Metzgete in Gsteig (BE)

March 11-14, 2009. Some might call the Bären in Gsteig (near Gstaad) picturesque, others a tad touristy, but whatever your take this is as good a place as any for an intro to a Metzgete. A Metzgete - cochonnaille in French - refers to the old rural tradition (by no means Swiss only) of slaughtering a pig in winter and then making every single bit of it into some sort of pork product - cuts of meat, paté, sausages, charcuterie. Even the blood is used for black pudding (Blutwurst,  boudin noir) or, for example, in the sauce of a pork fricassee. By extension, a Metzgete meal consists of several different pork dishes. Restaurants that offer a Metzgete during the winter months are still relatively few and far between around Switzerland, but- as with the Baeren - some are introducing or re-introducing it in response to renewed public interest in and appreciation of traditional Swiss food. Better reserve your table closer to March 11 than March 14 just in case; the restaurant is advertising this with the words “es het solang’s het”, i.e. if this is very popular, we may run out. www.baerengsteig.ch