Carinthian First

Somehow in my Brettljause-finding mission I have so far managed to avoid Carinthia. I vaguely remember eating a good Jause close to Grossglockner many years ago, but that was high in the mountains, while the area around the Wörthersee did not strike me as a potential source of good Brettljausen (even the mighty Google does not return many matches). I was obviously very wrong.

Plasch is an unexpected place at its own right, located in the woods outside the village of Ferlach, known only for its high-quality hunting weapons and a museum dedicated to bees. It’s partly a hotel and partly a restaurant, and quite a bit of a farm, too, because they claim (even in the name of their Brettljause) that all the ingredients come from their own production. It’s clear they are not lying, too; one can even buy all the meats featured on the Brettljause (and a few others) separately for home.

It’s a meat-only Jause, and everything is thickly cut, which is nearly always good. My plate contained big slices of fatless Karreespeck, Geselchtes and Schweinsbraten, as well as Verhackertes, some Salami and a dry salty sausage. The latter must be quite popular in Carinthia – I remember buying it a few times from a Carinthian stand at a Christmas bazaar – but in my view, it is too dry, tough to chew and not very tasty. All the other meats were excellent, however, absolutely on par with the best offerings in Styria and Mostviertel. Interestingly, although a bit of horseradish was included, neither mustard nor pickles were in the Jause, just quite a lot of very welcome butter. I have not had enough experience to say if this is a Carinthian peculiarity. But the Brettljause came with a free and quite generous shot of Schnapps, which was absolutely necessary after eating so much meat.

To say that my first Carinthian Brettljause experience was good (I don’t count the earlier one as I was not into rating Jausen at the time) would be an understatement. I would happily return to Platsch just to try a couple of other interesting things they have on their Jausen menu and can gladly recommend that place to anyone.