Is it still ‘Kassler‘ even when it’s not entirely German? I’ve made a working-executive decision: It is.

The only thing I worry about when I prepare a meal with smoke pork chops without heating them inside some Sauerkraut is whether they will be juicy. I’ve come up with the solution: keep them covered, and even the tiniest bit of liquid will do the trick.

They were definitely juicy last night.

And so were the vegetables.

• a small amount of frozen rendered goose fat, the gift of a friend, that I had mixed with some juices from a dinner of which included squab bruschetta in which I had used it, heated inside a heavy, medium-size tin-lined copper skillet, where it had softened the chopped white sections of a scallion from Phillips Farms, the green section reserved for later, after which 2 smoked loin pork chops from Schaller & Weber were added, the pot covered with a universal copper lid, kept above a very low flame (just enough to warm the chops through, as they were already fully-cooked), turning the meat once, then, near the end of the cooking time (I went 8 minutes this time), the green parts of the onion, which had been set aside earlier, now also sliced, added for a minute or so, the pork removed, arranged on the plates, brushed with a little garlic oregano jam from Berkshire Berries, and sprinkled with both the white and green onion pieces
• red mustard from Norwich Meadows Farm, wilted in olive oil in which 3 cloves of Keith’s Farm Rocambole garlic had been gently sautéed until they had begun to brown, finished with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil
• six ‘Pinto’ potatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, scrubbed, boiled, unpeeled, in generously-salted water until barely cooked through, drained, halved, dried in the still-warm vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot in which they had cooked, tossed there with 3 tablespoons of Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ [12 grams of fat per 14 grams, or each tablespoon, of butter], seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, arranged on the plates, sprinkled with chopped parsley from Eataly, some toasted homemade breadcrumbs scattered on the top
• the wine was an excellent German (Pfalz) white, Becker Family Pinot Blanc, 2013, which our local purveyor at the time, Appellation Wines, was kind enough to special order for us when we asked them
• the music was Handel’s 1737 opera, ‘Berenice’, with Alan Curtis conducting Il Complesso Barocco

Last night, just after we had finished eating, and before writing this post, I followed up on a tweet and reply I had published earlier in the evening that had indicated, with no embellishments, what one of the major parts of this meal would be (I even included an image of the sauerkraut while it was cooking). That second tweet read,

not saying it just because there’s been a certain buildup to this meal, and some of us know not every meal coming out of this kitchen is even very good, but tonight’s (sauerkraut, smoked pork chops, Saltzkartoffeln with toasted rye bread crumbs, was sublime

The dinner really was very, very good, although I can’t explain why. In fact, just before I had begun to put it together I had thought about aborting it and coming back to it on another day: I had learned I didn’t have a couple of the ingredients for the particular sauerkraut I had hoped to serve with the Rauchbier I planned to serve with the meal. Instead I shifted gears and turned to another recipe, but keeping the Rauchbier.

I would say that nothing was really new in any of the 3 parts of the entrée, either the ingredients or the techniques used, except for caraway bread crumbs as the topping for the potatoes. I did accidentally reverse the order of the covered/uncovered sequence in the early cooking of the sauerkraut, but I had expected starting off uncovered would have had a negative effect on the texture, if not the flavor; it might actually have been a boon.

In any event, this meal made me very happy, also because I brought it in under our new mutually-agreed dinner deadline, making us both very happy.

• * one 16-ounce glass jar of sauerkraut (simply cabbage, water, sea salt) from Schaller & Weber [also here] drained and very well-rinsed in several changes of cold water, drained again and placed inside a large, heavy, high-sided tin-lined copper pot with 2 medium sweet yellow onions and one red onion (the red one to be a little perverse), both from Norwich Meadows Farm,  one ‘Newtown Pippin’ apple from Samascott Orchards, 8 or 9 whole juniper berries and about the same number of Whole Foods Market proprietary brand peppercorns, a little sea salt, 1 large Sicilian bay leaf from Buon Italia, enough fresh water to almost cover the sauerkraut, with more added later on as needed, all brought to a boil then merely simmered (uncovered at first, this time) over a low flame, stirring occasionally, for less than half an hour, and then covered (again, this time) for 20 or 30 minutes more, after which two 9-ounce smoked pork chops (in Germany usually called Kassler) from Schaller & Weber, that had first been dried and briefly seared on both sides inside a dry cast iron pan, were buried in the sauerkraut and heated for about 15 or 20 minutes, the chops and sauerkraut arranged on 2 plates
• * somewhat over a pound (we could have survived with less, but they were absolutely delicious) of medium-size Nicola potatoes from Tamarack Hollow Farm, scrubbed, boiled whole and unpeeled in heavily-salted water until barely cooked through, drained, halved, dried in the still-warm vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot in which they had cooked, a couple tablespoons of rich Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter [with 12 grams of fat per 14 grams, for each tablespoon of butter; American butter almost always has only 11 grams, which makes a surprising difference in both taste and texture], seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, after which the potatoes were arranged on the plates next to the chops and the sauerkraut and sprinkled with homemade breadcrumbs made from the heel of a loaf of Orwasher’s ‘Righteous Corn Rye’ which had first been browned in a little butter with a pinch of salt
• * we shared bottles of 2 different kinds of Bamberg Rauchbiere (more about both my own ancient and Barry’s more recent connection to that very special beer here, and here), Schlenkerla‘s ‘Fastenbier’ and ‘Urbock’, from Schaller & Weber
• * the music was Vicente Martin y Soler and Lorenzo da Ponte’s delightful 1786 opera, ‘Il Burbero Di Buon Cuore’, Christophe Rousset conducting the Madrid Teatro Real Orchestra

