Duvel

Maybe because to become palatable it needs to be cooked at least 3h with a looooot of pork products, by which time your pizza crust in the oven looks either like something resembling items they‘d study in vulcanology or the remains of count Dracula after being hit with a stake in the thorax (the outcome depending of course on the flour you are using) …

It was a bit of a strange Sunday pizza & movie night. First of all, there was no movie. The Halloween theme has finally caught up with Germany and little one and his friends went „trick or treat“ing … My wife accompanied him to his friends house and stayed for a while. I was left with quite some dough and my parents-in-law (who are visiting) to entertain. So pizza night with the inlaws 🥳. Luckily, there were a few cold Jever‘s left in the fridge … Mushroom & sausage Potato, goat cheese & cured pork loin Garlic, anchovies & capers Tuna & onions Margherita (my MIL took an interest and launched the pizza into the oven. And failed to retrieve it at 3.45 min. She is more of an „approximate“ person. Lesson learned - on my side at least 🤗). All enjoyed while watching TV3 Noticies streaming …

Temperatures have dropped and the season in between fall and winter has reared its ugly head. With ~5 oC and heavy rain it is not the most pleasant time to be outside. The inside in this time, however, offers shelter, warmth and ideally some comfort food befitting the season. Enter Grünkohlessen: kale, amped up with goose fat-fried onions and homemade stock, boiled for 4h with Bregenwurst (from my hometown), Kassler, Blutwurst and Bratwurst and served with a robust potato purée … A small plate of Sauerkraut for a non-german family member that refuses to see the light … A cold Jever to go with ... … and an ice-cold Kümmel to chase 🤗 Full !

When people talk about kohlrabi, they use comparisons like „oh, its a bit like unripe papaya and you can use it in Som Tam“, „boiled it reminds me of underdone cauliflower stems“ or recently „reminds me of Jicama“. Now, how many food items you know that actually taste decent and get compared constantly to other, more palatable items ? Opossum (tastes just like chicken) ? Balut (tastes just like fermented tofu) ? Pumpernickel (tastes just like the very bottom part of a traffic light) ? No, of there is something great it‘ll stand on its own (think oysters, matsutake or Grünkohl) and is not used by people thousands of kilometers apart (like @liamsaunt and me) to throw at critters around the house … Yep - that’s how bad it is.

I knew you were a good one 🤗 Managed to hit any ?

Fantastic ! I haven’t had that in years - thanks for reactivating my memory. It’s on my list for the next weeks now …

Point taken, @rotuts. I will see what I can do 🤗

It was not meant as an insult. I simply think you may have missed the reference of only „Knackwurst“ not being referred to as Braunschweiger … Regardless, this thread was about the US variety and I think there might be still more ideas to get the OP inspired.

Yes, they do. My apologies, but maybe your German might not completely up to the task in this matter. The linked text says: Braunschweiger is a spreadable smoked sausage made from soft, coarse pork, with and without garlic. But the Knackwurst, a finer, light spread sausage, is also a Brunswick specialty. As a rule, however, the latter is not referred to as "Braunschweiger". In the German food law only the addition "Mettwurst" describes the "Braunschweiger". In Austria, the Braunschweiger is a boiled sausage. In the USA, on the other hand, a smoked, spreadable liver sausage is known as Braunschweiger. I hope this translation is unambiguous. As an anecdote: (German) Braunschweiger is the favorite sausage of my sister. We hail from Lower Saxony (about 100 km south of Brunswick) and my parents go at great lengths to get my sister her favorite food when we have a gathering (just as I get „my“ Mett everytime i go home). I have a rather good idea what Braunschweiger is comprised of, lookes like, tastes like …

And I think that’s only fair - the US variety is a distinct product on its own right, as is the German one.

We are leaving for Berlin on Monday, and my wife is very OCD on finishing everything we have at home beforehand. Luckily I got some chicken wings before the order came, so tonight we had oven-roasted chicken wings (both classic and „Korean“), plus a kitchen sink salad with wafu dressing and a potato salad for the potato salad haters (with Parmigiano cheese, kewpie, garlic, …) …

For me, this is as good as it gets. Pâté, great bread & vinegar pickles. I am sure there was a great wine accompanying it, and I am jealous as can be …

Kill them all, I’ll say, shall god sort them out. Anyone who uses Kohlrabi (other than throwing it at rodents) is in league with the devil …

Does drinking the grains also count ..?’

Wasn’t me (at least I do not quite remember), but Hackmesser would be just about the right word for those beauties. Wiegemesser would be accepted as well … Beautiful setup, @weinoo !

Yeap … Unter Braunschweiger versteht man hier eher eine streichfähige geräucherte Mettwurst aus weichem, grobem Schweinefleisch. Braunschweiger is a spreadable smoked sausage made from soft, coarse pork. So exactly which part is it that you are struggling with ? Leberwurst (liverwurst) is an entire different dominion in Germany, and regardless what they sold you in your time here, it ain’t Braunschweiger (again, here. In the US it is a completely different story). Sorry about that …

The city of Braunschweig certainly agrees on the Mettwurst version 😋 (click)

Just a disclaimer: generally accepted in the US … in its birth land it is more of a coarse salami (a soft subtype of Mettwurst) …

Specifically chicken livers I love as yakitori - grilled over very hot coals until seared & pinkish inside, brushed with tare, a few seconds more just to get few scorched spots … and enjoyed together with some sake.

A good balance is about 3 parts fried minced meat to 1 part liver sausage to 1.5 parts stiff bechamel. The liver sausage melts into the mixture and - together with the bechamel - lends a kind of smooth & creamy gameyness to the dish. I find it quite pleasant …

I understand that Braunschweiger in a US context refers to a kind of liver sausage. In that case you could use it as the base for a Banh Mi, a filling for puff pastry pieces together with sautéed apples and caramelized onions, or mixed with fried minced meat and a healthy dose of bechamel in filled Canelons pasta …

Could you elaborate on that mole ? I haven’t encountered a pink one yet …

First I thought it gives me the finger. But on closer inspection I found it looks more like a festive version of Mr. Hankey …

A grilled cheese & ham sandwich (with wonderful Raclette cheese) and a tomato salad …

I did the leg twice - first time perfect, second time the exact opposite. Same procedure - so there must be an issue with the meat itself. Same hunter I purchased from … Regardless if “direct” enzymatic reaction or mediated by microorganisms, on a short timescale I am sure you’ll be fine. There is very little difference between a 30 min SV stint and a 30 min stay in a medium oven …