German Schwenkbraten

If you want true Bitburg AB “swankbraten” you actually use beef loin. Before the yelling starts I worked at the Imbiss Stand outside the Rathskeller and was taught by the woman who made everyone’s evening fixing this before she pcs’d out. She would get a whole beef loin or 2 and fix on Thursday for the week-end crowds. These would have the seasoning rubbed in, have an onion ring set on each cut, and covered completely in vegetable oil. This would be covered with plastic wrap and sat at least 24 hours in the fridge before use. To cook them they were placed on a 250 degree griddle and covered for a couple hours, flipped and repeat. Served on a hard roll or a kaiser roll. Bitte ein Bit!

Soooo good. For two servings I would probably cut to one large yellow onion, I did two and that was a lot of onion! Also ten min per side is way too long for thinner chops, I accidentally overcooked mine a tad at 6-7 min per side. We grilled some baby potatoes and tossed them with mustard vinaigrette to serve on the side too. Will make again!

Made this dish twice; 1st time using the exact recipe which was really good, but the 2nd with a few changes which was great! My changes; 1 or 2 large thinly sliced onions is plenty, 6 cloves garlic, 8 juniper berries smashed and finely minced, add 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp onion powder, a pinch of cayenne. In a medium bowl mix all spices with oil, then dip each chop into marinade, layer in baking dish with the sliced onions. Cover with plastic wrap and weigh down. Marinate 2 in fridge days minimum.

I thought 10 onions was a lot of onions. Did the recipe mean 10 onions wedges and not 10 onions cut into wedges? I was surprised there was no salt in this recipe but with all those spices I didn’t notice it care. I only used 5 onions and cut them into wedges. It was more than enough. I got crazy with the mustard and juniper berries and doubled those amounts but probably didn’t need too. It was spicy. Also the bottom of the pork didn’t marinade in the pan. Next time I’m going to chop one onion wedge 2 or 3 onions (10 wedges), and marinade in a gallon freezer zip lock bag overnight. Maybe salt on the grill. All in all great recipe. As close to the Schweitzer I had in Germany that I’m going to get. I’m also going to try this marinade on a pork loin roast and grill it. I think that will turn out well too.

I attempted to cut this recipe in half since it is just my wife and I. The marinade was delicious even though I had to sub the juniper with rosemary. I think I will cut back a bit on the cayenne because this had more of a bite than what I remember when I was stationed in Nurnberg, Germany. What I’m confused about is the 10 (5 for me) onions. That is a lot of onion! I’ll be cutting back on those too. Overall, this is a winner!

It was very close. I think there was a tad more red pepper than I remember. Still very very good.

Thank you! I’ve been haunted by the blissful memory of this dish for twenty five years. I am quite sentimental when it comes to food. I too was stationed at Bitburgh AB. Bitte ein Bit.

I just made this very dish. I, too, remember smelling the schwank bratten grilling every summer weekend in Germany. My recipe differs in spice though. I use paprika, parsley,pepper and garlic powder; also I do not use curry or mustard. And, I put it in the fridge for 3 days. I received my recipe from one of the guys grilling at the BX at Ramstein. I am going to use the onion in foil touch from this recipe.

The main thing missing is SALT! Not during the marinading process, mind you, it would dry out the meat, but for sure before cooking it! Also, the onions are too over powering, the way they are prepared. My suggestiion for anyone looking for something similar would probably be to make a rub with the spices, season the meat well, then cover with the onions (they tenderize), then salt and cook the meat. If you still want to cook up the onions, you can season to your individual taste.

We spent 4 years stationed in Germany (Bitburg) and loved eating schwenkbraten! We have wished we could have some ever since! This is a fabulous recipe! My family loved it!! I can’t wait to make it for company! As far as authenticity goes, this tastes exactly like the schwenks we had in Germany. PS I served it to company with “authentic German Potato Salad” and they raved about it.

Never heard of this before but, super glad we tried it because, it was delicious

My husband and I met in Germany. We have been thinking about this for 20 years. I am so happy to find this recipe! I am hoping it is the real deal. I have to disagree with the previous post about curry as I was eating curry wurst on a weekly basis in Germany 20 years ago.

Well, we thought this was really tasty. We had thick pork loin chops, so didn’t grill them or serve on buns. Instead, we put them in the oven along with all the marinade, covered, for about an hour and a half. We did replace 1/2 cup oil with 1/2 cup beer, just to cut calories a little. Served with baked potatoes and veggies, it made a great, easy weeknight dinner. We cut up the leftover pork, simmered with the remaining pan juices, and served it over egg noodles for a super-quick leftover dinner. A little pasta water and flour slurry made the pan juices a little more gravy-like. Flavors were fabulous! Hubby has already requested this for next week!

Schwenk was our favorite at cookouts when stationed at Bitburg AB Germany. We’ve made it twice now. Once with boneless pork loin chops and seasoned as indicated. Once with sliced pork tenderloin and only hlaf of the curry. Family and friends have raved about this dish both times. The chops were a little tougher than ideal, but still very good eats.

This was pretty darn close to what I remember when I was in Germany for 4 years, real tender and flavorful but not as strong as the real thing, still real good though. Prost!

The flavor of this meat was fabulous. I picked the recipe hoping to match the pork we ate in Germany last summer. I served it to my German-immigrant in-laws. We all agree on 3 points… 1)the pork was great 2)I should’ve used sweet/vidalia onions and 3) this isn’t German. Curry is absolutely not a spice used in Duetchland until relatively recently. I would absolutely make this again, especially for a summer cook-out.

I have looked for this recipe for over 15 years. thank you for posting the recipe. The cayenne peper was just a little to much for me. Over all GERAT Recipe

I prepared this for my Mom’s birthday and received RAVE reviews. I used Bone-in Pork loin chops and increased the recipie for 12 people. I served it with German Potato Salad and Red Cabbage. YUM! I’ll be making this again..