Trader Joe’s (spicy!) ZHOUG SAUCE

16 Apr 2019 21 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, fresh, General, hot sauce, New, Prices, Products, Rave, spices, Staple, Trader Joes, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


RAVE

Trader Joe’s ZHOUG SAUCE is a very delicious, traditional Yemeni green hot sauce. It is taking the internet by storm. Warning, when it says “very spicy” here, Trader Joe’s is not kidding. It is SPICY! But it is delicious, not just “spicy”, it’s so flavorful if you try this, you may fall in love with it too, as I have. This sauce is a must have for me in the fridge always. For me, this is a Top 10 Trader Joe’s product.

Trader Joe’s ZHOUG (sometimes written ZHUG) is a thick green, herbal sauce originating from Yemen, made from cilantro, jalapenos and chile flakes, wonderfully seasoned with garlic, cumin and cardamon. It’s popular in the middle east. TJ’s ZHOUG is simply one of the the most bloody wonderfully unique condiments you may ever taste. I’ve tried it on just about everything you can think of…chicken, tofu, eggs, fritattas, pasta, fish…. you name it. It makes almost any food better. You can’t go wrong with this on just about anything you put it on, it will make you smack your lips, yum. I suspect it would be good on shoe leather. You can use just a little bit and get a lot of flavor, and you will probably use this in small amounts, just a few dashes as its so spicy. A little goes a long way. Also you can “tame” it easily by mixing it with some yogurt, or mayo. Frankly this was even a bit too spicy even for me, kind of a rare statement. So unless you are a total chile-head, capsaicin obsessed, death-head sauce freak, you might want to “tame” this sauce a tiny bit, as I tried and did easily. I just added some olive oil and lemon juice to cut down the heat ever so slightly by dilution. It was still excellent this way. I have also use it mixed into Greek yogurt (or regular yogurt) with great success. In fact, Yogurt and Zhoug are an excellent combo and make a wonderful, easy creamy variation. Adjust the ratio of yogurt to zhoug till its perfect for your personal taste. I actually like the Zhoug tamed a wee bit. As is out of the container just a few small dollops is enough to make your mouth on fire. Again if you’re a chile-head  you will love that, so pour it on. How long does it last in the fridge? I’ve found it lasts for quite some time, maybe a month. I also have found if I cover it with olive oil, the oil will help it last even longer, maybe up to 2 months.

You will find TJ’s ZHOUG SAUCE in the refrigerated section in an 8 oz container which is $2.99. Frankly this is a steal (but don’t tell TJ’s lest they raise the price) update: They did raise it a bit!

Seriously you should try this. IMHO this is a Top-10.

ZHOUG matches wonderfully with grilled SHAWARMA CHICKEN!

And if you want to try your hand at making ZHOUG yourself here’s a DIY recipe for it I found online

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/diy-trader-joes-zhoug-sauce_n_5b96758ce4b0511db3e480d0

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/059192

“Zhoug likely originated in Yemen, and is now popular throughout the Middle East. It’s a cilantro-based sauce/condiment that’s been likened to “Middle Eastern pesto,” but we think that description shortchanges the originality of this spicy, fragrant, fabulously flavorful culinary creation. It’s a sauce that’s taking the internet by storm – from food blogs to social media feeds, Zhoug is having its moment in the digital sun. This really is the ideal time to introduce Zhoug to our stores.

Trader Joe’s Zhoug Sauce comes to us from a California vendor well-versed in the art and science of Middle Eastern foods. Here, they’ve put together a very straightforward collection of ingredients – cilantro, canola oil, jalapeño peppers, chile flakes, garlic, cardamom, sea salt, and cumin seeds – to create a sauce/dip/spread/ condiment that bursts with vibrant flavor and color. We call it “very spicy” on our label, and some will find it “very spicy.” Those more into spicy foods may find it only moderately spicy. Everyone who tries it will be impressed by how the flavor of every ingredient comes through, even as the flavors blend beautifully into the finished product.”

from Trader Joe’s site

 

Trader Joe’s GYRO SLICES

16 Apr 2019 1 Comment

by promacnyc in Trader Joes Tags: , , , ,


This looked like an interesting idea when I saw it. Despite some trepidation if it could possibly be any good I decided to give it a go.

So what’s “gyro” anyway? Its the Greek version of a certain style of cooking and a street food found in many cultures and parts of the world.

