German Cooking for Beginners

Allright, I am new and everybody wanted me to post some German recipes. So here is one that is easy to do:

ROASTED PORK LOIN WITH BEER SAUCE
Olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon paprika
2 (12ounce) bottles wheat beer
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup honey
1 (3 1/2) pound boneless pork loin, tied
salt, pepper
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
Saute onion in oil until tender and golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add garlic, cinnamob and paprika and stir 1 minute. Add beer, mustard and honey and bring to boil (sauce will foam). Remove from heat. Puree in blender. Cool to room temperature. Pour into baking dish. Add pork loin; turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove pork from marinade; pat dry. Reserve marinade. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Season pork with salt and pepper. Add to skillet and brown on all sides. Transfer to baking sheet with rim. Roast in oven for 3/4 to 1 hour or until thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 155 degrees F. Transfer pork to work surface; reserve any pan juices.
Combine pan juices and marinade in saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Mix butter and flour in small bowl until smooth paste forms. Add to sauce and simmer until sauce thickens. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cut pork into slices. Pour sauce over.

And a real special one:

RAT TAILS

This is a recipe from the town of Hamelin, a culinary mark of an event that took place in the 13th century, referred to as the "Pied Piper's Story". (You have probably heard this story before: when the stingy magistrate of the town refused to pay a piper for his work of getting rid of the town's rat plague, he was left empty-handed - as a musician he didn't belong to any guild and was practically without rights. So as a revenge he returned at night and took away the most precious thing the citicens had: their children. They were never seen again, and the whole next generation of hamelin was gone.)This dish is served in Hamelin only. It is easy too prepare and tasty.

For 4-6 (depending on appetite)

2 lb fillet of pork, cut into thin strips
200g butter (2 sticks)
2 tbsp. Calvados
Salt, Pepper
2 onions, finely diced
1/2 c white wine
1/2 c red wine
10 pimento-stuffed olives, sliced
20 button mushrooms, sliced
8 miniature corn on the cobs
4 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, diced
1 red bell pepper, cut into fine strips
2 c (500 ml) beef stock
1 tbsp each mild mustard, tomato paste, flour
tabasco, worcestershire sauce
5 tbsp. 50 ml cream
1 tbsp. port

Fry the pork strips in half of the butter, then flambe with the calvados. Season with salt and pepper. Melt the rest of the butter and fry the onions until translucent. Pour on the wines and reduce to 1/3. Add the other vegetables. Cook gently, covered. Next, stir in stock, mustard, tomato paste, flour and season to taste. Stir in cream and port, add pork and allow to infuse for a moment. This dish is served with rice.

[Greg]

Thanks for the recipes, Rina; if you could, please give the names of the dishes in German. I am of German descent and used to be the sous chef in a German restaurant here in Minnesota. Instead of a wheat beer, I like to use a sweeter beer. I've found black lagers to work very well with pork loin (I know it's Austrian, but Gösser dark is one of the best. Köstritzer also works well, but is harder to find). Would you be willing to share your recipe for potato salad?

[Shimmer]

I love Sachertorte.

I think it's Austrian. In fact, I know it's Austrian. But at its creation I believe they were part of the same empire....

I made it once as a part of a country fair in junior high. It has been a while, obviously, and I no longer have the recipe.

Anyone? (It's a chocolate cake with apricot filling and chocolate glaze... very sweet and rich).

~~Shimmer~~

Hi Greg - Sure!

The names for the dishes are:
"Schweinebraten in Biersauce" for the pork loin in beer
and
"Rattenschwaenze" for the Rat Tails. (ae = the Umlaut a with two little dots ontop, which the American keyboard doesn't have, naturally)

Potato Salad - wow, I have at least six recipes, that differ considerably. Contrary to common belief, German potato salad doesn't always have bacon in it or a cooked dressing. My mother's recipe, for instance, resembles pretty much the classic Hellmann's mayonnaise potato salad. However, what I like best (and is most requested, too) is my mother-in-law's recipe for Bavarian Potato Salad. This is an old recipe, and the family has prepared it for generations, but no written recipe exists, so I just guess, what she takes from watching.

Mama Gertraud's Potato Salad

ca. 2 lb potatoes
4-5 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. wine vinegar
1 cup warm beef broth
1 small onion, minced
1 pickle in small dices
salt, pepper

Boil the potatoes (firm kind), peel, while they are warm and cut into small dices. Coat them with oil and vinegar and put them into the beef broth. Here is the tricky part: Mama stresses the importance of putting the potatoes into the broth, while they are still warm, so they can soak up the flavors and get "slippery". However, the first times I did this, I got some mashed potatoes. So let the potatoes cool down first, but not refrigerator-cool, just room temperature. That's, when I put the beef broth in, also the onion, pickle dices and then season with salt and pepper, let the flavors blend for an hour or so and you have our classical Bavarian side dish. It is decorated with fresh chopped parsley, usuallly.


Shimmer: you are right, the Sachertorte is Austrian, but I have quite the right contact for you: a good (cooking) friend from Vienna, who will have the recipe for sure. She is in Italy right now (eating her way through the trattorias, I suppose), but will be back by Easter and I'll request the recipe then.

[Greg]

Thanks, Rina! We made our kartoffelsalat at the restaurant the same way, but without the pickles. Also, we used rendered pork fat instead of vegetable oil. When the restaurant first opened, we did use a recipe that included bacon (my Mom's recipe; I believe it is called kartoffelsalat mit speck?)