October 4, 2007
Naturally, the classics - wursts and sauerkraut and big, meaty hunks of pork - will be part of the festivities. If you're going to do it yourself, that means you've got to head up to Fox Chase for the region's best German-foods market, Rieker's Prime Meats.
The 35-year-old business is one of the city's culinary wonders. Step inside the door off Oxford Avenue and your senses are assaulted with a waft of aroma and flavor on a par with South Philly's DiBruno's cheese shop.
This is more than a deli - it's a kitchen. Specialty ready-cooked dishes, including sauerbraten, maultaschen and spaetzle, are prepared daily. Classic sausages are stuffed in natural casings and smoked in a back room. The bologna is honest beef, pork and veal with no filler or added salt to retain water.
The rouladen is the way they make it back in Germany: sliced beef coated with mustard, then rolled with diced pickles and onions and cooked in a dark, brown gravy. You can pick up ready-made sauerkraut, or Rieker will tell you the secret to perfecting your own: Add a shredded raw potato to soak up the liquid and produce a creamy texture.
"You ask for veal sausage, I ask you what kind," said Marcus Rieker, the owner's son. "We do four different kinds, depending on the season." Bratwurst, knackwurst, bockwurst . . . pile on the sauerkraut and get me a beer!
