Bernerwürstel - a childhood memory

What was your favourite dish when you grew up? I'll admit that I didn't grow up on confit de canard and foie gras either... and although our diet was reasonably healthy, when we went out to eat - for a Sunday lunch for example - the dishes my brother and I would choose didn't have much more nutritional value than a meal in any given American fast-food chain: deep-fried breaded escalopes accompanied by french fries, cevapcici (ground pork in the shape of croquettes) again served with fries and loads of onions, and Bernerwürstel, my personal favourite over the years. These are sausages (Frankfurter) stuffed with cheese (mostly Emmental) and wrapped in bacon (pancetta works best). They're then fried in a pan or grilled on the BBQ and served with fries and "Pusztasalat", a salad made of pickled white cabbage and red peppers. Let me assure you that this, served with enough mustard and tomato sauce, is a perfect hangover cure. The salt and fat are able to appease any irritated stomach, although I certainly wasn't aware of that back then!
Believe it or not, I found some Bernerwürstel ready made in Waitrose last year - not only were they the real thing, but they were even produced by a butcher near my parents' place in Upper Austria. When Austria had its referendum on whether or not to join the EU, politicians kept assuring us that Austrian produce would conquer the European market and right they were - although this year I had to make my own again as the Bernerwürstel which made it to Waitrose only lasted one summer... the problem being that exporting your produce to other European countries is one thing - educating the public on the culinary offerings of your country or region (to make them want to buy said product) is quite another. After all, any given butcher in a small town in Austria doesn't necessarily have access to the same marketing budget, sponsoring and EU subsidies as (to name but two successful examples) a cooperation of cheese producers in Camembert or Roquefort...

Bernerwürstel
(serves 4)

8 Frankfurter sausages
24 strips thinly-sliced pancetta
ca. 200 g emmental

Cut a deep opening into the Frankfurter lengthways, making sure you don't break the skin on the other side. Stuff this opening with cheese cut in strips and wrap the sausage tightly with pancetta, securing it with toothpicks, if you wish.
Fry the sausages in a non-stick pan (the pancetta will release enough fat, so no need for oil) or grill on the barbecue. Serve with french fries and a salad.

Comments

[Sascha]

A variation on this theme from Mexico (Baja California, to be specific) are Camarones Costa Azul (dubbed by me & my friends "Berner Shrimps"): 2 jumbo shrimp, place cheese in between them and wrap them in bacon (use toothpicks). Bake in oven at 350° F for about 10 mins. Cholesterol bomb? For sure. But delicious!!!

[Kate]

This sounds a lot like the kaesekrainer I had last night! I'm not even going to attempt to cook them, but if you want to read my blogpost about the kaesekrainer experience, you can find it here!
http://www.transatlanticsketches.com/2010/04/kasekrainer-experience.html

Love the blog!
Kate
www.transatlanticsketches.com

[cyrell]

Ah yeah memories...

I remember them as a treat which was reserved for a weekend once a month and also one of the times where i did not have to fight with my brother over the food.

Strange how kids always prefer the salty, fatty fast food like things.