German Sundae is an Ohio version of loaded mashed potatoes inspired by the annual Ohio Sauerkraut Festival in Waynesville.
German Sundae
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
Ask anyone who has ever been to the Ohio Sauerkraut Festival in Waynesville, held every second weekend in October, if they have eaten a German Sundae and they will give you a knowing look and a resounding “Yes!” And each year we go and enjoy all the kraut foods (I am sure most people have heard me talk about it) which we enjoy in excess. I invariably end up thinking of my friend Bergy while I am there, eating something like this. I always feel for Bergy because she lives in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, loves sauerkraut (maybe even as much as I do!) and can’t have sauerkraut that weekend, not because she is so far away (although admittedly, that is a potential logistics problem) but because when it is Kraut festival time, it is always Canadian Thanksgiving. AKA Canadian Turkey day.
And while she is enjoying her turkey dinner, I am invariably stalking the streets of Waynesville in search of the perfect sauerkraut treat. There are sauerkraut balls, sauerkraut pizza, sauerkraut and pork, sauerkraut pie, sauerkraut bread, sauerkraut fudge, sauerkraut cabbage rolls, sauerkraut on reuben sandwiches, sauerkraut donuts, and occasionally the German Sundae (that is, if I have any room left to devour it!)
To be true, their version is served on a baked potato, and that can make for awkward eating carrying a bowl with a flimsy plastic fork down the street, trying to cut through the potato jacket while trying to peek at arts and crafts. I always thought it would be more like ice cream if it were done as mashed potatoes, making scoops of mashed in the bottom of the bowl. Then topped with other delicious things. I also made a detour about the bacon they top theirs with (artificial Bacos), but this would also be good with crispy crumbled bacon. And the kraut you can also simmer as I do in many of my recipes to be extra tender and full of flavor. Your choice.
So I do hope you enjoy this for Oktoberfest or even on the dates of the Ohio Sauerkraut festival, held the second weekend of October. Until tomorrow-
~Sue
German Sundae
Ingredients:
- 4 cups hot cooked mashed potatoes
- 16 ounce can sauerkraut, drained and heated
- 1 pound smoked sausage, diced and browned
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 4 scallions, sliced
- salt, black pepper, and sweet paprika
- 4 pimento stuffed Spanish olives
Method:
- Place mashed potatoes in a bowl (as you would scoops of ice cream), and top with remaining ingredients.
- Serve hot.
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We had this for dinner on a Saturday – my hubby said I should have waited a day to serve this … German Sundae on Sunday – groan! We liked this a lot and will be making this tasty, easy meal again. I’ve had and cooked a lot of German food over the years, and this was the first time I’d encountered a German Sundae – thanks, Sue! Made for SWT2018
5 stars
We just had this today at the festival! They used sliced smother fried potatoes on bottom and it was delicious! I’m with you though the bacos is a a no. Real bacon or sausage like you used would be much better. Thank you for sharing these recipes!
If they switched to the fried potatoes that would be good too. I didn’t get up there this year (I sprained my foot so no way could I walk the length of the street). I missed it though as it would always be the last festival. We used to do as many as we could. Apple Fest, Starving Artist, Popcorn Festival, Pork Festival, and on. But Sauerkraut was always the best.
I am sitting here with one of the American Legion members of the AL that prepares this particular dish and has participated in the making of it in the old school house that belongs to the AL. It is not served over a baked potato but serves it over sliced with peel on potatoes that was cooked in the oven covered with water then smashed with a wooden spatula before adding the sauerkraut on top of it.
Perhaps the one I was served was not sliced very well. But having been cooked in the oven, I think we agree it was baked. And maybe not even the ones your AL friends made. But whatever I had some thirty odd years back, it doesn’t make any difference in the end anyway. AL is slicing them and I am using mashed and home cooks will do whichever they like. Have a great day and happy cooking! <3
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Sue! You are the only recipe site on the web that has a recipe for German sundaes. I searched for one every few years and found nothing. My mistake was searching for Germantown sundaes, because that’s where I ate them, and that’s what the restaurant called them. They made them with cubed pork.
I have been trying to convince my husband, whose grandparents lived in Germantown, that there is such a thing. He didn’t believe me. At last I have proof! I’m making it today for New Year’s Day!
I hope you all enjoyed and had a Happy New Year’s Day! Germantown had a food festival for some time although I don’t know if they still do. We went a few times but I think that day might have been the same as another festival. Most of those had the same foods. The only deal in Waynesville, if I recall right, was that to have a food booth you had to be a civic organization and not just a food truck. So I imagine their recipes stuck around churches and clubs for decades.