Dithmarscher Mehlbeutel

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large wide lidded pot, at least 6 litres
• •Clean tight-weave linen cloth or lidded pudding mould
• •Kitchen string
• •Small rack or heatproof saucer for the pot bottom

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the cloth

   Bring a large wide pot of water to a gentle simmer and set a saucer or small rack in the bottom so the cloth does not sit directly on the metal. Scald a clean linen cloth in the water, wring it out, then grease it well with butter and dust it thickly with flour. The butter and flour make the skin that releases later; skip them and you'll peel half your Mehlbeutel off the cloth.

   A pudding mould with a lid works too. Grease it hard, flour it, and fill it only two-thirds full, because the batter needs room to swell.
2. 2

   Mix the batter

   Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and lemon zest in a bowl. Beat the egg yolks with the milk and melted butter, then stir this into the flour until the batter is thick and smooth. Let it stand ten minutes so the flour drinks the milk; cook it at once and the centre can taste raw while the outside is already set.

3. 3

   Fold in lightness

   Beat the egg whites to soft peaks and fold them through the batter with the raisins. Fold, don't beat. The whites are the lift in a pudding that has no yeast; knock the air out and you get a lump, which has never improved a northern table.

4. 4

   Tie the bag

   Spoon the batter into the centre of the prepared cloth, gather the corners, and tie it with kitchen string, leaving a hand's width of space above the batter for swelling. Tie too tight and the pudding splits or turns dense; tie too loose and it spreads flat. Lower it into the simmering water and cover the pot.

5. 5

   Cook it gently

   Keep the water at a quiet simmer for 75 to 90 minutes, turning the bag once halfway through if it is not fully submerged. Runter mit der Temperatur. A hard boil batters the outside before the centre sets; a trembling simmer lets the eggs and flour set evenly, so the Mehlbeutel slices cleanly instead of tearing.

6. 6

   Warm the sausage

   During the last 20 minutes, warm the Kohlwurst in barely simmering water or on top of the Mehlbeutel pot if you have room. Don't boil smoked sausage hard, because the fat bursts out and the skin toughens. You want it plump, smoky, and intact.

7. 7

   Make cherry Grütze

   Bring the cherries with their juice, sugar, and lemon peel to a simmer. Stir in the potato starch slurry and cook for a minute, just until glossy and lightly thickened. Potato starch gives a clear shine; flour would turn the fruit dull and cloudy. Taste it sharp-sweet, not jammy. Nicht aus dem Glas, if the jar is only doing the fruit, you still finish the sauce yourself.

8. 8

   Slice and serve

   Lift out the Mehlbeutel, let it stand five minutes, then untie the cloth and turn it onto a board. Slice it thick with a wet knife. Serve the first slices with Kohlwurst, a spoon of mustard, and a little melted butter, then send the next slices out with warm cherry Grütze. Brooken Sööt means the table gets both halves. Schön ist, was schmeckt.

Chef Tips

• •Use a tight-weave linen cloth, not a loose towel. Loose weave lets water in and batter out, and then you are making soup with ambitions.
• •The water decides the dish. Keep it at a tremble for the full cook, topping up with hot water if needed so the temperature does not crash.
• •Use sour cherries in their own juice when fresh cherries are out of season. The larder is not a compromise here; northern cooking was built around what could be kept.
• •Leftover Mehlbeutel is good sliced and fried in butter until golden at the edges. Serve it with the last spoon of cherry Grütze or with sausage fat. Weggeworfen wird nichts.

Advance Preparation

• •The cherry Grütze can be made up to 2 days ahead and chilled; warm it gently before serving so the starch loosens without breaking down.
• •The batter should be cooked soon after the egg whites are folded in. Make the dry mix and set out the cloth ahead, but don't finish the batter early or the lift goes out of it.
• •Cooked Mehlbeutel keeps 2 days in the refrigerator. Slice it cold and fry it in butter, which is often better than pretending leftovers are a problem.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 350g)