Oktoberfest Strudels

I made tamales — the meditation, the rosary in corn husks. Each tamale spread and filled and folded with the deliberation of a woman who has made thousands and who treats each one as the first, because the first-ness is the respect, and the respect is what Rosa taught: every tortilla matters, every concha matters, every tamale is someone's dinner and someone's dinner deserves your best.

The small Panadería Rosa in the small downtown El Paso continues to be the small business. The small bakery operates from four AM to six PM six days a week. The small pan dulce, the small empanadas, the small bolillos, the small conchas are the small daily-product. The small bakery is the small Maria Elena and Luis Gutierrez inheritance from Maria Elena’s parents.

The small twelve-grandchildren are the small joy-of-the-small-final-third-of-life. The small grandkids cycle through the small Sunday-bakery-and-Maria-Elena-house from morning to evening. The small intergenerational kitchen runs on the small Sunday.

Luis (the small husband) operates the small bakery’s production side while Maria Elena runs the small front-of-house and the small recipe-development. The small forty-year-relationship (married against both small families’ wishes) has been the small life-partnership. The small Javier-loss in 1993 had been the small permanent wound the small family carries. The small marriage-survived.

The five children: Carlos (the small eldest) had been killed in Juárez in 2008 at age 19 in the small cartel-violence. The small loss is the small permanent-wound. The small four-surviving-children are: Roberto Jr. (now 38, runs the small bakery’s wholesale operation, married with three kids), Elena (now 35, a small ER nurse, married with two kids), Mateo (now 32, a small high school teacher, married with one kid), and Sofia (now 28, the small bakery’s manager, engaged).

The small Mexican-cooking-tradition runs through the small kitchen-and-bakery. The small mole, the small chiles rellenos, the small tamales-at-Christmas, the small posada-foods, the small Three Kings Day rosca. The small recipes have come down through four-and-five generations of the small Gutierrez-Hernandez women.

The small El Paso-Juárez border-cousin-network continues. The small Juárez-side of the family (Maria Elena’s mother’s family) crosses the small bridge for the small family-events. The small cross-border family-life has been the small constant. The small post-Carlos-killing has changed the small relationship to the small Juárez-side.

After a morning of spreading masa and folding tamales — each one a small act of respect the way Rosa taught it — my hands are already in the rhythm of fill-and-fold, and that rhythm doesn’t want to stop when Sunday’s kitchen fills with grandchildren. These Oktoberfest Strudels came out of that same instinct: a savory, hearty pastry you stretch and wrap around something good, something warming, something that feeds a table full of people you love. The strudel dough pulls thin the same way patience pulls thin — carefully, steadily, without tearing — and when it comes out of the oven golden and fragrant, it is someone’s dinner, and someone’s dinner deserves your best.

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 lb bratwurst or kielbasa, casings removed and crumbled
1 cup sauerkraut, drained and lightly squeezed dry
1 cup green cabbage, finely shredded
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1/2 cup Gruyère or Swiss cheese, shredded
2 tbsp whole-grain or spicy brown mustard
1 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
8 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten (for egg wash)
1 tbsp poppy seeds or sesame seeds, for topping

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Cook the filling. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the crumbled sausage until browned and cooked through, about 6–8 minutes. Drain excess fat. Add the diced onion and shredded cabbage and cook 3–4 minutes more until softened. Remove from heat and stir in the sauerkraut, mustard, caraway seeds, salt, and pepper. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Stir in cheese. Once the filling has cooled slightly, fold in the shredded Gruyère so it distributes evenly without melting entirely.
Layer the phyllo. Lay one sheet of phyllo on a clean work surface (keep remaining sheets covered with a damp towel to prevent drying). Brush lightly with melted butter. Layer a second sheet directly on top and brush with butter again. Repeat until you have 4 layered sheets.
Fill and roll. Spoon half the sausage filling in a log shape along the long edge of the phyllo, leaving a 2-inch border on each end. Fold the short ends in over the filling, then roll the strudel up tightly, sealing it like a package. Place seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets and filling to make a second strudel.
Apply egg wash. Brush the tops of both strudels with the beaten egg and sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds.
Bake. Bake for 22–25 minutes until deep golden brown and the pastry is crisp and flaky. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing each strudel into 3 pieces.
Serve. Serve warm with extra mustard or a simple green salad on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Oktoberfest Strudels — The Baker’s Hands Never Forget