I just now realized what’s really missing in this picture, if not so much in the meal itself. Chopped Parsley (see an earlier version of the dinner). I sometimes forget that parsley (Petersilie) is very much a part of German cuisine, and it would be completely appropriate to find a bit of that herb on the top of this chop. I’ll pretend it’s there, and note here that the herb that can be seen above is a large bay leaf lying at the top right, already having done its thing inside the Bavarian Sauerkraut.

We accompanied the meal with the third act of ‘Die Walküre‘. It seemed seemly.

• one 16-ounce glass jar of sauerkraut (simply cabbage and salt) from Millport Dairy Farm, drained and very well-rinsed in several changes of cold water, drained again and placed inside a large, heavy, tin-lined copper sauté pan with one chopped red onion from Phillips Farm (I was out of yellow, which would have been the more conventional ingredient), one Honey Crisp apple from Locust Grove Orchards, 8 or 9 whole juniper berries and about the same number of Tellicherry peppercorns, a little salt, 1 large Sicilian bay leaf from Buon Italia, enough water to almost cover the sauerkraut, with more added later on as needed, all brought to a boil, simmered over a low flame, stirring occasionally, for less than half an hour, covered, and then uncovered for 20 or 30 minutes, after which two 9-ounce smoked pork chops from Schaller & Weber, first dried and briefly seared on both sides inside a dry cast iron pan, were buried in the sauerkraut and heated for about 20 minutes, the chops and sauerkraut arranged on 2 plates

I didn’t bring it onto the table this time, but a good German-style mustard should probably have been served on the side.

• three Carola potatoes from Lucky Dog Organic Farm, scrubbed, boiled unpeeled in heavily-salted water until barely cooked through, drained, halved, dried in the still-warm vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot in which they had cooked, a couple tablespoons of rich Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter [with 12 grams of fat per 14 grams, or each tablespoon of butter; American butter almost always has only 11grams, which makes a surprising difference in taste and texture], after which the potatoes were arranged on the plates next to the chops and the sauerkraut, sprinkled with homemade breadcrumbs which had first been browned in a little butter
• the wine was an Austrian (Kremstal) white, Steinig Grüner Veltliner Austria 2015, from Chelsea Wine Vault
• the music was the third act of the ‘second day’ of Richard Wagner’s 1856 ‘Bühnenfestspiel‘, otherwise known as ‘Die Walküre‘, Sir Georg Solti conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra with some magnificent soloists, Helga Dernesch, Hans Hotter, Birgit Nilsson, Brigitte Fassbaender, Berit Lindholm, Claudia Hellman, Helen Watts, Vera Little, Vera Schlosser, Christa Ludwig, Marilyn Tyler, Régine Crespin, Gottlob Frick, and James King, in a 1965 recording, part of a Ring series that remains a ‘benchmark‘ today, one of the most perfect performances – and recordings – of any opera, ever (fortunately it’s Wagner, and it’s one of his best) [we had listened to the first two acts the day before]

It was a snow day. It felt like a holiday. It was also pretty cold outside (and we still haven’t turned on the heat inside), so a warm kitchen felt right. I had all the makings for a traditional German entrée inside the apartment, and we also had some terrific beer.

We had a terrific, traditional German dinner. Also, nearly everything in it came from farms in the area (our area, not Germany, which somehow makes it even more special).

