# Schwenkbraten and other things I'd like to learn how to make



## Steve (Aug 7, 2011)

Growing up, we never ate a lot of meat.  My wife, on the other hand, loves steak and over the decades I've been learning to grill.  I used a gas grill for the first 17 years of our marriage, and have recently purchased my first charcoal grill, a simple 22" Weber.

I've been grilling like crazy, having a great time.  My favorite so far is a simple wild caught Salmon.  Here in Seattle, it's salmon season and wild caught Sockeye from the Copper River is less than $8/lb.  It's hard to screw it up.

I'm going to take a stab at pork spareribs today, but what I'd really like to learn how to make is schwenkbraten.  There are two dishes I really, really enjoyed during my 2 years at Hahn AB:  jagerschnitzel and schwenkbraten.  Anyone have any ideas?  I've found this site so far, although from what I remember, the steaks were cut from the neck, not the loin. 

http://www.kitchenproject.com/kpboard/recipes/SpiessbratenSchwenkbraten.htm

Oh man... these were delicious with a good beer.


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## granfire (Aug 7, 2011)

the secret to 'Schwenker' as we call them back home is that they are marinaded for a day, with lots of onion.

For 10 cutlets
1kg onions, sliced
salt, pepper
1 tablespoon thyme
1tablespoon oregano
4 cloves of garlic
several bayleaves crunshed up
!teaspoon ground cloves
15 crushed Juniper berries
1 teaspoon allspice powder.

(you were lucky i had my cookbook handy...after climbing over some boxes etc...)

you want a nicely marbled thick cut pork chop, no bones.

layer them with the spices and onions for 12-24 hours (I found ziplock bags are nice for stuff like that.)


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## Steve (Aug 7, 2011)

THANK YOU! 

Juniper berries...  hmmm...  going to have to give that some thought.  The rest looks very doable.  I still think I'll try getting the chops from the pork neck.  Supposed to be very well marbled, from what I've read online.  I guess I'd better find out! 

Today, I'm going to grill some pork spareribs.  I think I'm going to try and make up a chipotle bbq sauce to go with it.  We're in the middle of our 3 weeks of Summer here in the Seattle area, so I intend to make the most of it.


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## granfire (Aug 7, 2011)

you can leave the juniper berries out. They are a pain to find in the US (and I avoid them back home too...they are just a very traditional pork spice...)


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## granfire (Aug 7, 2011)

you also want to make 'Jaegerschnitzel'?

It's really just a piece of meat smothered in brown gravy with mushrooms.
If you are lucky you can find some other 'shrooms than the white ones. I think up there in the PNW area there are some delicious domestic ones to be had in fall.

Of course, the sides are important. Potato dumplings, 'Knoedel' are a must (but mashed potatoes do in a pinch) and maybe red cabbage. A very fallsy dish.


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## Steve (Aug 7, 2011)

I can make a good schnitzel.  I atea lot of it in germany, is all.  Anymore, I prefer chicken fried steak the way my grandma showed me.  Similar dish.But schwenk....  Thatis the mystery.  I have to say, though.sitting out here on my pTio, these ribs smell terrific.


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## granfire (Aug 7, 2011)

stevebjj said:


> I can make a good schnitzel.  I atea lot of it in germany, is all.  Anymore, I prefer chicken fried steak the way my grandma showed me.  Similar dish.But schwenk....  Thatis the mystery.  I have to say, though.sitting out here on my pTio, these ribs smell terrific.



Smartphone posting?

one of the secrets to a good Schwenksteak (yes, another alternate name for the same thing) id having real wood for the fire, or at least real charcoal. Beech or apple is good....


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## David43515 (Aug 8, 2011)

If there are any markets in your area that cater to Arabic or middle eastern communities they`ll have the juniper berries.


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## Tez3 (Aug 8, 2011)

Don't forget the mayonaise on your chips sorry fries! 

Obviously I'm not into the pork stuff lol but when we were in Germany bratties ( bratwurst) was popular with the guys, currywurst, frikadellen. The local Lidl and Aldi shops here do well with it's German produce, the squaddies like German food and many have German wives.
I take it you don't have many Juniper trees in the States? You don't have gin?...faints away with the very idea of not having gin! No gin and tonic?


