Some Germanic charms

NGermanic slang

In most of the countries sarmales are a kind of stand-alone, even if in the East they are often served as mezze. The combination of meat, rice, leaf, sauce plus bread or polenta is enough for them to be a complete dish. The Nordics, both Germans and Scandinavians prefer them alongside mashed or boiled potatoes, with a more consistent sauce, made separately, and, especially in the peninsula with berry jam (in especially cranberries). The Finns top them with birch syrup.

Another extremely important feature is size. Germans have them big. Exaggeratedly big. I usually use twine to keep them from unraveling during cooking, and I even saw a tray of bondage bras that were held in place with some metal collars. It is preferable, unlike almost all other countries, to order in the singular a wire is the equivalent of a fair portion. Also in their case I encountered another constant, approximate, adding a spoonful of mustard in the composition. The Germans, but not only, seem to prefer to replace rice with stale breadcrumbs soaked in water or milk.

And here we encounter dozens, hundreds of variations, and, as I said before, let's not have the utopian claim of exhaustiveness.

Let's begin.

The cabbage is blanched and stuffed with a mixture of minced meat, raw egg, breadcrumbs, paprika and marjoram. Separately, dice the bacon and brown it in a cauldron. Remove and drain the fat. Fry the sarmales on all sides in the remaining fat. Add the beef stock and let it cook, with the lid on, for about 45 minutes. Remove the wires, remove the string. Separately, dissolve cornstarch in cold water, add to the remaining sauce, bring to a boil and stir continuously until thickened. They are served with sauce on top and bacon cubes. Optionally they can be served with cumin sauce or mustard can be added to the sauce.

Elsewhere I found a similar recipe and already I have to mention a common technique different from other countries: browning/frying in oil before boiling in sauce. In the case of this type we note the use of bread core soaked in water, an egg and an extra yolk to bind the composition of beef, bread and raw onion.

The sauce is made with sautéed onions, beef stock, tomato paste, cornstarch gravy, a little cream and paprika. The serving recommendation is also surprising: mashed potatoes and cucumber salad (fresh cucumbers, onions, oil dressing with vinegar and sugar and dill).

Another option suggests adding a spoonful of mustard to the composition, seasoning with smoked paprika and dried marjoram. When they are fried, add bacon cubes, then tomato paste. After they are done, remove the sarmales and add cream to the sauce. The photo shows them next to boiled potatoes.

On marions-kochbuch.de we come across this version: the scalded cabbage is stuffed with a combination of minced meat, onion, an egg and a spoonful of flour. Season with a spoonful of Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. For the sauce, use 20g of bacon and deglaze the pot in which you fried the rolls with the water in which the cabbage was boiled. Also in this sauce, put the remaining cabbage, coarsely chopped, and cook for another 15 minutes. Sarmales are served with boiled potatoes and cabbage with sauce.

Another version involves soaking the core of dry bread in milk (then drained). Fry them, take them out, sauté them in the remaining oil: onions, celery, leeks and diced carrots, add broth, a bay leaf and five allspice grains. Add the sarmales again and continue cooking for 40 minutes. At the end, remove the sarmales, remove the bay and allspice grains, blend the rest. Put butter in the pan and heat it until it becomes slightly brown, add flour and make a paste. Put the pureed vegetables which should have the consistency of a crème soup. There is a boil. At the end, add the sarmales to the sauce and let them absorb it for a few minutes.

Photo Credit: sarmales eaten by me in Germany