I read your stew recipe with great interest. Every New Year's, I buy a pork shoulder or butt (whichever's cheaper, usually the shoulder), potatoes and sauerkraut to make my family's traditional New Year's pork & sauerkraut.
For decades I'd use the crockpot to cook it all in, but about six-seven years ago I started slow-roasting the pork overnight and then either putting it in the crockpot with potatoes, onions, the sauerkraut, herbs and spices (garlic, fennel, onion powder, sometimes smoked paprika), and a 12-oz. bottle of NA Beer, and letting it cook for 4-6 at HIGH, tasting about halfway and adding a bit of Worcestershire Sauce or "Kitchen Magic" to give it a bit of <i>umami</i>.
This year, for the first time, I deglazed the roasting pan instead with another bottle of NA beer (a good way to get rid of the bottle of O'Doul's Amber I somehow still had sitting around!) and put that in the pork & sauerkraut instead. I also simmered everything (having nuked the potatoes partway then cut them up, skins and all) for an hour in a saucepan rather than try and find the crockpot, which let me cook for one - usually our niece and my kid brother join us, but this year I'm on my own.
While I think the overall results are great, I'm wondering if anybody else does pork & sauerkraut for New Year's, and what your recipe might be....
Ruth gave all the "stew" extra steps that my mom Ruth taught me over the years. Flour the meat for exquisite browning. Bacon fat is good. Don't be afraid of fat, it rises to the top when food is chilled to easily removed.
I ate at l"Hermitage in the early 80's, and I still remember the meal. Same trip to LA as when we went to Michael's. I have lived in Napa for many years, but those two places stand out in my memory as stellar!!
Thank you for highlighting how special White Oak Pastures is. We are so lucky in Georgia to have Will and so many other stewards of both land and animal. I didn’t know you could stay there - I will have to do that this year!
I have never thought that I might want to go to Georgia until I read about White Oak Pastures and Will Harris. That short recording of him on the online site for White Oak for some reason brought tears to my eyes. I admire his courage to change and hope that other farmers still using chemicals, etc. have that same courage and leap into the future that is necessary for the health of our planet. Many thanks for posting his story.
I stayed at White Oak Pastures last year for a weekend. I appreciate their approach. They have a great house to stay in and away from it all. Got dome good meat there. Glad you mentioned them.
Such an interesting post today—any chance that article is anthologized anywhere? Getting to read these old clippings is so bittersweet—hard not to think of all the great articles that are lost to time…
I love the image of the stew sitting "in the refrigerator for a day or two, gathering its thoughts...".
I read your stew recipe with great interest. Every New Year's, I buy a pork shoulder or butt (whichever's cheaper, usually the shoulder), potatoes and sauerkraut to make my family's traditional New Year's pork & sauerkraut.
For decades I'd use the crockpot to cook it all in, but about six-seven years ago I started slow-roasting the pork overnight and then either putting it in the crockpot with potatoes, onions, the sauerkraut, herbs and spices (garlic, fennel, onion powder, sometimes smoked paprika), and a 12-oz. bottle of NA Beer, and letting it cook for 4-6 at HIGH, tasting about halfway and adding a bit of Worcestershire Sauce or "Kitchen Magic" to give it a bit of <i>umami</i>.
This year, for the first time, I deglazed the roasting pan instead with another bottle of NA beer (a good way to get rid of the bottle of O'Doul's Amber I somehow still had sitting around!) and put that in the pork & sauerkraut instead. I also simmered everything (having nuked the potatoes partway then cut them up, skins and all) for an hour in a saucepan rather than try and find the crockpot, which let me cook for one - usually our niece and my kid brother join us, but this year I'm on my own.
While I think the overall results are great, I'm wondering if anybody else does pork & sauerkraut for New Year's, and what your recipe might be....
Ruth gave all the "stew" extra steps that my mom Ruth taught me over the years. Flour the meat for exquisite browning. Bacon fat is good. Don't be afraid of fat, it rises to the top when food is chilled to easily removed.
I ate at l"Hermitage in the early 80's, and I still remember the meal. Same trip to LA as when we went to Michael's. I have lived in Napa for many years, but those two places stand out in my memory as stellar!!
Thank you for highlighting how special White Oak Pastures is. We are so lucky in Georgia to have Will and so many other stewards of both land and animal. I didn’t know you could stay there - I will have to do that this year!
this stew sounds delicious! thoughts for a substitution for the brandy? perhaps some stock
I love the Robust Winter Stew recipe and plan on making it later this week. Are there substitutions you would recommend in place of the mushrooms?
Loved the way you introduced the stew, the background, the atmosphere, and the expectation you gave it.
I have never thought that I might want to go to Georgia until I read about White Oak Pastures and Will Harris. That short recording of him on the online site for White Oak for some reason brought tears to my eyes. I admire his courage to change and hope that other farmers still using chemicals, etc. have that same courage and leap into the future that is necessary for the health of our planet. Many thanks for posting his story.
I stayed at White Oak Pastures last year for a weekend. I appreciate their approach. They have a great house to stay in and away from it all. Got dome good meat there. Glad you mentioned them.
I really loved this issue. The menus from restaurants I only read about are great!
Such an interesting post today—any chance that article is anthologized anywhere? Getting to read these old clippings is so bittersweet—hard not to think of all the great articles that are lost to time…
just a note to say how much I enjoy La Briffe!