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## Carol (Aug 8, 2011)

We import gin, much like we import rum, tequila, wine...its all good.

Steve, you can find juniper berries on Amazon.com (sorry don't have a link handy).  I often shop there for Japanese foods I can't find locally


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## granfire (Aug 8, 2011)

Tez3 said:


> Don't forget the mayonaise on your chips sorry fries!
> 
> Obviously I'm not into the pork stuff lol but when we were in Germany bratties ( bratwurst) was popular with the guys, currywurst, frikadellen. The local Lidl and Aldi shops here do well with it's German produce, the squaddies like German food and many have German wives.
> I take it you don't have many Juniper trees in the States? You don't have gin?...faints away with the very idea of not having gin! No gin and tonic?



LOL, you mean lighter fluid and tonic?

But the truth is, you don't need juniper berries. (I do find them kind of gross and nobody really uses them as far as I know...)
Throwing the wood onto a smoker though....you can get the most delicious smoked trout filets in Germany....hmmmmmmmI think I'll head on out to Aldi and see if they carry them!


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## MaxiMe (Aug 8, 2011)

I'm thnikin Steve will graduate to a smoker soon 
Smoiked pork tender loin. mmmmmmm


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## granfire (Aug 8, 2011)

MaxiMe said:


> I'm thnikin Steve will graduate to a smoker soon
> Smoiked pork tender loin. mmmmmmm



Natural progression....


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## MaxiMe (Aug 8, 2011)

Yup, I did. Cant' wait to see his homemade Rub Recipies  Hmm new topic comming soon


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## granfire (Aug 8, 2011)

MaxiMe said:


> Yup, I did. Cant' wait to see his homemade Rub Recipies  Hmm new topic comming soon



Emeril's is still the gold standard....


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## MaxiMe (Aug 8, 2011)

granfire said:


> Emeril's is still the gold standard....



Bang!, It's the essence


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## granfire (Aug 8, 2011)

Love the way you think!


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## Steve (Aug 8, 2011)

Tez3 said:


> Don't forget the mayonaise on your chips sorry fries!
> 
> Obviously I'm not into the pork stuff lol but when we were in Germany bratties ( bratwurst) was popular with the guys, currywurst, frikadellen. The local Lidl and Aldi shops here do well with it's German produce, the squaddies like German food and many have German wives.
> I take it you don't have many Juniper trees in the States? You don't have gin?...faints away with the very idea of not having gin! No gin and tonic?


Based on my admittedly limited experience with Brits, my impression is that you only eat things that are boiled or fried.   

As for gin, we do have ways to get alcohol here from other places.  Hehe.  

As for progressing to a smoker, I admit it's crossed my mind.  But the Weber did a very, very good job with the ribs.  I did three racks for about 3 1/2 hours.  It held the temperature right about 250F the entire time, and the smoke penetrated deep into the ribs.  I just added a 1/2 cup or so of hickory chips every 30 minutes or so, and added coals as necessary.  

They were, in my not so humble opinion, delicious.  And the honey chipotle BBQ sauce my daughter and I made was really good, although a shade this side of too hot.  We went a little nuts with the chipotles. 

What I really want to do is some texas style brisket.  I need to plan ahead for that, though, and get started early in the morning.


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## MaxiMe (Aug 8, 2011)

stevebjj said:


> Based on my admittedly limited experience with Brits, my impression is that you only eat things that are boiled or fried.
> 
> As for gin, we do have ways to get alcohol here from other places. Hehe.
> 
> ...



Chips = smoke. You're already covered 

Think I'll have to clean the smoker tonight and start soaking some wood. This thread is making me hungry.

Steve you have the breakdown on the honey chipoltle sauce? That sounds good.


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## Steve (Aug 8, 2011)

Chipotle in adobo, honey, a little ketchup, some garlic powder, onion powder, apple cider vinegar, black pepper, salt, brown sugar, worcestershire, liquid smoke.   couldn't tell you how much of each...  just monkeyed with it until it tasted good.   Not much ketchup, because the adobo actually made a decent base for the sauce.


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