In Apex, American Legion Post 124 will host Oktoberfest on Saturday, October 14. The fun starts at noon at the Apex Town Hall Campus (73 Hunter Street) and features music, food trucks, a beer garden, activities for kids, and much more!
Our local tradition is celebrating its third year, but have you ever wondered when and where this fall festival got its start?
The first Oktoberfest was October 12, 1810, and it celebrated the marriage of the prince of Bavaria, who became King Louis I, to Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. (Say that three times fast!) The festival went on for five days and concluded with a horse race.
“I was promised beer. Where’s the beer?” you ask.
Well, the following year, the festival was held again and this time an agricultural fair was added. (Still no beer.)
Then, in 1818, the festival featured booths serving food and drink, including…yes, beer!
In the late 20th century, beer halls evolved, some large enough to hold 6,000 people—all listening to oom-pah bands and dancing or watching the dancers, many of whom were costumed in lederhosen and dirndls, and drinking beer.
How much beer? Upwards of 75,800 hectoliters—that’s about 2 million gallons! Of beer!
Imagine a pool 267 feet long (for reference, a football field is 360 feet long), 50 feet wide and 10 feet deep. That pool would only hold one million gallons!
These days, the city of Munich, Germany, hosts more than six million people—mostly tourists—every year for Oktoberfest! Many cities around the U.S. host an Oktoberfest, too, but what about the rest of us who just want to host our own little fest for our neighbors, friends, and families? Besides beer, what can we serve?
Plenty.
It’s no secret that German food is heavy on the meat, sausages, potatoes, and bread—lots of bread! So, let’s start with soft pretzels! Sure, you can find them in grocery stores around Apex, and some are pretty tasty, but if you’d like to try making them yourself, here is a good recipe I’ve adapted from “Food & Wine” magazine, January 2011.
German Style Pretzels
Ingredients:
3 3/4 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
8 cups water
½ cup baking soda (See Note 1)
Coarse salt or pretzel salt, for sprinkling (See Note 2)
Directions:
In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the 3 3/4 cups of bread flour with the warm water, yeast, kosher salt, and butter and knead at medium speed for 2 minutes, until the flour is evenly moistened. Increase the speed to high and knead until a smooth, elastic dough forms around the hook, about 8 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Cover loosely with a dry kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and form each one into a ball. Cover the dough balls with the towel and let rest for another 5 minutes.
On an unfloured surface, roll each ball of dough into an 18-inch-long rope, tapering them slightly at both ends. To shape each pretzel, form the rope into a U shape. Cross the ends over each other twice to form the twist, then bring the ends to the bottom of the U and press the tips onto it. Arrange the pretzels on 2 large baking sheets lined with parchment paper and let stand uncovered in a warm place for 45 minutes, or until slightly risen. Refrigerate the pretzels uncovered for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bring 2 quarts of water to a simmer. Dissolve 1/2 cup baking soda in the water. Simmer the pretzels in the solution for 15 seconds per side, then remove with a slotted spatula and return them to the baking sheets.
Sprinkle the pretzels with coarse salt and bake on the top and middle racks of the oven until shiny-brown and risen, about 17 minutes; shift the pans halfway through baking. Let the pretzels cool slightly on the baking sheets before serving.
Note 1: The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup food-grade lye micro beads instead of baking soda. Food-grade lye can be ordered from essentialdepot.com. To prepare using this method, you will need to wear latex gloves, long sleeves, and safety goggles. Once your skin is protected, fill a large, deep ceramic, plastic, or glass bowl with 10 cups of lukewarm water. Carefully add the lye (always be sure to add lye to water, never the other way around) and, taking care not to splash, stir the solution occasionally until all the beads have fully dissolved, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spatula, gently lower a pretzel into the solution for 15 seconds. Carefully turn the pretzel over and soak it for another 15 seconds. With the spatula, remove the pretzel from the lye solution and return it to the baking sheets. Proceed with salting and baking.
Note 2: Coarse salt and pretzel salt can be found at specialty-food stores or online at americanspice.com.
Note 3: To make pretzels ahead, prepare them as above but do not add the salt. Pretzels baked without salt can be frozen for up to 1 month. When ready to eat, spray the frozen pretzels with water and sprinkle with salt before reheating in a 275°F oven until warmed through, about 20 minutes.
Along with pretzels, you could serve the ever-classic bratwurst and sauerkraut. Fortunately, living in Apex means that the weather is usually still nice enough in October to grill your brats outdoors. Serve with a sharp German whole-seed mustard, maybe one with a little horseradish! If you’re skeptical about the sauerkraut, try dicing up a fresh apple and mixing it in.
Serve with beer, of course. Or for a nice change, try a German Riesling. This is traditionally a sweet white wine but there are some drier versions available now. Another good choice might be an Austrian white wine, Grüner Veltliner. And for non-drinkers, there is Spezi—my childhood favorite! Spezi is equal parts orange soda and cola, like Coke or Pepsi, no ice and a wedge of lemon. (I know…but just try it. It’s good!)
Instead of the brat and sauerkraut combination, grilled, roasted or rotisserie chicken are just as easy to prepare and still theme-appropriate! When in doubt, simply BBQ the chicken—we are in the south, after all.
If grilling is not an option, here’s a classic Bavarian dish from my personal recipe collection: Schweineschmorbraten (pork roast).
Ingredients:
2 lbs. pork
For lean pork, add 3-4 Tbsp. fat (e.g.: bacon fat, butter, coconut oil, etc.)
Salt
1 onion, diced
Soup greens
8 oz to 16 oz water or chicken broth
1 level Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp cold water
Directions
Brown pork on all sides, turning frequently. Add salt. Add chopped onion and soup greens. Then add 8 ounces of water or chicken broth.
Braise the meat over low heat and add water or chicken broth, as needed.
Once the meat is cooked, strain the remaining liquid and thicken with a mixture of baking powder and cold water to make a gravy.
If all that seems like too much work, then bring your neighbors, friends and family to the Apex Oktoberfest. Just make sure one of the drivers is drinking nothing but Spezi! Prost!
