Munich Pork Cutlets & Peasant Dish

Post & Pictures to follow.

Novemberfest Begins!! (ehrfürchtig!)

Hello all, this is Modern Hunter's life partner, Modern Forager. November is German food month at the Modern household. I thought about doing Octoberfest, but it seemed played out, man. The challenge: Mr. Modern brought back a cookbook from Bavaria that has many adorable recipes. I'll start there, and if anyone else has suggestions, I'd be happy to try them out! Stay tuned...I'll be chronicling my attempts, successes, and failures, right here.

Seasoned Fries

Start with two large Russet potatoes, scrubbed clean. Julienne them on a mandoline. As you cut them, put the cut potatoes into a bowl of water with a little splash of lemon juice or vinegar in it (the acid will keep the potatoes from turning brown).

NOTE: A mandoline is a handy tool to have around the kitchen, but like most kitchen tools, it is worth getting a decent model. A cheap mandolin will shred your knuckles faster than anything. Frankly, a well-made mandoline will shred your knuckles, too, if you don't take extra care when using it. Here is a story. I've been in commercial kitchens since about the age of 14. I first used a mandoline at about the age of 17. Until recently, I never used one with a safety handle. When working with especially dangerous items (small or hard items) I would use a schucking glove to protect my hand, but I never really thought about it. Just a few weeks ago, I was cutting potatoes on my mandoline; my hand slipped, and my palm came down on the blade. The result looked something like the nerdy kid in a Freddie Kruger movie - a bloody mess. It only takes one time. Never again will I take a chance again. Use the guard.

Heat a deep saucepot filled with vegetable oil up to about two inches from the top. If you fill it up too much you will end up with hot oil all over your stove. Use a hot oil or candy thermometer with a clip on it to monitor the temperature of the oil. You want to maintain a temperature right around 350F. (You can avoid this step if you have a proper deep fryer.)

As you are waiting for the oil to heat, mix a batch of seasoned flour. Combine 2 cups of flour, with liberal quantities of garlic powder, onion powder, fine salt, and black, white and cayenne peppers. I like mine a little spicy. Keep in mind that it will mellow a bit when you fry it on the potato. I suggest going a little heavier on the seasonings than you would expect to need.

Drain a handful of the potatoes in a small collander, put them in a large moon bowl, add a handful of the seasoned flour, and toss the potatoes in the flour until they are totally covered.

CAREFULLY drop the floured fries in the hot oil a few at a time. Adding them too fast can cause all sorts of havoc, including any of the following: (1) you may overload the fryer so that it sizzles over and covers your stove/self with hot oil (2) the hot oil DOESN'T put the flame of the burner out, but instead it catches fire, along with your entire stovetop, or (3) the oil cools down too quickly and your fries end up soggy. The last one is the worst. No one likes soggy fries. Avoid this my keeping an eye on the thermometer while you add fries to the oil. If it drops close to 300F, stop adding fries. It may take longer to cook them in smaller batches, but the end product will be MUCH better.

When the temp of the oil gets back up to 350F (or about 5-7 mins later), your fries should begin to brown. Pull them out with a strainer and put them in a large colander on a plate lined with paper towel. (I don't have a large colander, so I used the steamer insert that came with one of my large pots). Repeat the process until you are out of fries. They should be crispy and spicy on the outside with tender potato on the inside, YUM!

I made these with Dungeness crabs. Since the fries are a bit of a production, I probably wouldn't make these on a weekday, but they are good for those weekend casual projects like crabs, P&E shrimp, or steamers. You could make them without the flour to cut down on the mess, but what fun would that be!

Dungeness Crabs!!!

We were out at our favorite fishmarket the other day, and I caved; I finally broke down and bought Dungeness crabs. What a treat! We might make this a regular thing.

Dungeness crabs are found on the Pacific coast from Alaska down to Northern California. They are named after a town in Washington State now known as "Old Town." Only the male of the species is legally harvested for consumption. So much for equal rights. Dungeness crabs have been commercially harvested since the 1880s, and about 40-50 million pounds are sold annually. About 30% of the crabs' weight is edible meat.

