International Cuisine: 7 of the Best and Most Delicious German Dishes
Many people associate German cuisine with bratwurst, sauerkraut, and ice cold beer. These Oktoberfest staples are certainly popular food and beverage items throughout the country (there are more than 40 bratwurst varieties), but certainly don’t define German cuisine. From street food to main courses, the European country boasts a diverse and delicious array of traditional food items, including pastas, meatballs, and sliced beef.
Below are seven dishes you need to sample on your next visit to Germany, or make in the comfort of your kitchen.
Spätzle
A type of egg noodle also popular in Switzerland and Austria, spätzle was conceived in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, located in the southern part of the country. The pasta dish, made from eggs, flour, salt, and sparkling water, is named from the German word spatzen, which translates in English to “little sparrows,” which is what early cooks thought the pasta resembled when made by hand. Some Germans still make spätzle by hand, while others use a spätzle maker or purchase it pre-packaged from stores.
The noodles should only boil for about 2 or 3 minutes, following which they need to be placed in a bowl of cold water to become more firm. Spätzle can be eaten as a main dish with the addition of Swiss or Emmental cheese. It’s also commonly eaten in beer gardens as a layered dish with cheese and topped with fried onions. Otherwise, it’s usually served as a side to a meat dish or put in soups or stews.
Currywurst
Sausage is paired with a combination of ketchup and curry powder in this popular German street food. Herta Heuwer, a Berlin woman, is credited with having created the delicious concoction in 1949, when she obtained curry powder and ketchup from British soldiers and began serving the mixed combination over grilled sausage. Today, currywurst is commonly sold on the streets of Berlin and Cologne. The sausage is usually either fried or boiled and served with chips or on a bread roll.
It is believed that Germans eat approximately 800 million currywurst each year. The street food is so popular that German entrepreneur Martin Löwer opened a currywurst museum in 2005. More than 1 million people visited the museum before its closing in 2018.
Rouladen
A particularly popular main course dish in western Germany, rouladen involves a mixture of bacon, onions, pickles, and mustard wrapped in sliced veal or beef. It is often served with either mashed potato or potato dumplings and pickled red cabbage and topped with a red wine gravy.
Königsberger Klopse
Königsberger klopse is a boiled meatball dish popular among chefs and home cooks alike in Berlin and Brandenburg. The meatballs are made with veal, onion, anchovies, eggs, and pepper and boiled until cooked, after which they’re topped with a creamy, lemon-flavored white sauce with capers. This comfort food dish was named after Königsberg, once the East Prussian capital, and is now usually listed on restaurant menus as kochklopse (boiled meatballs) to avoid reference to what is now a Russian city.
Schnitzel
Schnitzel, a breaded meat dish, originated in Italy and is also associated with Austria, where law dictates that the “wiener schnitzel” must be made with veal and no other meat. Tenderized pork or turkey is the more common variation found in most German restaurants. The dish is also usually served with plenty of sauce, with options like jägerschnitzel (mushroom sauce) and zigeunerschnitzel (bell pepper sauce). It’s usually paired with fried potatoes.
Sauerbraten
A national dish with regional varieties, sauerbraten (sour roast) is a pot roast traditionally made with horse meat, although venison and beef are more commonly used today. Usually served for dinner on Sunday, sauerbraten takes a few days to prepare. The meat is kept in a marinade of red wine vinegar, fresh herbs, and spices for multiple days. It is then browned and slow cooked before being sliced and served with a dark beetroot sugar sauce gravy to balance its natural tangy flavor. Traditional sides include boiled potatoes, potato dumplings, and red cabbage.
Franconia, Rhineland, Swabia, and others, have their own regional varieties. Some variations use just wine or vinegar as a marinade, while others incorporate different sweet ingredients to balance the acidity of the sauce, i.e. ginger snap cookies, honey, and raisins.
Flammkuchen
Because it originated in Alsace, an eastern France region bordering Germany and Switzerland, there is great debate as to whether flammkuchen is a French or German dish. It’s also prepared and cooked similar to pizza, which is synonymous with Italy. This German pizza dish involves dough rolled into a thin rectangular shape, topped with lardons (bacon or pork fat), thinly sliced onions, and crème fraîche. It is then baked in a wood-fire oven and served in slices.
A crispy and salty snack, flammkuchen was conceived by bakers to determine the temperature of their ovens. If the thinly rolled dough was perfectly baked within a few minutes, it meant the ovens were at the correct temperature to bake bread.
