BRATWURST STROGANOFF

Every once in a while, a great idea comes along. Most times, a great idea is an accumulation of ideas from different people. So it is with today's recipe.

We were sitting on our back porch, marveling at Penny's Roses, Tomato plants and her new pollinating garden. 

 And as usual, we got to talking about food while we sipped our adult beverages.

Gee, what else do you do when you  are staying home, away from the masses.

So I mentioned that I wanted to make SAUSAGES. Knowing my love of BRATWURST, Penny says "We have Bratwurst Seasoning."

Now I am interested.  I never ate Bratwurst as a kid. Why I didn't is a mystery. My mother was German but she never made it. Perhaps my father didn't like it. But that's another story.

Many years ago, Penny and I were on a Cruise and they served Bratwurst during a sail away party.

 

I was hooked. Not only on Bratwurst but on Cruises.

So I respond, "We could make it in patties and fry it. The we can make gravy and smashed taters."

"Or," Penny says. "You could make Bratwurst Stroganoff."

I have been on a search for a good Stroganoff recipe, so I thought that was a great idea.

Several adult beverage later, I had a plan.

Hope you try it.

Here is how I did it.

1 ¼ TBL BRATWURST SEASONING (Penzeys)

1 ¼ lb Ground PORK

1 Cup of Chopped ONION

2 Cloves of Chopped GARLIC

 

8 OZ Fresh MUSHROOMS (chopped)

1 TBL SOUR CREAM

¼ CUP of WHOLE MILK

BACON FAT as needed

WONDRA FLOUR (amount as needed)

Salt and Pepper to taste

CHICKEN BROTH (AMOUNT TBD)

One bag of NOODLES

Butter to coat

Place the PORK in a large bowl, and add the seasoning.

Mix well with your HANDS until seasoning is incorporated into the pork

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours

Now is a good time to play with the puppy and have a nice refreshing adult beverage

In a large pan, add some EVOO and set heart to medium HIGH

When hot add the ONIONS and saute until translucent

Add a TBL of BACON FAT.

Add the MUSHROOMS and saute.

Add the PORK and saute

Add the GARLIC and saute until the PORK is nice and browned.

Now you can add some Salt & Pepper (I also added about a tsp of the Seasoning.)

Now it is time to make the ROUX for the GRAVY

Remove ¾ of the Pork and place in a bowl. 

 

Use a slotted spoon and let any grease drip back into the frying pan. Set aside

Add enough FLOUR to soak up all the grease. (about ½ CUP)

STIR STIR STIR

STIR STIR STIR 

Add the CHICKEN BROTH (A LITTLE AT A TIME)

STIR STIR STIR 

Place the pork you set aside back into the pan

Add ¼ Cup of MILK

Turn the heat down to SIMMER.

Cover with a lid.

Boil your water for the NOODLES

 Cook according to directions

Place the hot Noodles in a Bowl and ADD some Butter to coat.

Place the Gravy in another bowl and and the Sour Cream. Stir

 Now you can serve

 Goes well with a Salad and Adult Beverage

It's hard to explain how well this one turned out. It was G O O D !!!

IF I HAD TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN

 I think next time I will get some Bratwurst LINKS. Dice them up and add to the Pork Mix. The more meat the better !!!!

Penny loved it as well.

So there you have it. A made up recipe for the best Stroganoff I have ever had !!!!!

Try it, you'll thank me later.

Stay safe, stay home and stay SMART

Live Long and Prosper !!

THE BASICS : CHICKEN OR TURKEY BROTH

    With a new home for my Cooking Blog, I plan to revisit some past recipes from KILL IT CUT IT UP AND COOK IT.

     Hopefully  over time, we can move all the older recipes here with the NEWER recipes.

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     Many home recipes call for chicken broth.

     OK, you may be tempted to buy it in a box or can at the supermarket. Don't do that !!! I will have to hunt you down and do terrible things to you. Do you have any idea of the crap and preservatives they put in that garbage? Not to mention the salt.

     Broth is by far the easiest thing in the world  to make. You should always have some on hand. We keep a ton of it in the freezer.

     After Thanksgiving, the last thing you do is throw away the Turkey carcass. DON'T DO IT ! Same with that huge oven roasted chicken your wife made tonight. DON'T THROW IT AWAY !!

     I remember when my step mother started to pitch one in the trash. Penny in a flash grabbed that puppy right out of thin air. It was move that would make Lynn Swan and Chris Collingsworth proud. She should have been a first round draft pick. But I digress.

     You can throw broth together on a weekend, and have it available through the week. Or freeze it for later So don't give me the "I don't have the time". Poor excuse, and I don't want to hear it. This takes about about 20 minutes and one beer to put together. You can do it during half time. Then you can have another beer and get back to the game while it cooks.

          

     Darn, it's March and you don't have  a chicken carcass? Do not

despair my friend, I have an idea.

     Let's go down to the store and get a couple precooked roasted chickens. Most larger stores have a deli section that offers these. Just don't get one from Wally World.

     Take it home and cut all the chicken off of the bones.  If you bought roasted chickens, save the meat for later (IE: SOUP) and throw the carcasses, the wings and legs into the pot.

 

      Also use any left over skin as well.

     Break two large carrots in half and add with 1 large Onion

onion  cut in 4 parts. Add 4 stalks of Celery and just a touch of salt and pepper. Don't over do it. You can always add more later but it's damned hard to take it out.

     Cover and bring to boil (about 15 minutes)

     Reduce to a simmer.

     Temperature should be around 208 degrees and you should see   an occasional bubble. Use your handy dandy temperature thing.

     Cook about 8 hours, then add 3 to 4 cups of water (if needed)

     Cook overnight

     Using a slotted spoon or strainer, remove all the bones, veggies

and chicken pieces.

     Strain remaining broth through cheese cloth into a container.

     Place a frozen water bottle into the container with the hot broth and let cool

     When the ice melts, replace the ice bottle .

     When the liquid cools to about 70 degrees, place in refrigerator.

You did keep the temperature thingy handy?

Doesn't that look good !!!!!

     The next day, remove the fat layer from the top of the container.

     NOTE: SAVE the fat in a separate container. You can use it 

later  to make GRAVY.

     Your broth is ready to use. YOU CAN FREEZE WHAT IS LEFT.

     MAKES ABOUT ½ GALLON, and you did it.