Grünkohl mit Pinkel

Ingredients

Kale

• 2 kgkale, after the first frost
• or 1.5 kg frozen chopped kale
• water, for washing

Meat

• 4Pinkel sausages
• or 4 smoked grain sausages
• 4Kochwurst or smoked sausages
• 600 gKassler, smoked pork loin
• or 600 g smoked pork belly

The pot

• 3onions, chopped
• 80 glard
• or 80 g goose fat
• 3 tablespoonsmedium oatmeal
• about 500 ml stock
• 2 teaspoonsmustard
• salt and black pepper
• a pinch of sugar

To serve

• caramelised potatoes
• or boiled potatoes
• strong mustard
• a glass of Korn

Directions

1. Strip the leaves from the thick stems. Those stems never soften and must go. Wash the leaves in several changes of water. Lift the leaves out rather than pouring the water off.
2. Chop the washed leaves roughly. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the kale in several batches. Give each batch about three minutes. Lift it out and drain it well. Squeeze out all the excess water. Frozen kale needs no blanching.
3. Melt the lard in a very large pot. Add the chopped onions to the pot. Cook them for a good ten minutes. They should soften and turn golden. Add the drained kale to the pot. Stir it through the onions and fat. Add the stock to the whole pot.
4. Season it with salt and black pepper. Add the mustard and the pinch of sugar. Stir the oatmeal through the kale. Keep the Pinkel out of it for now.
5. Cover the pot and set it to simmer. Cooking it takes about two hours. Let it simmer along very gently. Stir it every twenty minutes or so. Add more stock if it goes dry. Adding the Pinkel is done late. Add the Pinkel for the last forty minutes.
6. Lay them on top of all the kale. Do not pierce the skins at all. Taste it and adjust the salt carefully. Boil small potatoes until just tender. Melt butter and sugar in a wide pan. Add the drained potatoes to it. Roll them in the caramel until coated. They go golden and slightly sweet.
7. Spoon the kale out onto plates. Slice the Kassler and lay it on top. Set a Pinkel and a sausage beside it. Serve the potatoes alongside them. Put strong mustard on the table. It keeps three days refrigerated.

Technique

• Kale is picked after the first frost because cold makes the plant convert starch to sugar, lowering the freezing point of its cell sap, so the kale is genuinely sweeter; a freezer does part of the same job, which is why frozen kale works well.
• Pinkel is a heavily smoked, very fatty sausage containing oats or barley groats along with onion and spices, so grain is a large part of it rather than meat alone.
• A Kohlfahrt is a winter group walk with a handcart of schnapps that ends at an inn with this meal, where whoever eats the most kale is crowned Kohlkonig and hosts the following year’s walk.

Substitutions

• Frozen chopped kale works well and needs no blanching.
• Any smoked sausage stands in for Pinkel, though the grain filling is what makes it distinctive.

Variations

• Some cooks deliberately burst a Pinkel into the pot to enrich it.
• Caramelised potatoes are the classic accompaniment, though plain boiled ones are used.
• The oatmeal is left out entirely in some households.

History

A winter dish of Lower Saxony and Bremen, eaten on group walks called Kohlfahrten where a kale king is crowned each season.

Frequently asked questions

What is Grünkohl mit Pinkel?

Grünkohl mit Pinkel is a main from Germany: stewed kale with smoked grain sausage, eaten after the first frost. A winter dish of Lower Saxony and Bremen, eaten on group walks called Kohlfahrten where a kale king is crowned each season.

How long does Grünkohl mit Pinkel take to make?

Grünkohl mit Pinkel takes 40 minutes of preparation and 2 hours of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Grünkohl mit Pinkel?

Yes, within limits. Frozen chopped kale works well and needs no blanching. Any smoked sausage stands in for Pinkel, though the grain filling is what makes it distinctive.

What is the most important thing to get right in Grünkohl mit Pinkel?

Strip the leaves from the thick stems. Those stems never soften and must go. Wash the leaves in several changes of water. Lift the leaves out rather than pouring the water off.