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German flavors in Akron
By Lisa Abraham
Beacon Journal food writer
POSTED: 08:36 a.m. EST, Dec 10, 2008
If the idea of ice skating, hand-blown Christmas ornaments and roasted nuts isn't enough to lure you to Akron's Chriskindl Market, the smell of German sausages grilling and potatoes frying should.
There's authentic German food at the Hutzenstub, the market's cafe, prepared by Chef Markus Goetschel and his staff of five grill and prep cooks who came from Akron's sister city, Chemnitz.
In Germany, Goetschel works for a 100-year-old restaurant, Reichsapfel, in Dresden, where the food is typical German family fare.
He's making some of those same authentic dishes for the Chriskindl Market, including breaded pork cutlets or schnitzel, roasted pork, potato pancakes, hearty soups and lots of sauerkraut, sausage and wieners.
Chemnitz native Kirstin Leppich, who manages the market and translated for Goetschel, said regulations prevent the group from bringing its own sausage from Germany. However, the group made a trip to Akron over the summer and searched for a sausage maker to prepare the kind of bratwurst that is served in Chemnitz.
The spicy pork blend was created by Old Country Sausage Kitchen in Garfield Heights, and is different from what many of us would think of as bratwurst.
It's firm, not the soft-centered style of brats we're used to buying in the grocery store. Spiced with marjoram, it's very lean. Leppich said Old Country is making the sausage exclusively for the market.
The brats are served on a bun, or on a plate with a side of sauerkraut and a side of fried potatoes. Goetschel demonstrated how the potatoes are sliced and fried with bacon, onions and a liberal dose of marjoram.
Marjoram, an oregano-like herb, figures prominently in German cooking and lends itself well to pork, which is the mainstay meat of German fare.
While we would refer to the dish as fried potatoes, Leppich insists they are ''German fries.''
The traditional sauerkraut is studded with grated carrots and caraway seeds and is served alongside the roasted pork and schnitzel.
Also on the menu are two hearty soups, potato and lentil, the latter of which is traditional Christmas fare for Germans to assure prosperity in the new year, Leppich said.
The potato soup comes topped with two wieners. The wieners also are served two on a bun when ordered by themselves. Leppich said serving wieners in pairs is German tradition, although it comes as a surprise to Ohioans expecting one per bun.
The potato pancakes, which come with either blueberry topping or applesauce, are made of grated potatoes and might seem on the mushy and bland side for anyone expecting a crispy latke-style cake.
Leppich said the staff is keeping the recipes prepared at the market a secret, so you'll have to visit if you want to try them. But Goetschel did offer two recipes, both traditional Christmas dishes from different parts of Germany. Leppich said they are expected to be offered throughout the season as lunch specials.
The first, soljanka, is a thick sausage stew that is eaten in the Chemnitz area at Christmas. The second, for beer-braised pork knuckles, is a traditional Bavarian Christmas dish, Goetschel said.
We've also added a recipe for lentil soup so that we all can enjoy a prosperous new year.
BEER BRAISED PORK KNUCKLES
6 pork knuckles (see note)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Garlic, to taste
Dried rosemary, to taste
Dried thyme, to taste
1/2 liter German beer (about 21/2 cups)
Mix all of the spices together and rub onto knuckles. Pour beer in roaster and place knuckles inside.
Cover and roast in a 350 degree-oven for about 2 hours, basting the pork pieces occasionally with the beer.
Serve with sauerkraut.
Makes 6 servings.
Note: Butcher Kris Burns from Kirbies Family Meats in Stow explained that pork knuckles are what Americans would call ham hocks. While typically found smoked, fresh ones are available by order at his and other butcher shops, he said. Pigs' feet, cut from lower on the leg, also are available fresh and could be used in this recipe.
— Chef Markus Goetschel
SOLJANKA
1 cup chopped bacon
2 cups mixed smoked sausage, cut into pieces (see note)
5 medium yellow onions, chopped
4 tsp. paprika
3/4 cup tomato paste
5 gherkin sweet pickles, diced
1 tsp. chili powder
1 bay leaf
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large pot on top of the stove, brown the bacon. Add the sausage and saute until browned. Add the onions and saute until they are translucent.
Add the garlic, paprika and tomato paste and continue cooking. Add the gherkins, chili powder, bay leaf and mustard and 4 to 6 cups of water.
Simmer over low heat for an hour or until soup is reduced to a thick stew. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
Remove bay leaf before serving.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream stirred into soup and with bread. This soup tastes best when it is made ahead of time and reheated so the flavors have time to meld.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Note: The recipe calls for using at least one cup Jagerwurst, a salami-like sausage, but other more readily available sausages such as bratwurst, kielbasas, Polish sausage, ring bologna or even diced ham can be substituted.
