Or am I the only one? I grew up in Castroville, which was settled by Alsatians, and one of the dishes that stuck around was parisa.

It doesn't sound appealing when you describe it, it is baisically fresh (and by fresh I mean raw) ground meat (usually beef, but I've had buffalo and venison parisa), a lot of pepper, serranos or jalepenos, onions, lemon juice, and some cheese all mixed together. Its kinda like paté, but it's not rich. And its usually pretty spicy. Put some of it on saltine crackers and go to town.

I've never made it myself, but I get a craving for it every now and again. It really is good.

I did some googling and came up with a description and recipe so you guys don't think I'm completely crazy.

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Parisa is a dish that came from Europe with the immigrants. It's not found anywhere, as far as I can determine, other than in the immediate area around Quihi, Hondo and Castroville. It's a sort of paté made with uncooked meat.

Camp Quihi Parisa

* 14 ounces lean beef (preferably grass-fed), bison or venison
* 8 ounces mild cheddar cheese, finely grated
* 1 medium onion, minced fine
* 1 or 2 serrano peppers, minced
* 1 teaspoon garlic powder
* 2-1/2 teaspoons salt
* 4 teaspoons coarse-grind black pepper
* Juice of one large or two small lemons

As the meat used is raw, everything must be spotlessly clean when you are making parisa. Trim anything white off the meat. Put it through the meat grinder with the fine plate. It should be really finely ground. Keep the meat cool while you are working with it. After it's ground, keep it in a bowl set in another bowl of ice while you prepare and mix the rest of the ingredients.

You want the meat to be just as lean as you can get it. Grass-fed beef or bison is really healthy fare. The bison used comes from bison farms; it is not harvested by an Indian on a pony.

Mix everything real good. Refrigerate at least four hours before serving. Overnight would be better.

Serve on crackers or toasted bread like paté.

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That actually sounds pretty good. I think the keys would be LEAN LEAN LEAN meat, and CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN meat. Bison might be your best shot.

That, or a trip to Castroville -- is it something that is ever prepared and sold by a store or restaurant, or is it strictly an "at home" kind of thing?

As an aside, I knew a REALLY hot girl from Castroville back in college -- geez, I can't even remember her name now. But I can remember her legs like it was yesterday.

Brisket, I can almost guarantee you her last name was one of the following: Haby, Tshirhart, Zinsmeyer. Ring any bells?

And you can buy parisa at Dan's Meat Market and maybe Dziuk's Meat Market in Castroville, IIRC. I usually just get it whan a friend's family makes it though.

Nope, that wasn't one of them. Geez -- this is gonna bug me now. I do remember that I bumped into her several years ago, and I greeted her by name. She did not remember me. The fact that I knew her name obviously creeped her out. A lot. The fact that I couldn't stop staring at her legs probably didn't improve the situational dynamics. I can even recall that she was a really nice girl with some serious family issues, but her name is a total blank. That's odd, because I am quite sure that many more girls have forgotten my name than I have forgotten theirs.

I may have to pick some parisa up next time I head through Castroville -- that doesn't happen often, but it does happen. I am woefully under-aware of many German, Czech, etc. foods -- I need to learn more about them. Preferably by eating them.

Not one of those? How about Keller, Haass, or Jagge?

If you stop at Dziuks, pick up some Alsatian Sasusage. It makes probably the best smoked sausage ever (although I may be biased since I grew up there).

You're gonna make me drive down to Castroville if you don't quit talking about these things. I'm getting hungry!

My dad's family is from Castroville. Parisa was a staple of Thanksgiving and Christmas get togethers. In Castroville you can get it at the Super S and Dzuiks, but grandma usually made hers from scratch. Actually, I had to cut her off from parisa after her hip replacement, so now we just pick some up at Dzuiks with some sausage.

Hornian, what was the name of that meat market that was on the church square? I remember going in there when I was a kid and picking up dried sausage, but last time we drove thru there it wasn't open.

Oh, and I use to work with a Tschirhart here in Austin. Blonde, and smoking hot. I got transferred to another store before I was able to try to work that Castroville connection.

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Hornian, what was the name of that meat market that was on the church square?

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There was a John Tschirhart up here in Copperas Cove that my dad used to do business with a number of years ago. Dude had a French/German accent. Guess he was from Castroville, too. I'll have to ask.

Parisa is a Christmas Eve tradition on my mom's side of the family - she and her siblings grew up in Hondo, and my grandma is a Zinsmeyer from D'Hanis. We get ours from Dzuiks - I love it. Put it on a cracker, and wash it down with a little whiskey tottie - excellent. My wife on the other hand ... not so much of a fan. When she found out the meat was raw, I think she turned a shade of green.

My parents owned J&M Country Mart in D'Hanis until a few months ago so I've had my share of parisa. The meat must have absolutely zero fat which would cause the meat to turn rancid. It does appear to be raw hamburger meat but is actually cured by the lemon juice.

Hornian's recipe is a good start but there is a noticable difference in the taste of the parisa from the different towns around that area. Some will be spicier or have more lemon or cheese. All depends on your taste. I prefer the spicier parisa washed down with many cold beers. The parisa my dad made for his store also used american cheese instead of cheddar.

The thought of this thread is making me crave some parisa pre-kickoff.

My grandfather, a German Lutheran missionary, settled in Castroville in the early 1900's and was pastor at the Zion Lutheran Church there for decades. My Dad and his siblings loved the Castroville sausage, and it was served at many family gatherings growing up.

I remember that the sausage had a really distinctive taste; really different from other sausages. Hornian, do you know what spices, meats, etc. go into Castroville sausage?

Thanks.

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I remember that the sausage had a really distinctive taste; really different from other sausages. Hornian, do you know what spices, meats, etc. go into Castroville sausage?

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this sounds pretty interesting I have to do some more investingating as my wife's family is from Castroville.

Meat Ceviche...

i want to try this, this meat based snack that you speak about