We usually drink wine with our meals at home, partly because we both much prefer draught beer to bottled, but two of the beers we spotted at Schaller & Weber last week were very special to us: These Rauchbiere are from the area of Northern Bavaria from which my mother’s family emigrated to Wisconsin almost 175 years ago. In addition, both unusual and quite rare, we had thoroughly enjoyed them at Schankerla, the beautiful Brauereiausschank of the brewery itself, 5 years ago, with Barry’s mother, and we had never forgotten those pleasures. With some of the entrées however, we also had enjoyed good Franken wine, in a Bocksbeutel.

Smoked bier is not a gimmick, but an ancient tradition which continues today, and from our own experience alone, with good reason. Five years ago Barry described his first taste, “Nice and smoky like bacon in a glass.”

My maternal great-great-grandparents, who were from Franconia, but not Bamberg itself, may never have had Rauchbier. If they had, they might never have left.

• one 16-ounce glass jar of sauerkraut (simply cabbage and salt) from Millport Dairy Farm, drained and very well-rinsed in several changes of cold water, drained again and placed in a large enameled cast iron pot with one chopped onion from Tamarack Hollow Farm, one chopped parsley root (in lieu of the more traditional carrot) from Norwich Meadow Farm, half a dozen whole allspice berries and an equal number of Tellicherry peppercorns, a little salt, 2 Sicilian bay leaves from Buon Italia, about 8 ounces of beer (a bottle of Peroni, which had already been opened and kept in the refrigerator, some of it having been used in an earlier meal), a little water as needed, and a tablespoon of olive oil, all brought to a boil and then simmered over a low flame, stirring occasionally, for about half an hour, covered, and then uncovered for 20 or 30 minutes more before two 9-ounce smoked pork chops from Schaller & Weber, having first been briefly seared on both sides inside a dry cast iron pan, were buried in the sauerkraut, heated for about 20 minutes, the chops and sauerkraut arranged on 2 plates and sprinkled with chopped fresh parsley from Eataly
• a small pot of some pretty good ‘Organic German Mustard’ from Whole Foods served on the side
• two Dark Red Norland potatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, scrubbed, boiled unpeeled in heavily-salted water until barely cooked through, drained, halved, dried in the still-warm vintage Corning Pyrex Flameware blue-glass pot in which they had cooked, a couple tablespoons of rich Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter [with 12 grams of fat per 14 grams, or each tablespoon of butter; American butter almost always has only 11 grams, which makes a surprising difference in taste and texture], the Saltzkartoffeln arranged on the plates with the chops and the sauerkraut, and sprinkled with homemade breadcrumbs which had first been browned in a little butter
• the beer was from Germany (Franconia), two different versions of a very special Bamberg Rauchbier (smoked bier), Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen, and Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche Dopper Bock, from Schlenkerla, in Bamberg, both purchased at Schaller & Weber here on 2nd Avenue
• the music was, no surprise, Georg Solti’s 1959 recording of Wagner’s 1854 opera, ‘Das Rheingold’, with the Vienna Philharmonic

Delicious home economics: This was the third meal in which we were able to enjoy some part of a single 5-pound smoked rack of pork (Kassler). I had purchased it to share with friends on New Year’s Day, but over the next 5 days it eventually became the centerpiece of 8 delicious main course dishes, making the cost per serving only $5.

And they definitely were delicious, this last meal, where only a few ounces of our smoky leftovers were able to dominate a luscious combination of some pretty assertive vegetables, no less than the ones which had preceded it.

• two tablespoons of Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter melted in a small, heavy, tin-lined copper pan over medium-high heat, without stirring, until the butter had become golden brown, a generous amount of sage leaves from Eataly added at that time, and the pan removed from the heat and put aside while 3 outer leaves of a red cabbage from Hoeffner Farms, sliced very thinly, sautéed in another, larger, copper skillet (eventually adding water) until lightly cooked (retaining a slight crunch), and, near the end of that time, one medium shallot from Norwich Meadows Farm, thinly-sliced, added and heated until soft, followed by a few ounces of leftover smoked pork (originally a part of the preparation of this meal) which had been sliced into thick matchstick lengths, then the contents of the skillet added to 8 ounces of a locally-sourced and locally-produced, seasonal and and artisanal pasta, Sfoglini ‘Jerusalem Artichoke Fusilli’ (incorporating sunchokes grown by Norwich Meadows Farm) which had been cooked al dente during the preparation of the sauce, drained, and returned to the cooking pot, everything stirred, along with some reserved pasta cooking water, at which time the sage butter was added and the mix seasoned with salt and pepper to taste

• the wine was a Hungarian (Tokaji) white, Royal Tokaji Wine Co. The Oddity Dry Furmint 2013
• the music was Alfred Schnittke’s Sympnony No. 6, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Tadaaki Otaka