Thursday, May 27, 2010

Failing To Bring Home The Bacon

Ahhhh it’s so nice to be back! I admit that I probably got a lot more done in the real world without any Internet access. But, I can’t wait to get back in touch with everyone and to get back to blogging!

After about a month of rain (welcome home, Pacific Northwesterners!), we’ve had some days of amazingly beautiful weather recently. Cheeseball and I have been having picnics on the terrace, we’ve all been exploring our town and finding new parks, we’ve eaten lots of ice cream, gone to the Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart and all kinds of other lovely things.

We’ve also been embracing buying fresh food daily at the butcher, the bakery, the fruit and veggie (obst and gëmuse) man. Last weekend, the butcher was advertising a special on what I swore was bacon.

bacon?


Looks like bacon, no? I was a little surprised when they handed me the giant slab of meat and not slices, but whatever. I have a big, scary knife.

It might have cut up better with a less big, less scary knife given that mine sliced right through the small bones in the base of the huge hunk of meat and then I had to dig out the shards.

bacon?


But, as much as it looks like bacon, I guess it wasn’t bacon. Because it cooked up like pork chops! Super fatty pork chops, shaped like bacon.

not bacon


I guess it wasn’t cured…? None of us were quite up for super fatty pork chops first thing in the morning, so the dog has been enjoying a rather expensive daily feast, shaped like bacon.

So, tell me, what the heck was it? And what was I supposed to do with it? Was I supposed to take it home and cure it myself? Was I supposed to cut it into fatty, short pork chops? Was I supposed to bread it, fry it and serve it with potatoes? Ha ha ha, just a little German food humor on that last one there, folks.

Any ideas?

5 comments:

Jason (the commenter) said...

I'm guessing it should be made into a pot roast.

Sylvia said...

If you tell me what it was called in German maybe I can tell you what it was and how to cook it. ;-)

BTW I have never had American bacon in Germany and am not sure you can even get that there. So if you want bacon my recommendation would be the Commissary. ;-)

Jennifer said...

Mmm, that would have made a delicious roast, I think!

Sylvia, it was somethingbauch I think. A friend tells me bauch means belly so it was probably pork belly. I should have broken out my Momofuku cookbook!!

Sylvia said...

Yes Bauch means belly. Must have been pork belly then. Schweinebauch or Bauchfleisch. Not sure how I would cook that or use that. I'd probably chop it up and add it to a stew I guess. I don't know.

Anonymous said...

Hi Jen!!!
i hope you are still enjoying Germany :-)

i just have to "add my mustard" (german saying: "meinen senf dazugeben", means: i cant hold back and have to say something abot the topic even so it might not be helpful)

I think what you got was "wellfleisch". you are supposed to cut it into 1cm thick slices (the butcher will cut it too for you if you ask). and then cook it and eat it with mustard. and yes, people enjoy all that fat too. i persanelly always cut the fat off (sfter cooking) and then i'm left with tiny pieces of meat ;-)

btw: i love to read your blog! every day i check for new stuff!

talk to you later....
Janine from chickenland