Walnut Creek’s Bierhaus specializes in traditional German cuisine with a gourmet or global twist. Their wurst sandwiches — especially the bierwurst tucked into a triple-cheese encrusted brioche bun — fit that description perfectly. And if you purchase an Oktoberfest kit from the restaurant this month or next, you can prep the bierwurst using the kitchen’s nifty beer-poaching technique and enjoy an epic festival at home. Already have some brats in the fridge? Those will work, too.
Cheese-crusted Bratwurst Sandwich with Curry Ketchup
Serves 8
Ingredients:
24 ounces shredded Three-Cheese Blend (they use Gruyere, mozzarella and white cheddar)
8 precooked and cured sausages
8 brioche hot dog buns
Curry ketchup (see below)
To make the curry ketchup, toast the curry powder gently in a small pan over low heat for five to 10 minutes. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix the curry with the ketchup using a rubber spatula until fully incorporated. Set aside.
To poach the sausages, in a medium-sized pot, bring two quarts of water or light beer to a simmer. Add the cured and precooked sausages to the pot and simmer on low for five minutes. Get a grill very hot (450-550 degrees Fahrenheit) and transfer the sausages to the grill to get a bit of char, one minutes on each side.
To make the cheese-crusted buns, gently toast the brioche hot dog buns. Bring the surface temperature of your griddle or non-stick pan to 450 degrees Fahrenheit or medium high and place 3 ounces of cheese on the pan.
Open the brioche buns and place them on the cheese face-down. Cook for a few minutes or until a crust begins to form. Using a thin spatula gently remove the cheese crust from the nonstick pan with the help of the bread.
To assemble sandwiches, place a sausage inside the cheese-crusted brioche bun and serve with curry ketchup and German whole-grain mustard.
— Courtesy of Bierhaus, Walnut Creek
