June 14th
2007
Piggy-backing, pun intended. One of the hardest parts about not writing in your native language is to find proper terms for recipes and dishes that are regional specialties. Like today's recipe. We refer to it as Griebenschmalz or Grammelfett, a typical German and Austrian specialty served as a spread on crisp sourdough or rye bread and oftentimes found in beergardens or as a no-fuss, down-to-earth Brotzeit in Bavarian restaurants. Google Local would be the way to go, but how to find the correct English term for it on a global scale? You still google, but that's when things start to become complicated: we found apple greaves dripping, some call it crackling fat, others refer to the firm parts of it as pork scratchings. And - to make it even more hair pulling - the descriptions are inconsistent with one another. If anyone out there knows the one and only correct term for Grieben and Griebenschmalz, I'm all ears! For the time being, I will use the German term Griebenschmalz...
Besides the added spices this spread consists of four major ingredients: apples, onions, the rendered fat and the firm remains from rendering the pork fat. Truth be told - it might not be the healthiest of all available spreads simply due to the high amount of saturated fats, but if you forget about this teeny, almost negligible fact *cough*, IT IS SIMPLY DELICIOUS!
Griebenschmalz and I made the acquaintance when I was young, kiddo-age, with a little help of my grandpa. He's the typical Brotzeit eater, who always prefers a well prepared, hearty snack over an elaborate meal. Give him some slices of crusty sourdough bread, Pressack (head cheese), blood sausages or Griebenschmalz and he's a happy camper.
Olito - how we cheekily call him - is a very strong character, knows every European airport like the back of his hand and speaks half a dozen languages, but he never really became fond of exotic culinary treats. It took us forever to finally convince the stubborn old guy to eat at an Asian restaurant and he still refuses to eat any kind of white sauce or soup. On the other hand, he’s even more so into traditional Czech and Bavarian fare. As long as I can remember back, no Sunday passed by without my grandma preparing one of her famous pork or beef roasts and the most delicious homemade dumplings. As soon as the pork roast began to infuse the whole house with its irresistible scent and its crackling turned crisp and golden, my grandpa and I regularly started fighting over the biggest part of it. Which I usually got - him being the generous grandpa of course.
The next best thing to hot pork crackling straight from the oven are Grieben (greaves). My grandma usually brought back this special treat from visits to a nearby friend's farm, where they had just slaughtered and processed a pig, unpretentiously packed in a little plastic bag, stored in her fridge. One would eat them sprinkled over potatoes or - my personal favorite - baked into potato pancakes or latkes, which we always ate with our fingers. While fresh Grieben are a rare thing to indulge in, Griebenschmalz always has been and still is a regular on our table. Available at every good butcher, they differ by ingredients (with or without apples and/or onions) and their seasoning. So after my first and highly successful attempt to make it myself and the benefit of being able to adapt the seasoning to my very own liking, I'm spoiled for life!
And while I'm traveling down the memory lane, it all reminds me of my grandpa's 80's birthday. I can still picture him dancing and singing on the restaurant's table - a prime example, nicely illustrating that regular consumption of pork fat doesn't necessarily come with a negative impact on one's health. Can't wait to see what crazy things he'll do in December, when we'll be celebrating his 85th birthday ;)
Dice the pork fat in small cubes, depending on how small you want your final greaves to be. Keep in mind, that they will shrink during the process just like breakfast bacon does. Put them in a large pot and render the pork fat cubes over medium heat, occasionally stirring. As the cubes release more and more fat, the rendered fat tends to splatter quite a bit and a few cubes even jumped around like they were popcorn. Cover the pot with a lid to prevent your kitchen from getting all greasy, but leave open a small gap on the side.
