I have a love of charcuterie. I've talked a bit about it here on the blog and undoubtedly if I pass by a German restaurant, better believe we'll be going inside for a meal. A couple of months ago my favorite editor suggested we tackle the subject of Goetta for an upcoming feature....music to my ears.
I won't give you whole low down~ head over here to read all about it~ but let me just say, as big of a fan as I was of Goetta before the project, I became even more so after eating the homemade version. It was a fantastic day of Goetta goodness.
Ingredients:
• 2-3 pounds country-style pork ribs • 8 cups water • 2 1/2 cups steel-cut oatmeal • 20-plus bay leaves • 1 1/2 large onions, quartered • 2 teaspoons salt • 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. 2. In a 4-quart Dutch oven (or heavy pot with a tight fitting lid), gently boil the pork in 8 cups water with 10 of the bay leaves for about 15 minutes, until pork is cooked through. 3. Cool and remove pork, discard bay leaves. You want to keep the liquid, but strain it for any pork or bay leaves left. 4. Add salt and pepper, 10 new bay leaves, and the oatmeal to the liquid. Bring to a rolling boil on the stove and boil for 10 minutes. 5. Finely grind 1 onion in a food processor (or finely chop by hand) and add to oats. Cover and place in oven. It will bake there for an hour, until oats are fully cooked. 6. In a food processor or mill, grind the cooked pork (with all the fat) and reserve. 7. After 1 hour, the oatmeal will be thick and glistening from the fat. Stir in all the ground pork and the remaining chopped onions. 8. Cool and pack into loaf pans (rap the loaf pans on the counter a few times to make sure the goetta is firmly packed into the loaf pan with no air or space.) Chill for at least 1 hour (or overnight) and slice into 1/4-inch pieces; fry slices on a hot griddle or cast iron skillet with oil or bacon grease until golden brown. Makes 2 loaves.