Unlike more common crabs served in seafood restaurants (King or Snow), Dungeness crabs have relatively wide bodies and short legs. For this reason, many who are accustomed to the other crab varieties avoid them because those fools mistakenly believe that the legs have the best tasting meat. Those people have never tasted the tender buttery treasures that dwell deep inside the squat, rosy body of the Dungeness. Now, I admit it takes some work, but not as much as you might think. With a little instruction, you will be up to you elbows ans stuffed to the gills (he he) with crabby goodness before you know it. Besides, ripping into a carcass with your bare hands takes us back to the days when we had to do it to survive. Ahhh, nostalgia!

Start with a couple of live crabs, and a couple big pots of boiling water. Make sure each pot is large enough for the crab to fit inside, and deep enough so that the crab will be a couple of inches under the surface of the water. Fill the pots with water and about 1/8 c of salt. Bring the water to a rolling boil.

Once the water is at a full rolling boil, drop in a crab, and set a timer for 12-20 mins (depending on the size - a 2lb crab will take 15 mins). Your crabs will (should) come with their claws tied in rubber bands; leave these on. You don't want to try to handle a 2 lb crab with full use of its claws. Don't feel guilty about dropping a live animal in a pot of boiling water. Remember, if you were in the ocean, it would eat you. If it makes you feel better, throw it in the freezer for about 15 mins before you boil it. It will slow down the crab's metabolism (although, personally I'd rather be boiled alive than frozen). Either way, he won't feel a thing.

While the crabs are boiling away, get an ice bath ready. A big bowl filled with ice water will do (I like them chilled. You can serve them hot, too, but it is a little tricky to clean them).

When the time goes off, pull the crabs out and drop them in the ice bath.

When they are cool, you can start to clean them by placing them on the counter or board facing away from you. At the base of the body on the back-side of the crab you will be able to see where the shell meets the body. Hold the body down against the board, and pull up on the back of the shell. As the shell lifts up, the gills will twist out of the sides of the shell. Once they are free, you should be able to pull the shell off to reveal the gills and internal organs. (Some people save the internal "crab butter" as some kind of delicacy - I'm not a fan. I toss it). Run the crab body under cold water while you pull the gills and organs out of the body "cavity". Pull away the small "fingers" from the mouth area.

Turn the crab over and use your thumb or a pointy object to pry up the wedge-shaped apparatus on the bottom of the body. Pull this off and throw it away.

Now you are ready to dig in! Skip the drawn butter; you won't need it.

Starting with the claws, twist each of the legs away from the body. You should be able to break the armor shield from the bottom of the body, and then break the body into two halves. The tender, sweet crabmeat is inside, arranged in segments like an orange. If you hold the body-half upside down you will be able to see where each of these segments is attached. If you are careful, you can peel away the shell over one segment at a time to reveal the jumbo-lump meat inside. It takes practice and patience, but it is well worth the trouble. Don't forget the wet-naps!

Serve with corn-on-the-cob (since you are already a mess) or homemade seasoned fries. Enjoy!

Browning-An interesting link

Ive always wondered how those silvery cardboard disks were able to brown microwave pizza.

Here is how

Duck Day (Part III) -- Cassoulet/Confit

I have to start out by saying that this dish turned out way better than I hoped. I knew it would be good, but wow! This is the epitome of carnivore, meat-on-the-bone, high fat, slather-yourself-in-greasy-animal-products good! Think of it as Provincal French BBQ.

There's nothing better on a frigid winter day. Just ask the residents of the South-Western French town of Castelnaudary.

Rumor has it that during the Hundred-Years War, in 1355 AD, the town was beseiged by the English as they moved through the region. The English were camped outside the town, and it was becoming clear that the walls would be breached and the town would be taken. So, rather than allow the Engligh to loot the town's food supply, the inhabitants decided to put everything in a giant clay pot (or "cassole", which now refers to a much smaller version) and cook it for one last communial meal. The ingredients included local fare, such as beans, cured meats, sausages, tomatoes, wines, vinegars, and, best of all, duck confit.

