Ahhhh Fall! The sound of wind through crisp autumnal leaves, hot totties, ghords, squash, pumpkins, and motha f****** apple picking! If you live even remotely close to an apple orchard, which you should if you live in America, go there right now and pick some motha f****** apples! Have you ever picked an apple, rubbed the dirt off on your shoulder, and eaten it straight from the tree? If you haven’t let me tell you… its f****** awesome and f****** delicious!! And its cliche… but cliche in a fashion that allows hipsters to partake in the fun festivities as well.
I know, I know. Apple picking is complex, and can be stressful if not done properly. Allow me to provide you a brief tutorial:
Step 1: Upon arriving at the orchard or farm, walk directly to the Fuji apple section. To be frank, Fuji apples are the best and I am not sure why anyone would eat anything else… just ask Colleen and Zoe, I’m kind of obsessed.
Step 2: Inspect the Apples
Step 3: Continue to inspect the apple from different vantage points.
Step 4: If the apple has no apparent worm holes, no lesions, and looks all around good… place it in the bin.
Step 5: There are only four steps.
Alright, enough funny business.. it is time to cook! After picking my apples at Homestead Farm in Poolesville, MD, I moseyed over to the pseudo farmers market and got some other goodies. I saw a beautiful red cabbage and immediately decided to steam cabbage with apples, and go with bratwurst for the protein. It would need a condiment, so mustard was rather obvious. And a nice IPA is always nice in the fall, so lets put as much IPA into this as possible.
Ingredients
1 head of red cabbage
3 shallots
6 fuji apples, skins removed
1-2 tbsp dijon
6-10 sage leaves
1 IPA for steaming
1-2 tbsp apple-cider vinegar
Bratwurst
Enough IPA to cover the bratwurst
Preparation
1) Remove the skins from three fuji apples, remove the core and cut into small pieces. Cook down in a few tbsp of butter and sage. Once the apples are tender to the center, remove from heat and put into food processor with sage. Puree until mixed through. Place mixture into strainer, and push mixture through strainer (This can be labor intensive, and take a few minutes but it is worth it. This keeps the mixture smooth and without chunks). Mix in dijon gradually until you get the flavor you want.
2) Cut red cabbage into small pieces. Remove skin of three remaining fuji apples, remove core and cut into small pieces. Cut shallots into thing but long pieces. Steam mixture with one beer and a splash of apple-cider vinegar. Add salt and seasoning for flavor. Steaming should take more then ten minutes, and cabbage should be tender but not mushy.
3) Bring remaining IPA to boil. Put bratwurst into boiling IPA, and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from IPA. If you have a grill, throw it on there for additional texture and flavor.
4) Plate it and enjoy!!
seizethesupper 