The Impatient Chef Recipe: Pork and Sauerkraut

Pork and Sauerkraut 

The Impatient Chef wanted to update a previous post, but Blogger decided to not not allow him access to the pictures.  So, this is a reprise of the January 2023 post.  This one is better.  

Pork and Sauerkraut is a Pennsylvania Dutch New Year’s Day tradition that The Impatient Chef has observed for many years. It is supposed to bring luck and wealth in the coming year. While The Impatient Chef thinks that is poppycock, he is always up for deliciousness, which this recipe brings by the barrel. 

The Impatient Chef grew up in Central Pennsylvania, alongside the Amish and PA Dutch Note: It’s Dietsch. It only sounds like Dutch to the English. The Impatient Chef’s mother’s side of the family spoke a funny, German-sounding language every time they did not want the kids to understand what they were saying. Everyone had the accent though, and it took a stint in the Army, College, moving across the country, and about 15 more years to lose it enough to pass for local unless the word has the letter ‘o’ in it.

The Impatient Chef commands that you start with raw sauerkraut. It sounds silly, since you’ll be heating it, but the end result will be better. They also tend to have more liquid to use in the roasting. The Impatient Chef uses a lot of kraut, and is especially fond of Bubbies. This recipe uses only the sauerkraut juices for the roasting, so you will end up with a little krunch in your kraut when it is on the plate.

ALot of Kraut

This is a simple recipe that will feed your army, platoon or squad of family, friends and relatives (and a few perfect strangers). It goes great with mashed potatoes and whatever veg you may want to snuggle up to it on the plate.

Prep time: 1 hour 

Cooking time: at 8 hours (Maybe. Stay vigilant) 

Enjoyment: A lifetime.

Ingredients:

• 8 pound roast. Divide ingredients proportionately for smaller roasts. 
• 75 oz raw Kraut 
• ¼ cup salt, plus one tablespoon 
• 5 cloves garlic, halved lengthwise 
• 2 tbsp pepper 
• ¼ cup white wine for deglazing 
• 4 tbsp Grapeseed oil. 

Directions:

Salt generously the day before. At least 12-18 hours before roasting.

Notes on salt and oil. The Impatient Chef commands you to make delicious food. Don’t skimp on these unless you have a health condition that requires it. 

Preheat oven to 275ºf. 

In the Pan for Searing

Heat dutch oven on medium high. Add oil (you can also use bacon grease if you save yours in the fridge). Salt and pepper the roast on all sides. Sear until golden brown on all sides for that yummy Maillard reaction. This adds scads of umami to your roast. 

While the roast is searing, drain the Sauerkraut using a large sieve or colander over a large bowl. You want this liquid. It is pure gold for this meal, and will henceforth be referred to as kraut juice.

After all sides are browned, remove the roast from pan. Turn off heat, and deglaze pan with white wine.

Add kraut juice and garlic, and then add the roast

Roast at 275º for about an hour per pound. Thicker roasts will take longer, and thinner ones will be done sooner. Check it about half way through to see how it is progressing. If it is 165º to 175º, turn the oven down to 225º. The Impatient Chef used an 8 pound pork butt for this recipe, and it was at 175º after only 4.5 hours because it was boneless, and thinner than a bone-in roast. 

Roast until at least 195º in the center. Remove the roast from the oven, and place it onto a serving plate. Tent it with foil. The Impatient Chef throws some hot pads over the foil.

Add the kraut to the kraut juice in the dutch oven, and bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Immediately remove it from the heat when it barely starts boiling.

Falling Apart

Kraut Added

Tented and Padded

Serve your clan.  Enjoy and thank you!

--The Impatient Chef

 

The Impatient Chef Presents: A Childhood Treat - Mini Pizzas

Mini Pizzas

The Impatient Chef remembers being served these by his mother, and understood it as the childhood equivalent of winning the lottery. They are simple, delicious, cheap, and gloriously low brow. You must at some point feed them to your offspring. They will remember them, and you, fondly forever.

