Polish Hunter's Lamb

I love lamb.  I know it's not considered a very common meat in Poland but it is still delicious.  Sheep is raised in Poland alongside pig and cattle, so while lamb dishes are not the most popular, they do exist.

My Tato and Babcia both do not enjoy the taste of lamb but my Wujek does enjoy it.

Lamb, or sheep, has a strong taste.  Some will express dislike for it's strong taste, well, stronger than conventionally raised beef which is the closest red meat many will have to compare it to.  But to me, it tastes like it grazed on grass, shrubbery and other greens.

Lamb stands up well to stronger sauces, spices, etc.



Ingredients:

1 leg of Lamb
1 teaspoon Ginger
1 cup Water
1 cup White Wine
1/2 cup Vinegar
12 Peppercorns
8 Allspice berries
5 Bay Leaves
20 Juniper Berries
2-3 Garlic Cloves
1-2 Onions
Marjoram or Curly Parsley
Salt
2 tablespoons Butter
2 tablespoons Flour
Sugar

Remove the fell from the lamb and any large chunks of fat.  Place fat side up in a roasting pan without a rack.


In a saucepan, combine all but the Garlic, Onion and Salt in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Pour this marinade over the meat and allow to sit overnight in the refrigerator.  Flip over one to two times a day for 3 to 5 days.

Position the leg of lamb so that the fat side is up.

Cut the garlic and onions into slivers.  Make slits into the meat about 1-2" deep and stuff with garlic, onions and marjoram or curly parsley.  Pour the marinade over the meat one more time.  Rub the lamb all over with salt.

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 1/2 an hour to crisp up the outside. 

Turn down heat to 325 degrees and cook for 2-3 1/2 hours.  Inside temperature of meat should be 150 degrees.

Let rest for 15 minutes before carving.

In the meantime, melt the butter in a saucepan.  Mix in flour and add the marinade juices.  Season with sugar and any additional vinegar you would like to suit your taste.

Serve with boiled potatoes or buckwheat grouts, fried cabbage, carrots or rubbed beets.  You can also serve with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt, if you like.

Because I decided to let the lamb sit another hour after adding the slices of garlic, the garlic turned green but it is safe to eat.



The final verdict:  My Tato did not like it, but he doesn't like lamb.  My husband inhaled it as did both of my children, who do not like lamb.  My older daughter does not like sour foods but since I found the right amount of balance when I added the sugar and she mixed sour cream into her sauce, she loved it.  I loved it and ate nothing else for several days. 



Smacznego!

Grzaniec or Polish Mulled Wine

Grzaniec (pronounced Gshzah-nee-ets) is a wonderful drink to enjoy during the Christmas preparations. 


Between temperatures beginning to drop, outdoor Christmas decorations, shopping, and other outdoor activities, something warm (and soul warming) can make the holidays... brighter.  Especially if you are lucky enough to enjoy shopping at an outdoor Christmas market, such as those offered in Chicago or throughout Europe. 


We are personally hoping and planning on enjoying the Christmas market at Wroclaw's Rynek next year.  A mug of Grzaniec will be in my hands.


Before you make Grzaniec, enjoy this video I found of Wroclaw's Christmas Market last year.





Grzaniec is really just a way to warm and flavor red wine and the variations are many.

In my own personal experience, the different recipes vary based on region, family traditions, and the flavor of the wine that you purchase (which, years ago, different regions had different wines available to them).

Here is the version I made last night.


Ingredients:

1 quart of Red Wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
1/2 cup Local Honey
1 Cinnamon Stick
5 whole Cloves, lightly crushed
1 whole Nutmeg
1/2 Bay leaf
1 tablespoon Orange Zest


Place the cloves into a spice ball or place all the spices into a cheesecloth bag.

Add all ingredients to a pot and bring almost to a boil, stirring to make sure the honey completely melts and mixes into the wine.


Serve steaming hot in a mug.

Smacznego!  Or rather, Na zdrowie!...




Notes: 

This post was inspired by the Embassy of Poland in D.C.  I'd love for you to follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Local wine is a great option for this as it goes well with the local honey.  Also, it's more environmentally responsible.

Don't Drink and Drive!  I lost a friend to a drunk driver years ago.  He was only 19 years old and all of his friends were basically just kids and mourning his senseless murder.  Please don't be a part of that...

Beef Kidneys, A Culinary Disaster

A few days ago, I shared on Facebook and Twitter that I would be cooking Beef Kidneys.  The recipe I was specifically planning on making was Stewed Beef Kidney or Cynadry Wolowe Duszone.

Since normally on Mondays I share recipes, I thought I would share today an experience that failed in my kitchen.  Miserably.

My husband had been in the meat section of the grocery store while I was gathering supplies for baking Christmas cookies. 

When he saw the Beef Kidneys, he brought them to me and asked "What do you think about this?" which I took to mean "I challenge you to cook this for me, oh dear sweet creative Polish wife of mine who can make even lowly Chicken Livers a culinary delight for me to enjoy with relish."

