Celebrate Oktoberfest with brats, beer and more; here are some recipes

Celebrate Oktoberfest with brats, beer and more; here are some recipes

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Beck's Oktoberfest beer recently won the gold medal as the world's best Oktoberfest beer in the 2002 World Beer Cup, according to 71 international judges. In celebration, Beck's is providing several recipes to turn ordinary fall barbecues into authentic-tasting Oktoberfest celebrations.

Beck's beer boiled brats on the grill

Here's what you need:

1 bottle of Beck's Oktoberfest beer
One 1-pound package of bratwurst
2 quarts of water

Pour one bottle Beck's Oktoberfest beer into 2-quarts of water and bring to a boil. Place 1 pound of brats into the boiling water and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove brats from pot and grill or pan-fry until all sides are golden brown.

Beer-basted German sausage with caramelized onions and German mustard

If this sounds good, here are the ingredients you need and what you need to do:

8 sausages, such as bratwurst, knackwurst or wieners
4 oz. Beck's Oktoberfest beer
2 ounces hot Dusseldorf mustard
3 ounces canola oil
16 ounces yellow onion, peeled, quartered and sliced very thin

Place canola oil in a large nonstick skillet (12-inches diameter) and add the sliced onions. Saute over low heat, stirring often, until onions are golden brown, soft and caramelized. Do not let burn. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir in the hot Dusseldorf mustard. Set aside. Prepare a grill, and cook sausages, basting with Beck's Oktoberfest beer every minute or so. Serve the grilled sausages with the mustard-seasoned onions. (Note: Some may prefer the traditional sauerkraut, which is delicious when heated with whole brown mustard seeds, according to a news release.)

For Wolfgangs only

For those www.HospitalityGuild.com readers who have a little Wolfgang Puck in them, try this authentic German side dish to complement the Beck's and bratwurst:

German hot potato salad

6 slices of bacon
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup diced celery
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup cider vinegar
6 cups red-skinned potatoes
6 large pimento-stuffed green olives

Potatoes should be firm, cooked, peeled, diced and still hot. Fry bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Remove the bacon, drain on paper towels, then crumble; reserving the bacon fat. Dissolve cornstarch in water. Saute onion and celery in the reserved bacon fat over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add salt, sugar, pepper and dissolved cornstarch to the skillet. Next, add vinegar and bring to a boil over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the hot potatoes and crumbled bacon, stirring gently. Serve hot, garnished with the sliced stuffed olives.

More on winning beer

Beck's Oktoberfest, which bested a field of 17 entries in the German-Style Marzen/Oktoberfest category in the 2002 World Beer Cup, will be available for a limited time this fall. The biennial World Beer Cup is a global competition that evaluates beers from around the world, recognizing the most outstanding beers produced today.

The Bremen, Germany-based brewers of Beck's Oktoberfest attributes its gold medal win to the core brewing principles of Beck's, which mandates that all Beck's products are strictly brewed to the 'Reinheitsgebot" -- the German Purity Law of 1516 that allows the use of only four natural ingredients in the brewing process: water, barley malt, yeast and hops.

Beck's, which is brewed in Bremen, Germany, is the United States' No. 1 imported German beer.

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