Category Archives: Meat and Poultry

“Old country” dishes revolving around meat and poultry.

Meat and Poultry

Pork Chops with Corn Dressing

Pork chops smothered in a top dressing of sage-seasoned sweet creamed corn, baked to a lovely crisp crust with a moist, savory interior.

Ingredients for Pork Chops with Corn Dressing

  • 4 pork chops, thick cut
  • 6 slices whole grain bread (best day-old)
  • 1 small chopped onion
  • 1 egg
  • 1 can creamed corn
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 t or more rubbed sage
  • oil
  • 2 T finely chopped celery
  • 2 T finely chopped green pepper
  • broth to moisten

Brown the pork chops in oil. Place in deep oven-proof dish in single layer.

Combine finely chopped or crumbled bread, onion, egg, creamed corn, celery, green pepper, and seasonings. Moisten with broth if necessary. Spoon on top of chops and smooth out to edges in even layer.

Bake at 350 F for 1- ½ hrs.

Serve with pan-fried potatoes.

Garden sage

Sages, from Botanical.com

Sage Herb (Salvia Officinalis)

Culinary Sage

Meat and Poultry, Vegetables and Salads

White Bean and Ham Salad

White beans are very popular in Mediterranean cuisine. A number of bean varieties are referred to as white beans, and those include cannellini beans, Great Northern beans, navy beans, and baby lima beans. They all cook relatively quickly, have a mild taste, and are creamy and rich.

This recipe definitely gains flavor as it sits and chills. Consider preparing it well ahead of time, even the day before.

White Bean and Ham Salad recipe ingredients

2 cups cooked white beans
2 cups diced tomatoes
1 large red onion, chopped
2 cups cooked ham, julienned
3/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
5 large garlic cloves, crushed
1-1/2 T Dijon mustard

How to prepare White Bean and Ham Salad

Combine beans, tomatoes, onion, ham and basil. Toss gently.

Whisk olive oil, vinegar, garlic and mustard until blended. Season to taste. Pour over bean mixture. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Nutritional Information for Cannellini Beans

Nutritional information is available from the USDA FoodData Central – Cannellini Bean Nutrition Facts

Veganize your White Bean (no Ham) salad

Simply leave out the ham and add a half-teaspoon or more to taste of smoked paprika or liquid smoke.

white beans
Appetizers, Meat and Poultry

Chopped Liver

Okay, so a bunch of chicken fat and livers and eggs might not sound healthy, but it’s what we used to eat all the time when we devoured chopped liver sandwiches on rye with a pickle on the side…

Ingredients for Chopped Beef or Chicken Livers

  • 1 lb beef and/or chicken livers
  • 2 T chicken fat
  • 2 sliced onions
  • 2 hard cooked eggs
  • 1 T chicken fat
  • salt and pepper

Saute liver in 2 T chicken fat for 10 minutes. Chop liver coarsely with onions and hard-cooked eggs. Blend in 2 T chicken fat, salt and pepper to taste. Chill. Serve with crackers or toast.

Meat and Poultry

Turkey Stuffing

A sage stuffing with creamed and kernel corn.

Turkey gizzards, liver, heart from  one 14-16 lb. turkey
5 extra chicken livers, if desired
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 can creamed corn
1 can kernel corn
1 loaf or more of sliced wholewheat bread, as needed to stuff turkey
2 eggs
4 pork sausages, fried and crumbled (optional)
1 T rubbed sage
2 tsp thyme
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt

Saute the turkey and chicken innards in butter or oil. Remove and chop finely. In same pan, saute onion, green pepper and celery until softened. Cube the bread and place in large bowl. Add the livers, onion mix and corn and mix well. Add eggs and sausages. If the mixture is very mushy, add more bread. Throw in herbs and spices and mix well. Stuff into both turkey cavities, seal, and roast.

Sage turkey stuffing
This could be a stuffed turkey–or perhaps what I look like after eating it.

Meat and Poultry

Baked Pork Chops in Sour Cream

Polish Baked Pork Chops in Sour Cream

Wieprzowina w Smietanie

  • 4 thick-cut pork chops (3/4″)
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 T sugar
  • 2 T vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Season the pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper and brown in butter. Mix together vinegar, sugar and water and pour over the pork chops. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer gently about 1-1/4 hours or until chops are tender.

Add sour cream and heat without boiling.

Pork chops

Sour cream is used primarily in the cuisines of Europe and North America, often as a condiment. It is a traditional topping for baked potatoes, added cold along with chopped fresh chives. It is used as the base for some creamy salad dressings and can also be used in baking, added to the mix for cakes, cookies, American-style biscuits, doughnuts and scones. It can be eaten as a dessert, with fruits or berries and sugar topping. Also, it is sometimes used on top of waffles in addition to strawberry jam. In Central America, crema (a variation of sour cream) is a staple ingredient of a full breakfast.

Sour cream. (2016, December 28). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:41, December 28, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sour_cream&oldid=757081067.

Meat and Poultry

Segadin–Hungarian pork and sauerkraut stew

Székelygulyás: a rich pork and sauerkraut stew (goulash), perfect when accompanied by dumplings, noodles, potatoes or rice.

This simple and straightforward recipe was translation by Dad from Az Ìnyesmester Szakácskônyve (The Expert’s Cookbook).

