Bavarian Meat and Cheese Board

This Bavarian Meat and Cheese Board is the perfect snacking situation for cooler months! This board is packed with traditional Bavarian meats, cheeses, and condiments. Serve with a cold German beer or crisp glass of wine!

You've heard of charcuterie, but have you heard of Brotzeit? Brotzeit is the German word pertaining to a savory snacking board. The direct translation for Brotzeit is "bread time," but it pretty much means snack time! You can order Brotzeit at a beer hall and you'll be presented with a snacking board to go along with your beer.

I'll show you how to create your own Bavarian Meat and Cheese Board at home!

*This post may contain affiliate links. See disclosure for further details.

What is Brozeit?

Brotzeit is the German word for "bread time" it refers to a snacking platter typically served at beer halls. This platter varies, but may include meats, cheeses, bread and condiments. Bavarian Brotzeit is a similar concept to French charcuterie, Italian Antipasti, or Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Mezze.

Perfect for fall!

Of course you can enjoy this meat and cheese board any time of year, but it's best served in the fall! Something about the crisp fall air and snappy sausages just goes perfectly together, am I right?

This board is filled with heartier flavors, warm spices, soft pretzels and cheese. All of which lend themselves perfectly to cooler weather. Plus, if you want to be festive, this is the perfect thing to serve for Oktoberfest!

Meats

This board has a selection of classic Bavarian style meats. I've selected my favorites of varying flavors, textures and size. Feel free to customize your board to your preference!

Bratwurst: A classic that's easy to find and that everyone loves!

Knackwurst: Knackwurst is German sausage that is made with garlic and lightly smoked. It has a deliciously snappy skin!

Black forest ham: Smoky black forest ham is delicious, and great to include for varying textures.

Liverwurst: Speaking of textures... I had to include some liverwurst! Of course, liverwurst is not for everyone, but I love it!

Cheese

This board is more about the meats than the cheeses, but I had to include a couple for good measure! Getting your hands on these specific cheeses might be tough, so substitute with what you can find.

Allgauer Emmentaler: Allgauer emmentaler is basically Swiss cheese, but made with German cow's milk. You can substitute with emmental, gruyere or gouda.

Limburger: Not for the faint of heart! This flavorful, rich cheese starts off more firm and becomes soft and spreadable as it ages. It is definitely a stinky cheese, so proceed with caution! You can substitute with raclette or camembert.

Accoutrements

The supporting cast of accoutrements can take a meat and cheese board from boring to something special! Feel free to customize to your liking, just make sure they are in keeping with the theme.

Sauerkraut: Whether you love it or hate it, sauerkraut and German sausages belong together!

Caramelized onion jam: I used this caramelized onion jam for the board, but you can make your own if you prefer!

Mustard: You HAVE to have mustard for a Bavarian themed board! I used two types, stone ground and and sweet Bavarian mustard.

Pickles: I have gherkins here (because they're cute!) but any dill pickles will work.

Bread: Rye bread goes great with the flavors of this board. You can choose crackers instead!

Pretzels: I couldn't leave soft pretzels out! I LOVE a soft pretzel with mustard and what better place to include them than a Bavarian snacking board? I just used frozen soft pretzels that you can grab at any grocery store.

Other options to include

Other German sausages: If you are so lucky to live near a German deli, you'll be able to find a lot more than just bratwurst. Bockwurst, Weisswurst, Thuringer and dried sausages such as landjager would all be great additions to this board!

Butterkase: As you might've guessed, butterkase translates to "butter cheese" in German. This cheese is mild and creamy. If you can find it-grab it!

Pub cheese: Spreadable pub cheese is perfect with pretzels and would be great on this board! I love Merkts and Kaukauna brands.

Cambozola cheese: Cambozola is a delicious German blue cheese that is a cross between camembert and gorgonzola.

Fresh fruit: Apple slices and grapes would be a fresh and seasonal addition to this board.

Dried fruit: I love adding dried apricots to meat and cheese boards for a little something sweet. Dried cherries would be tasty as well!

Drink pairings

You might immediately think that the only drink to serve with a Bavarian Meat and Cheese Board is a beer, but there are great wine options too!

Dry Riesling: Riesling is a German wine so it's no wonder it works well here! A dry or semi-dry option will compliment this flavors of the board best. If you've only heard of sweet rieslings, get over to a wine shop and grab a dry riesling right now! They are delicious, complex and a fun departure from your every day white. Look for the word "trocken," which means dry in German. You can also opt for dry rieslings from the Alsace region of France, bordering Germany.

Gruner Veltliner: Gruner Veltliner wine is a white wine that is primary produced in Austria. The high acidity of this wine will cut through the fattiness of the sausages.

German beer: Of course a nice cold german beer will be perfect with this board as well. You can serve it in "das boot"!!

You might also like