Tiroler Speck Platte

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large wooden cutting board or Brettl (at least 40cm)
• •Sharp carving knife or long slicing knife
• •Fine box grater or Microplane for the Kren
• •Small earthenware crocks or ramekins for condiments

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the Kren

   Peel the horseradish root and grate it finely on a box grater or Microplane. Work near an open window if you can, because fresh Kren will hit your sinuses harder than you expect. The moment it's grated, toss it with a tablespoon of white wine vinegar and a pinch each of sugar and salt. The vinegar stops the horseradish from oxidizing and turning bitter. Without it, you'll have grey paste in twenty minutes instead of the sharp, clean, white Kren you want on the board. Set it aside in a small bowl covered with cling film pressed directly onto the surface.

   Grate the Kren just before you assemble the platter. Freshly grated horseradish has a bright, sinus-clearing heat that fades within hours. The jarred stuff is a different thing entirely.
2. 2

   Slice the Speck

   Remove the rind from the Speck if it still has one. Use your sharpest knife and slice against the grain as thinly as you can manage. You're aiming for slices you can nearly see through, thin enough that the fat turns translucent and the lean is a deep, rosy red. If you have both Schinkenspeck (from the leg, leaner) and Bauchspeck (from the belly, fattier), slice them separately so you can arrange them in groups. The contrast between the two tells the story of the whole animal.

   Cold Speck slices more cleanly than room-temperature Speck. Take it from the fridge, slice it, then let the slices come up to cool room temperature on the board for ten minutes before serving. The fat softens and the flavor opens up.
3. 3

   Prepare the accompaniments

   Cut the Bergkäse into rustic wedges or thick slabs, not fussy little cubes. This is mountain cheese from the same valleys as the Speck, and it should look like it. Halve the Essiggurken lengthwise. Quarter the radishes if they're in season. Spoon the Kremser Senf into a small crock or ramekin. Put the butter on its own small dish. Austrian butter is richer and more golden than most, and it earns its own place on the board.

4. 4

   Slice the bread

   Cut the Schwarzbrot or Bauernbrot into thick slices, about a centimeter and a half. Dark rye bread is the only bread for a Speck Platte. Its sour, dense crumb stands up to the smoky fat and doesn't dissolve the way a baguette would. If you can find a loaf with a heavy, crackled crust, even better. Toast it lightly if you like, but it's not necessary. Good Bauernbrot has enough character on its own.

5. 5

   Assemble the Brettl

   Lay the Speck slices across your largest wooden board in loose, overlapping fans. Don't fold them into tight roses or stack them in neat towers. This is not a catering tray. Tyrolean farmers laid Speck on a board with a knife and let people help themselves, and that's the energy you want. Group the Schinkenspeck on one side, the Bauchspeck on the other. Arrange the Bergkäse wedges nearby. Set the bowl of fresh Kren, the mustard crock, and the butter dish among the meat and cheese. Tuck the Essiggurken and radishes into the gaps. Lay the bread slices along one edge or stack them in a basket alongside. If you have fresh horseradish leaves or long chive stalks, tuck one or two onto the board for color.

   Let the board sit at cool room temperature for ten minutes before you call people to the table. Speck straight from the fridge tastes muted. You want the fat just barely softened so it melts on your tongue.
6. 6

   Serve the Speck Platte

   Set the board in the center of the table with a knife for the cheese and let people build their own bites. A piece of dark bread, a smear of butter, a slice of Speck draped on top, a dab of Kren or mustard. That's the whole thing. No one needs instructions. Pour an Achterl of Grüner Veltliner or a cold Tyrolean beer alongside. This is Gemütlichkeit at its most honest. Mahlzeit!

Chef Tips

• •Buy your Speck from a proper delicatessen or Austrian import shop, not a supermarket shelf. Look for the PGI seal on the packaging: 'Tiroler Speck g.g.A.' If you can find a whole piece rather than pre-sliced, buy it. You'll slice it thinner and fresher at home, and the uncut piece keeps for weeks wrapped in paper in the fridge.
• •Gretel always said the Kren makes or breaks the Brettljause. Jarred horseradish has been sitting in vinegar for months and tastes like it. Buy a fresh root, grate it yourself, and feel the difference. Your eyes will water. That's how you know it's right.
• •If you can't find Tiroler Bergkäse, a good aged Gruyère or Comté stands in respectably. What you want is a firm Alpine cheese with crystalline crunch and nutty sweetness. Cheddar, no matter how good, belongs to a different tradition.
• •Kremser Senf, from the town of Krems in the Wachau, is a coarse-grained, slightly sweet Austrian mustard that pairs with Speck better than French Dijon. If you can't source it, a grainy whole-seed mustard is the closest substitute. Smooth yellow mustard is not the same thing.

Advance Preparation

• •The Kren can be grated up to two hours ahead if stored in an airtight container with the vinegar mixed in. Beyond that, the heat fades and you lose the point of grating it fresh.
• •The Speck can be sliced up to four hours ahead, layered between sheets of baking paper and refrigerated. Bring to cool room temperature before serving.
• •The full board can be assembled thirty minutes before guests arrive if covered loosely with a clean tea towel and kept in a cool room. Don't refrigerate the assembled board or the bread will go stale.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 195g)