This is a brief collection of German appetizers you may have never heard of. All of them are either available in my recipe index already or will be coming soon! I will update this collection as I add more, so make sure to subscribe to my mailing list so you don’t miss any!

Four-Ingredient Pastry Snack Snails

These were the very first recipe I posted on this page! They only require four ingredients: puff pastry dough, cream cheese, shredded cheese, and bacon. They are incredibly easy to make and even easier to overeat—so make sure you have someone to share them with!

Käsefüße (Savory Cheese Cookies)

In German, Käsefüße is what we call “smelly feet,” but Käse also means cheese. This is a bit of a play on words since these cookies traditionally come in the shape of a foot. They can best be described as a savory cheese biscuit; my friends actually compared them to the Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits! The dough is easy to prepare, and they are delicious both warm and cold. Try them at your next social gathering!

Bätscher

Bätscher will likely be unknown even to most Germans, as they are a super-local snack from my Swabian home region. They are made with a yeast dough and topped with sour cream, chives, caraway seeds, bacon, or whatever else you like. When serving them as a starter, you can make them tiny for finger food, but they can also be made larger for a main meal. My sister thankfully provided me with a recipe that a friend of ours uses, and they are always a hit at buffets!

Birder’s Note: Many of these appetizers are sturdy enough to be packed in a container and brought along on a birding trip. There’s nothing better than a homemade Bätscher while waiting for a rare migrant to show up! 🥨🦉

These savory crackers (Käsefüße) are a staple at German parties. They are buttery, cheesy, and perfectly salty—the ultimate companion for a glass of wine or a cold beer while watching birds from the porch.

The Legend of the “Käsefüße” Scroll

Back in the day, when I was a little kid in Germany, there was a massive trend of gifting a specific cookie cutter in the shape of a foot. Attached to the cutter was always a little paper scroll tied with a ribbon. When you unrolled the scroll, you found the original recipe for “Käsefüße” (Cheese Feet).

For quite some time, these were at every social gathering—everywhere! Us kids loved them, especially fresh out of the oven, when the cheese and other fatty components were still melted and gooey inside the crisp shell.

I served the Käsefüße for my birthday celebration and people were comparing them with the Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits. I never had those, but they said they were great!

If you liked these, you should also try my pastry dough snack snails!

How did you like my recipe? Let me know in the comments below! And don’t forget to subscribe to my mailing list! 🥨🦉

Goulash, or Gulasch in German, is a paprika-heavy beef stew (sometimes with venison or pork). It is my go-to meal when I have plenty of time to cook, it was the first “real” German meal I ever prepared for my fiancée, Ali, and it is my top choice whenever I need to provide food for a large group of people.

A Childhood Love-Hate Relationship

Goulash and I have a long history. When I was a young child, my mother or father would cook it using very fatty stew meat. It was always served with either spiral pasta, Spätzle, or rice—and never without apple sauce.

I had a love hate-relationship with it. I didn’t particularly like the texture of the fatty beef, but on the occasions when my parents bought nice, lean meat, the meal was like a dream.

The College Evolution my Goulash

When I first started college and began cooking for myself, I tried to make Goulash on my own. It was okay, but it was never as good as I remembered it. Over the years, I tried again and again. Through that process, I learned better cooking techniques: I discovered that red wine is non-negotiable for my palate, and I learned that you can simply never have enough paprika in a good Goulash.

Global Variations and Culture Shock

Over time, I also learned that not all Goulash is created equal. For instance, I discovered that in Hungary, Goulash is actually a quite thin soup, often containing potato cubes and served only with bread. The meal I refer to as “Goulash” is actually called Pörkölt over there.

However, my biggest culture shock came when I learned what “American Goulash” is. Macaroni with ground beef? That was quite a surprise! I haven’t tried it yet, but I bet it’s still delicious.

