Katie RobbinsForget all those cutesy ghost-shaped cupcakes, for a truly scary Halloween spread, look to Deutschland. As any student of German will tell you, this is a nation not afraid to describe exactly what it's eating (none of this namby-pamby black pudding for them.) As such German cuisine is rife with sinister sounding dishes. Here are five of our favorites to pair with your scary beers this weekend.
5. Hackfleisch
Translation: hacked flesh
Okay, so it's really just ground meat, but think of the reaction you'll get when you say you're serving hacked flesh and fried potatoes.
Turn the page for more (if you dare…)
Hackfleisch; Credit: flickr user JaBB
4. Gebackenes blut
Translation: fried or baked blood
A simple but old-fashioned classic of stale bread, pig's blood, and milk, whose declining popularity prompted one wistful German to seek help on an online advice forum. (in translation)
Does anyone of you baked blood of yesteryear? Can remember it always existed in the school lunch, every Wednesday or Thursday.
3. Presskopf
Translation: pressed head
In this case the direct translation may be a little less intimidating than the actual dish–chopped pig's head. But for the brave palates among us, be bold, and go for
schweinskopfsülze, or presskopf in aspic.
It takes a village. Adding spices to presskopf.; Credit: flickr user Franco Rabazzo
2. Schlachtplatte
Translation: slaughter plate
This chilling sounding dish, historically served the day of the slaughter, lest in the days before refrigeration the meats go bad, is basically an innocuous charcuterie plate of various pork-based sausages and sliced meats, served with sauerkraut, potatoes, or spätzle. Though the specialty itself may not be so menacing, its namesake site is certainly a little creepy.
Schlachtplatte; Credit: Flickr user su-lin
1. Tote Oma
Translation: dead grandma
According to Culinary Guidebook: Germany, this messy looking dish is “sausage made of barley, pork, fat, crackling, onions, pork blood and lungs, and spices.”
Through the help of Google Translate, we came across this delicious sounding recipe for Dead Grandma Thuringian Style. Be sure to heed the author's helpful serving suggestion, “I serve the Dead Grandma preferably with mashed potatoes.”
And if dead grandma is too morbid a name for you, you can always opt for the dish's other name, verkehrsunfall, or traffic accident.
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