This recipe is from ongoing contributor Christine Rubba and originally comes from the "Burgenländisches Kochbuch" by Marietheres Waldbott and Gottfried Kumpf.

Grammeln are small cubes of fried pork fat from the back of pork. They can be eaten cold (like candy), but Christine's dad used to take a tablespoon of leftover fat, cut up half an onion into small pieces, fry them in a pan until they got soft and then add a handful of grammeln. This was delicious when spread on a slice of bread.

(Ed: When my family and I visited my grandmother's village (Schandorf) many years ago, we were "treated" to a Sautanz (pig butchering), and fresh grammeln were prepared immediately over in the side of the yard. They were a big hit!)



GRAMMELN / FRIED PORK CUBES
(from Christine Rubba)

Original serving size:
LOTS (the original recipe calls for 10 kg of pork)

Ingredients:
  • 1 kg (2-1/2 lb) of pork fat from the back of a pig
  • 1/2 liter (2 cups) of water
Preparation:
  1. Cut the pork fat into 2 cm cubes.
  2. Pour the water into a large pot and bring it to a boil.
  3. Add the pork cubes and keep stirring until they swim in the fat. The grammeln will gradually turn light brown and somewhat firm.
  4. Remove from heat; strain out the grammeln with a sieve or a metal slotted spoon. While still hot squeeze out the excess fat. In the Burgenland they used a potato press.
  5. Save the liquid fat (Schmalz) in another high-rim pot and leave it to cool down. It can be used in other recipes and adds an extra bit of flavor.
Serving suggestions:
As mentioned above, grammeln can be eaten fresh when they cool down, eaten cold like candy, or reaheated with onions and sprinkled on bread.