Oktoberfest Sausage Plate with Soft Pretzels

Name: Oktoberfest Sausage Plate with Soft Pretzels
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 85 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast; 1 1/4 cups warm water, about 110 F, plus 8 cups plain water for the bath; 2 tbsp brown sugar; 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted; 1/2 cup baking soda; 1 tbsp coarse pretzel salt; 1 tsp kosher salt; 4 fresh bratwurst; 1 smoked sausage ring, krakauer or kielbasa style, about 12 oz; 4 frankfurters; 1/3 cup sweet mustard; 1/3 cup spicy brown mustard

A beer hall spread at home: grill-pan bratwurst, smoked sausage and franks with homemade lye-style soft pretzels, sweet and spicy mustards and a cold lager.

4.8 241 cooks rated this

Prep: 50 min
Cook: 35 min
Serves: 4
Level: Hard

Free recipe Jump to method

Munich beer gardens serve sausages three ways on one plate, and the pretzel is never an afterthought. A quick baking soda bath gives homemade pretzels that deep brown, slightly chewy crust without handling food-grade lye. The sausages are simple: the fresh brats need real cooking time, while the smoked links and franks only need heat and a little color, so stagger them in the pan. Shape the pretzels while the dough is still slightly tacky; dry dough slides around and refuses to hold a twist.

Ingredients

Serves 4

Method

Stir the flour, yeast, brown sugar and kosher salt in a large bowl. Add the warm water and melted butter and knead 6 to 8 minutes until smooth and springy, then cover and rest 30 minutes in a warm spot.
Done
Heat the oven to 450 F and line two sheet pans with parchment. Divide the dough into 8 pieces, roll each into a 24-inch rope and twist into a pretzel shape, pressing the ends firmly onto the loop.
Done
Bring 8 cups water and the baking soda to a boil in a wide pot, adding the soda slowly because it foams. Dip each pretzel for 30 seconds, lift out with a slotted spatula, set on the pans and sprinkle with pretzel salt.
Done
Bake 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the pans once, until the pretzels are a deep mahogany brown.
Done
Meanwhile, heat a ridged grill pan over medium heat. Cook the bratwurst 12 to 15 minutes, giving them a quarter turn every 3 minutes, until well marked and 160 F inside.
Done
Add the smoked sausage and franks for the last 6 minutes, just long enough to heat through and pick up some color. Slice the smoked sausage on a bias and halve a couple of franks.
Done
Arrange the sausages on a dark platter with the warm pretzels alongside, set out small bowls of both mustards and serve with a cold beer.
Done

Hand cutting a sausage into thin coins on a wooden board — Cutting a sausage into thin coins

Sliced salami and chorizo fanned across a small wooden board — Salami and chorizo sliced for the board

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