Oktoberfest in the PHL: You say sausage, I say wurst

A wurstelplatte (above) is a sausage sampler.

 

tThe city of Munich in Bavaria, Germany may be more than 10,000 kilometers away from Metro Manila—but as any other year, the Oktoberfest festival is being celebrated here as if the Philippines were part of the European Union.

For a number of weekends, various German-themed clubs and restaurants and even non-German institutions offer free-flowing beer (bier in German), food, and activities to mark this joyous occasion.

The beginning of Oktoberfest does not fall on the 10th month of the calendar, but on a late September Saturday, and lasts for at least 16 days. Traditional food offerings such as pig’s knuckles (Schweinshaxe) and sausages (wurst) are hardly exotic food to Pinoy palates as they are closely related to crispy pata and longganisa.

Similar to the Ilocano, Lucban, and other types of Filipino longganisa, sausages consumed in Oktoberfest also vary in ingredients and sizes. From the animal meat used, different spices and the cooking method, below is a list of some the wurst/bratwurst available in Brotzeit, a German casual dining restaurant located in the Ortigas district.

Nürnberger (grilled pork sausage)

The no-nonsense sausage for the no-nonsense eater is made from pork and spices and nothing else. Usually grilled, they can be eaten as bite-sized afternoon snacks—or, when paired with sauerkraut and potatoes, can be served as main dishes during lunch or dinner time.

Kasekrainer (pork cheese sausage)

I can easily imagine children and kids liking the kasekrainer (“kase” means cheese). These pork sausages contain up to 20% cheese, which gives it a smooth and silky texture. Boiled, baked or grilled, almost any condiment, bread or starch works with this type of sausage.

Hühnerwurst (spicy chicken sausage)

This was the first sausage that I picked, and right from the first bite, I was hooked. My personal favorite because of the nice crunchy skin and spicy meat inside, I first tried huhnerwurst (chicken and sausage) without any condiments. A dab of mustard only made the taste better—ditto for the ketchup and sweet whole grain mustard.

Weisswurst (pork and veal sausage)

Easily the most recognizable of the pack with with its white color, weisswurst (white + sausage) is mostly made from veal with a little bit pork and is boiled rather than grilled or pan fried. The taste is rather bland but the meat has a smooth texture. Of the five wursts, this was my least favorite.

Knackwurst (pork with garlic sausage)

The knackwurst comes closest to the Filipino longganisa with its use of fresh garlic. But unlike the Filipino variety, the meat contains little to no meat, hence is less tasty and juicy than its Pinoy counterpart.

Each sausage, eaten either on its own or as a combination in a sampler (wurstelplatte) is usually paired with sauerkraut, a side dish made from a finely cut cabbage that has been fermented by various types of bacteria. The taste is milder than the Filipino atchara and will not leave you with a sour-looking face. It’s neutral flavor acts as a counterbalance to the pork, veal or chicken taste of the sausages, especially the almost bland Weisswurst.

It’s not too late to get into the spirit of the Oktoberfest as there are still two more weekends until the festival officially ends on October 5. A number of German establishments still have scheduled Saturday afternoons for Filipinos, Germans and any other nationalities wishing to celebrate Oktoberfest with a plate full of sausage and a cold mug of beer.

Prost! (Cheers!) — VC/BM, GMA News

Brotzeit Philippines is located at 112 Streetscape, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, EDSA cor. Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City. For inquiries, call (632) 631-1489.