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Alsace
In 1972, a pork butcher in the vallée de la Bruche had the idea of coating a pork shoulder blade with mustard — the pungent crust mellows during cooking, and the legend of the Alsatian "diable" can begin.
Charcuterie speciality from Alsace.
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Louis Moritz founded his business in 1951, opening a butcher's shop in Strasbourg. The business expanded rapidly: by 1958, a wholesale operation was added to the butchery, with initial deliveries to local Strasbourg grocery shops, followed in 1961 by the production of a spreadable sausage recipe distributed as far as Lorraine. In 1964, Louis Moritz relocated his enterprise to Fouday (67420), surrounded by nature in the heart of the vallée de la Bruche, around 60 km from Strasbourg.
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It was in 1972 that Louis Moritz developed palette à la diable: the idea was to coat a pork shoulder blade — the cut located on the upper part of the shoulder — with a mustard sauce before roasting it. Wrapped in a sheet of aluminium foil, this roast was successfully brought to market and became one of the cornerstone products of Maison Moritz's corporate culture, alongside stated commitments to quality, flavour, and food safety.
The name "à la diable" refers to oven roasting inside a crust of pungent mustard; this sharpness softens almost entirely during cooking, giving way to a smooth, flavoursome sauce.
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The recipe gained popularity well beyond its inventor, particularly in mustard-producing regions such as Alsace, with its sweet mustard. It branched out into several variations among other charcutiers: beer sometimes replaces white wine in the sauce, and it is cooked either on the hob or in the oven. Maison Moritz still sells it today, in a ready-to-roast format.
Aspect
a whole cut of pork (shoulder blade), coated in a mustard crust.
Aroma
mustard, sharp and pungent before cooking, which softens in the oven.
Taste
the sharpness of the mustard fades almost entirely during cooking to form a smooth, flavoursome sauce.
Texture
meat cooked thoroughly through to the centre.
Maison Moritz offers its range of raw, ready-to-roast shoulder joints with several accompanying sauces: à la diable (mustard), tomato, or Emmental — each sold as a piece of around 0.8 to 1 kg serving 4 to 5 people.
sliced onions are sautéed in a little oil until translucent, then set aside.
the pork shoulder is coated on all sides with a lightly peppered blend of wholegrain and classic mustard.
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Palette à la diable is traditionally enjoyed hot, cooked thoroughly through to the centre, served with chips and broccoli. Once cooked, it can also be savoured cold.
Palette à la diable carries no official quality mark (PDO (AOP), AOC, PGI (IGP), TSG (STG), Label Rouge, organic): it is a pork butcher's recipe invented in 1972 that has become a commercial speciality widely adopted across Alsace, without collective specifications or a defined geographical area.
Charcuterie manufacturer / Wholesaler
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