AGRI-PULSE - NOORDWES - MAGALIES - In the Brauhaus am Damm kitchen a Scotsman is Master of the Pots.
Ciaran McCarthy spents his time in the kitchen perfecting traditional rich, hearty German fare. Ciaran’s eisbein has become famous with patrons. Here he shares his recipe for eisbein and pretzelsMaking magic...
Eisbein - Ingredients:
• 1 cured and smoked shank/hock of pork
• 1 onion quartered
• 1 carrot roughly chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 litre of Brauhaus am Damm Farmers Beer
Method:
• Place the pork shank into a large pot, add all the rest of the ingredients and put in enough water to
cover the pork shank.
• Bring it to the boil and then reduce heat and allow it to simmer for about 2 hours.
• The meat will be tender and the skins soft. Remove them from the pot and pat dry with a cloth.
• Allow it to rest for 30 minutes and then
• Roast in the oven at 200°C for 40minutes allowing the skin to crisp up.
• For extra crispy flash fry in a deep fat fryer.
• Best served with mashed potatoes with sauerkraut and German mustard.
Pretzels - Ingredients:
• 360ml lukewarm water
• 1 packet active dry or instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and slightly cool
• 460-500g white bread flour
• Coarse sea salt for sprinkling
• 120g baking soda
2 litres of water
Method:
• Whisk the yeast into warm water.
• Allow to sit for 1 minute.
• Whisk in salt, brown sugar, and melted butter.
• Slowly add 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time.
• Mix with a wooden spoon (or dough hook attached to stand mixer) until dough is thick.
• Add 3/4 cup more flour until the dough is no longer sticky.
• If it is still sticky, add 1/4 – 1/2 cup more, as needed.
• Poke the dough with your finger – if it bounces back, it is ready to knead.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface.
• Knead the dough for 3 minutes and shape into a ball.
• Cover lightly with a towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease two baking trays and set aside.
• With a sharp knife cut dough desired pretzel size.
• Roll the dough into rope shapes.
• Take the ends and draw them together so the dough forms a circle.
• Twist the ends, then bring them towards yourself and press them down into a pretzel shape.
• Bring baking soda and 9 cups of water to a boil in a large pot.
• Drop 1-2 pretzels into the boiling water for 10 seconds.
• Using a slotted spatula, lift the pretzel out of the water and allow as much of the excess water to drip off.
• Place pretzel onto prepared baking tray.
• Sprinkle each with coarse sea salt.
• Repeat with remaining pretzels.
• Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.