So it goes that, two days later, the town was taken, and the pot full of local goodness was still simmering over the communal hearth. The English invaders were so impressed by the slow-cooked stew of local ingredients that they packed up the giant pot and dragged it with them as they traveled through France. Each time they stopped, after invading this or that rural town, they would put the pot over a fire and fortify the stew with whatever regional ingredients they looted from the town. It is said that, in this manner, the original cassoulet lasted for decades. This story explains why there are so many different recipes for cassoulet, and why each and every person with a recipe insists that it is the original.

Mine is in no way, shape, or form, an "original" cassolet recipe. In fact, some would say that it is a stretch to even call it cassoulet, but no matter. It is a tasty and delicious way to use some of that Duck Soup and the other duck parts you have in the freezer.

This is a weekend dish, because it takes so long to make the confit. However, If you get a pile of ducks and spend a weekend making confit, you can freeze them and have them ready to go during the week.

Start by thawing those duck legs that you have left from Part I.
Cover a large plate with Kosher salt, and some chopped rosemary leaves (it is more traditional to use fennel seed to season confit, but my wife hates it, so I substitute with rosemary -- either is good). Place the legs skin-side down in the salt, cover the legs with foil, and place them in the refrigerator for one hour -- no longer or they will be too salty.

After an hour, pull the legs out and rinse them off. Place a few sprigs of rosemary (or fennel seed) in the bottom of a baking dish. Place the duck legs on the rosemary, skin-side-up, and cover them with your freshly rendered duck fat (see Part I). Make sure you add enough fat to cover them completely. (You can buy duck fat in the store, too, if you do not have enough from your rendering).Sprinkle a few cracked black peppercorns on top, and put the pan uncovered into a 225 F oven. I used the toaster oven. Let them cook for FIVE hours.

When the legs have about 30 mins left in the oven, begin to put the stew together. I would usually use duck sausage and cold-cured (non-smoked) pork belly, but these were not available at my market. Instead I used Andouille sausage and double-smoked pork belly bacon. Cut the sausages into 2-3 inch pieces, and dice the bacon into 1/4 inch cubes. Place both in a saucepot over medium heat until the sausage is cooked (not an issue with Andouille, since it is hot smoked) and the bacon fat begins to melt. Add about two rough-diced tomatoes and cook them until they begin to break down. Add the duck soup, and bring it to a simmer.

By this time, your duck legs should be done. Pull them from the oven and remove them from the fat. (Strain the fat and save it -- it is now infused with rosemary. Yum!). Let the legs drain on a rack for a few minutes. Put a few spoonfuls of the stew in a "cassole" (or use pasta bowls, like I did) and top it with the confit and a sprig of rosemary. Voila, a rural French classic right in your kitchen in Queens!!

Like I said, this dish surprised me. Since the available ingredients had much more flavor than the intended ingredients (spicy sausage and smoked bacon), I was concerned that I would not be happy with the result. Man, was I ever wrong! Sometimes I get lucky. The spicy sausage and smoked flavors from the bacon worked together perfectly.

Here's something we can all get excited about...the next post will NOT involve duck. I still have those breasts in my refrigerator, but frankly, I need a break from duck.
The topic of the next post will be a surprise to both of us! Stay tuned!

Duck Day (Part II) - Duck Soup

After a lovely weekend up to your elbows in duck carcass, you should have the raw materials to build some really tasty weekday meals. Like I said in the past, spend time when you have it - enjoy it when you don't. I personally enjoy the cooking & preparation part as much as I enjoy the eating. So, if you are like me, you benefit on both ends.

Now, the soup:

Start my making the stock. Heat your oven to about 450F. Pull out your duck parts from the last post (carcass, wings and innards) and put them on a sheet pan.Also, pull out some miscelaneous soup veggies; onions, carrots and celery are requirements, but you can also add parsnips, turnip, etc.
Give them a quick rough chop, toss them with a little olive oil, and place them on another sheet pan. Put both pans in the oven for about 20-30 mins, until the veggies and bones start to get a nice roasty brown color.

Once your bones and veggies are roasted, place them in a quality stock pot.