The recipe that follows is more of a method than an actual recipe because your brood size may differ. You will need the following:

Ingredients:

• English muffins (get the cheap ones)
• Butter
• Provolone cheese, sliced
• Mozzarella cheese, sliced or shredded
• Parmesan cheese (it can be the grated stuff in the plastic containers)
• Tomato Sauce, canned
• Garlic powder
• Oregano
• Basil
• Salt pepper
• All beef hot dogs, sliced about 1/4" thick

You will need a broiler pan and a toaster oven. A cookie sheet and a regular oven will suffice.

Directions:

Slice the muffins. 

 
Butter them, and sprinkle on garlic powder to taste. You are essentially making garlic bread at this point. Move the oven rack to the top. Set the oven to broil, and turn it on. Put them under the boiler until they are golden brown, and then remove them from the oven.

Preheat your oven to 450º.

Next, sprinkle on parmesan cheese. Tear the provolone into pieces, and lay it on top of the muffins. This layer of provolone is supposed to keep the muffins dry, so cover them as completely as possible.

Add the sliced hot dogs over the provolone.  This may seem opposite the usual, but it's another way to keep the muffins dry.  And, because The Impatient Chef remembers it that way (dammit).

Mix the oregano, basil, salt, pepper and a little more garlic powder into the tomato sauce. Use as much as you feel comfortable with. Remember that this is a pizza, so the oregano flavor should be more pronounced than the basil. The ratio of oregano vs. basil should be about 2:1. Spoon the sauce over the hot dogs.  You want to cover the dogs, but leave some room at the edges.

Sprinkle a little more oregano over the sauce, and add the mozzerella cheese. You can use shredded, or do what The Impatient Chef did on this occasion, slice it and rend it asunder. Lay it over the sauce.

Bake until the mozzarella starts getting brown spots.

 

Serve.  Bask in the adulation from your brood.  After the kids have moved out, make them for yourselves.

Notes on the pictures: They are ugly. Deal with it. The Impatient Chef does not have a studio with perfect lighting and he plans on eating the food while it is still hot.

--The Impatient Chef

The Impatient Chef Returns

 Hello one and all!  Greetings, well met, and howdy do.  

The Impatient Chef has returned.

    After almost a year away, The Impatient Chef mulled over a return to form over the past few weeks, and decided to have a go at, as it were, rising from the grave.  The above image is more apropos of Halloween than the Christmas season, but it fits the spirit of the return, and, more importantly, it made the spousal unit laugh.  

    The coming weeks will see recipes and restaurant reviews.  I am currently at work on some oddball reimaginings of classic dishes like the Reubin Sandwich (again) and a Buffalo Wing treatment of eggplant.  

    The Impatient Chef is under no obligation to explain his absence, but he is learning that not every moment has to be filled with meaningful pursuits.  Sometimes it's okay to watch a TV show, or play Bejeweld on the iPad.  Sometimes it's okay to step away from something for a year. 

    The Impatient Chef's output has never been high, and that's not about to change, but he is ready to resume occasional posting.  Stay tuned.  

--The Impatient Chef.  

The Impatient Chef Can't Sit Still at Humble Spirit, McMinnville, Oregon

Disclaimer:  The series "The Impatient Chef Can't Sit Still" is an exploration of food found while traveling.  The reviews are usually based on a single visit, so remember that your mileage will vary.  

The Coffee

The Impatient Chef was on his way back from the Oregon Coast (with wife riding shotgun) in early January, and was on the prowl for a good, unexplored restaurant. Apple Maps had a few suggestions, and Humble Spirit seemed to be at the right distance away for a late morning brunch.

