RECIPE --Greasy Bread

When the weather warms up enough to start thinking about outdoor cooking, my family starts drooling in anticipation of a szalona sutes, which means, in Hungarian, a bacon fry. A hardwood fire needs to be built, and some sturdy but thin oak or maple tree branches must be gathered, their tips shaved into a point with a sharp knife. Pieces of cured and smoked pork backfat need to be procured from a specialty butcher(this is becoming the singularly most difficult part of this feast to buy, unless one knows of an ethnic butcher or someone who does one's own curing and smoking. Pigs are being raised, today, to be leaner, and there isn't as much fat on their backs as in the "old days". The resulting "bacon" with rind attached is usually only an inch or so thick, when it used to be about 3". This bacon is pure pork fat with no streak of meat in it).

Other ingredients needed are a loaf or two of good rye bread, spring onions(scallions), a sweet onion(Vidalia is great), tomatoes, salt and whisky. Thinly slice the scallions(white and green parts), and slice the sweet onion and tomatoes. Arrange the rye bread slices on plates or trays, sprinkle lightly with salt and strew some of the sliced scallions onto each piece.

Meanwhile, with a sharp knife, such as a boning knife with a sharp point, make a cut into the bacon's rind to accommodate the stick. Placing the bacon on a sturdy surface to do this can prevent a serious cut to a hand, but be careful, anyway. The stick is run into the side of the bacon chunk as near as possible to the rind and then out the pre-cut hole that was made in the rind. This is to help prevent losing one's bacon in the fire as it fries. Turn the bacon over with the fat side up and make two or three vertical and horizontal cuts into the bacon. Make shallow cuts; they can be cut deeper if necessary, later, to release more grease.

Now, the fun begins! Set the plate or tray of prepped bread nearby, and either stand in front of the fire or sit in a chair and hold the stick over the hot coals, turning the stick constantly. As the bacon heats up, it will start to drip grease. Quickly pull it away from the fire and drip the grease onto the rye bread. Although the bacon will eventually char, you don't want this to happen quickly. Charring makes the bacon bitter. Return the bacon to the fire and remove to drip grease over all your slices of rye bread. Trial and error will tell you when you've put enough on each slice. When you feel you're done frying, carefully remove the stick from the bacon, cut the bacon off the rind in one piece and slice into small slices. Put a slice of tomato on the bread, a piece of the bacon, a slice of onion if desired. Drink a shot of whisky and toast the day. Eat your "greasy bread". Isn't it the best stuff you've ever tasted?

Stories told in my family involved how this was done by farmers in Hungary in the "old days". Everything could be transported out to the fields without the need for refrigeration. And, everyone worked so hard, they weren't afraid of high cholesterol or even what calories were. Today, this is a rare treat, and we only indulge in it once a year or so. Even the whisky had a purpose: drinking a shot of whisky was supposed to coat your stomach so the grease wouldn't stick. Oh, and I'd add a pot of hot coffee to top off this delicious meal as we remember those who came before us.