Kasey and Karena: German greats (+recipes)

Frankfurters with pickled cabbage and bacon. Photo / Doug Sherring

A Kiwi take on some German classics.

On a recent trip to Frankfurt, we discovered a whole new cuisine. We've done a lot of travelling and have become pretty good at figuring out the best places to eat. We pick out a few fancier restaurants that have been recommended or ones that keep popping up on blogs or websites. However, the best ones are always those recommended by locals.

When checking into a hotel or sitting at a bar having a drink we always ask the staff where they go for dinner. We find it more useful to ask where they eat rather than where we should eat. The question of "Where is a good place to eat around here?" usually leads you to tourist hot-spots. Where they choose to eat tends to be something entirely different.

The first recipe we are sharing is our take on a Frankfurter we devoured at 9pm after asking the hotel clerk where he would eat at this hour. It was from a small brick building that had a long glass pane running the width of one wall which had a 1m sliding glass window where the money and products were exchanged.

About 15 warmly dressed Germans gathered in small groups eating these Frankfurters, smoking like chimneys and drinking spirits they had bought to accompany their food. They were the best Frankfurters we had ever eaten.

It was all about the sharp cabbage and rendered bacon fat that topped the happy red-skinned Frankfurters.

They used a delicious yellow mustard that was not as hot as English mustard but not as mild as Dijon and the cheese was stringy and delicious. We played around with the recipe when we got back to find that perfect balance of vinegar to bacon.

The next memorable meal was discovered after chatting to our Uber driver and asking him where he ate dinner. He dropped us at a tavern-style place tucked down a cobblestone alleyway. The place was packed. People were laughing loudly and every group had a huge jug of apfelwein, like a flat apple cider.

We sat at the end of the table next to a big group of happy guys who looked like they were unwinding for the day. One of them pointed to the schnitzel option and nodded so we promptly ordered.

The crumb was delicious and crunchy and the meat inside was juicy and perfectly cooked.

The highlight was the green sauce which is common on almost all traditional German menus. From what we could gather, it was a mixture of plenty of fresh green herbs mixed with something creamy.

Our version of this sauce is pretty close to the one we tried and will also taste great with barbecued lamb or any dish that could do with a fresh pick-me-up.

Our final recipe is from a place recommended to us by a German woman working at an indoor food market. The restaurant was in an old tavern that is famous for its Schnapps.

Apple cakes are found on many German menus but apparently this was one of the best.

It was more like a cold crumble than a cake and was much lighter and more refreshing than the dessert we know.

The addition of the schnapps was amazing, but feel free to leave it out if you don't have any.

This dish would be great for a sunny alfresco dessert for when the weather is getting nice and warm.

Try Kasey and Karena's delicious recipes below at bite.co.nz

• Frankfurters with pickled cabbage
• Schnitzel with green sauce
• German apple cake