Located in Downtown McMinnville, this elegant, mildly upscale American restaurant oozes with Willamette Valley charm. McMinnville is in the heart of Oregon wine country, and sports a thriving downtown peppered with wineries, art and restaurants. We parked, and hobbled in where we were greeted like we had just entered an art gallery. That is not a bad thing. In fact, it was pleasant and friendly. That vibe carried over to the food and service. Our waitress was charming and talkative (which we like), and she helped steer us to the right food. She also explained that the restaurant started from two regenerative farms, which The Impatient Chef heartily endorses.

The first order of business was coffee. Since it arrives first, it is sometimes possible to guess at the quality of the food by how good the coffee is. In this case it was excellent. Expectations were high.

The Impatient Chef and Wife ordered the Corned Beef Hash, and the Dungeness Crab Benedict. The Impatient Chef often splits meals to avoid looking like he swallowed a basketball rather than merely a football.

The Hash

The Hash: The corned beef was cut into chunks, not pulled apart like it normally is. It did not have the flavor you would normally expect, yet it was excellent and slightly crispy, with a baked egg in the center. Their house-made hot sauce goes well with it.

The Benedict

The Benedict: Served on a crab cake instead of English muffin with greens over top,along with radish strips. The Hollandaise is delicate, and does not overpower the crab. The flavor did not grab The Impatient Chef by the lapels and shake him about for a bit, but it did run its fingers through his hair and ask him out for a date. Since The Impatient Chef is happily married, he settled for eating it instead. It didn't seem to mind. 

The Sauce

So, if you go to McMinnville, Oregon, do yourself a favor, and stop by Humble Spirit.

Thanks for reading!

—The Impatient Chef

The Impatient Chef Recipe: Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant Parmesan

The Impatient Chef has avoided eggplant parmesan for well over thirty years.  Some bad, nay, traumatic, experiences were to blame, but he got a bug recently, and decided to give it another go.  By all reports, it was a nummy success.  

Eggplant is a vegetable in the ugh family of icky round things in the bitterus spititoutis species of flora that most people avoid.  It has a tendency toward becoming slimy and unpleasant when cooked, yet it is inedible when raw.  How can this be avoided?

Salt.

Salt is the key to yummy eggplant.  We're not talking about light sprinkling, though.  More like a thin coating, followed by a rest period where water drains off, along with the yuck factor.  The mistake The Impatient Chef made in the past was to not use enough salt.  

Noodles.

While making you own noodles can be rewarding and delicious, remember that this is The Impatient Chef you are reading.  As such, when you come home after a long day at work, and young Billy brought in a baby raccoon, and momma raccoon is gnawing her way through the heating ducts while the Spousal Unit posting about chemtrails on Facebook, and you still want to make something extraordinary, you are advised to leave the noodles to someone else.  There are great, dried spaghetti noodles out there.  They have a higher price, but you deserve it.  Concentrate on the eggplant, and don't make this your entire evening.  Sit.  Have a treat.  There's a good boy.  

Sauce.

If you want to make homemade spaghetti sauce, do it the day before, and heat it up slowly when you put on the spaghetti water.  If you don’t feel like it, use some from a jar.  The Impatient Chef recommends Trader Joe’s Organic Marinara.  This recipe is not about the sauce, but the Trader Joe’s sauce was divine with it.  

Why make it the day before?  Spaghetti sauce benefits from a long simmer.  The Impatient Chef remembers anecdotes from neighborhood kids at his grandparent's home near Philadelphia that recounted that Italian mothers would cook a spaghetti sauce all day to get all of the flavors to balance right.  Cooking it for a half an hour after all of the ingredients have been added, and placing it in the refrigerator for a day has largely the same effect.  The Impatient Chef will publish a spaghetti sauce at some point soon.  It will be impatient, though.  

The Importance of Impatience.

This is the manifesto for The Impatient Chef.  The humor and third-person schtick aside, this blog (maybe someday a cookbook) exists to give tips to busy people for making comforting food without all the fuss, and to hone in on what parts of any particular dish are worth fussing over.  Oh, there's the restaurant reviews too, but that's not what we're talking about here.  If you want to fuss, by all means, do so.  But, be aware that you can break the chains that bind you to the stove, and still make delicious stuff.