That was not what he meant, apparently.  He meant, "What do you think?  Is this edible?  Yes?  No?  I can put it back, it's not a problem."

I did not, however, hear his true meaning as I eyeballed the kidneys. 

My mind raced and I thought, "Offal, hmmmm, I bet this is as easy to cook and as delicious as liver.  Yes!  I accept your challenge!" as I asked him to buy another kidney so that we could have more of this potential delicacy to enjoy once I was done lovingly and painstakingly preparing it for my family.

Before you scoff, I have had kidney before.  I remember it being soft and delicious.  I assumed it to have been Beef Kidney.

When we went home, I dug through my cookbooks and referenced several websites to be sure that I would prepare it correctly.

I sliced the kidneys in half and was met with a very faint smell of urine but shrugged it off since I figured the next couple of steps would correct that.  I then soaked them for an hour in cool water.

In the meantime, I shared the photo on my Facebook and Twitter feed.

The reactions on Facebook were priceless:

• Perhaps I was making galaretka (oh, how I now wish that was what I had made)
• "Looks yummy! what is it?" & upon finding out what it was - "ok...I just threw up a little. It looks like a cream cheese, raspberry danish thingy? I was way off."
• "It looks scary!!!"
• "so there used to be cow pee in those things? oh my."
• "What is the white s*** in the middle?" and a friends reply "the creamy nougat center?"

 Twitter was about the same.


I rolled my sleeves up and got to work.  After all, I have tackled various cooking challenges before that should have been flops and turned out marvelous.  How hard could this be?

I boiled some water (first error, I should have placed the kidneys in cold water and brought them to a low boil) and placed them in for several minutes.

The house quickly took on a strong smell.  According to my husband it smelled like, "*gag* Fells Point Alley at 3 am! *gag*" and he ran quickly to the garage to call friends and family so that he could describe the horror that was our house.

The children ran for cover and hugged one another in a corner far from the kitchen.

I opened the windows, turned off the burner and proceeded to pour the urine water down the sinks drain while heaving into the double sink myself.  My glasses had fogged up from the steam and it made me more ill thinking that I would have to wash my glasses well after this.  I poured what might have been a cup full of lavender scented all natural dish detergent down the drain and ran more water, hoping and praying that the smell would go down the drain.

It didn't. 

I lit 2 sticks of incense and looked at the now shriveled kidneys at the bottom of the pot.  The smell from them was no better.

I removed them from the pot, scrubbed the pot out well and placed them back in with more fresh clear water.  I then brought them back to a boil...

The smell was no better.  My husband again gagged and ran away and my children cowered together in a corner.  I am fairly certain I have scarred them for life.



Everywhere I read about preparing Beef Kidneys said that it would take between 2 and 4 boils to eliminate the smell.

On the fourth boil, my father came in after work to visit us and promptly called "What are you killing?!"

When I frantically tried to explain to him what I was doing, he gave me a pearl of true cooking wisdom.  Several, actually.


My Tato on Beef Kidneys:

• Beef Kidneys are the most difficult meat to cook
• Why didn't I call him?  He would have told me to soak them overnight in milk first.
• Why didn't I call my Babcia?  She used to make them often and he enjoyed it and it did not taste like urine.
• When I placed them in boiling water the first time, I had essentially sealed in the urine

I placed the kidneys in milk while I washed the pot again and filled it with water.  The milk they were in soured within two minutes.

After the fifth boil, everyone thanked God that I had also decided to make Mushroom soup for dinner.


My fears of having scarred my children for life was affirmed when my older daughter covered her mouth as I lovingly ladled the soup into her bowl.  Her eyes wide, one finger madly pointing, she wailed "You aren't going to feed us PEE ZUPA, are you Mama!?" 


I told her it was Mushroom soup that Mama had made besides this as a just in case and she relaxed visibly.  While the children ate, she told me "This tastes much better than Pee Zupa, Mama."

I sliced up the Beef Kidneys, submerged them in milk and placed them in the refrigerator.  My kind husband threw them away the next day.  Airing out the house at the beginning of a Midwest Winter for several hours due to an overwhelming urine smell was apparently enough for him the first day.


I called my Babcia the next day asking for advise.  She informed me that she never cooked Beef Kidneys because the urine smell was just too much.  When meat was scarce during Communism, veal kidneys were often on the food cards so she made those and they were delicious.  But it was still not easy to cook them even though they were very mild compared to beef kidneys.

I learned my lesson that day.  I had been bested by the Beef Kidneys and I don't intend on trying it again.  The Beef Kidneys won.

I know that this will go down in our family history as The Great Beef Kidney Disaster of 2011...

Have you ever cooked something that was a complete nightmare?  Did you try again?

Na razie...




Related Posts (Just to prove that I can cook):

My First Plum Cake Ever

Zupa Ogonowa or Oxtail Soup