Ingredients for Segadin (a Hungarian pork and sauerkraut stew)

  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 T lard (or oil)
  • 2 lbs. pork
  • 2 lbs. sauerkraut
  • Flour
  • Sour cream

Brown the finely chopped onion in 1 T lard, with paprika. Add 2 lbs. diced pork. Cook until tender. In separate pan, warm 2 lbs. sauerkraut. Thicken with flour. Mix together with pork and sour cream to taste.

Wesselburenkraut 19.06.2012 18-35-26
By Dirk Ingo Franke (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Meat and Poultry, Soups and Stews

Goulash Soup

A hearty Hungarian beef soup.

  • 1 lb. stewing beef, cubed
  • 6 cups beef broth
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 3 white potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1 t paprika
  • salt and pepper

Brown beef well in oil. Add onion and cook until soft. Add paprika and stir for a minute to release fragrance, then throw in the preheated beef broth. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer until beef is tender. Add potatoes and continue simmering until potatoes are tender.

Meat and Poultry, Soups and Stews

Ashkenazic Chicken Soup

Ashkenazic Chicken Soup and Matzo Balls with Fresh Dill

  • 2 lb chicken wings or drumsticks
  • 9 cups cold water
  • 1 large onion, peeled
  • 1 large carrot, peeled
  • 1 small parsnip, peeled (opt)
  • 2 celery stalks, including leafy tops
  • 5 parsley sprigs
  • 3 dill sprigs
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 1 T snipped fresh dill

Matzo Balls

  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 T vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup Matzo meal
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 2 T water or chicken soup
  • 2 quarts salted water for simmering

Combine chicken wings, water, onion, carrot, parsnip, celery, parsley and dill sprigs, and pinch of salt to a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Partly cover and simmer 2 hours, skimming occasionally. Skim off excess fat. (Chicken soup can be kept 3 days in refrigerator or can be frozen; reheat before serving.)

Make matzo balls: In a medium bowl, lightly beat eggs with oil. Add matzo meal, salt and stir until smooth. Stir in water, then let mixture stand for 20 minutes so matzo meal absorbs liquid. Bring salted water to a boil. With wet hands, roll about 1 teaspoon of matzo ball mixture between your palms into a ball; mixture will be very soft. Set balls on a plate.

With a rubber spatula, carefully slide balls into boiling water. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes or until firm. Cover and keep warm until ready to serve. (Matzo balls can be kept 2 days in their cooking liquid in a covered container in refrigerator; reheat gently in cooking liquid or in soup.)

To serve soup, remove chicken wings, onion, celery, parsnip, parsley and dill sprigs. Take meat off bones and add to soup; or reserve for other uses. Add pepper to soup, stir in snipped dill and taste soup for seasoning. Slice carrot and add a few slices to each bowl. With a slotted spoon, add a few matzo balls. Serve hot.

8 servings

Meat and Poultry

Mom’s Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

This recipe for cabbage rolls is the basic Eastern European version that we knew as kids: a savory melding of rice and ground meat rolled in cabbage leaves and smothered in thick tomato sauce. It was always served with sour cream.

Mom would make a whole turkey pan full of cabbage rolls, enough to feed the six of us and more for at least  two or three sittings. As the leftovers sat and aged in their sauce over the next few days, the taste intensified and filled out… I always preferred leftover cabbage rolls over freshly made ones.

There are endless variations of cabbage rolls. One Ukrainian version is pickled cabbage leaves (sauerkraut style) stuffed  with fried onions, ground meat, and buckwheat and baked in a meaty broth instead of tomato sauce. Similar cousins  are rice and lamb stuffed grape leaves in Middle Eastern cuisine.

Ingredients for Mom’s Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

  • 1 head of cabbage
  • 1 lb. mixed ground beef and ground pork (either half and half or slightly more beef than pork)
  • 1 finely minced onion
  • 1 cup cooked rice
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1-1/2 t salt
  • 1/4 t pepper
  • 1 large can tomato soup + 3 T ketchup*
  • 1 cup water
  • Sour cream for serving

Core cabbage. Place in large pot of boiling water with a splash of vinegar. Cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and let stand 10 to 15 minutes to cool. Sauté onion in a little butter. Mix together the ground beef, onion, rice, salt and pepper. Separate cabbage leaves. Shave off the ribs. Put a large spoonful of meat mix at the base of each leaf and roll up tightly. May fasten with toothpicks. Place in an oiled oven pan, nestling the rolls together so they won’t unroll. Mix together the tomato juice, catchup, and water. Pour over cabbage rolls. Bake, covered, at about 325 F for 1-1/2 hours.

These are best removed from the oven and let sit to settle and thicken the sauce a bit before serving. Place bowls of thick sour cream on the table, and mound a large tablespoonful of the cream on each cabbage roll before eating.

* Mom always swore by Aylmer’s tomato soup instead of tomato puree for making real Cabbage rolls., but it wasn’t always easy to find.

cabbage for cabbage rolls

Meat and Poultry, Noodles and Dumplings

Hungarian Liver Dumplings

Májgombóc

Recipe from Az Ìnyesmester Szakácskônyve (The Expert’s Cookbook)

  • 6 oz veal, pork, or chicken livers
  • 1 T chopped onion
  • 1 T chopped parsley
  • Lard for cooking
  • 1/2 to 1 bread roll
  • 1 egg
  • breadcrumbs

Finely chop the liver and run through. Add onion and parsley. Saute in lard. Add ½ – 1 bread roll, softened in milk. Add 1 egg and a few more crumbs if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Cook in water or broth.