Showing posts with label German. Show all posts
Showing posts with label German. Show all posts

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Jagerschnitzel

Breaded pork cutlet with an absolutely delicious mushroom and bacon gravy. Alright, so this probably isn't something your arteries would appreciate you eating with any regularity, but it makes a hell of a meal with a side of simply sauteed asparagus and some spaetzel or egg noodles.   

1 1/2 pounds pork loin, trimmed and cut into quarter inch slices
1/4 - 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (based on enough to make a roux from the bacon drippings)
1 t freshly ground black pepper
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 t paprika
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 C cream
2 T dijon mustard
panko bread crumbs
1/2 pound bacon, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1/2 lb sliced button mushrooms
6 T red wine (burgundy preferably)
oil for frying
1 cup beef stock
2 T unsalted butter
2 T chopped fresh Italian parsley
Salt to taste

Brown the bacon over medium to medium low heat
Dip pork in egg, then coat with panko; fry in 350 degree oil until golden brown and fully cooked.

When the bacon is browned remove from the skillet, leaving the fat. Saute the onion and garlic, then add in the mushrooms and saute. Push the mushrooms, onion, and garlic to one side of the skillet, toss in the butter, and tilt the skillet to separate the fat from the veggies. Make a roux using the flour (1/3 C is approximate, use enough to make a roux of proper consistency); cook the roux for a minute or so.

Add the cream, milk, wine, mustard, paprika, and pepper and allow to cook until thickening.  Add the bacon back to the pan along with the parsley. Adjust the gravy to the proper consistency by adding the beef stock a little at a time and allowing to simmer; you may not need all the stock. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve on top of the breaded pork.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Bratwurst

This is one I made some time ago and turned out spectacularly, but isn't much of a recipe in that there aren't any amounts. To make it you'll really have to do what I did and mix a little spice in, pan fry a small amount, taste, adjust, and continue until you like the flavor. Try not to eat the whole batch in this process :p
So, ingredients:
Pork shoulder
Salt pork
Salt
Pepper
Caraway seed
Nutmeg
Garlic
Allspice

The dominant flavors in this (roughly in order) should be caraway, allspice, and garlic, but it takes some work to find the balance; either add the spices slowly or reserve some of the meat in case you over season. The salt pork is there to add extra fat if needed (it's easy to tell if the sausage is too lean as it'll be dry when cooked). Traditionally bratwurst is a force meat, meaning that it's pureed rather than ground; I don't puree mine, but instead double grind it to achieve a finer texture. Once you have the seasoning correct stuff it in casings (hint: using the tip of a small knife to prick the end of the casing just above the starting knot will help eliminate the initial bubble of air). Tradition would call for a hot German mustard, but a little ketchup wouldn't be considered high blasphemy.