Pichelsteiner is a German stew that contains several kinds of meat and vegetables.
Contents |
In the first step beef, pork and mutton are seared. Then the vegetables are added that are usually potatoes, dices 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.
It is proven that Auguste Winkler (neé 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 pronouced 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.