Fire It Up - Andrew Schloss [58]
If you are grilling with bamboo skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes. Light a grill for indirect medium-high heat, about 375°F. Wrap the bones in heavy-duty foil, using about 2 bones per bundle and scraping some of the marinade into each. Put the foil bundles on the grill away from the heat, cover, and cook until the marrow is warm, about 20 minutes. Open the foil bundles and keep warm.
Lower the grill heat to medium. Brush the grill grate and coat with oil. Grill the skewers directly over medium heat until nicely grill-marked, about 5 to 6 minutes total, turning once or twice. Brush with the glaze during the last minute of cooking. Let rest for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.
Cut the bread slices in half crosswise, then dip a brush into the marinade in the foil pouches. Brush the bread slices on both sides with some of the marinade. Grill the bread directly over the heat until lightly toasted, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
Arrange the bones, toast, and skewers on a platter or divide among plates, serving 2 bones, 2 toast halves, and 1 skewer per plate. Provide long, narrow utensils to allow your guests to scrape the marrow onto the toast.
BRATWURST/GROUND VEAL
Bratwurst with the Works
MAKES 10 BRATS
Sheboygan, Wisconsin, is home to Bratwurst Day, held every year on the first Saturday of August. The special dish? Veal bratwurst with the works—two grilled brats served on a big buttered, cornmeal-dusted bun topped with whole-grain mustard, onions, ketchup, and pickles. Yum! We go over the top by adding sauerkraut and cheese to the mix. When buying your brats, keep in mind the two varieties: fresh and cooked. Fresh brats need thorough cooking, while the precooked variety just needs to be browned on the grill. We prefer fresh brats. If you’re grilling up a big batch of them and need to hold them, a pan of beer keeps the veal sausages cozy and warm until serving time.
INGREDIENTS:
2½ pounds fresh veal-based bratwurst (about 10 links)
One 12-ounce bottle or can of beer, preferably German bock
2 cups chilled sauerkraut, drained
1 onion, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
10 crusty sausage or steak rolls
6 ounces thinly sliced Alsatian munster or emmentaler cheese
½ cup ketchup
½ cup whole-grain German mustard
½ cup thinly sliced dill pickle rounds
DIRECTIONS:
Light a grill for direct medium heat, about 350°F. Brush the grill grate and coat with oil. Grill the brats directly over the heat until nicely browned (not burnt) all over and the internal temperature is 155°F, about 20 minutes total, turning them often. Meanwhile, combine the beer, sauerkraut, onions, and butter in a disposable aluminum pan. Cook directly over the heat on the grill until warmed through, about 15 minutes. Line a roll with some cheese and add a cooked brat. Top with some of the sauerkraut mixture as well as some ketchup, mustard, and pickles. To hold the grilled brats, nestle in the beer and sauerkraut mixture and keep warm on the grill.
Chapter 5
Pork
Swine are omnivorous scavengers, gorging on practically anything that crosses their path. This ability to thrive on practically anything made them an easy mark for domestication, and they were one of the first wild animals to be domesticated for meat. Neolithic farmers fed feral pigs in order to harvest their meat as long ago as the fourth millennium BCE. We’ve been doing it ever since.
Swine are classified by sex and age. A pig is a young animal, between six and eight months old, usually weighing between 120 and 180 pounds. Young pigs for roasting whole are under six months and can weigh between 20 and 60 pounds. A hog is a mature pig over eight months, weighing over 180 pounds.
Pork, the meat of swine, is graded 1 through 4, based on the ratio of lean meat to fat on the carcass, with number 1 yielding the highest proportion of lean. Unlike beef and veal, the grades of pork are not marketed to the public. Almost all pork sold to consumers is number 1 grade,