Knapp

Early in March, I got to talking with son Will about a kind of sausage (for lack of a better description) that we used to eat when I was young (really! I was young once!). Anyway, it is called knapp, although the actual spelling may vary and alternate names do exist (e.g. grit, though not the southern kind, and head cheese, though not the kind you can find at some deli counters). I hadn't eaten any for years and didn't know where to get it. Dad used to buy it for me at a meat market in Clarence, but that market is no longer in operation. Nearly every German family I knew back in Lowden used to make their knapp from a hogs head (never waste anything when butchering!) and other ingredients, but I didn't have that recipe and wouldn't have wanted to use a hogs head anyway. I knew that what Dad bought at the market was made with pork roasts and maybe beef as well. Will and I couldn't find anything on the Internet about knapp either, in spite of some serious Google searching.

My cousin Phyllis doesn't use a computer, but her daughter Lynn does, and I thought one of them might at least have an idea where I could find a recipe or buy some knapp. An email to Lynn resulted in a cheery reply saying that Phyllis actually makes her own knapp. Yay! In fact, Aunt Irene evidently used to make it regularly. Lynn thought it sounded yummy and suggested we have a knapp party. So, Phyllis invited Kathie and me over last Saturday morning for breakfast with knapp as the featured dish. Here is our host and my darling wife.

Lynn was there too, along with Randy and Mariah. Somehow, I missed getting Bob in a picture.

Randy and Mariah are some of my favorite young folks (and relatives). It may have been a little early for Mariah's usual Saturday morning routine, but she almost always has a smile on her face, and Randy had lots of conversation to share. I think this may have been their first introduction to knapp. They both tried it and thought it was "not bad." I suspect they will be back for more some day.

And here is the pièce de résistance! One prepares knapp in advance in largish quantities, freezes it, and then uses it from time to time. To serve, it is first fried, and one is required to press it down, maybe to a 1/4" or so, to brown it on both sides and make it quite crispy. Then at the table you pour syrup over it before eating. Phyllis also had a nice fruit mix and made coffee cakes and zwieback as well. (You can find zwieback on the Internet, if you are interested--this is another delightful food item that I rarely see anymore and that Mom and others used to make regularly to keep my young appetite going. Their versions involved covering halves of buns with sugar and cinnamon and maybe butter and then toasting them lightly.) What a grand, memory-filled breakfast this was and with such good folks with whom to enjoy it.

To top the day off, Phyllis then taught us how to make knapp. Here she is mixing the oatmeal into the ground, roasted meat. She said she usually does this in the winter to make a quantity for use during the entire year.

Phyllis even sent a couple servings home with me. In turned out that Paula and Ron were visiting us briefly the next Monday, so I was able to serve some to her as well. She hadn't had any for years either.

Now, I know all you faithful readers are dying to have the recipe, so here goes. You will note that some free-lancing is required in terms of ingredient quantities and taste. Both these recipes are courtesy of Phyllis.

"Original" Knapp from 1946 Lowden Community Cookbook

1 hog head, if too fat remove some

4 pounds beef

1-1/2 cups steel cut oats or a box of pearl barley

Allspice

Salt

Pepper

Boil meat until tender and chop. Cook cereal in the broth. Mix meat and cereal, add allspice, salt and pepper to taste.

Aunt Irene's Version of Knapp

Equal amounts of pork and beef roast

Quick oatmeal (about 1-1/2 cups per 8 pounds [total] of meat; adjust as desired)

Allspice

Salt

Pepper

Roast meats together, adding some water before putting in oven so as to have plenty of broth. When done, pour off and keep the broth, then cool and grind the meat to a coarse texture with meat grinder. Skim any fat off the broth and discard, if you wish. Cook quick oatmeal in the broth, and mix into ground meat. Add additional broth, if needed, to keep texture something like thick oatmeal. Add allspice, salt and pepper to taste. Put in oven at 350º and bake until heated through to mix flavors, stirring occasionally. Cool. Separate into meal-sized servings in bags, pressing flat. Freeze.

Notes

Paula and I remember that our Grandmother Hasenbank may have made her knapp with both barley and oatmeal. She may also have added a little clove. So, one could experiment a bit. Something I intend to do in the very near future. Mom used to serve knapp for breakfast or sometimes for supper, usually with waffles or maybe pancakes.