Every Christmas since I've been alive, and generations before that, my family has faithfully prepared their version of a traditional Swedish dish, more rooted in community survival during the hard winter months than anything yule. In the dead of winter when food stores would get low, entire villages/neighborhoods would gather at a central house, each family bringing what meat and vegetables (and firewood) they had to share, and all would be tossed into a huge communal kettle over a "yule"-type fire. The resulting slumgullion was eaten from, often ladled over various breads, for many days, helping all in the community to survive til Spring.
There are a lot of variations of this, many winding up an au jus fondue instead of the substantive fare we eat here in the Great White North, but my version both tastes better and is easier to make. It starts like this:
Dopp i Gryta (Dip-in-the-kettle)
ingredients:
one 2-3lb. pork roast (we use shoulder or rib)
one 2-3 lb. beef roast (virtually any roast, chuck is great for this)
(optional) one 2-3 lb. venison roast (it lends with tradition, few use it anymore)
"a few" tablespoons whole allspice
6+ whole bay leaves
loaves of various artisan breads, pumpernickel, rye, heavy wheat---Or just some store-bought Wonder Bread--It don't matter!
that's IT
I baked, and did a lousy job. I'm usually way better at it.
Here's "the beef"
First, one must have access to a LARGE kettle, mine being 3 gallon. The allspice can be added loose (like my mother did every year), but you bite into one of these and the experience changes, not for the better. What I do is bag the allspice in cheesecloth, the flavor is still distributed, but unless the bag is ruptured during cooking, the risk of getting one in a bite of finished product in minimalized.
Put ALL ingredients into the LARGE kettle.
Cover with water.
Set the stove to medium/medium high, let it come to a boil, after which lower the heat for a slow simmer.
Let the kettle simmer for several hours, until meat falls from bone. Pull the meats out and separate and discard bones. Shred meats into small pieces-yet not "pulled". Return meat to the kettle and continue simmering OVER NIGHT. Perhaps I didn't mention: This is a breakfast dish.
I will post more pics as I get to the pertinent points in the timeframe...But that is basically it. In the morning, instead of frying bacon and making omelets or rellenos, enjoy opening presents and picking up wrapping paper, then throw a few slices of bread on a plate, ladle from the kettle onto the bread, salt & pepper to taste, and tell me this ain't the BEST au jus breakfast you'd ever had!! I'm going to make a side-pot in the morning with some of Chris Joyner's pepper powders. Just not sure which one yet...
Enjoy!!
There are a lot of variations of this, many winding up an au jus fondue instead of the substantive fare we eat here in the Great White North, but my version both tastes better and is easier to make. It starts like this:
Dopp i Gryta (Dip-in-the-kettle)
ingredients:
one 2-3lb. pork roast (we use shoulder or rib)
one 2-3 lb. beef roast (virtually any roast, chuck is great for this)
(optional) one 2-3 lb. venison roast (it lends with tradition, few use it anymore)
"a few" tablespoons whole allspice
6+ whole bay leaves
loaves of various artisan breads, pumpernickel, rye, heavy wheat---Or just some store-bought Wonder Bread--It don't matter!
that's IT
I baked, and did a lousy job. I'm usually way better at it.
Here's "the beef"
First, one must have access to a LARGE kettle, mine being 3 gallon. The allspice can be added loose (like my mother did every year), but you bite into one of these and the experience changes, not for the better. What I do is bag the allspice in cheesecloth, the flavor is still distributed, but unless the bag is ruptured during cooking, the risk of getting one in a bite of finished product in minimalized.
Put ALL ingredients into the LARGE kettle.
Cover with water.
Set the stove to medium/medium high, let it come to a boil, after which lower the heat for a slow simmer.
Let the kettle simmer for several hours, until meat falls from bone. Pull the meats out and separate and discard bones. Shred meats into small pieces-yet not "pulled". Return meat to the kettle and continue simmering OVER NIGHT. Perhaps I didn't mention: This is a breakfast dish.
I will post more pics as I get to the pertinent points in the timeframe...But that is basically it. In the morning, instead of frying bacon and making omelets or rellenos, enjoy opening presents and picking up wrapping paper, then throw a few slices of bread on a plate, ladle from the kettle onto the bread, salt & pepper to taste, and tell me this ain't the BEST au jus breakfast you'd ever had!! I'm going to make a side-pot in the morning with some of Chris Joyner's pepper powders. Just not sure which one yet...
Enjoy!!
My mom used to skip this step and let people do their own boning and portioning of meat, but once certain members of the family got into it there was usually little meat left....
