On the winter menu at our favorite restaurant here in Tübingen we happen to notice a new “appetizer” item: Griebenschmaltz. It was listed as coming with a basket of slices of bread.
One interesting difference between your average German restaurant (at least in my experience) and the average restaurant in the U.S. (or in Italy, for that matter) is that you don’t get a basket of bread as a matter of course on the table. So, it was interesting to see something listed with a basket of bread on the menu, since that’s not usually even an option you can order.
However, we had no clue what Griebenschmaltz might be, and by the time we saw it on the menu that day we’d already settled on what we were getting: roast goose breast with all the trimmings, which included some kind of baked apple dish side dish. Plus it came with an absolutely delicious gravy to drape over a starchy potato ball, which is palatable (to me) only because it makes a wonderful vehicle for that superb gravy. 🙂 That’s all also now available on their winter menu.
So, the Griebenschmatlz had to wait until this past Sunday for us to try it. The delay also allowed me to do a little Internet research to find out what the heck it was. Apparently, in some quarters it can be considered one of those “comfort foods” that people remember fondly from their childhood. Here’s link to a blog that talks about it. Essentially, Griebenschmatlz boils down to a thick spread of pork lard. However, despite the description, we decided we would go ahead and try it. The things we do for the blog, as Chris kept saying.
When it came, it was served liked a scoop of ice cream on a plate accompanied by slices of tomato and pickles, with a separate basket that held the slices of bread. The pickles were delicious, but the Griebenschmatlz is what we’re here to talk about. This thick white spread had tiny of bacon/pork in it; the idea was to spread it, as thickly or thinly as you wanted it, on a slice of rye bread. The consistency of the spread reminded me of butter with bits of bacon sprinkled throughout. This was not my favorite dish. It wasn’t nearly bacon-y enough for my tastes to disguise the flavor of the lard. A little went a very long way. However, one must try these things when one lives in Germany.
But maybe it’s an experience that one only has try once…
i do recall eating pork fat, the crispy stuff from a pork roast. They have pork rinds, that are like cheese puffs only pork fat puffs. Lots of people eat that. But a liquid jelly type pork fat, yuck. How can that be palatable. Isn’t it grayish in color? Never eat anything that is gray, I say.
A heart attack in a dish takes many forms. This sounds like one, not at all appealing.
@Kathy, I like all those other things you mention (or at least don’t mind them), but this hunk of lard on bread was different. It was a little gray, but not too gray – I saw some the other day for sale in the market that was stark white, except for the bits of bacon-like stuff.
@Mom, yes, I would think too much of this all at once would qualify for a heart attack on a plate..