When September rolls around, I get all excited. There’s football, the weather stays warm, but we get a few nice, cool days that foreshadow the fall weather to come, and Oktoberfest begins, which gives me the perfect excuse to whip out this recipe and play some traditional German music.

I stumbled upon this recipe in a Martha Stewart Living a few years back. It was in an article featuring apples, and at the time, I wasn’t the biggest fan of cabbage. Actually, you could say I hated it and didn’t know why anyone would ruin a good sausage that way. Then I saw a picture of this dish; knockwurst tucked neatly into a dutch oven of apples (and cabbage), braised with apple cider and apple cider vinegar. I decided to overcome my issues with cabbage and give it a try.

I’m glad I did! While the original recipe called only for knockwurst, I added brats because my husband is a fan of those. Given that I was a bit tentative on the cabbage, I halved the amount and added an extra apple, and I’ve been making it that way ever since. The sweetness of the apple and the pucker of the vinegar makes your tastebuds tingle. Wash this down with a Spaten, and it’s really a heavenly fall meal.

German Sausages with Braised Cabbage & Apples
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living
Serves 6

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1/2 head green cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
2 large, tart green apples, such as ‘Granny Smith,’ peeled, cored, and chopped
1 cup apple cider
1/3 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
12 German sausages (knockwurst, bratwurst, etc.)
Stone-ground mustard, for serving (I like Inglehoffer)
Bread, for serving (I used a loaf of Dutch Crunch this time)

Melt butter in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Add onions; cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft and golden brown, about 18 minutes.

Stir in cabbage, apple, cider, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cover; cook, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is very soft, about 1 hour.

Tuck sausages into cabbage; cover pot. Cook until heated through, about 20 minutes. Serve with mustard and bread.

Gluten free option: Instead of serving this meal with bread, cook some cubed homestyle potatoes to serve alongside. Instead of washing it all down with a Spaten, try the gluten free Estrella Damm Daura instead.

Filed under:
Dinner, German, Gluten free by Courtney