— Chef Markus Goetschel
LENTIL SOUP
1 tbsp. oil
2 small or 1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 lb. dry brown lentils
1 tsp. marjoram
6 cups water
1 leek, cleaned and chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed (1 1/2 cups)
2 small carrots, peeled and chopped (3/4 cup)
3/4 lb. sausage, sliced (good choices are hot dogs, bockwurst and knackwurst, or dried, salami-like Jagerwurst)
2 tbsp. granulated instant broth — chicken, beef or vegetable flavor
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. white vinegar
Coarsely ground pepper
Brown the chopped onion in 1 tablespoon oil. Wash the lentils under running water and drain. Add lentils and dried marjoram to onions and cook for 1 minute. Add 6 cups water and bring to a slow boil (do not salt). Cook for 25 minutes.
While the lentils are cooking, prepare the other vegetables by washing, peeling and chopping fine (1/2-inch cubes for potatoes, a little smaller for carrots). Add to lentils and cook for 35 more minutes. Add sausage and granulated instant broth. Season to taste with vinegar, pepper. Salt only if necessary.
Serve with bread.
Makes 4 servings.
— Jennifer McGavin for http://www.germanfood.about.com
Lisa A. Abraham can be reached at 330-996-3737 or labraham@thebeaconjournal.com.
More about the Chriskindl Market
Akron's Chriskindl Market is located in Lock 3 Park, 200 S. Main St., downtown Akron.
Through Dec. 21, market hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. It is closed on Monday.
From Dec. 22 to Dec. 30, the market is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with these exceptions: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 24, Christmas Eve; closed Christmas Day; and open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on New Year's Eve, Dec. 31.
The Hutzenstub serves food during all market hours. From Tuesday through Saturday, it features daily lunch specials from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for $5.
In addition to the food inside the cafe, the market offers roasted and sugared nuts, stollen, hot chocolate, mulled wine and German beer.
For more information on the market, visit http://www.lock3live.com.
In conjunction with the market, the Akron City Centre Hotel in downtown Akron is serving a traditional German breakfast buffet on Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 31.
For $7.95, the buffet includes a variety of cheeses, cold meats, pates, smoked and pickled fish, breakfast pastries, strudels, breads and sauerbraten, roasted beef that has been marinated in vinegar, sugar and spices.
The City Centre is at 20 W. Mill St. The buffet is served from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.
If the idea of ice skating, hand-blown Christmas ornaments and roasted nuts isn't enough to lure you to Akron's Chriskindl Market, the smell of German sausages grilling and potatoes frying should.
There's authentic German food at the Hutzenstub, the market's cafe, prepared by Chef Markus Goetschel and his staff of five grill and prep cooks who came from Akron's sister city, Chemnitz.
In Germany, Goetschel works for a 100-year-old restaurant, Reichsapfel, in Dresden, where the food is typical German family fare.
He's making some of those same authentic dishes for the Chriskindl Market, including breaded pork cutlets or schnitzel, roasted pork, potato pancakes, hearty soups and lots of sauerkraut, sausage and wieners.
Chemnitz native Kirstin Leppich, who manages the market and translated for Goetschel, said regulations prevent the group from bringing its own sausage from Germany. However, the group made a trip to Akron over the summer and searched for a sausage maker to prepare the kind of bratwurst that is served in Chemnitz.
The spicy pork blend was created by Old Country Sausage Kitchen in Garfield Heights, and is different from what many of us would think of as bratwurst.
It's firm, not the soft-centered style of brats we're used to buying in the grocery store. Spiced with marjoram, it's very lean. Leppich said Old Country is making the sausage exclusively for the market.
The brats are served on a bun, or on a plate with a side of sauerkraut and a side of fried potatoes. Goetschel demonstrated how the potatoes are sliced and fried with bacon, onions and a liberal dose of marjoram.
Marjoram, an oregano-like herb, figures prominently in German cooking and lends itself well to pork, which is the mainstay meat of German fare.
While we would refer to the dish as fried potatoes, Leppich insists they are ''German fries.''
The traditional sauerkraut is studded with grated carrots and caraway seeds and is served alongside the roasted pork and schnitzel.
Also on the menu are two hearty soups, potato and lentil, the latter of which is traditional Christmas fare for Germans to assure prosperity in the new year, Leppich said.
The potato soup comes topped with two wieners. The wieners also are served two on a bun when ordered by themselves. Leppich said serving wieners in pairs is German tradition, although it comes as a surprise to Ohioans expecting one per bun.
The potato pancakes, which come with either blueberry topping or applesauce, are made of grated potatoes and might seem on the mushy and bland side for anyone expecting a crispy latke-style cake.
Leppich said the staff is keeping the recipes prepared at the market a secret, so you'll have to visit if you want to try them. But Goetschel did offer two recipes, both traditional Christmas dishes from different parts of Germany. Leppich said they are expected to be offered throughout the season as lunch specials.
The first, soljanka, is a thick sausage stew that is eaten in the Chemnitz area at Christmas. The second, for beer-braised pork knuckles, is a traditional Bavarian Christmas dish, Goetschel said.
We've also added a recipe for lentil soup so that we all can enjoy a prosperous new year.
