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Bubbat (with sausage)


For those of you who will look at this and recognize it as something that Oma made, I wish I could add a scratch and sniff option to take you right into her kitchen. 
My Mennonite mother-in-law raised and fed 9 kids plus extras that came to the table. She did all the cooking with no recipe books; everything by memory. I’m sure that often she had to improvise and make do with whatever she had on hand, sometimes coming up with new recipes that way. One of my favorite things she made, when I joined the family, was sausage Bubbat. She usually served it with chicken Borscht and often had Plumimoos (cold fruit soup) for dessert. The Bubbat is very good with the fruit soup.
As a newly wed, I attempted making this, but the words in the Mennonite Cookbook threw me for a loop. “Flour to make a stiff dough"  followed by "Pour into greased pan." What did that mean? Much later in life I found out that my mother-in-law did have a written recipe and I grabbed it. When I tried making it according to this recipe, I called her up and I asked her, “did you put in 4 cups of flour, like it says?” She said, “Put in more if it’s not enough.” What’s not enough? I finally got it out of her that you should be able to stir it with a wooden spoon. So, that’s the secret. It all depends how strong your arm is. . . especially when the recipe gets quadrupled!

Ingredients:
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups milk, scalded
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup water
  • 5 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon instant yeast
  • 4 cups cut up (in bite size pieces) farmer sausage and/or smoked ham.

Method:
  1. Scald milk and add salt. Allow to cool so that it is only warm.
  2. If using regular yeast, dissolve it in the ½ cup water with 1 tablespoon sugar, as usual.
  3. If using instant yeast, add ½ cup water to milk and add the dry yeast to the flour.
  4. Beat eggs well, adding liquids and then stirring in the flour.
  5. Stir in sausage and ham.
  6. Spread into greased 9x13 inch pan and 1 loaf pan, or all of it into a larger cookie sheet.
  7. Cover with plastic and let rise 1 hour.
  8. Bake at 350° F for 45 minutes.

31 comments:

  1. This looks lovely. My mom fooled me with "enough flour until you can't stir anymore". I enlisted my husband to keep on stirring as we added more and more flour. We succeeded in making rocks out of her dumplings recipe!!

    I went to my area's Mennonite Relief Sale this weekend and got to sample the Cherry version of the fruit soup you mentioned. Also, some cheese pockets with ham gravy, and some delightful apple turnovers. There was a bake sale that nearly brought me to my knees! So sad that I couldn't enjoy more because of my being on Weight Watchers!! Oh my, you girls CAN cook!!!

    I've tried to attend every year. The proceeds of this event go to so many fine causes. Do you have a relief sale in your area?

    I was in awe of the quilts again this year!

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  2. Bubbat - just when I learned to eat stuffing instead of Bubbat I found I was Celiac and now both are taboo!
    Maybe I could come up with a gluten-free bubbat. Yours looks delicious !

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  3. Yummo Anneliese..looks so delicious!! I am not familiar with this kind of bubbat. I only know about the bubbat with raisins that we eat with a roasted chicken.

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  4. oh boy . ..my beloved is going to send me straight to the kitchen if he sees this recipe. I do make it occasionally and it is more his favorite than mine. . your looks just delicious Anneliese.

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  5. Elizabeth, you're funny! (about the food) Yes, we had a local relief sale and raised $800,000.

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  6. THIS is the bubbat I know and love. Thanks for sharing your recipe...it looks absolutely yummy...I know...I make the almost the same recipe!

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  7. oh i love this bubbat. the first time that i had it was in vancouver as a kid and she served it with chicken borscht as well. that was also the first time i had chicken borscht. i make it for the family and we all enjoy it.

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  8. I had a good chuckle at how your MIL explained her recipes to you. I have had that same type of explaination and it does get confusing. I just tell myself to keep trying till it turns out. I've never had this kind of Bubbat. I must try it one day. Kathy

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  9. This looks good! I think I must try this :0)

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  10. Thanks for this recipe -- I haven't had it in years. Ours was made with the farmer's sausage on top, cut into 2" lengths and halved lengthwise, then placed on top before rising. Yummy. We ate it with Schmoorkomst which would have been stewing in the oven all day.

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  11. Since I see someone else has posted 'this year' I will too.

    What should I look for to buy wfarmer's sausage? I'm in a big prairie city. I've seen all kinds of cooked sausage in rings: Ukrainian (with and without garlic), ham sausage, "Mundare" sausage. If you can describe what's in it I will have a better chance of getting something similar. I'm near a good German butcher. Should I try there and just say "farmer's sausage"?

    I'm going to make the Bubat with sausage, and then sprinkle a lot of grated cheddar on top at the last part of the baking.

    For a friend who does me computer favours.

    Thank you.

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  12. To answer the question about farmer sausage - it is a pork or mixed beef and pork smoked sausage. You can also use smoked ham for bubbat. Not sure about the cheese on there. . . but only because "we've never had it that way." =)

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  13. Thanks Anneliese. Why I don't know this... . Maybe the same sausage has a different name here.

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  14. I found it.

    Smoked, raw pork sausage said the label. "Menno" brand. "Mennonite" style. No msg, no fillers.

