Who would have thought that seeing cold Schweinsbraten on a Brettl could be a source of such happiness? Yet after three days of devouring “authentic” Tyrolean Marenden, I was more than looking forward to eating something that was not Speck, mountain cheese or Hauswurst.
The three above-mentioned ingredients were still present of course, as impressive thick slices, and were completely fine. The cheese had taste, the Hauswurst tasted fresh (which Hauswurst normally should not, of course, but the result was very pleasant), and the Speck would have been OK, had the Brettljause been served with a sharp knife and not the one that struggled even cutting the butter. Because of the wrong knife, I had to remove all the fat off the Speck – otherwise there was no way I could cut a slice. Frankly, I did not regret it much, and possibly the lack of fat was good for my health anyway.
What has distinguished this Jausenbrettl, however, were the other three ingredients: the above-mentioned cold Schweinsbraten (not exceptional, but being in Tyrol, I cannot complain), a tasty garlicky cottage cheese spread and something called a “sausage pâté,” which I first took for a liver spread, but which turned out to contain no liver at all. If anything, it made me think of a sausage that has already been chewed by someone. I cannot say it was disgusting – it rather tasted of nothing – but I was quite happy when it was finally over.
Actually I had a choice today of eating a Brettljause at a “real” mountain hut (Glorer Hütte) high above or going for the convenience of a parking lot-close Lucknerhaus. I believe my instincts were right: I can’t think how a hut with the only means of products’ delivery being a goods-only cable car beat a “proper” restaurant at the end of a tourist-frequented Glockner road. Even considering its above-average size, the Jause was expensive, but you get what you pay for, and you avoid hordes of extremely annoying hikers.
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