Writing Down my Goulash “Non-Recipe”

I never actually used a recipe to cook Goulash, so writing down “my” version for the first time and comparing it to the information available online was quite rewarding. It was interesting to see that my version has some unique characteristics, yet it doesn’t reinvent an already great meal.

I hope you enjoy my recipe. For the summer, I am planning to make a version of Hungarian Goulash while camping, so stay tuned!

If you liked my Goulash Recipe, you should also try my Sauerbraten!

My Side recommendations are Spätzle, Knödel, Pasta, Mashed Potatoes.

My fiancée, Ali, takes a lot of pride in this recipe. It is a very simple variant of strawberry Oreo truffles, and it has its own little story of “successful failure.”

The “Crazy Aunt” Inspiration

Ali originally got a recipe for strawberry Oreo truffles from her “crazy aunt,”. The first attempt to recreate them failed miserably—it was a total mess with the fresh strawberries and the whipped cream. Her next attempt was only slightly better after she decided to leave out the whipped cream.

Finally, on the third attempt, she said, “f* it, I’m just replacing the wet strawberries with chocolate chips,” and the result was amazing!

From Failure to Favorite

Only later did she find out that many recipes call for freeze-dried strawberries instead of fresh or frozen ones. But without that little failure, the Oreo truffles as they are today would not exist.

Today, these truffles are her go-to dish to bring to social gatherings and a consistent favorite on our Friendsgiving nights. Best of all, they only require four simple ingredients:

• Vanilla Oreos (or any other Oreos, but Vanilla are just the best for us!)
• A brick of cream cheese!
• Chocolate Chips
• Vanilla Coating

We hope you enjoy this easy recipe!

If you are interested in more Ali’s American Family Classics, you should try her recipe for Spinach Artichoke Dip.

When you are interested in what else a German guy is doing in Michigan, you can check out my birding guides and reports like the summer trip to the Pointe Mouillee SGA.

Let me know what you think in the comments below! 🥨🦉

It surprises a lot of people that German cuisine has a lot of weird-sounding sour meals other than the obvious Sauerkraut. Everybody knows of Schnitzel and Potato Salad, but what about Saure Nieren (Sour Kidneys), Saure Kutteln (Sour Tripe), or the more common Sauerbraten (Sour Roast)? The latter is the star of today’s post.

The Great Sauerbraten Divide

First, if a German talks about Sauerbraten, they could mean two different things: the “Rheinische Sauerbraten” (Rhineland style) and the “Schwäbische Sauerbraten” (Swabian style)—and all the other local variations. Since I am very much focused on my home area, Swabia, this is the Sauerbraten we will talk about here. It is more actually sour than the Rhine version, which is commonly served with a sweeter gravy.

An Adult’s Appreciation for the Sour

I wish I could say that Sauerbraten was a childhood favorite. When my mother was making it, my brother and I were not really amazed. Sour meals were tough to sell to us. Just like I developed a taste for bitterness as an adult, I also developed a taste for sour things, which goes beyond sweet-and-sour Haribo gummies.

The Challenge of the American Kitchen

The Swabian Sauerbraten gets its taste through brining the beef roast for at least three days in red wine vinegar, red wine, and a mixture of vegetables and spices. The challenge in the US is finding all those spices. In this recipe, I will use some replacement products. The following items from the original recipe got replaced:

• Juniper Berries: Instead of juniper berries, you can use a mix of caraway seeds and rosemary. If even caraway seeds are hard to obtain, try coriander seeds!
• Mirepoix: Obviously, you can get all the mirepoix vegetables in the US, but unlike in Germany, you cannot buy a nice pack of carrots, celery root, leeks, and parsley. You have to buy those separately. My replacement here is that I replaced the leeks with nothing and used the celery stalks instead of the roots.
• Mustard Seeds: You can replace the tablespoon of seeds with a teaspoon full of ground mustard.

My recipe considers the first two ingredient replacements already. You can of course use celery root, juniper berries, and leeks, if those are available to you! 🥨🦉

Serve with your choice of sides. I recommend red cabbage, bread dumplings or spaetzle.