    I better taste it before I use it in a gift, I thought. So I baked it, with a bit of time under the broiler.

    I'm not sure I can guarantee there will be some left for the Bubbat.

    I had it with tomato chutney.

    This is definitely something I will buy again now that I know where to find it. There were also Chorizo, Italian,Greek lamb and Ukrainian ham sausage where I found it. They didn't know what I wanted when I said "farmer's" but when I said Mennonite, they said ... oh! Why didn't you say so?

    anon1

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  15. Hello Anon1 - I'm happy you found it! There are so many ways you can cook this sausage. In the summertime my hubby barbeques it, in winter I peel and chop it up and put into split pea soup or mix it in with scalloped potatoes. Often times I just peel it and stick it in a baking pot with a little water and cook it for 1 hour.

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  16. (grin) I am cooking split pea soup now, in my slow cooker. I ate some of the sausage, then I thought "if I don't stop nibbling at this it will all be gone" so I put the rest of the half in the soup. The other half will be for my friend's Bubbat. Which I don't think my Ukrainian grandmother ever maide, to my knowledge.

    The soup: I also put barley in my pea soup. I like to get as much nutrition with as few dishes to wash. :)

    There is just me now and sometimes I can get into a slump of not cooking. Opening a can, with toast.

    You have inspired me! Tomorrow, apple cake.

    anon1

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  17. Oh delicious. My Oma's (and then my parents, and then my) bubbat is done with the same kind of dough, but with 3" long chunks of the sausage just press into the top of the dough. I should make that tonight. :)

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  18. Oh yummy. This looks very similar to a recipe we make that we call bauback. Not sure if that is how it is spelled or the name, but it uses very similar ingredients except the yeast, we use baking powder instead. We would always make it when we were going to travel somewhere because it was like having a sandwich already made. We still make it a lot beings the kids really like it.

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  19. A (73 yr old) neighbour was visiting awhile ago and got reminiscing about his childhood - talked about something his mother (who was of Mennonite heritage) made called Bubbat. I was intrigued, so I searched for it and found your website.
    In his memory, his mom just laid the entire sausage lengthwise in the pan so that when the bubbat was sliced, everyone got a piece of sausage, so this is what I did.
    Served it to my husband and he liked it well enough to use it for sandwiches in his lunch!
    I shall make it and take it to my neighbour and hope it is at least similar to what he remembers.
    Love your site!

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  20. Thank you Bag Lady! I'm encouraged by your comment and thoughtfulness to bring a bit of nostalgia to a neighbor. Wish you all the best!

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  21. Forgot to mention that I am taking it as a gift for his 75th birthday tomorrow, so cross your fingers for me that it turns out especially well!

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  22. About 50 yrs. ago our mother was in the hospital for a back operation, our neighbours, 2 old sisters from the united mennonite church , brought us wurst bubbats and rollkuchen several times. Thinking of that always gives me a cosy home feeling.

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  23. Bubbat is the best grease in the world. But my Aunt Katherine Derksen of Mt. Lake MN always lined the pan with thick bacon before putting in the dough, then pushed the sausages into the dough and letting it rise. And these were not the 'modern' sausages, but the kind that left a quarter inch of fat in the pan when cooked.

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    Replies
    1. This is more like what I am used to. I do make my own sausage whenever I can and have to buy extra fat because the hogs I buy don't have enough fat on them to get even 75/25 blend. My Great,great, grandfather Jacob Baerg immigrated to Mountain Lake in 1890's with all but one of his daughters and his only son who stayed behind in Ukraine and 2 of his 3 sons came to Canada in 1925. It's the first time I've been able to say Hi to someone from Mountain Lake.

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    2. My Aunt Katherine and all 7 siblings were from Mt. Lake, but I grew up in New York City. Still go back from time to time to visit cousins. Original bubbat, with all the grease, was made for farming in winter, and it's the best grease around.

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  24. Do you serve right away-or at room room temp. If I make it ahead how would you reheat. I am microwave free.

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    1. You can serve it fresh out of the oven or room temp. I freeze leftovers and wrap in foil to re-heat in the oven at 350F. Or just thaw and enjoy as is... like a sandwich.

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  25. my mennonite mother made a stuffing she called "bubbat" with roasted chicken. It was like a cake batter with raisins. She stuffed the chicken and roasted as usual. I remember it being cakelike when done and delicious. Anyone out there know about this? Never have seen this in any recipe book. Would love to make it.

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    Replies
    1. My Mom frequently made chicken dinner with potatoes and bubbat. Half of the batch she would bake in the oven and the other half she would steam in a glass bowl over the potatoes. Both were delicious! She passed the recipe onto me. I believe Mennonite Girls can cook also have this recipe!

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    2. The recipe for fruit bubbat that can be stuffed into a roasting hen (or baked alonside) is on this blog
      http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/2013/03/roasted-chicken-with-raisin-bubbat.html

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  26. I've had both kinds of bubbat: fleisch and frucht. My Mom always made the fleisch bubbat with the pan lined with bacon on the bottom (and add enough flour until it "feels right"), then peeled smoked sausage cut up and pushed into the top. The frucht kind was either baked in a loaf pan separate, but my Oma would stuff it in a chicken and baked it that way (both are delicious).

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