Austro-German Stuffed Bread: Jägerwecken

"Word History" slightly edited 8-20-22

"Jägerwecken" undoubtedly developed as a tasty food that could easily be toted along in a knapsack with a hunter ("Jäger" means "hunter" in German). In more modern times, it is just as easily taken along in a picnic basket for an afternoon outdoors, or it can be served as part of a light lunch or a snack. "Jäger," pronounced as if "yea-gah," is a word derived from the verb "jagen" (pronounced as if "yaw-gen," and once spelled "jagon," with a long 'o'), which meant, "to pursue, to chase;" thus, "to hunt." The verb is of unclear origins, although perhaps West Germanic, with its strongest development coming after the Anglo-Saxons left the Continent for Britain; thus, English does not have a form of the word. The noun form "Jäger" came from the notion of "one who hunts or pursues," and as time passed the word branched out into the military meaning of, "a lightly armed soldier or military policeman;" thus, "a rifleman, light infantry," then even later for military aircraft, "a fighter plane." "Wecken" is closely related to English "wedge" (originally spelled "wecg"), and it has long been a regional German word for "bread roll," although in various spellings like: "Weck," "Wecke," "Wegg," "Weckle," "Wecksche."   

"Jägerwecken" are often associated with "Steiermark," which is rendered as "Styria" in Latin, and is often used as such in English. Known as "Steiermark" in German, it is located in southern Austria, and the second part, "Mark" (English relative is "march," not the military kind, see Word History, below) shows it has long been a border region, and was such in the Old German Empire. "Jägerwecken" are known beyond Steiermark, and they are commonly served at Christmas time, but they are also good for lunch or for a snack during break time. "Break time" has many names in German-speaking areas, with probably two of the best known terms being "Brotzeit," literally "bread time,'' which is extensively used in Bavaria, and also "Jause," a word German adopted as a borrowing from Slovenian. "Jause" is used in many parts of Austria, but there are many other terms in use throughout German language areas.* These "snack times" are commonly accompanied by beer, even in many business locations, a practice that might cause some American business people to faint, but it is generally expected in German cultural areas.

This is simply my version of "Jägerwecken," but there are a great many variations. You may need to adjust the ingredient amounts to fit with your type of bread loaf, so keep that in mind, but none of this will require a government-sponsored scientific research effort. 

Ingredients:

1 loaf bread, halved, middle removed, you want to leave the outer crust and some of the soft inside
1/2 cup chopped dill pickles
3 tablespoons mustard
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup chopped ham
4 or 5 slices of smoked bacon, chopped
1 medium potato, peeled, chopped/diced 
1/2 cup chopped cheese (like Gouda or Edam)
1/3 cup shredded carrot
1/3 cup cream cheese 
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a skillet over medium heat, add the chopped bacon. Once the bacon fat begins to melt, add the chopped potato. I prefer to turn down the heat to low and let the bacon and potato cook slowly. You don't want the bacon or potato pieces to be too dark or too hard, so keep an eye on the skillet and stir things as needed. When the potato pieces are lightly browned, remove the skillet from the heat and let the mixture cool down somewhat. In the meantime, cut the loaf of bread and remove the center, leaving a small amount of the soft inside around the crust. Chop or tear the removed center of the bread and add it to a bowl. In a small bowl or a cup, mix together the mayonnaise, cream cheese and mustard. Add this and all of the other ingredients to the bowl, including the lightly browned potato pieces and bacon and gently keep folding the ingredients over and over for a few minutes, until everything is well mixed (you don't want to break up the potato pieces into mashed potatoes). Fill the hollowed out bread loaf with the mixture and take care to pack it into the bread, but not to break open the loaf structure. Wrap the Jägerwecken in plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate it for about 90 minutes to 2 hours. Remove the wrapping and use a good knife to cut the filled loaf into slices about one inch thick.   

* Many items are served at break time, but two well known specialties in the southern German areas are large pretzels and white sausage (Weißwurst). Oh, did I mention beer?

WORD HISTORY:
March-There is more than one word of this spelling in English, although, with the exception of the version used for the month of "March," they are all likely related, and therefore, they are related to "mark," a word from the Germanic roots of English (read further), and to "margin," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English (related through Indo European). As you will notice, there is much uncertainty as to many of the specifics of "march,"^ although the general trail of the word is much more clear. This form of "march" means  "borderland," a meaning now somewhat antiquated in English, except for academics. It goes back to Indo European "mereg," which meant "border, edge, boundary." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "marko," with the meaning, "boundary, edge, border area." This gave Old English "mearc/merc" (depending upon dialect), which continued the same basic meaning with "boundary, limit, border area." Old French absorbed a form of the word, "marche," from Germanic Frankish "marka," and "perhaps" passed this form along to Latin, which had "marca" (or perhaps Latin got its form from the Lombards, another Germanic tribe that settled in what became northern Italy?). The English forms "seem" to have been dwindling in usage, although the English kingdom of "Mercia" is simply a Latinized form of Old English "Mierce," which seemingly originated along the "border" with what became Wales; thus, "a border area." The Normans brought along the French form which melded with the waning English form (circa 1200?). Thus reinforced, this gave new impetus to the English word and influenced the pronunciation of the word, as the actual English form of "mearc" developed into modern "mark," initially meaning, "a sign of a boundary or border." As I noted above, there are other forms of the basic word in English and in the other Germanic languages, so it is often difficult to separate out words to fit this exact meaning of "border, boundary," as several are really closer to English "mark" in meaning,^^ but here are a couple of examples of relatives to the English word in other Germanic languages: German and Low German have "Mark" (boundary, territorial limit),^^^ Dutch has "mark" (although apparently, like its English cousin, the word is antiquated).

^ I frequently try to convey some sense of uncertainty by the use of words like "perhaps," "seem," "seemingly," "possibly" or "likely."

^^ That is, "a stain or blemish on a surface, often, but not always done by error," as in, "The spaghetti sauce spattered out of the pan leaving a mark on my shirt," but also, "The Israelites put a mark of lamb's blood above their doors, so that the angel of death would pass over them."   

^^^ Perhaps because "Mark" was an old form (?), German borrowed what became its word for "border" from Slavic, that word being "Grenze," but "Mark" remains associated with the "border areas" of the Old German Empire, especially with Steiermark and Mark Brandenburg (the state around Berlin), and what is now modern Austria was once called "Ostmark;" that is, "East Border Area," a term Hitler revived for his homeland, as he sought to tie modern German areas to the Old German Empire.