Did you try my recipe? Let me know how it went in the comments below!

If you are looking to eat a Sauerbraten in a local Detroit restaurant, check out the Dakota Inn! I have written a little article about them and some other German restaurants in the Detroit metro. 🥨🦉

A Semmelknoedel (bread dumpling) is a simple side commonly served with all kinds of roasts, Goulash, or as the star of the show just served with mushroom gravy. They are easily done, and can be sustainable when old bread is used instead of being thrown away.

Now, all you need to do is try it yourself! No worries if your dumplings are not perfect at first. They will still be great!

Did you try my recipe? Let me know in the comments below!

On the search for some appetizers you can serve your dinner party before serving your Knödel with Goulash? I got the right collection here for you!

A Childhood Discovery: “Nature” Steak vs. Breaded

When growing older, the Jägerschnitzel, usually with Spätzle, replaced the Schnitzel with fries as my favorite Schnitzel dish. The first time I ordered one as a child, I was a bit in shock: It is just a nature steak! My expectation was a breaded schnitzel with a mushroom gravy and not whatever that was. Once I overcame this initial shock, and I tried it, I learned the value of this pork steak like nature intended it. I would still most of the time pick the breaded variant, but the nature steak has its reason to exist.

The Jägerschnitzel Trinity

The creamy mushroom gravy I will show you in this little recipe post is the final missing ingredient to the whole Jaegerschnitzel Trinity: Schnitzel, Spätzle and Mushroom gravy. It makes one of the most perfect meals whole. It’s the last missing piece to a 1000 piece puzzle. It’s the yin to the Schnitzels yang. I am drifting away, but my opinion about this meal should be clear!

Versatility in the Kitchen

Yes, you can also use that sauce for everything else. Two other famous more vegetarian meals which go great with it are the Semmelknoedel (dumpling) and Kartoffelroesti (potato pancakes).

The Secret: The Two-Pan Method

When making this gravy I like to work with two pans. In one pan I am sautéing onions, garlic and mushrooms, while in the other pan I am making a roux. In Germany the more elegant solution was to use store bought roux for thickening. I am yet to find a good alternative for that. If you know of any, please leave a comment!

If you are making a nature steak, you should deglaze your meat-frying pan with a splash of broth and add that flavorful liquid into your gravy! We do not want to let any of that good taste go to waste!

Serving Suggestion: Pour this generously over your Spätzle and your Schnitzel to complete the Trinity!

Don’t forget to check out my recipe for bread dumplings!

Tried my recipe? If so, let me know what you think and leave a comment!🥨🦉

Spätzle—the Swabian all-purpose weapon, the best thing since the invention of bread, and the ultimate comfort food. In Swabian literature, Spätzle is considered the Leibgericht der Schwaben, which translates to the “favorite dish of the Swabians.” I can only agree; Spätzle is one of my fondest childhood food memories, and it remains my favorite side dish to this day.

But what exactly are Spätzle?

To refer back to my opening sentence: they are a kind of pasta, but not quite. While Italian pasta often uses only semolina and no eggs, Spätzle leans very heavily on eggs and utilizes wheat flour. Furthermore, while pasta dough is typically quite dry and often dried further for later use, Spätzle dough is a “wet business.” It is almost always prepared fresh rather than dried.

How are they made?

The base is simple: mix wheat flour with eggs and salt. Depending on your preparation method, you might add a little water. There are three main ways to shape them: Geschabt, Gepresst, and Gehobelt.

1. Geschabt (Scraped): This is the traditional method. The dough is scraped off a flat wooden cutting board into boiling water using a specific scraper. The dough for this variant usually contains no water at all—just flour, eggs, and salt.
2. Gepresst (Pressed): My favorite way of making them. By using a hand press, you get very uniform, long Spätzle. It is relatively easy to do if you have a press handy. A little water is usually added to this dough.
3. Gehobelt (Planed): This involves using a Spätzlehobel (a slider or plane). This is the most common method I see people using here in the US. You use a more liquid dough that is pushed through holes. In Germany, purists don’t even consider these “Spätzle”—they call them Knöpfle (little buttons). If you want a laugh, just look at any Facebook or Instagram post where someone calls Knöpfle “Spätzle”—the comment sections are hilarious.

