How to make Griebenschmalz
Griebenschmalz is a German spread made mainly from one of my favorite foods: bacon! It's commonly served at beer gardens and it's pretty simple to make!While many recipes use apple, I like using a dried date instead for a more concentrated sweet kick. It's similar to bacon jam, but less sweet and I love the herbal note added from the parsley.While Germans typically smear it onto freshly baked slices of bread, you should also try it on burgers and your favorite sandwiches!
- Prep time
- 5 min
- Cook time
- 10 min
- Yield
- 1 serving
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
- 300 g bacon
- 1 yellow onion (small, finely chopped)
- 1 to 2 cloves fresh garlic (minced)
- 1 dried date (stone removed and chopped)
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley leaves (finely chopped )
- black pepper
Instructions
- 1
Cook the bacon on medium heat until all the fat is rendered and the bacon is crispy. Pour off most of the rendered grease into a jar and refrigerate, leaving some in the pan for the next step. Chop about 1/3 of the cooked bacon into bits (reserve the other 2/3 of the cooked bacon for later use, such as topping a salad or a sandwich).
- 2
Add the chopped onion to the bacon grease and cook until caramelized, about 5 minutes.
- 3
Add the garlic and the date and cook until the date becomes a paste when stirred, about 1 minute. Season with black pepper (and salt if needed, although the bacon should be salty enough).
- 4
Stir together with the reserved bacon grease, parsley and the chopped bacon and transfer to a ramekin.
- 5
Store in the fridge to set up and until ready to serve. Spread onto freshly baked slices of bread and wonder why you've never made it before!