Text 22138, 155 rader
Skriven 2007-11-01 15:41:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av DANIEL PRATHER
Ärende: Rice 369
================
 > For the French, confit (properly made) comes very close.
 DP> Ahhh, this was a little different I think.  It wasn't immersed in
 DP> oil/fat, but rather pieces of already rotted meat, packed with chunks
 DP> of fat, and then just all mixed together in a big tub.

Seems worse than his Web description of it, mystery meat
in fat, which is pretty much what confit is. By the way,
confit is properly speaking heavily salted and then cooked
and stored in fat - the other day we were having a meal out
with the Abbotts, and I ordered a duck confit hash, and
Joell tasted it and said that that was the way confit should
taste (it was not very salty and not very fatty). I didn't
say anything, but it was actually exactly the way confit
should not be, though quite tasty. Confit should be quite
salty and should have a somewhat ripe taste.

 DP> I think Andrew Zimmern said it tasted like death in your nose.

Oh, yes, I've had something Asian that is like that. Not
thrilled to taste it nor to try it again. As I recall it
made my tongue cramp up perhaps from the ammonia. Sort of
like what happens with really strong cheese.

 > And there are Italian, German, French, as well as Chinese
 > sausages that depend on fermented meat.
 DP> Well, I think there's fermentation, and then there is decomposition.

Okay, I'll grant a distinction in that fermentation is a
particular kind of decomposition, but one might want to
be more specific ... fermentation being, as you say,
conversion of carbohydrate to alcohol, and decomposition,
though actually a bit of a blanket term, usually used to
describe the breakdown of protein.

Here's a mild but authentic confit:

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.04

      Title: Confit of Pork
 Categories: Main dish, Preserves, Pork, French
      Yield: 1 recipe

  3 1/2 lb Boned hand of pork
      4 tb Coarse (kosher) salt
      1    Sprig fresh thyme (leaves)
      1 ts Peppercorns; whole crushed
      3 lb Fat**
    1/2 sm Head garlic
      1    Clove
    1/2 ts Salt per jar
      2 tb Water

  NB ** While pure pork fat can be used, best result are obtained if a
  fair proportion of goose or duck fat is included.
    2 days in advance, cut meat into suitable sized portions, large
  enough to fit comfortably the preserving jars that you will be using
  (1 litre or 500gms are ideal). Trim away any ragged bits. Roll pork
  pieces in the salt which you have mixed with the thyme and pepper.
  Place in a deep non-corrodible bowl and refrigerate, covered with
  cling film for 36 hours or so.
    When ready to cook confit, remove marinaded pork pieces from bowl,
  wipe off salt and exuded juices and pat dry with paper towels. Tie
  each piece with string to preserve compact shape while cooking.
    Place rendered fat with water in a slow cooker or large very heavy
  pot, such as an enamelled cast iron casserole (dutch oven); the exact
  amount of fat will vary depending upon the relaitve dimensions of the
  pot and the pork. Melt fat over low heat; as soon as it is melted,
  slip in pieces of pork. Fat should cover meat fairly well; add
  groundnut oil, if necessary. However, if pork is almost completely
  covered, enough fat will render out during the cooking to submerge
  it. Add the garlic stuck with a clove.
    At high or medium setting (slow cooker) or over medium-low heat,
  heat fat to a gentle simmer. Maintain simmer for 1 to 3 hours
  depending upon preserving method to be used (see below), adjusting
  setting as necessary; during this period a slow cooker should be
  partially covered, pot or casserole uncovered. Temperature of fat
  should never exceed 200 to 205 F.
    Remove pan from heat and one at a time, take pork pieces out of pan
  and place directly into sterilised preserving jars, each with 1/2 ts
  salt in the bottom. Discard garlic, and divide juices between the
  pots. Now add sufficient fat to cover pork pieces. Place sterile
  capsules on the jars and screw down well.

    Pressure cooker method.
    =======================
    Place on a trivet in a pressure cooker and fill half way with hot -
  not boiling - water. Place cover on pressure cooker, and bring slowly
  to boil - this process should take around 20 minutes.
    When boiling, keeping heat very moderate, allow to steam steadily
  for 5-7 minutes. Place weight on cooker (best is 10 lbs/sq inch
  weight) and allow pressure to increase gently. When at pressure start
  timing and process for 1 1/2 hours, making absolutely certain that
  the pressure never drops.
    When the time is up, turn off heat under pressure cooker, and leave
  pressure to reduce naturally - don't cool in any way. Once the
  pressure is reduced, take off lid, remove jars and tighten lids.
  Allow to cool overnight, then unscrew rings. Test seal by lifting
  each jar by its cap. Dry and label. Leave at least one month before
  using.
    To use, place jar in a warm room or deep pan of warm water until
  fat has softened. Take out pork, set aside. Place a couple of tbs of
  the confit fat in a pan, and brown the confit pork on all sides - 5
  to 8 minutes. Remove to wire rack, grid or paper towel to drain.
  Serve hot, warm or cold as desired.
    Water bath method
    =================
  Increase the low temperature cooking time to 2 hours. After this time,
  place pork in sterile jars and cover and seal as above. Place jars on
  the rack of a water bath steriliser and cover with cold water. Make
  sure the jars do not float about and that they are covered by at
  least 1" water. Heat gently at such a rate that the water bath takes
  1 1/2 hours to come to a full rolling boil. Reduce heat slightly to
  maintain a steady boil - neither galloping nor simmering - and
  sterilise 1 1/2 hours.
     Remove rack from water bath and immediately tighten the rings on
  the jars. Place the jars on a wooden surface and allow to cool
  thoroughly. Remove rings and test the seal as before. Label and store
  in a cool place 1 month before using.

    Traditional Method
    ==================
    Increase cooking time to 3 hours, or until the pork is so tender
  that it can be pierced with a wooden skewer. Remove vessel from heat.
  For best results allow pork to cool in fat for about an hour. Remove
  and discard garlic. Transfer each piece of pork to a sterilising jar
  in which you have placed 1/2 ts salt in the bottom, cover and leave
  aside while preparing the fat. If slow cooker was used, ladle fat
  into large pan, leaving juices behind. If not, separate fat from most
  of the juices and return to pan. Heat, uncovered over medium heat,
  constantly skimming off any foam that rises (I had none IMH). Slowly
  boil 5 to 10 minutes or until spluttering stops and surface of fat is
  virtually undisturbed. Watch carefully. DO NOT allow fat to burn or
  smoke. It will be ruined for confit if it does. Remove from heat, and
  let cool a few minutes.
    Remove trussing string from each piece of pork, now that it has
  firmed up, replace them in their pots and pour fat over the pork
  pieces, making sure that each has at least 1" of fat clear over its
  highest part. Cover again and allow to cool. When cold, mould foil
  over the fat, cover with a lid and store in a cold place
  (refrigerator or cellar) for a month to ripen before using. This is
  the traditional method which has been used for hundreds, if not
  thousands of years for preserving pork, duck and goose, and if well
  made, will keep the meat perfectly for over a year. (In France, they
  often use a large pot, removing confit pieces as needed and
  re-covering with fat, but this is a tricky manoevre and it isn't to
  be recommended nowadays. - IMH )

  Recipe adapted from "Cooking of South West France" - Paula Wolfert
    by IMH Georges' Home BBS 2:323/4.4

MMMMM

___ Blue Wave/386 v2.30
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
 * Origin: Doc's Place BBS Fido Since 1991 docsplace.tzo.com (1:123/140)