The Workout: Beating the Spätzle Dough

The recipe I am sharing is for the pressed variant. The press I use is the Kull Spätzle-Schwob, which is a bit of a pricy import. If you are searching for one in the US, the Westmark Spätzle & Potato Press is a great alternative (and the brand my parents used).

When making the dough, you have to beat it in a bowl with a cooking spoon. I prefer a wooden spoon with a hole in the middle. The texture of the dough will turn your cooking session into a workout! You know the dough is ready when it starts to form large bubbles.

Once the dough has rested and your salted water is boiling, the second part of the workout begins. You fill the press and squeeze the Spätzle into the water as quickly as your strength allows. Pro Tip: Dip your kitchen knife into the boiling water before using it to cut the dough off the press—it prevents sticking!

I hope you enjoy this recipe.

Now what?

Spätzle are the ultimate side dish in Swabia. They go perfectly with Schnitzel and mushroom gravy, Lentil Stew (stay tuned for that recipe!), Goulash, or even as a standalone dish like Kässpätzle (cheese Spätzle with sautéed onions).

You can even vary the dough by adding liver (for Leber-Spätzle), or spinach and herbs for a vibrant green color and earthy taste.

Before you serve your fresh spätzle, A final tip for easy clean-up: Immediately soak your bowl, press, and any used utensils that were in contact with the dough in cold water (this prevents the egg and flour from setting like glue). You do not want to let the dough dry, unless you’re looking to add an unwanted third round to your kitchen workout!

What is your favorite Spätzle topping? Are you a “Press” fan or a “Hobel” traditionalist? Let me know in the comments! 🥨🦉

Graving another traditional Swabian/German side? Check out my Swabian potato salad or the Bread Dumplings!

I would not be The Schnitzel Birder if I didn’t have a Schnitzel in my repertoire. For me, Schnitzel is probably the most German food I can imagine—it is one of the few items that connects every local cuisine across the country. You can get a Schnipo (Schnitzel with Pommes—fries) from Lake Constance all the way up to Kiel. In addition, nearly every Italian, Greek, or Balkan restaurant in Germany has some form of it on the menu. Because everybody knows: The Germans love their Schnitzel!

Little disclaimer: I am an amateur sharing my experience to other amateurs – in case Masterclass causes some confusion 🙂

Memories of the “Gasthof zur Sonne”

One of my earliest memories goes back to the “Gasthof zur Sonne” in my hometown, Weilheim an der Teck. It was a restaurant with good Swabian food, massive portions, and a host named Otto who, to my child-self, seemed very grumpy. Looking back, I realize he wasn’t grumpy; he was just an authentic Swabian.

My go-to was the Schnitzel with fries and dark gravy. Even as a little kid, I always ordered the adult portion, and most of the time, I finished the whole plate. Today, that same building houses a Döner Kebab place, but even they have it on the menu: Schnitzel with fries!

What is a Schnitzel?

Some argue the Schnitzel is strictly Austrian (the famous Wiener Schnitzel or Vienna Schnitzel). While I agree with the history, over the centuries, it simply became THE German dish.

Essentially, a Schnitzel is a thin slice of meat—poultry, pork, or veal (rarely beef)—breaded and pan-fried. The original Vienna version uses veal, but in German home kitchens, pork loin is the standard of the weeknight dinner.

