Pichelsteiner

Pichelsteiner

Type	Stew
Place of origin	Germany
Main ingredients	Meat (beef, pork and mutton), vegetables (potatoes, carrots, parsley, cabbage, leeks), meat broth

Pichelsteiner is a German stew that contains several kinds of meat and vegetables.

Preparation

In the first step beef, pork and mutton are seared. Then the vegetables are added that are usually potatoes, diced carrots and parsley, cut cabbage and leek. Subsequently meat broth is poured over the mix and everything is cooked together (some recipes also add onions and garlic).

In Swabia it is common to serve the marrow of which the broth was made together with the finished stew as a garnish. As the dish is very easy to prepare the Pichelsteiner is often prepared in large-scale catering kitchens. The consistency is normally quite thick.

Etymology

It is proven that Auguste Winkler (née Kiesling) invented the dish. Originally from Kirchberg im Wald she worked as an innkeeper in Grattersdorf where she is also buried. The name is likely to derieve from nearby Büchelstein where annually the Büchelsteiner Fest is celebrated since 1839. Already at the 40th anniversary in 1879 the Open-air-cooking was considered a tradition and as the ü is pronounced like i in the local dialect the name developed.

In Regen, a town in the Bavarian Forest the citizens have met since 1874 on Kirchweih Monday to eat Pichelsteiner together, a tradition that is still alive today. They also claim the name's etymology. In their opinion it derieves from the pot in which the stew is cooked that was called pichel in the past, but this version is highly questioned by native country researcher Max Peinkofer.

However the dish fast mentioned the first time in a cookbook in 1894.

See also

• Bavarian cuisine
• Swabian cuisine
• Irish stew
• Bosnian_Pot
• Nikujaga

References

• Article in German