Potato Sterz – Authentic Austrian Recipe

Potato Sterz or in German “Kartoffel Sterz” is a dish that comes originally from Austria, and is very popular in Bavaria, especially in lower Bavaria. It is a simple dish that can be made with different ingredients. Instead of potatoes you can use semolina, rye flour, buckwheat flour or polenta.
The recipe originates from the Austrian lumberjacks in Kärnten or the Steiermark. Historically spoken, in the time when lumberjacks used to work in the woods for several months, they only could take flour and lard as supplies. Hence the dish Potato Sterz was created. Happy Cooking!

Ingredients Potato Sterz

about 2 lbs potatoes, more floury type like Russet
100 g flour, all purpose, unbleached
1 tsp salt
200 ml heavy cream (optional)
sunflower or safflower oil for frying or use clarified butter or lard
2 eggs, optional

Cooking Instructions Potato Sterz

– Boil potatoes and let cool off completely. Recommended is to boil them the day before.
– Peel potatoes and grate them, mix with flour and salt – you will see how crumbly it gets. That’s what you want. If you use eggs add the eggs and mix well. The more floury the potatoes are, the better. If they aren’t use more flour.

– Melt the oil, lard or clarified butter in a skillet and add the Sterz slowly on lower heat. It should be nicely browned but not too much.
Optional: Place the browned Sterz in a fire proof form, add heavy cream and bake on 350F until all the heavy cream had been absorbed. This last step makes the dish very rich.

Serve with apple sauce, plum compote or any other compote. Some serve sour cream with it.

Find the Plum Compote recipe here – Click for the recipe

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Find the Recipe for Apple Sauce Here