Spiessbraten, Idar-Oberstein Style

"This is a traditional recipe from my home town, Idar-Oberstein, in Germany. The meat is grilled on hardwood fire, using a metal tripod with a fire pan attached to the bottom of the tripod legs and the actual grilling surface hanging from the top of the tripod. If you are interested in a picture of this type of grill, let me know and I will post one. You can use any kind of meat with this recipe. Even half chickens turn out wonderful. Our favorite is pork tenderloin, however. The spice measurements are per pound of meat, so you cannot go wrong if you stick to these measurements. We figure that one pound of meat serves two people nicely. The "pinches" in the measurements are my Mom's pinches: pick up as much as your thumb, index and middle finger can hold."
 
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photo by Susie 3 photo by Susie 3
photo by Susie 3
photo by Rita1652 photo by Rita1652
photo by Rita1652 photo by Rita1652
Ready In:
30mins
Ingredients:
5
Serves:
2
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ingredients

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directions

  • Mix the spices with your hands, squeezing the onions until they get juicy.
  • Place some of the spice mixture in a dish, place the meat on top and cover with the rest of the mixture.
  • Cover the dish and marinate for at least 3 hours or up to 6 hours. I don't recommend to marinate over night because the onions will turn bitter.
  • Fire up the grill and when it has its cooking temperature, remove the marinade from the meat and grill to desired doneness.
  • If you go with pork tenderloin, make sure you don't overcook the meat. Take it off the grill when it is still flexible when you press on it with your finger. Place it in an oven dish, cover it and let it rest in the oven at about 200 degrees for 10 minutes. This gives the juices a chance to settle and the meat will be soooo tender.

Questions & Replies

  1. My husband and I were stationed in Baumholder in 1970 to 1972. We visited Idar Oberstein many times and dined at a family style restaurant decorated with family furniture for the patrons to use. The Speisbraten was the most delicious we had ever had. Does this sound familiar to anyone? We will visit Germany again this summer with our family and would love to go there and have the same meal if the family still runs the restaurant. Thanks for any help.
     
  2. I was stationed at Baumholder with my first wife from 1974 to 1979. We liked it so much we stayed an extra year. In the mid seventies there was a festival each July in some kind of fair grounds northwest from downtown Idar-Oberstein. It was a festival that featured Spiesbraten. People were out there cooking it over their tripod schwenkers. You could buy it from them and sit outside and eat it. It was awesome. I thank you because I’ve been trying to get a good recipe for years. Now if I could only get a great schwenker like the one you have pictured. Many thanks for bringing back great memories.
     
  3. My husband has told me about this dish before that he loved to eat in Idar-Oberstein while stationed in Baumholder in the 80’s. Thank you for sharing this! I would love, however for an authentic German potato salad recipe from this area as well please!
     
  4. I was in Germany 1964-1971. I went to Idar-Oberstein, I believe before 1970, and there was only 1 Spiessbraten restaurant. It was outside Idar-Oberstein and it was like a farm. The name was something like "Wild----" and you have to make a reservation like at least week before you want to go and tell them whether you want beef or pork. The steaks were big and I think they served it with bread and salad. I also remember the barbecue where they put the meat was enormous and was outside. It was family style dinner. Somehow I remember hearing that they marinated the meats (it was boneless and already cooked at least 1 inch) with onions and garlic (?) stacked--together, I do not remember how long----
     
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Reviews

  1. Permit me to take you back to 1964-5, Idar-Oberstein. I was renting a home there with 3 fellow Officers while serving at the 48th Ordnance Co., Baumholder. They were in an Armored Cav. unit. Headed up to the grass runway of a small "flughafen" atop the highest hill overlooking the Idarbach River was a most wonderful Speisbraten private home-restaurant, Flugplatz-Gaststätte, that served only on weekends. Their grates were 4 1/2 to 5 feet across, swinging over the wood-fired pits of equal size. All would be seated at outdoor picnic tables, semi-chilled Moninger Bier the specialty from Karlsruhe aplenty, awaiting the feast. The meats were in 5-6 inch chunks, Schweinefleisch (pork) on one grate und Rindfleisch (beef) on the other. One chunk of each was served with white asparagus und curly pickled white radish. PERFECT.
     
  2. I ate Spiesbraten while stationed in Baumholder, not far from Idar-Oberstein. The name of the restaurant was the Kammerhoff (sp). I remember it taking quite a while to prepare this dish, but the wait was always worth it.
     
  3. My Uncle was Oberbürgermeister of Idar-Oberstein and when ever we visited (quite frequently) we would go to the restaurant where your picture was taken. I left Germany many years ago and miss the Spiesbraten very, very much. This recipe really hit the mark for me. Thank you so much for putting this out there. For my next family reunion here in Georgia ... this will be the highlight.
     
  4. Simple and flavorful. I made a stuffed rolled pork roast and it was delish. Thanks.
     
  5. Great recipe. Better thsn the one I’ve been using from Thallichtenberg which has no garlic and a bit of paprika and nutmeg. I’ll try thjs one VERY soon. In that region most of the hardwood is buchenholz (beechwood) which adds a distinct almost mesquite-line flavor. I live in NE Ohio. We have plenty of beechwood around. If you can get your hands on a few scraps where you live, soak them overnight and add to the grill fire.
     
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