Pork and Sauerkraut

As I started this year out with my new New Year’s ritual of eating the Scottish traditional steak pie served up with the customary lucky collard greens and black eyed peas of the South and soul food, I’m ending 2016 with a rich recipe for pork and sauerkraut: Beer Braised Country Style Pork Ribs and Sauerkraut with Jägermeister Reduction.


While most of my lineage is Irish, there is a part of me that is German. Philadelphia was the entry way for many a German immigrant and their mark has been left on the city – the German “s” for example* in the Philadelphia accent of English. If you don’t have any German heritage, you may still have some German traditions if you hail from this area of the country. The big one is having pork and sauerkraut on New Year’s Eve.Eating sauerkraut on New Year's Eve is a long-standing tradition in Germany because Germans believed that eating sauerkraut will bring blessings and wealth for the New Year. Before the meal, those seated at the table wish each other as much goodness and money as the number of shreds of cabbage in the pot of sauerkraut.

Adding to that tradition, the pig has long been a symbol for good luck and well-being because they root in the ground while moving forward. Plus, they’re fat – a universal symbol of prosperity. Therefore, many people believe that eating a meal with pork will bring luck in the coming New Year. Such meals include pork schnitzel, Bratwurst made with pork, any kind of wurst made with pork, pork roast and so on.

I tackled the idea of having some pork and sauerkraut in my home. I didn’t look up any recipes but instead looked up the essence of German cuisine: the use of caraway seeds, bay leaf and dill, plus the omission of garlic in the dishes. I knew that I was going to braise the pork, therefore I was going to use beer. I went to the store and picked up some supplies, include potatoes to roast as an accompaniment and sauerkraut, because I don’t have that on hand. I was all really to cook and add caraway seeds to my concoction, but I didn’t have them.So I searched for “caraway seeds substitutions” and that brought me to The Cook’s Thesaurus which suggested anise seed or cumin seeds in lieu of caraway.

Beer Braised Country Style Pork Ribs and Sauerkraut with Jägermeister Reduction, serves 4

Ingredients:

All ready for New Year's Eve

• 2 T butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 ¼ to 1 ½ lbs country style pork rib**, cut into individual portion sizes
• salt and pepper, to taste
• cumin powder, to taste
• ½ T anise seeds (or fennel seeds)
• 2 lbs of sauerkraut (roughly: either one 2lb bag or two 14.5oz cans) with the liquid
• 12 oz bottle of beer (I also suggest a Christmas or winter style if making it for New Year’s Eve – I used 21st Amendment’s Fireside Chat, a Winter Spiced Ale.)
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar
• ½ t thyme
• 1-2 bay leaves
• ½ T olive oil
• 2 shots (3 oz) Jägermeister
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium pot; sauté the most of the onion (save about 1-2 T for the reduction) until translucent, about 5-10 minutes.
2. Generously season the pork ribs on all sides with salt, pepper and cumin. Add the ribs and sear all pieces on all sides, about two minutes or so each side.
3. Add the anise seed to the pot to toast and wait for them to get fragrant, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the sauerkraut, beer and apple cider vinegar; season with the thyme and bay leaves and mix together.
5. Bring to a boil; when at a boil, immediately reduced the heat to a simmer and let cook for an hour at least.
6. Soon before serving, mince the remaining onion to ensure smaller pieces.
7. Add olive oil to a small skillet and heat; sauté the onion until translucent, about 3-5 minutes.
8. Add Jägermeister to the small skillet and deglaze; set on a medium heat to reduce to half to quarter of the volume then stir in salt.
9. Remove the ribs from the pot and plate; top each rib with the Jägermeister reduction.
10. Remove the bay leaves and serve up the sauerkraut with the pork, including the braising liquid.

As I said above, potatoes are an easy starch accompaniment to the dish. Roast, mash, fry or what have you to cook them to ensure that they can help sop up the braising liquid, which I treat just like pot likker. When the potatoes are gone, make sure you have some good bread to help out, too.

