starch, when I could have just used store bought ingredients, simply because I wanted to learn how something was done. My goal is to continually update these recipes as I learn new things and techniques. These are my attempts at creating good, home cooked food, that I would like to eat! If I'm sharing it here, my family and I enjoyed it and I believe you will too.