Shwarma, Gyro, Doner Kebab and Tacos Al Pastor are pretty much the same thing: meat, sometimes lamb, sometimes beef, sometimes chicken that is seasoned quite a bit, then placed and layered onto a rotating spit, that is cooked upright as it rotates (get it, gyro?) Oh, and by the way, the way to say Gyro with its Greek name would sound like “Yeero”.

The Gyro chef slices off meat getting the nicely browned outside layer onto bread or a curved metal thing as you can see in the picture below. The slices of goodness are then usually arranged in some type of bread … Pita, Pide or other Arab bread or a in Mexico a tortilla, with veggies (tomatoes, lettuce, cukes) and a sauce of some type (tzaziki, tahina, salsa…)

Turkish, Greek, or Lebanese in origin? Mexico’s dish called Tacos Al Pastor originated from Lebanese who had emigrated to Mexico City, and had opened restaurants, made a type of food that was from their homeland and adapted that dish to a Mexican palate (and they used pork!). Its is hugely popular in Mexico, and delicious. Traditionally there is a pineapple roasting at the very top which is sliced off onto your Taco Al Pastor

images

Making one of these towers of meat is complicated. The link below shows all the many steps involved to make a real “GYRO” just in case you wondered or have never seen one of these types of restaurants with a huge rotating “trompo” (spit) in the window.

https://www.thespruceeats.com/how-greek-gyro-is-made-4121890

 

Above: here’s a gyro cook slicing off some meat to make a Gyro… This looks pretty amazing, right?

Now look below at whats actually in the Trader Joe Gyro Slices package! Ugh! Cooking it only improved these slightly. And it shrunk a good deal, as lots of fat came out.

Read the ingredient list : Beef, Water, Breadcrumbs…   Bread crumbs is the third ingredient listed. Its a binder to hold some ground stuff mixed together which is then pressed into a form, cut into slices, and packaged. Already you can kind of get this is an attempt to make something in a factory setting that’s not at all similar to the real thing – which as you know is just meat with spices layered onto a spit and cooked vertically.

I had a Doner Kebab in Vienna and it was fantastic. I had Tacos Al Pastor in Mexico City, ditto. I’ve had this in many Greek places in NYC and its great. They slice it in front of you and hold the bread to catch the juices as they run off. Yum!

This TJ stuff is not even close. Instead, I would get the good MIDDLE EASTERN BEEF KEBABS, and slice those up

If you look at what the stuff actually looks like, when you open the package up, you will probably be a bit surprised at how unappealing it looks. . Its a bad idea to begin with. I made it as they suggest on the package, I put the cooked slices onto a pita with some tzatziski sauce with lettuce, onions and tomatoes and it tasted just OK if you ignored the main ingredient – the “gyro slices”. It would not fool anybody. It was OK as far as the the pita, sauce, veggies… but the main ingredient was quite lacking in taste and texture, especially if you ever had a real Gyro Sandwich from a Greek joint.

So I give this product an F for FAIL

$4 a package.

RANT

Trader Joe’s SHISHITO PEPPERS

17 Mar 2019 1 Comment

by promacnyc in Products, Rave, Trader Joes Tags: , , , , , , , ,


Shishito Peppers are a Japanese pepper variety, quite popular in Japan and just getting a bit known in the U.S..

But that might change soon, as they’re quite delicious — and especially now that you can find them so easily in your local TJ’s Produce Section, instead of having to look for them at a specialized Japanese grocery.

Shishito peppers are even a new “it” food you will see in upscale and trendy restaurants these days.

As a rule they are NOT SPICY (but one might be)

As a rule Shishito Peppers aren’t spicy. That is until you get the Spicy one hiding amongst them! They can be spicy but generally are not. The general rule about them is: “maybe 1 in 10 peppers could be the spicy one”.  When you get a spicy one (my favorites) I would say they’re a bit less spicy than a jalapeño in level of kick. Meaning, yes it will be a bit spicy. So be warned, if you’re feeding them to your kid and or to grandma. If you bite into one and its spicy and you don’t like spicy, just put it to the side and the next one will in all likelihood be mild.

The usual way to make Shishito peppers are grill them in a pan over medium fire with a pinch of oil (sesame oil would be great) until they blister or get a tiny bit of char on one side, then turn them to the other side and do the same till cooked.

Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper and they’re ready to serve. They can be a great little side dish, so they will go great with most anything you might serve as the Main. In Japan they are famous as a drinks snack served to go with beer or sake. You can also use them as an ingredient in foods, just as you would put in some green pepper.

