Bamberg Stuffed Onions

Bamberg has special onions. They are very large, very round and very white. They are rich and powerfully strange things. You may have to buy a Vidalia onion or the like if you don’t have time to pick one up from Bamberg. Wolfgang tells me that Bamberg stuffed onions are served with mashed or boiled potatoes.

Makes 4 stuffed onions

4 large white or Vidalia onions
4 slices smoked bacon, diced
1/4 pound ground pork
2 large eggs
1 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons beef stock or water
1 cup Schlenkerla Rauchbier (Schlenkerla smoked beer)

Preheat oven to 375 F

Peel the onions. Cut about 1 inch off the top of each and reserve it, then cut 1/2 inch off the other end to create a flat surface for the onion to sit upright. From the top end, scoop out the insides with a spoon until the sides aare about 1/4 inch think; set the shells aside.

Finely dice the insides of the onions and sauté them in a skillet with the bacon until soft, about 5 minutes.

Let cool for a few minutes, then combine the cooked onions and bacon with the pork, eggs, bread crumbs, nutmeg, marjoram, and parsley in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper.

Fill the 4 onion shells and set them upright in a baking dish and pour in water to 1/4 of an inch. Roast, uncovered, for about 45 minutes, until tender and cooked through, adding the reserved onion tops to the onions halfway through the roasting time.

Remove the onions to a platter and pour the pan drippings into a small saucepan. Please over medium heat and whisk in the flour, then the stock and beer. Simmer and whist until the gravy thickens.