Golden brown and crispy skin. Juicy, tender meat. Lemony and herbal flavors. Bavarian roasted chicken is sure to be a hit at your next Oktoberfest celebration!
October is more than Halloween.
Besides Halloween, Oktoberfest is one of the first things that comes to my mind every year when October rolls around. But, what’s funny is that I’ve never actually celebrated it. It’s always been hovering around the periphery of my world. An Oktoberfest meal and festivities at a local Lutheran Church, or an Oktoberfest-themed night at one of the many microbreweries that I pass. It’s always there, but I hadn’t given it much more thought than that.
Recently, however, I’ve been thinking a lot more about culture and tradition. In America, it seems like the more time passes, the further we are detached from our history (which I believe is by design). More and more, our country seems to be relegated to a watered-down version of itself, tearing down our past and replacing it with multiculturalism and globalism. This has caused me to want to learn more about the culture and traditions of our forefathers and those of my ancestors, before they are erased from history. Naturally, something like Oktoberfest catches my attention more than it used to. What is it? How did it begin? Why is it important today?
What is Oktoberfest
In the simplest explanation, Oktoberfest is a continuation of one of the most epic wedding receptions in the history of weddings. In October of 1810, Prince Ludwig of Bavaria married Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The festivities following the wedding started on October 12 and extended all the way through the 17th! The party was such a good time that they decided to make it an annual event. Over time, the event was moved up to the end of September, due to more favorable weather conditions, and running into the first week of October.
While the story of Ludwig’s wedding may not seem like a super inspiring reason to drink a lot of beer and smash piles of bratwursts, maybe we need to look at it from a different perspective. Maybe we need to look at it as a way to celebrate the preservation of culture. Ludwig seemed to care more about art, architecture, and building museums than he did about war or the GDP. Art and architecture create beauty. Beauty inspires men to greatness. Great men create great civilizations. “I want to transform Munich into a city that honours Germany so whole-heartedly that no one may claim to know Germany until they have seen Munich!” We could use more of this in our modern world.
That’s cool and all….but, what are we gonna cook???
Through the magic of the internet, I’ve been able to meet people from all over the country and even some across the globe. One of my new cyber-friends just so happens to be a native to Bavaria. So, obviously, I had to pick his brain for this month’s article, because I knew that I wanted to do an Oktoberfest-themed recipe. So, I asked him what foods were most popular at this time of year and what he preferred personally. I was given two options. First option was Schweinshaxe (a crispy skinned pork knuckle) with dumplings. Second option was Brathendl (Bavarian roasted chicken) and potato salad. The pork knuckle sounded like something that might be harder to source for some people. So, let’s cook Brathendl and some vinegary potato salad!
Brathendl: Bavarian Roasted Chicken
For the Brathendl, I rubbed it down with a combination of butter, herbs, garlic, and the zest and juice of a lemon. Then I seasoned it with salt and black pepper and roasted it at 425 degrees on my pellet grill. The pellet grill gives some smoke flavor, which is a nice addition. But, a conventional oven will work just fine for this recipe.
After roasting the chicken with all this herbal butter, you end up with some really nice pan drippings. Don’t throw these away! Instead, make a nice gravy to dunk that chicken into. Click this link for the recipe!
What will I need for the Brathendl?
- One whole chicken
- A stick of butter
- Fresh Rosemary
- Fresh Thyme
- A lemon
- Garlic
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
- 2 Leeks
- A pellet grill or conventional oven
- A roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet to catch all of those flavorful drippings.
Grilled “German” Style Potato Salad
I wouldn’t be much of an American if I didn’t have a little bit of rebellion in my blood. So, for the potato salad, I parboiled the potatoes and then finished them over fire to get a nice black char all over them. I literally just threw a grate over my fire pit and cooked them over a fire of white oak. You can use a gas grill, or even one of those cast iron grill pans. Use a bottle torch if you want….I just want some blackish charred bits! Worst case scenario, you don’t char the potatoes at all, and you still have a pretty tasty side dish. Just use what you have….adapt and overcome. Get the recipe for Grilled “German” Style Potato Salad HERE!
Let’s raise a chicken leg to King Ludwig and to preserving tradition.
Brathendl: Bavarian Roasted Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 Each Whole Chicken
- 4 Tbsp Butter
- 2 Tbsp Fresh Rosemary, Minced
- 2 Tbsp Fresh Thyme, Minced
- 1 Each Lemon, Zest and Juice
- 4 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Each Sea Salt
- 1 Each Black Pepper, Course Ground
- 2 Each Leeks, root and tops removed
Instructions
- Preheat oven or pellet grill to 425 degrees.
- Add butter, garlic, rosemary, and thyme to a small saucepan and melt together over low heat. We are just melting the butter, no need to heat it up beyond this point.
- Once the butter is melted, add the lemon zest and then the juice of the lemon to the mixture and stir to combine
- Prepare the leeks by cutting off the root ends and the loosely packed green tops. All you want is the whiter, more tightly packed portion of the leek. Now, split it down the middle, lengthwise. Hold the leeks under running water and clean out any sandy soil by separating the inner layers of the leek and allow the water to run between them.
- Prepping the chicken: make sure that all packaging is removed from the chicken, including the giblet pack that may be stuffed into the chest cavity of the chicken.
- Now, using your fingers, carefully separate the skin from the breasts, entering from the tail end of the breasts. The skin should not be removed, we just want to create a separation between the two, to get seasonings directly onto the breast meat.
- While holding the skin up and away from the breast meat with one hand, grab a finger-full of the butter herb mixture with the other. Now place the butter mixture under the skin and rub all over the breast meat. Work the butter all around the breasts. Try to get some up under the skin of the thighs as well. We want maximum coverage, directly onto the meat.
- Once the meat is fully covered, rub the remaining butter mixture onto the surface of the skin and even add a bit to the interior of the chest cavity.
- Season the chicken all over with sea salt and pepper. Try to get some under the skin and in the chest cavity. Then evenly coat the outside of the skin. Don’t go too heavy if you already have quite a bit of seasoning under the skin.
- In the bottom of a rimmed baking sheet, arrange the prepared leeks into rows, about one inch apart.
- Lay the chicken directly on top of the leeks and place into the oven/pellet grill.
- Cook for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Depending on the size of the chicken, you may go longer or shorter. You want a deep golden color on the skin, while also hitting a safe internal temperature. If the skin is getting too dark before the chicken is fully cooked, you can lower the heat until a proper internal temperature is reached.
- Once an internal temperature of 155-160 degrees in the breast, and a minimum of 175-180on the thigh is reached, remove the chicken from the oven.
- Allow the chicken to rest for at least 15 minutes before cutting. This allows the meat to relax and not squeeze all the juices out during premature cutting. The chicken will also continue to cook to a higher temperature for a minute or two after removing from the oven.
