There is something comforting in ordering a Brettljause at a restaurant that doubles as a butchery. Kollar-Göbl is also a hotel, and I had almost booked a room in it before finding a less centrally located accommodation („less central“ in the case of Deutschlandsberg means 500 meters away). The butchery’s produce is on display at the hotel’s entrance, and the choice is impressive indeed, as are the various awards that Kollar-Göbl has won over the years.
To these I can add an award for the thickest and heaviest Brettl ever. Even without the food it must have weighed more than a kilogram, and the waiter visibly struggled to carry it in one hand. The Brettljause itself was pretty big too, particularly once I noticed two thickly cut slices of Speck. One of them had some meat in it, while the second one was almost pure fat.
Generally, I quite like white Speck. Once I overcome initial hesitation, biting into the fat and then chewing it are quite interesting, as one notices how after a few seconds of resistance it suddenly surrenders between one’s teeth and changes its texture. Still, two slices required a lot of effort and commitment to conquer, and the sight of a ball of Schmalz – which is nothing but pure fat in the form of a spread – did not make it easier.
All in all, there was plenty of fat in this Brettljause. The thinly cut Speck was more than 40% fat, while the ham slices were white to at least one-fifth. The hard Styrian Hauswurst was full of the stuff by definition, and only the cheese and the liver spread (good quality, but with overly strong liver flavor for my liking) were fatless.
The dark and tough bread was possibly the healthiest part of the entire dish, and I was happy that I had ordered a mixed salad to “de-pork” my dinner a bit. Kollar-Göbl undoubtedly serves a really good Brettljause, but I wish I won’t have to eat another one as fat as this for a couple of months at least.
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