LINKS

https://www.foodandwine.com/vegetables/shisito-pepper-recipes#charred-shishito-peppers-garlic-herb-oil

SHISHITO / WIKI

TJ’s sells a bag of them for $2.29 so they’re pretty affordable to try out…

We really love them in our house, and you might too. Give them a shot.

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TJ’s CINNAMON ROLL BREAD

09 Mar 2019 1 Comment

by promacnyc in General Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,


TJ’s CINNAMON ROLL BREAD

The name of the bread is a wee bit of Hyperbole if you expect this to ooze like a Cinnabun. However this is very, very good raisin bread with lots of cinnamon flavor. I love this Cinnamon Bread. It’s another of my “Must Have Always on hand” things from TJ’s (yes there are so many of those). The package says it’s “ooey, gooey…” well,  its not really that ooey gooey it’s just a tiny bit gooey which is fine if you want to put this in your toaster…which you absolutely should!  While it’s not bad as is untoasted, to get the full potential, do toast this bread up as by toasting it, the heat brings out the maximum cinnamon and raisin flavors. Don’t they sell Cinnabuns just out of the oven for this reason, so the smell wafts in the air? This bread toasts up to yummy perfection, however be careful and keep your eye on it and don’t let it burn or you’ll be sorry. Its a fine line from perfectly toasted, to burnt toast, i mean a few seconds.

TIP 1: I go Full Monty Maximum Cinnamon… after its toasted, I put on some butter and a sprinkle of a wee bit more ground Cinnamon and Brown Sugar on it…Heavenly! Really try it.


To die for.

Or try: Cream Cheese instead. Cream Cheese and chopped Dates (or dried cranberries)!

Or just by itself with some butter. Even thats very good. You can’t go wrong with this excellent product at breakfast time. Your family will go nuts for it when they smell it. A 24 oz loaf goes for $3.49.

(UPDATE = WENT UP TO $3.79 since this was written)!

I would recommend you freeze the bread to keep it as fresh as possible, and take it out as you need it to toast it up.

TIP #2  Sunday I woke up thinking hey this would be great to make French Toast with. I made it. Yup. It was fantastic for French Toast! Try that yourself.

RAVE

 

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CHICKEN BREAST STRIPS TREATS FOR DOGS (AND CATS!!)

04 Mar 2019 6 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, General, pet, pets, Products, Trader Joes Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,



INGREDIENTS: DRIED CHICKEN BREAST FILETS
These are simply all natural, strips of chicken breast that have been dried. They are sold as Dog Treats. Now I don’t have a dog. But I have 2 cats. They love chicken. I thought I am going to get a pack of these “dog treats” and see if my cats like them. Did I say “see if they like them?” Who are we kidding? When I opened the package up, they could smell it instantly and went nuts, pawing at me to give it to them. Relax, I don’t give my cats a whole strip, first I break one into smaller pieces, easy to do as they have score marks on them. When I give these to my cats and they go crazy…chewing, chewing, chewing….crunching them up till they are gone as they devour these treats. Who says, “these are just for dogs”! Equality, people! Cat rights!!

One of my adopted cats came with some dental issues. I have been taking good care of his teeth and gums since I got him. A (holistic) Vet told me the act of chewing is the best thing for his teeth and gums. She suggested I give him raw organic chicken with tiny bones, and especially chicken necks as chewing up the chicken necks are really good for his teeth and gums, yes crunching up the little bones and all. So I buy chicken necks but also give these dried strips which is very good chewing exercise. I break a strip into a long piece and hold it so my Siamese cat Aspen can gnaw and really get into chewing it, switching sides of the mouth. Just watch your fingers, as he gets carried away whenever I break these out. Your cat will love these I’m sure.

Of course your dog will too!

Summary: Great product. All natural. $4 a package. Whether you have a dog, or cats like me, your pet will love these treats. If you give to your cat, just break up a piece into smaller pieces for them, and watch them carefully as they eat these.

DOGGY TASTE TEST : I gave these treats to my neighbor’s dog, and Blue loved it of course. So I’m saying these are good treats whether you have a dog or a cat! Equal Opportunity treats.

aspen&kuro2017

Trader Joe’s IRISH BREAKFAST TEA

12 Feb 2019 10 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, drink, General, Products, Rave, Trader Joes, update Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


new irish tea
Update (fall 2020) – Note that the Irish Tea packaging changed since I first wrote this. The picture with guy on bicycle above is what it now looks like. They also changed from using 2 foil packs (great!) to the bags now wrapped in 2 plastic packs (humbug!). Me and 99.9% of the drinkers would prefer foil packs for freshness. Oh well. Some report the tea’s blend changed too. At least this is still 8 oz (80 teabags). For comparison Whole Foods sells their Black Tea whic is 70 teabags and 4.9 oz!! Wow, thats a lot less tea for your money! So at least TJ has kept the amount of tea the same, plus gives you more period which of course makes for a stronger cup of tea from a bag.

