Frankfurters with Cheese & Bacon: Berner Würstel

This is a food item to have for a snack on its own, or as the centerpiece for lunch or even for dinner. While pretty common in Austria and parts of southern Germany (Bavaria), these are likely not unknown in Liechtenstein and parts of Switzerland, although they actually come from the Salzburg area of Austria. Understand, the "Berner" part of the name has nothing to do with the Swiss city of Bern, but rather it is the family name of the man credited with the recipe.      

Often served with mustard on the side, some people use ketchup or seasoned tomato sauce, and others are a bit more elaborate by serving chopped onions or freshly grated horseradish alongside, as well as accompaniments like potato salad, fried potatoes and/or some type of garden salad. In the U.S., what we call "Swiss Cheese" is based upon Swiss Emmentaler cheese, which indeed originated in Switzerland, but which is also produced by U.S. cheese companies with their own recipes. Emmentaler is also produced in Germany, specifically in Bavaria, and in France, where it is termed Emmental, and in some other countries too. Gouda originated in the Netherlands, but it too is imitated elsewhere.   

Ingredients (for each Frankfurter, see photo below):

1 Frankfurter
1 or 2 strips of Swiss Cheese (Emmentaler) or Gouda, cut from a slice
1 or 2 thin slices smoked bacon
small amount of oil for frying

Cut the frankfurter lengthwise from one end to the other, but do NOT cut completely through the sausage (although some do just that, and I've made them both ways; the bacon will bind around the Frankfurter either way). Put the cheese into the cut part of the frankfurter then press lightly to close. Wrap the bacon around the frankfurter to completely enclose the frankfurter. These are sometimes grilled, but I put just a few drops of oil into a skillet over medium heat and I fry the bacon-wrapped frankfurters on all sides until browned. The oil will help to prevent sticking as the frankfurter(s) begin to cook and the fat from the bacon will gradually be rendered to help even more.

For one Berner Würstel: a Frankfurter, strips of Swiss cheese or Gouda and 1 or 2 slices of bacon (thinly sliced)

2 Berner Würstel with some fried potatoes, chopped onion and tomato slices

WORD HISTORY:
Cripple-This word is related to "creep," a word from the Germanic roots of English. It goes back to Indo European "grewb/greub," which meant, "to turn, twist, to wind." This gave Old Germanic "krupilaz," meaning, "one who is bent and walks haltingly." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "crypel" meaning "a cripple," but also used adjectivally and meaning, "crippled." This then became "crepel," then "cripel," before the modern form. The noun form is considered by some to be offensive and, while it is still around, it has largely been replaced by "disabled person" and "handicapped person" (this is also largely true of the adjective, but mainly when applied to people, and of course "lame" is still used at times). The verb form developed from the noun/adjective in the 1200s and meant, "to walk haltingly," a meaning now seldom, if ever, used as a verb. In the 1300s came the further meaning "to make someone or something lame or otherwise handicapped," with the figurative use expanding further to "hinder someone or something"^ (example: "The heavy rains are crippling our effort to have a backyard barbecue"), and these are the meanings still today. Relatives in the other Germanic languages (I'm giving noun forms, unless noted): German has "Krüppel" (the exact history of the standard German form is unclear to me, but the word seems to have been at least influenced by Low German), Low German has "Kröpel," West Frisian "krepel" (?), Dutch "kreupel" (this is an adjective) and "kreupele" (noun), Danish "krøbling" (?), Norwegian "krøpling," Swedish "krympling," Icelandic "krymppill" (I'm uncertain of this, but Old Norse had the same/similar, and Icelandic is still remarkably close to its ancestor).  

^ "Hinder" is a good word to use in the meaning, and the tie can be easily seen with "hinder," as in German, a "Behinderung" is "a disability, a handicap," although it can also mean, "a hindrance, an obstruction."