Ginger Beer Bockwurst with Apple Dijon Slaw
The following recipe and photography is courtesy of Lauren Schulte. To see more of her bites and meals, visit her Instagram @TheBiteSizePantry.
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, these sausages are an Easter Sunday special. Easter is a time when families gather together around the table to enjoy many delicious dishes, and this Ginger Beer Bockwurst with Dijon Slaw should most definitely be included. Bockwurst by any other name would not be as sweet as these specialty sausages which use premium cuts of veal and pork. Their flavor is much more “buttery” than your typical bratwurst and they are packed full of better cuts of meat along with spices like paprika, pepper, marjoram, chives and parsley.
The Apple Dijon Slaw is a sweet way to accent the flavors of the bockwurst and may even be sweeter than those chocolates in your Easter basket.
Brazing your bockwurst in ginger beer beforehand helps to tenderize the meat while adding more flavor. You’ll dump two cans of Crabbies Ginger Beer into a deep skillet and bring it to a boil. Then, add your bockwurst sausages to the boiling beer and let it simmer for 8-10 minutes. This process will fuse the flavors of the ginger beer with the sausages. After the bockwurst boils in the ginger beer, drain the pan and add 2 Tbsp. of butter and cook them the rest of the way through. The butter will caramelize the outside casing of the sausages making them look as though they were cooked on a hot grill.
You can serve these like the summer ballpark classic, in an Italian hoagie bun with the bockwurst placed on top of a bed of the slaw along with a side of herb oven-roasted fries. This just screams summer, doesn’t it? Or you can serve it family platter-style; great for holiday get-togethers or just a home-cooked family meal. For platter-style serving, lay a large heaping portion of the apple dijon slaw on the bottom of the platter, then place your bockwurst sausages on top of the slaw and sprinkle with cilantro.
This could also be served with a large family-style portion of the herb oven-roasted fries.
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Ginger Beer Bockwurst with Apple Dijon Slaw
Ingredients
For the Bockwurst
- 24 oz. of Crabbies Ginger Beer
- 6-8 bockwurst sausages
- 2 Tbsp. of butter
- Italian hoagie buns
- Jalapeños, to garnish
For the Apple Dijon Slaw
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 4 tsp. dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp. whole grain mustard
- 1 Tbsp. Randy’s Dill Pickle juice
- 1 whole apple, skin on and sliced into small segments
- 3 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 2 cups Cleveland Kraut Classic Caraway
- 4 cups red cabbage, shredded
- 2 cups carrots, shredded
- 1 cup daikon radish, shredded
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
For the Herb Oven-Roasted Fries
- 4 medium Yukon potatoes, sliced into fries
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. dried thyme
- 1 Tbsp. dried oregano
- 1/2 Tbsp. dried rosemary
- 1 Tbsp. garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp. Old Bay seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Line two baking sheets with tin foil and lightly spray with cooking spray so the fries won’t stick. You’ll also need a large Ziploc bag for tossing the raw potato fries with the olive oil and spices.
- Leave the skin on the potatoes or peel it off. I like to leave the skin on for a crispier fry. Cut your potatoes in half and then slice diagonally into long segments. Place your raw potato fries in a large bowl and fill in with enough cold water to cover the fries. Let the raw potato fries sit in the cold water for 1 hour. Drain, place them in the Ziploc bag and toss with the olive oil and then the spices.
- Note: While your fries are sitting in the cold water, place your bockwurst in a large dish and pour the ginger beer over them. This is the beforehand brazing process, which will infuse the sausages with the flavor from the ginger beer.
- Place the fries in a single layer on the foil-lined baking sheets and roast for 35-40 minutes at 425°F, or until crispy.
- While your fries cook, pour the ginger beer that your sausages have been marinating in into a large, deep skillet. Set the bockwurst sausages aside. Bring the beer to a low boil and once boiling, add the sausages and cook for 8-10 minutes.
- Drain the ginger beer from the pan and place the 2 Tbsp. of butter in the pan with the bockwurst. Cook over medium heat for another 15 minutes, turning the sausages halfway through.
- While the sausages finish cooking, prepare what you’ll need for the apple dijon slaw. Mix the mayo, mustards, white vinegar, salt and pepper, pickle juice and brown sugar together. Toss together the cabbage, kraut, carrot, apple, and daikon radish together and then mix in the mayo mixture to fully coat the vegetables. Sprinkle cilantro over top.
- Toast your buns while the fries and sausages finish cooking to ensure they are warm and ready to serve immediately. If you’re serving as a hoagie, add the slaw inside of your bun followed by the bockwurst. If you are serving this as a family-style platter, get a large serving tray and layer on the slaw followed by your bockwurst sausages.
- Remove your fries from the oven and let them cool before platting and serving with your bockwurst and slaw.
