Tomato Beer, chislic, and jitrnice

For Christmas, Mrs. Laikom and I went to Omaha, NE then drove up to In the small town of Tyndall, SD (population: 1,239) for Christmas. I figured I’d share some of the unique food experiences I had.

We ate at the only restaurant/bar in Tyndall, “cluck and suds”. Everyone was ordering tomato beer. I was told this was a very common drink and that I was strange for not knowing what it was. It's basically beer with tomato juice and optional olives floating in it. I had never heard of this, but it was indeed great. I'm not much of a drinker and don't go to a lot of bars, so maybe this isn't such a unique thing afterall. Anyhow, if you havent' tried a tomato beer, give it a shot.

I also had, for the first time, chislic. Which I presume may be a local thing too. It is deep fried mutton cubes (no breading, just deep fried meat) served with crackers and garlic salt. It was good, but I have a feeling based on my web research that my cubes were diced up too small and/or fried too long and I think it lost a lot of flavor and killed a lot of texture. I look forward to trying it again sometime done right.

The only other thing worth mentioning is a Czech sausage that my grandmother-in-law serves often for breckfast. It’s called jitrnice, pronounced "yitte-nitchah” or maybe that r is slipped in there like “yitter-nitchah”. Anyhow, it’s more or less a hog sausage made with liver, heart, tongue, and head. It is wonderfully flavorful, and I look forward to finding some in Chicago sometime.

Tomato beer sounds fascinating, but I think I will stick to Vodka instead. Mutton is something I never cared for, but the sausage sounds delightful. Since I am of Swiss-German heritage, I think the Czechs are so[color=#40FFBF][color=#40FFBF][/color][/color]me of the best cooks here in Texas. We have a town here south of Arlington called West Texas and it is mostly a Czech population. They make the best sausage kolaches ever!

Sausage kolaches!!! wow, from my experiences we only get the sweet desert kind. I have heard of the savory variety but have not witnessed them being made. Somehow texas mixed with Czech sparks my innermost engines.. If you have any recipes., please share.

In my bartending career I had come across people who wanted tomato beer, but I thought it was a Texas thing. Good in the summer.

trpt2345 wrote:In my bartending career I had come across people who wanted tomato beer, but I thought it was a Texas thing. Good in the summer.

The tomato beer as described bears some resemblance to the michelada, a Mexican tomato beer drink (which also contains lime and hot sauce) that I have found quite enjoyable...and the added ingredients really perk up a mediocre beer (e.g., Pacifico, Corona, etc.)

I will occasionally order a tomato juice or bloody-mary-mix and beer mixture when I can't see myself ingesting any of the cheap tap swill on hand straight up.

This coming from the same person that will also salt their beer and liberally apply tabasco sauce to beer. Ain't nothing you can't doctor a little bit.

Interesting report. If I'm ever passing by on Route 90 again, Cluck and Suds will be a detour for sure.

Locally, Crawford Sausage makes jaternice ("white jets") as well as the related jelita ("black jets"). You can occasionally find these at supermarkets or just pick them up at the factory on Pulaski (Crawford).





A better source would have been Jim's Market in Cicero, onetime "Home of Jelita, Jaternice, and Buchta." It's now closed but reportedly the sausage maker moved to Morini's in La Grange Park. Be sure to get some klobosy (cream sausage) if you visit.

Crawford Sausage
2310 S Pulaski Rd
Chicago
773-277-3095
Mon-Fri 9-330, Sat 8-noon

Morini's Meat Market
1101 E 31st St
La Grange Park IL
708-354-0430
Tue-Fri 9-6, Sat 9-5

David Hammond wrote:

trpt2345 wrote:In my bartending career I had come across people who wanted tomato beer, but I thought it was a Texas thing. Good in the summer.

The tomato beer as described bears some resemblance to the michelada, a Mexican tomato beer drink (which also contains lime and hot sauce) that I have found quite enjoyable...and the added ingredients really perk up a mediocre beer (e.g., Pacifico, Corona, etc.)

Oh, hell yeah. I grew addicted to these this summer. Get some Clamato, lime, Worcestershire, hot sauce, and Pacifico or Modelo, mix about 1:1 and what a refreshing drink you have. I first learned of these when Budweiser started advertising the hell out of their pre-mixed Bud Light + Clamato canned michelada in my neighborhood. I thought, who in their right mind would mix beer and Clamato? I didn't even know they still made Clamato. But it's actually quite an inspired combination. (Just don't get the Budweiser version, trust me on this.)

I actually like the Bud take on the michelada in a pinch; they have two styles, lime, and lime and Clamato. Both are mildly salted. You just need to get them opened up a little bit by pouring them and leaving them to warm up slightly, then adding some Tabasco.

Antonio at Xni-Pec continues to make the best version I've ever had, with Tecate (though his brother will try to talk you into Pacifico). Sergio at Casa de Samuel also mixes them well.