 

 

If you enjoy a nice “cuppa” like I do, you’ll likely enjoy TJ’s IRISH BREAKFAST TEA.

Trader Joe’s ORIGINAL IRISH BREAKFAST TEA BAGS is a newer incarnation of a previous version of Irish Tea they carried, then “revamped” a few years back. That previous Irish Tea packaging looked a bit different and tasted different too, according to the Internet’s tea aficionados. This new version is an improved, better version, also according to them who say it has more flavor and is a stronger blend, which is what you definitely want in a cup of “Irish Tea” as Irish tea should be strong enough to stand up to milk and sugar, the way most people probably drink it there, as well as in the UK. And the way I takes me tea, as well!

TJ’s gave the box a new design too,  and the tea which was in a square bag, now comes in a round tea bag (no strings). Inside the box are 2 foil-wrapped packages with 40 tea bags each, which is great way to sell tea as the foil wrapper keeps 1/2 the tea totally fresh and airtight until you need to open the second package. When you rip open the foil pack you will smell the tea easily, its got a very nice earthy (boggy?) deep tea aroma. To me this is what good tea should smell like. I won’t be a snob and say no one should use a tea bag, let’s face it they are mighty convienient (yes on occasion, I will make a pot with loose tea).

According to the info on the box, TJ’s IRISH BREAKFAST tea is a blend of tea from 5 countries: India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malawi, and Kenya. A box is 80 teabags has a Net Wt. of 8 ounces which basically means each tea bag contains a decent amount of tea, enough to make a strong “cuppa”. When you see cheap tea that has 100 tea bags and says “6 oz” you already know that means there’s simply not enough tea in each bag to make a strong cup. Lipton comes as 8 oz of tea in 100 bags, so obviously each has less tea and won’t brew up as strong as this stuff. This is a black tea and properly steeped (4-5 minutes) the tea gives you a nice very strong, dark cuppa with a deep brown color. It is strong enough to stand up to milk and sugar, or not, as you like. The box with 80 tea bags sells for $2.99 (or $6/lb) which is a good deal even compared to TJ’s ENGLISH BREAKFAST TEA (which comes in a box of 48 bags for $2.99) As the box says, “The Irish love their tea”. Some of us Yanks do too and we can easily enjoy this brand of tea easily and affordably from TJ’s to make our daily cuppa.

RAVE

Trader Joe’s FRENCH CULTURED BUTTER

28 Jan 2019 24 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, dairy, General, Prices, Products, Rave, Staple, Trader Joes, update Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,


If you want to “up” your butter game at home, you have to try this excellent, High Quality French butter that Trader Joe’s sells. But be warned, if you try this butter, you may never go back to regular.

Butter is important. Especially in France. Even in France, the butter from Brittany is considered to be among the finest in the country. Spread a bit of this French Cultured butter from Brittany on almost anything… Say some asparagus, or cooked peas, green beans, or a baked potato… Maybe on some steamed Yukon Gold potatoes, or a nice slice of of toasted bread (or sliced Brioche?)… on top of an omelette…

Try this on almost anything and you will notice how good, really high quality premium butter is.

I’ve lately grown to buying two kinds of butter at Trader Joe’s. “Regular” butter and “Premium” (meaning imported). Good stuff. And this French butter is definitely the Good Stuff. If I’m having some toast in the morning and I put some of this French butter from Brittany on it, or anything, its heavenly. At any other store you would pay something like $6-7 for this 1/2 lb. pack. Trader Joe’s now sells it for about $3.80 for 8,8 oz.

I’ve gotten to really like the two Imported “premium” butters that TJ sells. Irish KERRYGOLD butter comes in a gold or silver package (salted/gold, silver/unsalted). Imported from Ireland, Kerrygold is an excellent high quality butter, and I love that one too. It costs a bit less than the French one: Kerrygold Irish butter is $3.19 for 8 oz. 

“Trader Jacque’s FRENCH CULTURED SALTED BUTTER” comes in a blue package. It may have the slightest of edges on the Kerrygold Irish butter (but frankly both are superb butters). The French butter comes from Brittany (Bretagne), the region in the North West of France famous for cows, butter and cheeses (and Calvados!)

