German Beer Sausage

Way back in March, we braved the unpredictable Illinois weather and attended "Bock Fest" hosted at a friend's house. Many of our friends are home brewers, so each of them crafted their own bock beer and we all participated in a blind taste test. The winner took home an awesome beer stein. We provided a TON of food for the occasion, since brewing our own beer in our tiny apartment was not an option. 

The first dish we created was this beer sausage. We drastically altered the ingredients based on the amount of food we needed to make and the tastes of the crowd we were cooking for. For the original recipe, click here.

You'll see ours is different, but the basic premise is the same. Keep in mind, we at least quadrupled some of the ingredients, so the pictures are not accurate!

Here's what you'll need:

1 bottle of beer (We used an ale, even though it was "bock" fest. We also used a bottle and a quarter)

4 red potatoes, quartered

Italian seasoning blend (enough to sprinkle over each layer)

salt and black pepper

1 package baby carrots (We added a little more carrots than this).

1/2 yellow onion, chopped, not diced

1 package Polska Kielbasa

1 small head of green cabbage, quartered and then some

We started off by crisping up the sausages in a pan, then cutting on the bias into 1" segments.

In a large pot over medium heat, bring the beer to a boil. 

Add the potatoes to the bottom and then sprinkle some Italian seasoning, salt and pepper over the top.

Next, add the carrots, onion and sausage. Add another sprinkle of Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.

Cover that layer with the cabbage and season again. 

Knock the heat back to low, cover, and let simmer until your veggies and potatoes are tender. The recipe says about 45 minutes, so I'd go with that. Since we made a quadrupled recipe, our time isn't accurate. Yours will be MUCH less than this:

This was a rustic, hearty meal that really helped soak up some of our bock!

Enjoy!