Pat Ernst Dugan loves to cook, eat, travel and learn about regional foods. She's been doing it for 18 years.

Dugan, of Corning, shares her culinary knowledge with readers in a weekly food column. "Foodly Yours" covers cooking, dining and Finger Lakes foods, from locally grown produce, cooking gadgets and tools to a a new recipe each week, proposed by Dugan to be "quick-fix, limited ingredient and realistic."
 

Beef, beer, Bavaria inspire Oktoberfest meal
Pat Ernst Dugan
October 27, 2005

A little “oompah” with your slow cooker for Oktoberfest?

It depends on how you might like to commemorate the October 1810 wedding of Ludwig I of Bavaria to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. Originally, all the citizens of Munich were invited to the reception. If you have not celebrated yet, I invite you now as October slips away.

Begun as a wedding celebration on the fields in front of the city gates of Munich, Oktoberfest today is the largest festival in the world, attracting some six million international visitors and extending from September through October. When Munich started celebrating annually in 1818, vendors began to sell food and drink at what developed into an agricultural fair. Bavaria, with 800 breweries today, is often called the “cradle of the art of brewing.”

How will you celebrate? You could celebrate simply with some brats and beer.

Poach the brats in a little water to leave excess fat behind. Then pan fry until nicely brown. Remove brats and add sauerkraut (after rinsing and draining) to the pan. Saute until nicely warmed. Toast a hot dog bun, slather with mustard, top with the brats and sauerkraut. Toast the bride and groom with warm apple cider or cold Paulaner Original Munich Lager beer.

Or you could journey to the Arnot Mall and take home some soft pretzels from Auntie Anne’s. Pair these hand-rolled soft pretzels with Saranac Black Forest Beer from Utica (NY) Brewing Co. and listen to your favorite German oompah band music while snacking.

We already planned to celebrate Oktoberfest when a reader called to ask what she could cook for just she and her husband with a recently acquired Corning Ware 4-quart slow cooker without a lot of leftovers. I came up with the perfect plan: Invite some people to dinner and test a slow cooker recipe for German Beer and Onion Pot Roast. There were no leftovers, and the taste was sensationally comforting.

The preparation was minimal, especially using the new Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners. I must say that I was truly skeptical until Robert L. Wolke, author of “What Einstein Told His Cook, Kitchen Science Explained,” recently reported that these slow cooker liners were safe and contained no plasticizers. So, I decided to test them along with the German Pot Roast.

The liners are found in the plastic wrap section of the grocery aisle and are designed to fit both round and oval slow cookers from 3- to 6 1/2-quart sizes. It really worked to minimize cleanup.

I used a slotted spoon to both move the cooked pot roast and carrots into an oven-safe serving dish, and then place the cooked onions on top and around the roast. I was able to lift the bag of liquid out of the clean slow cooker bowl and pour it into another bowl that was placed in the freezer until the fat congealed. I then discarded the fat and reheated the “gravy” in the microwave to serve.

German Beer and Onion Pot Roast
Along with roasted potatoes, this recipe serves 6 people eager to celebrate any festivity involving pot roast and beer.
Ingredients:

2 1/2 pound boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 large onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 beef bouillon cube dissolved in 1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup Beck’s German beer
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
6 organic carrots, peeled and cut into 24 pieces

Preparation:
Line the slow cooker with bag liner (optional). In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the beef and brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Salt and pepper each side. Remove beef to plate.

Melt butter in beef browning skillet. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir again for one minute. Turn off heat and stir in the beef broth, beer, brown sugar, mustard, and vinegar.

Pour onion mixture into slow cooker bottom. Place beef roast on top. Set cooker on high for 15 minutes. Then turn to low for remaining 5 3/4 hours. Place carrots on top of beef after the first 2 hours. Proceed as described above to remove fatty juices.

Pat Ernst Dugan is a private chef, educator and food/recipe writer. E-mail her at foodlyyours@aol.com or send comments and questions to be forwarded to: Foodly Yours, Star-Gazette, Attn: Features Department, 201 Baldwin St., P.O. Box 285, Elmira, NY 14902.