German Potato Casserole: Backesgrumbeere

Photos added March 29, 2021

The regional dialect of the area of Germany where this dish is a specialty is called "Pfälzisch" (roughly in English, "Palatinish").* The Pfälzisch dialect name for this potato dish is "Backesgrumbeere," which means "Bakers' Potatoes," as long ago housewives used the ovens of the area's bakers to cook this dish. "Grumbeer" ** is one of several German words for potato, with standard German using the word "Kartoffel," a German form of the Italian word "tartufolo," which means "truffle," the very expensive mushroom-type food, and the later chocolate confection. In case you didn't know it, potatoes came from the New World, so people in the Old World had to come up with words for the new food, which originally was thought to be poisonous. Some Germans must have thought potatoes looked a lot like truffles, which also have to be dug out of the ground, so ... While the region of this recipe, called Rheinhessen, once was part of Hessen, since the end of World War Two it has been part of the German state of Rheinland-Pfalz, although still with the Rheinhessen name for that particular region. It is known for its vineyards, white wines, and Backesgrumbeere. I've had this recipe for about 25 years, and I've seen slight variations. This is an old recipe, so it was "heart-y," not "heart healthy," so make adjustments as you like.

Ingredients (7 to 8 servings):

 

3 1/2 to 4 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into about 3/4 inch cubes

10 to 12 ounces smoked bacon cut into about 1inch pieces (remove rind if present) or better yet, use smoked hog jowl, which is used for this recipe in some areas 

1 1/2 to 2 lb. fresh pork shoulder (not smoked), cut into about 1 to 2 inch pieces

3 bay leaves

3 whole cloves

2 medium onions, chopped

1 pint white wine (Germans use dry white wine, but I've used whatever I have and I haven't been hit by a lightening bolt yet; of course, I stay inside during storms ... hmm, some thunder in the distance)

8 oz. cream (or sour cream mixed with a little of the wine)

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

Line the bottom of a heavy duty pan or casserole with the bacon or jowl pieces. Toss the potatoes and onions together and then add the mixture over the bacon/jowl pieces. Add a little salt and pepper and add the bay leaves and cloves. Put the fresh pork shoulder on top. Add the wine, then the cream, so that the potato/onions are about covered by the liquid (remember, the amount of liquid will increase during baking). Place the covered dish/pan in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes, then turn the heat down to 300 degrees and bake for up to about two hours, or until the pork is very tender. Rye bread is often served with this dish in Germany.

* What is called "Pennsylvania Dutch," or more correctly, "Pennsylvania German," is based heavily upon the dialect from this overall area of Pfalz (Palatine), as many of the people left that area of Germany and emigrated to America beginning in the early 1700s. The erroneous use of "Dutch," simply an English variation of standard German "Deutsch," has come to mean the specific language of the Netherlands in English. 

** "Grumbeer" (singular) is a German dialectal variation of "Grundbirne" (literally 'ground pear'), which also has the variation "Grondbir."  

WORD HISTORY: 

Dish-The ultimate origins of this word are unclear to me, as some explanations just don't add up. The word "appears" to be a borrowing, but there are some who feel it is simply from an Old Germanic offspring form from an Indo European source, with a close relative in Ancient Greek. I don't agree, barring further evidence. This word, related to "disk/disc," goes back to Greek "diskos," meaning "a round, flat plate or stone." This was borrowed by Latin as "discus," which was then borrowed by the West Germanic dialects as "diskas/diskaz," "apparently" meaning "plate, shallow bowl," but also "tray for serving food." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "disc," meaning "plate, shallow bowl," and the spelling later became "dish."^ The verb form meaning, "to serve up food," was derived from the noun much later (circa 1400?). The additional meaning "a particular food recipe or type of food," as in, "His favorite dish is beef stew," developed in the 1500s. The relatives of "dish" in other Germanic languages have the main meaning "table," as the meaning "tray for serving food" prevailed,^^ rather than the smaller "plate or shallow bowl," as retained by English as the main meaning. Standard German has "Tisch" (table), but in Bavarian dialect it is "Disch," the same form as Low German (both mean "table"), and in some dialects along the Rhine and Mosel Rivers it is "Desch." Dutch has the now antiquated "dis" (table). By the way, since tables were often made from wood, the idea of workers making tables from wood gave German the word "Tischler," which meant "a maker of items in wood, a carpenter, a cabinet maker."

^ Old Norse, another Germanic language, but from the North Germanic branch, borrowed Old English "disc" as "diskr," which gave Icelandic "diskur" (plate, but also 'disc'). 

^^ I once read somewhere, but I can't recall where, that long ago (continued in some cases still today) serving trays often had a frame with legs; thus, this gave some Germanic languages the more modern meaning "table."