Grünkohl mit Pinkel

The feast of the German kale walk: curly kale stewed long and dark with stock, lard, and mustard, served with boiled potatoes, the smoky oat-and-onion Pinkel sausage, and a Kassler smoked chop

Origin: Oldenburg, North Germany

From the journey of Kale.

Grünkohl mit Pinkel is the great winter feast of north-western Germany, of Oldenburg, Bremen, and the Frisian coast, and it is built around the curly kale that the region holds must not be cut until the first hard frost has sweetened it. The whole of the dark, cold season is given over to the Kohlfahrt or Grünkohlfahrt, the communal 'kale walk', in which friends and colleagues tramp through the frozen countryside hauling a handcart of schnapps, play games and drink along the way, and end at a country inn for an enormous meal of kale, washed down with more schnapps, that culminates in the crowning of a Grünkohlkönig, a 'kale king', who must organise the next year's walk. The kale itself is stewed long and slow with onion, lard or goose fat, stock, and a little mustard and oats until it is dark, soft, and deeply savoury, and it is served with boiled potatoes and a battery of pork: above all the Pinkel, a fatty, smoky sausage of oats, onion, and pork peculiar to the region, alongside Kassler smoked pork chop and a cooked Mettwurst or two. Rich, fatty, and warming against the bitter northern cold, it is to the German winter what no other single dish is.

Ingredients

The Kale

1.2 kg curly kale, tough stems removed, leaves chopped (or 800g frozen chopped kale)
2 tbsp lard or goose fat
2 large onions, finely chopped
600 ml ham or vegetable stock
3 tbsp pinhead oatmeal or rolled oats
1 tbsp German mustard, plus more to serve
1 tsp sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

The Pork

2 Pinkel sausages (or other smoked oat-and-pork sausage)
4 Kassler chops (smoked pork loin), or smoked pork pieces
2 cooked smoked sausages (Mettwurst or similar)

To Serve

800 g small floury potatoes, peeled, to serve

Method

If using fresh kale, blanch it in boiling salted water for 5 minutes, then drain and press out the water. Frozen chopped kale can be used straight from the freezer.
Melt the lard in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until soft and golden.
Add the kale, stock, oatmeal, mustard, and sugar. Season, stir well, and bring to a simmer.
Nestle the Kassler chops and the Pinkel and smoked sausages down into the kale. Cover and stew very gently for about 1 hour 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the kale is dark, soft, and deeply savoury and the meats are heated through and have flavoured the greens.
About 25 minutes before the end, boil the potatoes in salted water until tender. Lift the meats from the kale and slice. Serve the dark stewed kale with the sliced pork, the whole sausages, the boiled potatoes, and plenty of mustard.

Notes

Pinkel, the smoky oat, onion, and pork sausage of the Oldenburg region, is the authentic centrepiece; outside Germany, any good smoked cooking sausage stands in. Kassler is smoked, lightly cured pork loin, available from German butchers. Frozen chopped kale is genuinely traditional here and gives a good result, as the dish wants soft, well-stewed kale rather than bright fresh leaves. For a lighter version, reduce the variety of meats, but the dish is unashamedly a hearty midwinter feast.

The Gastrographer

Name: Grünkohl mit Pinkel
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: North Germany
Ingredients: 1.2 kg curly kale, tough stems removed, leaves chopped (or 800g frozen chopped kale); 2 tbsp lard or goose fat; 2 large onions, finely chopped; 600 ml ham or vegetable stock; 3 tbsp pinhead oatmeal or rolled oats; 1 tbsp German mustard, plus more to serve; 1 tsp sugar; 2 Pinkel sausages (or other smoked oat-and-pork sausage); 4 Kassler chops (smoked pork loin), or smoked pork pieces; 2 cooked smoked sausages (Mettwurst or similar); 800 g small floury potatoes, peeled, to serve; salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Mapping Culinary History

To explore — select an ingredient below.

To explore — select an ingredient below · click any location dot on the map for recipes and stories · browse the information panel on the right · trace the full journey on the timeline.

Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control