I’ve tried to do taste tests comparing the Irish vs. French butter and pick one over the other but they are both so good I almost can’t pick one as “better”. Both have a rich flavor that says “imported” premium butter. I started to buy the French butter as a neighbor says the French one has a slight edge. The difference may be that the French butter is “cultured” (fermented with enzymes similar to those in yogurt) to give a little bit of a tangy taste vs. the non-cultured Irish Kerrygold. Honestly though, I go back and forth on which I like more, the Irish or French butters, and always give up. Try them both and see which you prefer (if you can)! Both the Kerrygold Gold and the French Cultured are salted butters but are way less salty than you may think for salted butter you are used to (like Hotel Bar). Still, if you want an UNSALTED butter get the silver Kerrygold package. The gold package is salted (but lightly).

These imported butters naturally cost more the regular butter Trader Joe’s sells for $3/lb. I would say the normal TJ butter is equal to Hotel Bar butter or similar. But this French butter (or Irish Kerrygold) does up your “butter game”. FRENCH CULTURED BUTTER comes in a 8.8 oz pack which sells for $3.49, (PRICE INCREASED SINCE WRITING*) So figure its costs about twice as much as the regular butter. Still TJ’s French butter is I think the equal to butters you might buy in a supermarket in France. And if you compare this to imported premium butters you might see sold in an upscale supermarket here which carries imported butters, well they are crazy expensive (12/lb?). So as usual Trader Joe’s is selling this premium imported butter at a still fairly reasonable price (around $6 lb.) for an excellent French butter. The Cultured French Salted French butter only comes in a salted version but I find it fine, not overly salty at all, it’s just right for most applications. I’ve grown to love it. In fact, my Japanese sister-in-law loved this butter so much when she was visiting us that she actually carried back two packs all the way home to Japan in her bags!

Give it a try. Say slather some of this butter on a piece of warm French baguette just out of the oven, and you may never go back to regular butter, mes amis, c’est La Vie en Rose!

“Cultured butter is typically created by adding live bacteria (cultures) to the butter before it’s churned, versus regular butter which is cream that just goes straight to the churning machine. … Results in a higher-fat product, which in turns makes the butter more silky and gives it a richer taste.”

RAVE

* UPDATE: Price of the French Butter price went up. Now $3.69 (Summer 2019) Irish Kerrygold still $3.19. To save a little I’ve been getting the Kerrygold recently.

Current price: $4.50?

UPDATE 2 (Nov 2020) This French butter was M.I.A. for some time. due to a supply chain problem (Covid-19). The Irish Kerrygold butter is in stock so I have been buying that instead. Its as good or better but prices have gone up some though.

Trader Joe’s SMOKED ENGLISH CHEDDAR

21 Jan 2019 3 Comments

by promacnyc in cheese, Products, Rave, Trader Joes Tags: , , , ,


 


I’ve never seen this cheese before at TJ’s and as I’ve previously mentioned, Cheddar is one of my favorite cheeses. I love “smoked” cheeses too, generally and thought this looked worth a try.

Not only is it smoked, it says “With Spring Onion and Chive” and from the picture you may be able to make out the green flecks in the cheese as well as the brown edge which smoked cheeses have.

I liked the taste of this cheese a good deal. Its very interesting and unusual. The two added flavors (smoke and onion) add an entire new dimension of flavors and fit in nicely and are balanced. While pronounced, the added flavors do not overpower the taste of the cheddar. In a traditional English pub, a cheddar cheese along with some pickled onions and bread are an old traditional menu item…A “Ploughman’s Lunch“. So cheese and onion… perfect together.

We tried it on some crusty baguette. Upon tasting this Smoked English Cheddar my wife said, “I think this would be good with some red wine”. She’s smart, it definitely would. “That’s exactly why I bought it”, I said. We’ll test this theory out later tonight.

Update: It was superb with a nice red wine (Malbec)

This Smoked English Cheddar sells for $9/lb. and gets a Recommended and a

RAVE

(update! – this product may have become unavailable !)

What Can You Get for $1 at Trader Joes’s?

30 Dec 2018 1 Comment

by promacnyc in Trader Joes Tags: , , ,


Actually there are a number of items that cost only 99 cents or $1, and we’re talking good things at that, nothing junky.

These are a few of my favorite items that Trader Joe’s sells for a buck or less, that I almost always just toss in my basket at TJ’s. IMHO these are some of Trader Joe’s best bangs for the buck (literally!)

