Oh man, you guys NEED to try this recipe. There is absolutely a reason why I wanted to expedite this one so that you can make these burgers this October. These take all of the flavors of Germany and wrap them in one nice, neat little package. Without further ado, here is my recipe for Oktoberfest Burgers.
Special Ingredients and Equipment Needed:
Special Equipment for Oktoberfest Burgers
We made these outside on our Weber grill. You could also make these inside using an electric griddle or even a griddle pan. But, if you’re grilling your burgers outside, you’ll want the following:
Special Ingredients for Oktoberfest Burgers
There are a few specialty ingredients you’ll want to have on hand for this recipe that may be difficult to find or that you may not already have.
First and foremost, you’ll want to have bratwurst burgers. Johnsonville makes some that are called Bratwurst Grillers. If you can’t find them, you can absolutely split a brat in half lengthwise (don’t cut all the way through) and grill it open-faced.
Next, you’ll want some sort of German beer to make the beer cheese spread, which is called obatzda in traditional German cuisine. This isn’t quite a traditional obatzda but it’s absolutely delicious! I tried to look for hefeweizen for this recipe but our local grocery store didn’t carry it. So, instead I used Sam Adams’ Octoberfest beer, which still turned out really good! Since the cheese sauce is not heated in any way and the beer is not cooked off, I recommend that you omit the beer if kids are having it.
The next ingredient you’ll want are pretzel buns. Pretzels are a huge part of German cuisine, so these are a must! If you can’t find any though, kaiser buns or onion buns would be another good option.
Lastly, you’ll definitely want to have sauerkraut, if you’re a fan of it!
Pictures:
Here you can see the breakdown of everything before and after cooking. To assemble the burgers, you spread the cheese sauce on the bottom bun, then add the bratwurst patty, grilled onions, sauerkraut, and then on the top bun, spread a thin layer of stone ground mustard. Lastly, we served our burgers with some yummy potato salad!
Recipe for Oktoberfest Burgers:
Oktoberfest Burgers
Equipment
- grill
- electric griddle
- Grill pan
- Blender or food processor
- square baking dish
Ingredients
Cheese Spread
- 1/4 cup red onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 oz whipped cream cheese
- 6 oz cheddar cheese, cubed
- 1/4 cup German beer or Octoberfest beer
- 1 tsp caraway seeds
- 1 tbsp stone ground mustard
- 1 tsp paprika
Grilled Onions
- 1/2-3/4 large red onion, cut into large rings
- 1 tsp olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
Burgers
- 4 bratwurst burgers (we used Johnsonville Grillers) If you can't find them, use brats cut in half lengthwise.
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 4 pretzel buns
- 2-3 tbsp butter
- cheese spread as prepared, to taste
- grilled onions as prepared, to taste
- sauerkraut, to taste
- stone ground mustard, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
Cheese Spread Instructions
- While grill is heating, put all ingredients carefully into a food processor or blender. Combine on high speed for 2 minutes or until smooth-ish and spreadable. Cover and refrigerate until burgers are finished.
Prepare Grilled Onions
- In a square baking dish, rub onions with oil. Sprinkle on both sides with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Prepare Bratwurst Burgers
- Season both sides of each bratwurst patty with garlic powder and pepper. I didn't use salt as brats are very salty on their own.
Grill and Assembly Instructions
- When the grill is preheated, place baking dish with onions as well as the burger patties on the grill. Close the lid and cook for 5-6 minutes.
- Meanwhile, spread butter on the inside of each bun on both the top and bottom halves. Set aside.
- Flip the burgers and onions, close the lid again and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes.
- Add the buns butter side down directly onto the grates of the grill while the onions and burgers continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. Remove all items when buns are lightly toasted and burgers are fully cooked. (If there isn't enough room on the grill, finish cooking burgers and onions and toast the buns when they've finished.)
- To assemble, apply a layer of the cheese spread to the bottom bun, then the burger, the grilled onions, sauerkraut, and lastly a layer of stone ground mustard on the top bun.
- Serve and enjoy!
These burgers are seriously my favorite ones that I’ve ever made. We love brats, pretzels, and cheese dip, so these were perfect for us. We hope you guys like them like we did!
If you try this recipe, let me know what you think by leaving a review! If you want to see more recipes every week, make sure to subscribe so that you’ll be notified via email when I post. You can also take a peek at my recipes page or some of the links down below. Thanks everyone!
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