Notes on deep frying.

Deep frying is divine.  If you are concerned about fat, eat less of it.  Eating less of a yummy dish is easily superior to eating more of something uninspiring.  

Feeds 2 people with leftovers.

Ingredients:

• 1 12oz eggplant, skin removed and sliced into 3/8” medallions (use the black, egg-shaped ones)
• 1 egg
• 4 tbsp four 
• 1 cup panko
• 2 tbsp cornstarch 
• 3 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 4 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded
• High heat frying oil
• Spaghetti sauce
• Spaghetti 
• Parmesan cheese 

Directions:

1. Salt the eggplant using 1 tbsp plus 2 tsp salt.  Toss them in a mixing bowl, and place them on a wire rack with a baking sheet underneath, and let them sit for 40 minutes.
2. After 30 minutes, start the spaghetti water. Also start the sauce heating on low.  Stir occasionally. 
3. Get out 3 bowls.  In one, put the flour.  In the next, beat the egg, and in the last add the panko, cornstarch, and remaining salt, plus the pepper. 
4. After 10 more minutes, pat the eggplant medallions dry with a paper towel. Also start the oil heating. You can use Dutch oven, or a high-sided cast iron skillet.  Do not use a shallow pan.  There should be about an inch of oil in the pan. The frying temperature is 360 degrees. Use a thermometer, or, better yet a deep fat fryer with temperature control. DO NOT USE AN AIR FRYER. 
5. Bread the eggplant by coating the medallions in the flour, then the egg, and the then the panko mixture. Put them back onto the wire rack. 
6. Remember to add the spaghetti when the water boils. Make sure it does not stick together.  You want to have everything get done at the same time.  
7. Fry the breaded eggplant until it is golden brown on both sides, about 4 to 5 minutes. Place the medallions onto a baking sheet. Add a little sauce to the top of each one. Cover them with the mozzarella. Broil until the cheese is melted. 
8. Drain the spaghetti.  
9. Serve the eggplant on a plate with the spaghetti, spreading some sauce over everything. Add Parmesan cheese to taste.

Enjoy.  

Thanks for reading!

--The Impatient Chef

The Impatient Chef Can’t Sit Still at Denizens Café, Portland

The Impatient Chef finds comfort in comfort food in the comfort of a breakfast and lunch nook comfortably ensconced on NE Sandy Blvd in Portland, Oregon.  

"Can't Sit Still" is a series of road food finds where a single meal is reviewed.  They do not reflect a restaurant's entire menu, or the establishment as a whole.  

A Comfortable Impatient Chef at Denizens

Denizins is a little gem hidden in an unassuming strip of mid-century storefronts that no one would blame you for driving past without noticing. The does NOT mean you should. Allow The Impatient Chef to expound. The food is good, as was the service, but the place looks like it exists on a shoestring budget. Your job, dear reader, is to fatten that budget up with repeated patronage if you are able.

Some notable observations:  Ethos - fostering community through local food, not buying the cheapest ingredients from the warehouse.  The Impatient Chef endorses this approach.  Quality Ingredients - simple food shines brightest with better ingredients.  Price - the prices are reasonable, considering the quality of the ingredients.  

The Counter 

The breakfast menu consists of English Muffin sandwiches and pancakes, plus a small assortment of pastries from Marcie Bakery.  They also serve Rocky Butte Coffee.  

The lone staff member greeted The Impatient Chef and wife upon entry, and helped us through the menu options.  The Impatient Chef ordered the Morning Jumpstart (sausage or ham with cheese, egg, and jalapeños), and wife ordered the Top of the Morning (sausage or ham with egg, cheese, spinach, mushrooms, and pickled red onion).  We also split two of the pastries:  A chocolate croissant and a marionberry/cream cheese croissant.  