Meanwhile finely dice the onion and prepare the apple. Peel it, quarter and core it, then cut the quarters in very thin slices. When the cracklings turn slightly brown, add the prepared onion and the apple. Be careful, as the whole mixture will foam vigorously at first, but will quickly calm down again. Season to taste with salt and pepper (don't burn your tongue when tasting!), but remember you can always add spices later on your slice of bread as well. If you want to add additional seasoning like bay leaves, majoram, thyme or garlic, this is the right time to do so (I prefer mine pure, just salt and pepper).
As soon as the onions and the apples gained a nice golden brown color (my onions got a tad too dark I might add - yummy nevertheless), remove from the heat and take the firm parts out with a skimmer to stop the frying process. If you leave them in the fat, they will get darker while filling them in the sterilized jars. Besides, it is easier to first fill the glasses with the firm ingredients and then cover them with the rendered fat.
Close the jars immediately - watch your fingers, they are hot! Let them cool down and keep them in the fridge, they should be fine for a couple of weeks also I'm sure ours won't make it through the first week... Have it as a spread on slices of fresh sourdough or rye bread, sprinkled with some coarse sea salt and don't even dare to think about the calories!
Apfel-Griebenschmalz (apple greaves dripping)
Recipe source: own creation
Preparation: ~1 hour plus chilling
.
Ingredients:
500g raw pork fat (from the back or belly)
1 mid-sized onion
1 mid-sized slightly sour apple (e.g. Braeburn)
sea salt, freshly ground black pepper
optional: garlic, bay leaves, majoram, thyme
eat with fresh sourdough or rye bread, additional coarse sea salt to taste
I think I had a heart attack just reading about it. So it must be delicious! The pig is such a glorious animal. Griebenschmalz is definitely on my to-do list. Thank you.
It seems that we are connected by a similar memory. Great age! This is wonderful and this looks like a great recipe. My grandpa on the other hand died when he was way too young and I miss him!
I just love it!! My hips not that much :-) Brava!
Amazing! I heart everything bacon, but never had something like this in my whole life! The old photography is fab, your grandfather looked like a very handsome guy.
Sounds interesting and looks fantastic!!
Jake
It's something my grandmother used to make and then my mother. You can't get good pork dripping with bits in it (yes, that is the "official name") in Canada, so we'd make our own. It's a staple of most Polish restaurants now and all the ones that serve traditional Polish food give you a portion of "lard with bits in it" with a few slices of bread. My mum would never put apples in hers, but your recipe still made my mouth water. Nothing like common culinary history, eh?
Bad timing, bad bad timing... This looks to die for. I always thought there was water involved in rendering the fat (boil in water till the fat melts, and then let it stand till it solidifies on the surface), but of course then you wouldn't have the grieben, not fried anyways. This is a lot better. Great job, Nicky!
We ate fried crispy pork cracklings as a snack or with boiled potatoes at my grandma's place quite often, but never mixed them with apples. Really intrigued by your version, however!
Now that brings me down memory lane :) I love eating the crispy fat bits when I was a little girl. I used to wait till my mom is done with the cooking to ask for those delicious bits. It's so unhealthy yet so delicious. hehehe
in the summer, I add some fresh tomatoes or green pepper
[...] June 14th, 2007 · No Comments Down the memory lane - with pork fat [...]
Just the other day I tried to tell my boyfriend about Griebenschmalz, unfortunatley, the only word I could think of at the moment was 'lard', and he couldn't believe that I would have eaten that! My grandpa is 84, and his favorite Brotzeit is just like your granddad's.
Isn't it funny that some of the best recipes are made with some of the wierdest ingredients. Who would have thought people would prefer pork fat over actual pork.
I just love cracking :)
Nicky, This is the exact thing( minus the apples, onions) that is used in a lot of Chinese cooking. It's what gives that beautiful aroma and flavor. I'm just amazed that our cultures have crossed in this way. I used to eat the crunchies by itself till I felt really sick! But I still love it!
It definitely IS lovely, dear Nicky! The sample you gave me to try (*GLOAT*) proved your blog's name absolutely right. Thank you!
