One Of Texas' Most Famous Pastries Is A Savory Treat With Czech Roots

Visitors to the Lone Star State usually choose Texas barbecue (one of America's many barbecue styles) or dishes that define Tex-Mex like chili con carne and tamales when they want to sample authentic food. But there's a savory pastry derived from a traditional Czech treat they shouldn't overlook. Called a klobasnek, this snack beloved by Texans is made by baking a sausage fully encased in light, tender dough, a culinary cousin of pigs in a blanket (you can even make them vegetarian with carrots).

Although the klobasnek has Czech roots, it originated in the U.S., like many dishes that were created by adapting traditional recipes. It's based on a sweet pastry called a kolache made by Czech immigrants who came to Texas in the 1800s. The danish-like original is made from sweet, yeasted dough enriched with eggs and butter that's formed into individual pastries with indented tops that are traditionally filled with fruit jam, sweet cheese,  or a poppy seed mixture cooked with sugar and spices. 

It's claimed klobasnek was first sold in the early 1950s in the town of West, Texas, at a place called Village Bakery, where owner Wendel Montgomery came up with the idea. Village Bakery sold kolaches to the many Czech immigrants who lived in the area, and Montgomery's daughter told Texas Monthly magazine he had the idea for klobasnek as a spin on hot dogs, using sausage in place of a frankfurter and the kolache dough as the "bun." She said he called it klobasniky (plural of klobasnek) for "little sausage," which comes from klobasa, Czech for sausage.

The Village Bakery's klobasnek caught on, and it was eventually copied and sold in bakeries, doughnut shops, and other food spots across Texas. Variations arose, including adding egg, cheese, bacon – and because it's Texas, jalapeño pepper – to the inside filling as well as other sausages and meats.

The founding of Houston-based fast food chain Kolache Factory in 1982 was another step in expanding the popularity of klobasnek and kolache, and the chain added fillings that moved further away from the original. Kolache Factory's savory stuffings now include pepperoni pizza, ham and swiss, chicken enchilada, and even a seasonal Thanksgiving version filled with turkey wrapped around dressing and served with cranberry sauce. Restaurants now serve fancier klobasniky that are filled with meats such as venison or wild boar boudin sausage, and fusion mash-ups stuffed with foods from other cuisines like Indian butter chicken or Texas barbecue brisket and cheddar cheese.

The word kolache is now generally used for both savory and sweet versions, with the original klobasnek often just called sausage kolache. That's to the dismay of many Czech Americans who insist that sweet kolache and savory klobasnek are two separate foods and should be called by their own distinct names.