The Muffs

The sandwiches were delicious.  They are not haute cuisine, but they are solid, American breakfast grub a notch or two above the grade.  As mentioned before (multiple times), this is breakfast comfort food.  The muffins were not dry, which, in less capable hands, is often a problem.  The jalapeños seemed grilled, which was an excellent choice over the pickled variety for this application.

The croissants were okay.  The chocolate version needed more chocolate.  The Impatient Chef's half had some in two bites out of seven.  

Dessert

The coffee had a pronounced, nutty flavor.  Very unique.  We never had Rocky Butte Coffee before.  More exploration is required.  

Rocky Butte is a cinder cone left over from the area's volcanic past, and a reminder that past can become present with a mere twitch of the Earth's crust.  So, enjoy good food now.  

The Impatient Chef's overall impression thus far is that they care about what they do, and about their community.  We need more of that in this world.  Next: Go there for lunch or brunch.  Watch this space for the update.  

Thanks!

The Impatient Chef.

The Impatient Chef Recipe: Ham and Grits with Red-Eye Gravy

"Them Damn Grits" - George Carlin

The Impatient Chef has presented a couple similar recipes in the past.  The first was Blue Grits with Ham and Red-Eye Gravy, and the second was Cadillac Ham and Grits with Red-Eye Gravy.  The first is a decent recipe, but The Impatient Chef has moved away from that style of gravy for this dish because the version presented here is simply better, and it's highly Impatient.  The second recipe was done on a lark, and while the lark lived to tell the tale, it is not something one would want to do all the time unless money was not an object, and, again, this recipe is better.  

Notes on ham:  If you have a honest-to-goodness butcher shop in town, hie ye thither to procure your ham.  The Impatient Chef has found that the good hams are not in the supermarket.  An exception is Beeler's ham, which can be found in natural food stores.  

This is a great dish for leftover ham after a holiday meal. You can save ham fat, and you also can pick all of the yummy ham scraps off of the bones.  What?!?  You got a boneless ham?!?  Shame on you.

With practice, you should be able to get all of the ingredients done at the same time, which is important so that it goes together hot. 

The Impatient Chef uses Bob's Red Mill White Grits.  They get the job done with style.  If you dare, you can use Anson Mills Antibellum Coarse White Grits.  However, they are decidedly not Impatient, and you have to soak them overnight.  They are fabulous, though.

Serves 2.  You can get this breakfast done in less than fifteen minutes with a little practice.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chopped ham fat scraps (substitute with 2 tbsp bacon grease if necessary) 
• 1 well-packed cup cubed ham 
• 1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill white grits 
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 dashes cayenne pepper 
• 1 tablespoon butter 
• 1/2 cup brewed coffee 

Directions:

1. Make coffee. Reserve 1/2 cup, into which you will add 2 dashes of cayenne pepper. 
2. Render the ham fat in a medium iron skillet on medium high heat until there is enough grease in the pan to fry the ham. If you are using bacon grease, or (shudder) vegetable oil, you can skip this step. 
3. While the fat is rendering, cook grits. In a small saucepan, add 2 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Add the grits and stir. When they return to a boil, lower heat until they barely simmer. Cover, and stir every 30 seconds at minimum. Be careful to stir the bottom of the pan because they will stick.  
4. Remove the ham fat scraps from the skillet (do not discard the oil), and add the ham. Fry the ham, stirring them often, until they start to brown. You want a nice fond in the bottom of the pan. 
5. When the grits are almost done, add the butter, salt, and pepper. Stir.  You can use less salt if you are so inclined.
6. When the ham is browned, remove from pan. Set aside in a bowl. 
7. Return the pan to the heat. Stir the coffee to suspend the cayenne. and add it to the pan, Stir with a flat end wooden spoon to deglaze, scraping the bottom to suspend the fond in the coffee. Turn off the heat. You now have red-eye gravy. 
8. Turn off the heat for the grits as well. 
9. Divide the grits into two bowls. Add ham over top. Swirl the red-eye gravy in the pan, and then pour half of it over each bowl. 
10. Serve.