*The German “S” is when the sibilant /s/ is palatalized to [ʃ] (as in she) before /tr/. Thus, the word streets [ˈstɹits] is pronounced "shtreets" [ˈʃtɹits]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_English

** As the article in the link explains, this cut is not from the rib, but a budget friendly portion of the loin.

Steak Pie

I spent New Year’s Eve 2014 into New Year’s Day 2015 in Scotland: the land of Hogmanay and Auld Lang Syng. In particular, I was in Edinburgh, which hosts one of the world's most famous New Year celebrations. Thought the official celebration is a major street party along Princes Street which cost over £20 to enter, I was with friends on Calton Hill waiting for the cannon at Edinburgh Castle to be fired at the stroke of midnight and the large fireworks display. Yes, there was much drinking and celebrating. It was a pleasant surprise that while watching the fireworks over the castle, there were supplemental fireworks over us. One fun note is that the clock faces of Waverly Station in Edinburgh, which were directly in view from Calton Hill, run two minutes early to help passengers catch their trains on time.

All baked and ready to be eaten

The next day, I was told that Scottish tradition is to have steak pie. This sounded like a great idea after a late night on the town being festive. Heading out to a well-suggested pub, I sought out a piece of this tradition.  Lo and behold, this pub didn’t make any for the New Year. Too hungry to look for another place, I went without.

 

This year, I decide not to go through this sadness and made my own steak pie for the holiday. While my internet research suggests that it is more traditional not to include any vegetables in the pie, I do like some in the mix. However I don’t use potatoes because that too reminiscent of a beef stew. (Though the filling would make a tasty stew on its own.) 

Steak Pie, serves 8

 

It's been cut

Ingredients

 

• 2 T butter
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 lbs stewing beef, cubed (usually round cut, but any tough cut can be used)
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1 large carrot (about 2 cps), sliced
• 1 t salt
• 1 t black pepper
• 1 shot (1.5 ounces) of Scotch (I personally suggest *not* using a single malt from Islay)*
• 12 oz bottle of beer (I also suggest a Christmas or winter style if making it for New Year’s – I used Abita’s Christmas Ale from a recent trip to New Orleans.**)
• 1.5 T cornstarch
• water
• salt and pepper, optional
• store bought puff pastry sheets

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet; sauté the garlic and onion until the onion turns translucent, about 5-10 minutes.
2. Add the beef cubes and sear all pieces on all sides, about a minute or so each side.
3. Add the mushrooms and carrot slices and season with the salt and pepper, cook, while stirring, for about 5 minutes until the carrots start to soften.
4. Add the Scotch to deglaze the skillet; when fully deglazed, add the beer.
5. Bring to a boil; when at a boil, immediately reduced the heat to a simmer and let cook for an hour at least.
6. Dissolve the cornstarch in enough water to create a slurry; add to the skillet to thicken the stewing liquid.
7. Grease the lip of a 11 x 7 glass pan with butter or oil, pour the steak filling into the pan.
8. Follow the directions for preparing the puff pastry for use; when ready cover the pan with the pastry. If there is extra, cut the remaining pasty into any shape pieces to add to the top of the crust. (I used strips, but diamonds could be cut and placed on the pastry in a pattern evocative of argyle.)
9. Place the pan in a preheated 400 degree oven, bake for 20 minutes or until the puff pastry starts to brown.
10. Serve warm.

All this lucky New Year's Day food

This year, I served the steak pie with Southern New Year’s favorites, collard greens and black eyed peas. I didn’t think that it would be a bad thing to stack as my much luck in my favor as possible.

