Genuine love for meat

Tyroleans increasingly prefer food from the surrounding area. Many places have reacted to this by opening new farm shops. Ellbögen now also has one of these. And the people of Ellbögen are rightly very proud of this!

The shop is, so to speak, the heart of the newly designed village square in the district of St. Peter. It is the only possibility for local supply in the village and is therefore also a small meeting point. But they are also proud of the fact that the Ladele is supplied exclusively by local producers.

"At the moment there are five of us," Herbert Miller, chairman of ARGE Ellbögner Bauernladen, tells me. It's amazing that the range of products can be so wide, I think to myself and inspect shelves full of pasta, eggs, milk, tea, spices, potatoes, bacon, sausages, Kaminwurzen and a decent selection of meat. Vegetables are to follow - they are already grown in the sunny fields.

When it comes to meat, Reinhard Ribis is just adding to the list. While Herbert keeps around 500 chickens on his Schallerhof farm, Reinhard has specialised in pig and cattle breeding. Neither of them has sold their products on a large scale before. The new sales opportunity in the Ladele certainly comes in handy for them. And the customer benefits just as much: "Take meat from Reinhard and noodles from me and lunch is ready," laughs Herbert.

We drive to Reinhard's Walzerhof. It is located far above the village centre. This is also the starting point for the hike or bike ride to the Arztaler Alm or the walk to the time-honoured Hinterlocher Mühle.

Reinhard's wife Magdalena is baking bread. "What would a farm shop be without bread?" she asks a fair question, deftly shaping the dough into hearts. On Tuesdays and Fridays, the loaves are available fresh from the oven at Ladele.

Son Kilian is playing in front of the farm. When we adults want to check on the cattle, the 11-year-old is right there with us. No doubt about it: he knows his way around a barn! Reinhard is currently fattening eight pigs, and plans to add more in the future. Not far away are a good 20 cattle of old breeds. In contrast to Herbert, Reinhard does farming as a sideline. His main job is as a butcher - which explains a lot.

Every few weeks, the 49-year-old goes to work. He processes his own meat, that of neighbouring farmers and sometimes buys in from other parts of Tyrol. "The bacon matures in the smoked kitchen for five months until it is perfect," explains Reinhard. He prefers not to talk about the spice mixture: "It's secret. I promised not to reveal anything," he smiles.

Then we go into detail about curing, the right temperature and other tricks for the success of the famous Tyrolean treat. After so much talking, we finally switch over to the tasting. The verdict is clear: sensational! Of course I immediately took a piece home with me. Kaminwurzen and bread as well. And of course the obligatory Schnapsl was not to be missed 🙂

Photos: Tamara Kainz, private