BEER BRAISED PORK KNUCKLES
6 pork knuckles (see note)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Garlic, to taste
Dried rosemary, to taste
Dried thyme, to taste
1/2 liter German beer (about 21/2 cups)
Mix all of the spices together and rub onto knuckles. Pour beer in roaster and place knuckles inside.
Cover and roast in a 350 degree-oven for about 2 hours, basting the pork pieces occasionally with the beer.
Serve with sauerkraut.
Makes 6 servings.
Note: Butcher Kris Burns from Kirbies Family Meats in Stow explained that pork knuckles are what Americans would call ham hocks. While typically found smoked, fresh ones are available by order at his and other butcher shops, he said. Pigs' feet, cut from lower on the leg, also are available fresh and could be used in this recipe.
— Chef Markus Goetschel
SOLJANKA
1 cup chopped bacon
2 cups mixed smoked sausage, cut into pieces (see note)
5 medium yellow onions, chopped
4 tsp. paprika
3/4 cup tomato paste
5 gherkin sweet pickles, diced
1 tsp. chili powder
1 bay leaf
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large pot on top of the stove, brown the bacon. Add the sausage and saute until browned. Add the onions and saute until they are translucent.
Add the garlic, paprika and tomato paste and continue cooking. Add the gherkins, chili powder, bay leaf and mustard and 4 to 6 cups of water.
Simmer over low heat for an hour or until soup is reduced to a thick stew. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
Remove bay leaf before serving.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream stirred into soup and with bread. This soup tastes best when it is made ahead of time and reheated so the flavors have time to meld.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Note: The recipe calls for using at least one cup Jagerwurst, a salami-like sausage, but other more readily available sausages such as bratwurst, kielbasas, Polish sausage, ring bologna or even diced ham can be substituted.
— Chef Markus Goetschel
LENTIL SOUP
1 tbsp. oil
2 small or 1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 lb. dry brown lentils
1 tsp. marjoram
6 cups water
1 leek, cleaned and chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed (1 1/2 cups)
2 small carrots, peeled and chopped (3/4 cup)
3/4 lb. sausage, sliced (good choices are hot dogs, bockwurst and knackwurst, or dried, salami-like Jagerwurst)
2 tbsp. granulated instant broth — chicken, beef or vegetable flavor
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. white vinegar
Coarsely ground pepper
Brown the chopped onion in 1 tablespoon oil. Wash the lentils under running water and drain. Add lentils and dried marjoram to onions and cook for 1 minute. Add 6 cups water and bring to a slow boil (do not salt). Cook for 25 minutes.
While the lentils are cooking, prepare the other vegetables by washing, peeling and chopping fine (1/2-inch cubes for potatoes, a little smaller for carrots). Add to lentils and cook for 35 more minutes. Add sausage and granulated instant broth. Season to taste with vinegar, pepper. Salt only if necessary.
Serve with bread.
Makes 4 servings.
— Jennifer McGavin for http://www.germanfood.about.com
Lisa A. Abraham can be reached at 330-996-3737 or labraham@thebeaconjournal.com.
More about the Chriskindl Market
Akron's Chriskindl Market is located in Lock 3 Park, 200 S. Main St., downtown Akron.
Through Dec. 21, market hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. It is closed on Monday.
From Dec. 22 to Dec. 30, the market is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with these exceptions: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 24, Christmas Eve; closed Christmas Day; and open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on New Year's Eve, Dec. 31.
The Hutzenstub serves food during all market hours. From Tuesday through Saturday, it features daily lunch specials from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for $5.
In addition to the food inside the cafe, the market offers roasted and sugared nuts, stollen, hot chocolate, mulled wine and German beer.
For more information on the market, visit http://www.lock3live.com.
In conjunction with the market, the Akron City Centre Hotel in downtown Akron is serving a traditional German breakfast buffet on Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 31.
For $7.95, the buffet includes a variety of cheeses, cold meats, pates, smoked and pickled fish, breakfast pastries, strudels, breads and sauerbraten, roasted beef that has been marinated in vinegar, sugar and spices.
The City Centre is at 20 W. Mill St. The buffet is served from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Barberton, OH
Posted 10:27 AM, 12/10/2008
Cool. Went down last weekend and had a blast. I think this is something really nice the sponsors and city are doing with this.
AKRON, OH
Posted 12:32 PM, 12/10/2008
My great-grandparents came here from Germany and my mother loves to go the Christkindl Mart every year to hear German spoken and to sample foods she remembers her grandmother making. It is a wonderful event for the whole family and I highly recommend it even if you're not of German descent.
akron, oh
Posted 02:25 PM, 12/10/2008
IS JINGLELING THERE?
Posted 12:05 PM, 12/11/2008
Did you see that picture? It looks like a giant T*RD on a plate.
Posted 10:01 PM, 12/11/2008
German food is wonderful. I love German Fries (the fried potatoes) with scrambled eggs mixed in too. We always have sauerkraut and pork for New Year's Eve too. That buffet sounds great maybe we will be able to go: I'll have to find out where that hotel is. Welcome back to Akron for another year and hope to see you back next year too.