 

There is a tasty traditional dish from the area called Fife Miners’ Stew. That recipe calls for carrots and parsnips. You can replace the one large carrot with one medium carrot and one medium parsnip to weave some of the traditions together.

notes

* I used Laphroaig Quarter Cask this time; there was some in the house. Islay whiskies are known for their use of peat. In using the Laphroaig to deglaze, I made the kitchen smell like a warm peat fire and that flavor permeates into the beef and broth. While I enjoy that smell and taste; others may not.‎

** Each year, Abita tinkers with their Christmas Ale and I wasn’t the biggest fan of 2015’s. It was very hoppy for a Christmas beer. It was red-tinted and I got some citrus hints and Christmas tree. However, it worked really well as the stewing liquid for the filling. 

Not yet named travel entry: Raleigh – cultural and celebration

No photos were allowed in the exhibition.

For New Year’s Eve, I traveled down to Raleigh again with my favorite traveling companion, Steve, to enjoy the city and the Rembrandt exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of Art.  We had picked Raleigh for the holiday, since we enjoyed the trip last year and Rembrandt in America was a big plus.  Thankfully, we were able to get into the city a day earlier to explore at a leisurely pace.

Kneeling Angel

Rembrandt in America is the largest collection of Rembrandt paintings ever presented in an American exhibition, the focus of which is the exploration of the collecting history of Rembrandt paintings in America. In addition to the Master’s works, the show also delves into the ideas of authorship and attribution.  Several of the pieces in the exhibition were originally thought to be Rembrandts, yet through advanced scholarship, they have been identified as either pieces started by Rembrandt and completed by others in his workshop or the work of his protégés.  Though, not works of Rembrandt directly, they still capture the style and traits of the Masters and have made an impact on the history of art collecting in the States.

Roxy Paine, Askew

More than five years in the making, the show is in its last weekend before moving on to the Cleveland Museum of Art, February 19 through May 28.  The Raleigh stop at the NCMA is the only East Coast venue for this show. The works have been assembled to include some of the finest paintings residing in American collections. NCMA Curator of Northern European Art Dennis P. Weller serves as a co-curator of this see exhibition, which has been. The show will continue on to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts for the last stop, June 24 through September 16.

After the Rembrandt show, we visited the permanent exhibits at the NCMA, including Egyptian artifacts, Contemporary art, pieces by well known names: Pissarro, Monet, Titian, Raphael, Rubens and Govaert Flinck – a contemporary of Rembrandt, as well as a collection of Rodin sculptures. (More photos from the permanent exhibits below.)

Jan Burger & Donovan Zimmerman of Paperhand Puppet Intervention, Rhea

Fireworks at City Plaza after the Acorn Drop

Later in the evening, we headed to Raleigh’s First Night Celebration. The highlight for us is the Children’s Celebration with features crafts, performances and interactive activities. From the Ferris Wheel to the street food, from the giant Lite Brite Board to the circus acts on the street, the culmination of the celebration is the People's Procession. As a metaphor for the end of the year, the Children's Celebration ends and the evening entertainment begins, this passage of time from afternoon to evening, like from old year to new year, is heralded in through a fun, colorful parade for children of all ages.  The NC State University Pipes & Drums leads the parade with music and rhythm from the Capitol and down Salisbury Street into the street fair as folks cheer on the appearance of Rhea, a giant puppet named after the Greek mother of the gods and designed to represent the landscape of North Carolina.  The finale of the parade is the giant Acorn drop at City Plaza (for the children who can’t stay awake to usher in the New Year, and the city repeats this at midnight for those who can stay up.)  

The combination of amazing cultural activities and vibrant revelry kicks off any New Year with the spirit of hope for the potential and possibilities that lie ahead. Energized by the night, we head off to the get dinner and to the bars to ring in 2012.

Additional photos of the NCMA permanent collection

Aaron Douglas, Harriet Tubman

A bust of Aphrodite

myPics: Art and Architecture

After viewing the "Rembrandt in America" exhibit at the NC Museum of Art, Steve and I went to look at the Museum's permanent collection. I wanted to show how the piece of art commands the far wall on the gallery while catching the sky lights that collect the indirect light from outside. If you look at the doorway, you can see Steve making sure that he got into the picture I was trying to take.