For me griebenschmalz is still Bavarian staple food. I remember beeing a completely broke student hitchhiking to see a equally broke friend far away - bringing a loaf of fresh rye bread and a jar of homemade griebenschmalz with me so we would have enough to eat...
Oh, this tartine is so gorgeous, in French : Tartine Gourmande !
This looks simply delicious. My mother used to save the drippings from bacon to make something similar, but without the bits, which I'm sure makes it even better.
Phänomenale Idee. Nie im Traum hätte ich daran gedacht, Grammelschmalz selber zu machen. Wird probiert!
My mother made the same thing and I was always there in the kitchen helping her. I loved eating those fried pork fat bits but my mother always told me that it would cause wrinkles on my face! Since then, I stopped. LOL.
My Augsburg-born husband says he's never even heard of this - and now thinks his mother must have deprived him of a special Bavarian treat. He's had schmalz - just plain, spread on bread, but not what you described above. Maybe I'll have to give it a try sometime!
Having spent the better part of the past week rendering horse fat for french fries, I've become really fond of the process. I've been looking for ways to apply my newfound knowledge, and this dish looks perfect. The first thing I thought about after reading your post was whether this could be applied to my favourite fat of all, duck. I even think the apple and onion would complement it perfectly, too. Have you ever tried it that way? Also, what size are your cubes of fat? 1cm x 1cm?
I'll die from a heart attack with joy!!
This is very similar to what my family used to make, but I didn't know that you could add apples. I think I have to try it very soon and surprise my mother with it. Thank you!
In Austria it's called "Grammelschmalz".
Delicious recipe.
Greetings from Vienna!
In Canada I know something similar by the name of Suet, but I think it is from rendering beef fat. We add apples and spices, but often dried fruit too which makes it sweet and call it Mincemeat. It's great in pastries! I think it might be British?
Hmm, I'll have to loose some pounds before I dare to try this recipe... But it makes my mouth water.
Great recipe!
I think the term schmalz is sufficiently embedded in North American culture to be understood and used as is. That leaves only the other English speakers, but in the meantime no one seems to mind absorbing native food vocabularies.
The shot of the jars are superb. I have to admit I will be worried to eat pork fat but the sour apple must add something interesting to the taste.
My grandfather ate fat every day of his life. He was in excellent shape until he got cancer at 75. Maybe we should put our fear aside once in a while and give your recipe a try with a healthy salad on the size. The vinegar from the vinaigrette will partially eat the fat.
I know what you mean with second language and regional dishes. I got the same problem yesterday with Epluchette de ble d’inde, a French Canadian tradition. Using the real word is the best option.
I absolutely LOVE d:d.
Please clue me in how you take such stunning and bright photos! I'm dying to know
Keep up with the fantastic work :)
This site is beautifully put together, I feel like I'm reading an article in Food and Wine. I must admit I'm very tempted to try making some of this oh-so-fatty and delicious spread. I was recently reading an article in the NYTimes about the joys of pork-bellies and their underuse in the kitchen. Any ideas?
By the way, you've been nominated as the Best Food Blog for the Blogger's Choice Awards. You can facilitate more votes by adding a "brag badge", I think its pretty easy: http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com/blogs/show/6409 Best of luck!!
Oh how I want to try this! I had something similar in Austria, but I think they skipped the apples.
Hi, Nicky! I grew up in the Southern part of the U.S. and we absolutely loved every part of the pig! One of our favorite treats was crackling bread - a type of cornbread stuffed with cracklings and cooked in a cast iron skillet. We never mixed the apples and onions with the lard, but it sounds really good to me! I think you have inspired me to make a batch!
Blatant use of pork fat! Have you no shame?! I am pretty sure that such gratuitous photos and vivid descriptions of this foodstuff are illegal where we live in California. So, of course, we now must have some!
