“This is going to require some wine” I thought. So I chose a bottle from my landlord’s brother’s Weingut. A nice Spätburgunder should do the trick...
First I cut the fat into strips...
Then I cut the strips into cubes and put them into a brine to soak in overnight in the refrigerator...
In the morning I drained off the brine, rinsed the cubes in a colander, and placed them in a dutch oven with 1½ cups of water...
I set the heat on low, and decided it was time for some brefax. I took two slices of Blutwurst about 1 cm thick...
I dredged them in some flour and tossed them into a dry skllet...
Flipped them a few times, and fried up some eggs in a separate skillet. This is not really a good picture of it, but you can see the Blutwurst has turned almost black (no, it’s not burned). It gets really dark when it is heated. I guess that is why the Brits sometimes refer to blood sausage as black pudding. It has a similar texture to scrapple, which may be off putting to some. I however, love it. And while it does seem to taste a little “bloodier” it is a very nice way to prepare it.
I let this baby simmer for over 12 hours, stirring it only occasionally. During this time it went from this…
to this…
Toward the end I stained it into the only container I could find that would hold it. I used to have a bunch of empty glass jars just for purposes such as this one, but I threw them out before I left the States. So with almost a quart of hot schmaltz on my hands, I improvised. And for those of you who are wondering, I do have another coffee pot. This one is about the third or fourth string pot.
I rinsed and scraped the dutch oven. And if anyone ever asks you how to season a cast iron pot or pan, just tell them to render about 3 lbs of pork fat in it. Fixes it right up!
Monday morning I pulled it out of the fridge and was delighted to find this…
Ain’t she beautiful? I think I’m going to fry up some onion and apple in some of it and make some griebenschmalz with the cracklin’s that are left.
I wanted to make some kimchi at the same time, but couldn’t find all the ingredients on Sunday. Maybe another time I’ll post some kimchi making.
11 comments:
Hey Tony,
You need to get back to the States as soon as possible. You are getting way yonder too excited over a coffee pot full of low grade hog lard.
I know, I know, you have always had a passion for the culinary arts - even thought about going to chefs school. And, Gibbs Ribs closed their doors when you retired from the Executive Chef position.
But for the love of Henry - first you piss your pants in the super market and then you go orgasmic over lard. I think living in amongst those Europeans is starting to soften you brain.
Just an observation.
W
Isn't it funny that there are no comments about pork skin-on belly-fat? Are you enjoying it?
Judy
T.
I can't believe you let that slide without defending yourself.
Further evidence that living in amongst the Europeans is having a profoundly adverse effect on Tony.
Bring back bellicose Tony. We want bellicose Tony to kick kinder, gentler Tony's ass so hard he'll have dingle berries with his Cap'n Crunch (or, if you prefer, with his "griebenschmalz").
Remember, we're all pullin' for ya!
W.
The thing I take the highest offense at is you calling it "low grade" hog lard. Are you impugning the hog? This poor guy gave his life so that I could have a coffee pot fullof lard (well that, and sausage, and schnitzel, and ham, and bacon, and Blutwurst, &c). If you are not impugning the hog (and let’s face it, after what he’s given us he should be unimpugnable), you must be talking about me. It's not lard until you render it, and as I was the renderer ... well I just hope you can appreciate my restraint in not lashing out the way the old Tony no doubt would have.
Actually I really got a kick out of your comment and was hoping that someone else would come to my defense and stand up to say that I'd pissed my pants over things that are far more inconsequential than a supermarket. However, once again the loyal (and even the casual) Havenites and Havenettes are silent in my defense.
Truth be told I was a little wiped out when I got home yesterday evening. I took a small trip this weekend, and although nothing really fantastic happened, you are all going to hear about it in excruciating detail.
But as I'm still a little tired it will have to be on another day
I was at a total loss at what comment I could possibly make about that lard. I think your buddy Wilhelm said enough!
Tony,
I did not mean to cast aspersions on your lard rendering capabilities. For all I know about rendering lard you may well be Europe's formost authority.
What I do know is that my grandfather's hog lard was as white as milk and came in five gallon buckets. Your pink concoction in a twelve cup coffee pot just did not quite measure up to my recollection of papaw's lofty standards. Now Papaw had the entire hog to work with and all you had was 1.505 kilos of skin-on bellie fat. Maybe that skin-on part is what turned your lard pink. I don't know whether or not papaw rendered with the skin on or off. All I know is that his lard was as white as snow and that is my perception of what good hog lard looks like. Everything else is "low grade" to me - which may be grossly unfair - but there you are.
As long as I'm on the horn here, I would like to go on record as saying I'm not real sure how to take Janie's, "... your buddy Wilhelm said enough!" crack. I think it's the exclamation point that sort of aggravated me. Just so everyone knows, I always say at least enough - sometimes more than enough - which is kind of what I figured Janie was trying to imply with her exclamation point. But since I am always entertaining (at least to me - and occasionally others), I will continue to expound in great detail on even the most meaningless of subjects - such as hog lard.
That's all I've got to say about that.
W.
I think that you are correct about the skin causing the color difference, although I may have to look into that. I did render it in a cast iron pot, so maybe some of the color came from there; however, it had a good coating when I started and was by no means rusty when I started. It was either that or there was some three month old coffee remnants in that pot (which can't be ruled out).
I think Janie was putting the exclamation point on what you said. I believe that she was trying to slither out of backing up my excitement. Once again I call out for others to come to my defense, and the silence is deafening.
Have you ever tried cigany szalonna? It is also called Hungarian Dirty Bread. Lauri's Mom makes it every now and again during the summer months. If is fantastic and a definite gypsy meal.
Since the main ingredient in smoked pork fat, I believe you will also enjoy.
Basically, put onions, tomatoes, green peppers, radishes, and cucumbers on rye bread that has been dabbed with bacon drippings from a bacon end heated by an open wood fire.
The dripping must be from a fat back of gypsy bacon aka cigany szalonna.
This is a definite slavic meal so the German deli should have it, but it may be by a different name.
PMG
Tony,
Papaw rendered in a cast iron kettle that I'm guessing had to have at least a 25 to 30 gallon capacity - maybe more.
When it wasn't being used at hog killing time to render lard or for a fish fry (where said lard was put to good use in large quantities to cook-up corn-mealed catfish and Grandma's hush puppies), it was laying upside down in the chicken yard next to the brooder house. It was so big that I was probably nine or ten years old before I was strong enough to turn it over to see what might be living underneath. (Which may say more about what a wormy little kid I was than it says about the size of Papaw's kettle.)
I am sure that after forty years of lard rendering and fish frying it had to be about as seasoned as cast iron gets. After Papaw died, Grandma had me drag the kettle up into the yard, turn it over and fill it with dirt. She planted flowers in Papaw's kettle - which if Papaw was as weepy as you about all things culinary would have made him turn over in his grave. I suspect it made him smile cause it made Grandma happy.
All that is a long winded way of saying, "Don't blame your cast iron dutch oven for your pink hog lard."
W.
Pete,
I haven't heard of (or therefore tried) the szalonna. It sounds good though, I'll keep an eye out for it.
Wilhelm,
I guess that leaves me as the culprit. I did't think I got it hot enough for it to gain any color though. Oh well I just won't offer it when "company" comes over.
TONY
NICE SITE...YOU ARE COMING BACK FOR SOME VENISON
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