NOTE: About pots. I like the tri-layer pots that have aluminum sandwiched between layers of stainless. They have the non-reactive qualitites of stainless, but they maintain much of the even conductivity of aluminium.
Pure stainless pots are too thin, and don't distribute heat. Pure aluminum pots react with acidic foods and can cause funny flavors. You don't need to buy the most expensive pots, but don't waste your money on crap. Make sure the pots are well made with quality materials and have riveted or welded handles.

Place your goods in the pot, along with a few sprigs of herbs (thyme, rosemary, parsley, chervil). Deglaze the sheet pan with a little red wine by putting the sheet pan from the bones over the flame of one of your stove burners; when the drippings start to sizzle, splash about a cup of wine into the pan and immediately start to scrape the pan with a spatula. Pour the drippings, the wine, and all the crusties you were able to scrape free into the pot with the bones.

Add enough water to cover everything, and place the pot over a high flame. Once the water coems to a boil, turn the flame down to low, put on the lid, and leave it alone for about 2 hours (at least). When I was doing this for a living, we would leave our veal stock on the burner for 8-10 hours overnight -- I wouldn't recommend doing this at home unless your insurance policies are up-to-date and/or you can smell a burning kitchen in your sleep.

After at least two hours (mine was on for about 3 hours), you should have a decent duck stock. Pour the liquid through a china cap or other fine strainer into a separate container. Pull the duck parts out of the strainer and put them in the refrigerator to cool. Rinse out the pot, and put it back on the stove. Toss the veggies.

Make roasted red peppers: To do this, turn two of you stove burners to high, and place a large red pepper on each burner right in the flame. (you can do this under a broiler if you have a good one -- I do not). Once the side of the pepper in the flame turns black, turn it; repeat until the whole pepper is charred. Place the peppers in a bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and put in the fridge to cool. Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, run them under cold water as you gently rub the burnt skins off. Pull out the cores and rinse out the seeds. You could use the peppers from a jar, but they are not as tasty. Dice the peppers about 3/4 inch.

Dice two onions about 3/4 inch. Put them, in the pot with some oil and salt, and sweat them over medium heat until they begin to brown.

While the onions are cooking, pull out your roasted, boiled duck parts, and separate as much of the meat from the bones as possible. If the innards have not completely disintegrated, chop them and put them aside, too. Once the onions begin to brown, throw the meat into the pot. Add a few cloves of minced garlic, sweat this mixture for a few minutes. (You could also add celery seed or fennel seed at this point. I did not because my wife doesn't like it. You have to consider the audience. If the tribe doesn't like it, they won't eat it. All of your time is wasted!). Add the red peppers, turn the heat up a little, and sautee for a few minutes until the peppers are heated. Add the stock, and bring to a boil.

While you are waiting for the stock to boil, pull out about 12 oz of dry lentils. I used green lentils, but I suppose you could use other varities if you like. Rinse them in a china cap or fine colander, and pick through them to make sure there are no rocks, clumps of dirt, etc. (you chould always do this with dry legumes). Once the stock comes to a boil, add the lentils and some salt. Turn the flame to low and cover the pot. Let it simmer for about 40 mins, until the lentils are tender.

NOTE: Starches (including legumes, potatoes, corn, rice, etc) will absorb salt with the water that they cook in. Once they are cooked, it is very difficult, if not impossible to get them to absorb more salt. If you do not salt the water that they are cooking in, you will end up with a very bland end product, regardless of how much salt you try to add afterwards.

Once the lentils are cooked, the soup should be somewhat thick. You may need to add more water to get the soup to the consistency you desire. Add herbs (I used thyme), salt, and pepper to taste.

Voila! Savory duck soup made from homemade stock. You can eat it right out of the pot. You should have enough so that you can pack a couple portions in some plastic containers and put them in the freezer. During the week you can stop at the store for some crusty French bread on you way home, plop the frozen soup in a pot with a cover, and enjoy your homemade soup in about 15-20 mins. Yum!

In the next post (the confit post), I'll show you how to turn this soup into a heavenly cassoulet that is the perfect winter dish. Mmmmm, duck fat, bacon and sausage! Does it get better!