  1. PANE ITALIANO – This is a wonderful Italian bread that TJ’s sells for just 99 cents for an 8 oz. loaf. Says “Artisan Bread”. It’s a very tasty bread, airy and light, makes great toast, great for sandwiches…everything. I even cut it in quarters and use this with hamburgers as the bun (matches great too). Perfect for a panino. Like almost any bread, its going to be improved popped into the oven for 5-10 minutes. I buy a package of this bread and can’t tell you how fast it goes. So buy 2 (freeze one). This is a steal at a buck.

 

2. DARK CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS – Do I need to add anything more? Just using the words chocolate and peanut butter in the same sentence ought to do it for you, as it does for me. Think “Reese’s for Adults”. I’d say inspired by but far better than Reese’s. Chez moi these should be marked “Dangerous” or just “Crack”. TJ’s usually places these near/next to the checkout line, so that you CAN NOT RESIST BUYING THEM. And I can’t. Every. Time. I. Go. There. A bag goes for 99 cents (10 pieces).

 

3. BANANAS – Pickup either 5 Bananas for 95 cents (19 cents each for “Regular”) OR 4 bananas for $1 (25 cents each for Organic one). Your Choice. I generally buy whichever looks bigger/better that day.

4. FROZEN BRUSSELL SPROUTS – I find it’s really handy to have a package of these in the freezer. Are they fresh? No, they’re frozen but at 99 cents for a pound that are all prepped (no need to clean) they’re very handy and a steal.

I can think of a few more items that fit into the “TJ $1 LIST” but will leave it to you readers to come up with some suggestions via a COMMENT….

 

 

 

TJ’s UNCURED BAVARIAN BRATWURST

28 Dec 2018 8 Comments

by promacnyc in General, News, Pantry, Products, Rave, Recipes, spices, Trader Joes, update, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,


I saw this package of Trader Joe’s “BAVARIAN BRATWURST” sausages the other day, and they looked worth trying for review. They were indeed worth it. These are just terrific, an excellent product that I would gladly buy again. The sausages come fully cooked so they only need browning about 4 minutes per side. It’s labeled PRODUCT OF GERMANY as well as NO NITRATES OR NITRITES (ie, uncured) – two big pluses obviously. Originally for Oktoberfest and though they look a bit like “Weisswurst” (sausages made from veal) these delicious TJ “Bavarian Bratwurst” are made from only pork, water and spices… and we are talking an impressive variety of spices blended perfectly for a unique, great flavor. It’s these well-balanced spices and perfect texture which make these sausages quite different from say, the flavor of your typical American “Brats” or other sausages. The spices include: black pepper, marjoram, nutmeg, mace, ginger, coriander, and cardamon. Reading this spice list sounded to me like typical Christmas spices…. so I thought this could be a nice meal around Xmas time (or Oktoberfest for that matter!) But of course these are great any time of the year if you see them.

What I did with these was grill them up in a little butter with sautéed potatoes and onions. I served this classic combination with some really nice red cabbage in a jar (from Poland) I had just happened to find in a 99 cents store (!) Bratwurst and Potatoes are of course perfect together and and this actually became a Christmas Eve dinner along with the red cabbage and some nice German beers plus bread and veggies. Everything matched up perfectly for a small German-style mini feast (recipe below). But if you want easy peasy simple these also great just grilled and put on a hot dog bun, brioche bun, crusty roll or baguette with some good mustard and sauerkraut. Classic! These sausages make an easy meal. A 12 oz package with 4 good size sausages goe for $3.99 (ie, $1 each). So another pretty good deal from TJ’s and more than worth your trying. When I first saw these it was Xmas season and was not sure if they are available all year or if they’ seasonal (Update: TJ’s seems to carry these sausages all year!)

If you cooked these on a grill in summertime, it would be a huge hit I would think. You could try them with potatoes as I did or go the Easy Route, just brown them and serve them with mustard, kraut and some good bread or buns.

A NO-RECIPE RECIPE: Cut up some Yukon Gold potatoes into cubes and par-boil them for 5-10 minutes in salted water till almost tender but not completely cooked. Drain them and sauté them with some onions in oil (with a little butter for extra flavor). Cook on medium heat, toss occasionally until golden brown on all sides. Make room in the center and grill the Bavarian Bratwurst 4 mins per side until browned. I slash them slightly before grilling. When done serve with good mustard. Cold beer would of course not be amiss with these Bavarian Bratwursts!

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