Preparing the Meat: The Butterfly and the Hammer

I like to use pork loin. If you buy them pre-sliced, they are usually 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch thick—way too thick for a Schnitzel! You have two techniques to reach that perfect thickness:

1. Butterfly Cut: Slice the meat almost all the way through parallel to the board, then open it up like a book. This creates a larger, thinner, and more uniform piece.
2. Tenderizer: Beating the meat with a tenderizer hammer! If you don’t have a specific hammer, any heavy, sturdy kitchen object will do.

In my humble opinion, tenderizing isn’t optional—it breaks down the fibers to ensure the meat is fork-tender. And it is fun to do!

The Panierstraße (The Breading Line)

Once the meat is flattened, it’s time for the Panierstraße. This is a series of three containers:

1. Flour & Seasoning: I season the meat directly first, but I also add seasoning to the flour.
2. Egg Wash: Whisked eggs to act as the “glue.”
3. Bread Crumbs: Be generous! This is where that crispy crust comes from.

Now what?

Serve with a lemon wedge and a side of your choice. While fries are the classic childhood choice, nothing beats the “Schnitzel Trifecta”: Schnitzel, Spätzle, and Jägersauce (Creamy Mushroom Sauce).

Other side option would be my Mayo-free Potato Salad!

Craving German food but not making it yourself? Try these German restaurants in the Detroit metro!

Did you enjoy my Schnitzel recipe? Let me know, and leave a comment below! 🥨🦉

Kohlrabi: The Alien of the Produce Aisle

• What is Kohlrabi? It’s a member of the cabbage family (Kohl + Rabi / Cabbage-Turnip). While I see a lot of ingredients that are quite exotic to me find their way into many American kitchens, I have the feeling Kohlrabi is quite the outsider. All of the people I asked said they had never even heard of it, or they saw it in a store but didn’t know what it was. 
• Where to buy? When I first came to the US, I realized that there was no Kohlrabi anywhere, unlike in German supermarkets where it is a staple. Only two years ago, I found Kohlrabi at Meijer by coincidence. I didn’t even hesitate—I grabbed a few of the largest bulbs, though I wasn’t thinking about cooking them yet—no, just as a quick, crunchy, and healthy snack to eat raw. Since then, I’ve learned that nearly every Meijer has Kohlrabi and I’ve also started seeing seedlings being sold at Farmers Markets.
• Handling: When you get your hands on Kohlrabi, be prepared for some work. The outer layer is tough and woody. You do not want this in your meal later, as you cannot really cook it tender. Use a sharp knife rather than a vegetable peeler, and don’t be afraid to peel deep until you reach the light-green, succulent center.

For this recipe, we will peel the Kohlrabi, cut it into fry-shaped sticks, and cook it in salty water. Later we will serve it with a white bechamel sauce and Fleischküchle. 

What is a Fleischküchle?

In other parts of Germany, they are known as Bulette or Frikadelle. Many people believe they are the reason the Hamburger exists today—when German immigrants brought the “Hamburg-steak” to America and eventually combined it with a bun. When I was a child, my parents would actually make Hamburgers using Fleischküchle instead of a plain beef patty, which is a variation I highly recommend trying!

The Bread Hack: The dry bread part is usually handled by buying “Knoedelbrot” in Germany. In the US, I did not find an equivalent to just buying a bag of cubed dry bread, but there is a simple solution: Just buy bread, cube it, and let it go stale (white bread works best!).

It’s the perfect way to use up a loaf that’s past its prime. At my childhood home, we always kept old bread rolls and bread slices, storing them away to be used when needed. As soon as it seemed like we had more than we would ever need for Fleischküchle, Maultaschen, or Knoedel, we would grind them down into breadcrumbs for our next Schnitzel session. Nothing went to waste.

Side Option: Salted Potatoes

Just take some festkochende (waxy) potatoes like Yukon Gold or Red Potatoes—I explain the differences between potato types in my Potato Salad post —peel them, cube them, and cook them in salty water.

If you are looking for other Swabian Recipes, you can try my traditional Mayo-Free Potatoe Salad. Craving a comforting soup, check out our Avgolemono recipe.