Actually, my wife (Sherry) has been an expert with pork fat for quite some time. I just pretended not to know in case it could get us into trouble with, you know, the health authorities. But no more! You've legitimized it for me, and I can now say it---I LOVE PORK FAT AND I DON'T CARE IF THE WHOLE WORLD KNOWS!!
sounds very interesting and looks like a lot of fun to spread too
Johanna, Do give it a try with apple, it's so good, I promise you won't regret it! When I bought Griebenschmalz at a local butcher I always went for the "onions only" versions, too, but homemade, with really good apples it is a killer!
Kinuk, Great to see, that Griebenschmalz is spread worldwide (pun intended)... Common culinary history - with or without apples ;)
Hande, I knew you would love this, 'will have to make another batch to give you some samples, as you can imagine, the whole batch was gone within a few days.
Carol, I didn't have the slightest clue, that Griebenschmalz is used in Chinese cooking! "I used to eat the crunchies by itself till I felt really sick!" - oh, I can so relate to that ;)
Kaltmamsell, Your comment proves one thing: Even as a broke student you were creative enough to make the most out of your budget - it is Bavarian staple food, but sometimes staple food can be the best in the world!
Cyndi, It's never to late to try, is it? As a kid I also loved the plain Schmalz on bread - I obviously have a weak spot for anything containing pork fat.
Rob, No first hand experiences with duck fat so far, please let me know when you give it a shot, it has to be delish! My pork fat cubes were a little smaller than 1x1 cm, maybe 0.7 cm?
Rachel, I think our kitchen is blessed with a great natural daylight, we don't use additional lightning, that's probably the most important fact. A neat camera and a proper lens (more than the camera body) helps of course, we use a Nikon D70s with a Tokina Macro 100mm/2.8, a great combo.
Bob & Sherry, I knew it, we DO have the same culinary preferences :) And we're so looking forward to...you know what!!
Grammelschmalz is one of the things I missed most since we left Germany. Thank you for sharing the recipe, I will try it very soon!
To soothe any minds troubled about fat: This delicious spread actually holds less calories than butter.
Have it with a bit of freshly ground pepper on it.
Delicious blog, by the way.
I cannot tell you how happy I am to find this recipe! My husband loves this stuff, but we don't get it here, at least not with apples. THANK YOU!!!!!
I can't help but drool over my keyboard! Discovered your blog via switched, what a beautiful blog you have here, kudos!
This is a traditional dish in Poland (where I come from), where it's called smalec - similar to schmalz! Which name was first, I wonder? :) We usually make it without apples though, and bay leaf is a must. Yummy!
I searched for Griebenschmalz, something I discovered on a recent trip to Nuremberg, and found your blog. It is amazing and I can't wait to read trhough your archives! Thank you for sharing your recipes, I can't wait to try this myself.
in spain this recipe name CHICHARRONES, i make this recipe when my family kill one pig. thank and sorry for my bad english
We have a similar dish in South Africa called kaiings. This is the fatty bits minus the rind. It is not ussually stored with the dripping. Ussually it is eaten with another of our national favourites "pap" which is maize porrige. Equally delisious if you add it to scambled eggs -just in case the kaiings by themselves does not have enough cholestrol.
The word kaiings is from the Dutch word "kaantje" which means a piece of fried fat.
I believe each culture has their own recipe for this. They had to get some lard/fat etc. before we had sunflower oil in bottles.
Even the oldest culture in Southern Africa -The San & Khoi Khoi had a similar dish made from sheep tail fat.
Definately the BEST!!!
... on rye bred with finely chopped raw onion sprinkled on top, and a fresh grind of black pepper...
how lovely! i miss that a lot too! for me, it'll be pork scratchings always. i never knew how to make my own grammeln, assumed they were the fried skin, similar to chicharron in mexico and the bacon rind my mum used to fry as a snack(it is beyond me how i did not grow up to be insanely obese). i will definitely give this a try. we don't do apples with our greaves, but it sounds like a real treat. for me, it's onions, always. butas a gesture of goodwill to the family, i should probably try your version...