What makes Wiener Tafelspitz so special? Where did the cattle come from? Why was beef cheaper than pork in the past?
Vienna has always been a culinary hotspot , as the “Zuagrasten” (newcomers) from the crown lands predominated in the imperial city. They all brought their favorite dishes from home and Viennese cuisine took the best of all of them. Perhaps it was the Italians – who exerted a great influence on Viennese cuisine, especially in the 16th century – who inspired the Viennese Tafelspitz with their boiled meat.
Why beef was the cheapest
It is Beef of the best quality. Soft and buttery, carefully cooked in the soup. Almost every connoisseur speaks of beef as the crowning glory of meat dishes. Beef has a long tradition in Vienna in particular, as it was consumed by all classes. This had the following reasons: The cattle could be driven from the breeding areas of the former monarchy, such as Bukovina or the Marchfeld , to the slaughterhouses in Vienna . Short-legged animals such as pigs or sheep could hardly be transported over longer distances, let alone driven.
We are talking about a period that stretched from the 12th to the 19th century, when the railroad became established as a means of mass transportation for longer distances. When beef prices were set, for example around 1560, a pound of beef cost 6 kreuzer, while a bricklayer earned 12 kreuzer a day.
But there were also exquisite cuts of beef, such as roast beef, sirloin or roast lung . Only wealthy citizens could afford this meat. As a rule, the rest of the meat was cooked and the soup was also made from it. The nutritional value of the meat was particularly important in times of need. For this reason, fatty meat was sold at a higher price than the famous “Tafelspitz” until the 1920s.
The “Viennese division”
One prerequisite for this development was and is the special skill of Viennese butchers in cutting the meat in the way that is most suitable for a particular type of preparation. As a result, Vienna has developed its own way of cutting meat, the “Viennese division”. This Viennese method is only practiced in a few cases today, resulting in five cuts of beef compared to the four cuts of the international method. The shape of the Tafelspitz already describes its name. It is the tapered end of a muscle strand from the beef rump.
Until the early 1960s, pork was rare and therefore more expensive than beef. It was not until the slow start of semi-industrial production of pork on farms that the price fell. This development led to the current meat prices. Today, pork is cheaper than beef and veal.
One of the most famous lovers of cooked beef was Emperor Franz Josef I. He was often served this dish. He was very fond of it and appreciated the tasty simplicity of the dish.
The legend of Tafelspitz
Legend has it that Tafelspitz was invented at the Hotel Sacher . At court, the emperor was the first to be served and was also the first to finish, much to the chagrin of those who were still eating, because according to strict court etiquette, no one was allowed to eat after the emperor had put down his cutlery. So all those who were fed at the court table had to go out to eat afterwards in order to get their fill. The legendary Anna Sacher had a dish prepared for the hungry that could simmer for hours and get even better in the process, making it ready to serve at any time: Tafelspitz.
Probably the oldest mention of the word “Tafelspitz” can be found in Babette Franner’s 1893 cookbook“Die exquisite Wiener Küche“.
“Anyone who could not speak knowledgeably about at least a dozen pieces of cooked beef,” wrote Joseph Wechsberg, the old Austrian among the great feature writers,“did not belong in Vienna, regardless of how much money he earned or whether the emperor had awarded him the title of Hofrat or Kommerzialrat.”
Time Travel Tip: The Viennese beef specialist is Gasthaus Plachutta in Wollzeile . Nowhere else is boiled beef celebrated and served as much as at Plachutta. Be sure to make a reservation!
Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tafelspitz_in_Meerrettichsauce.jpg?uselang=de
