5 replies to this topic

[ned]

I keep reading and then obsessing over a short essay by Josef Wechsburg called "Tafelspitz in the Hofrat." Maybe I've got the name a little wrong. In any case the essay is about the heyday of boiled beef in Austria. I really want to try cooking beef in this way but the essay sadly give little instruction from the procedural end. Does anyone out there have any Tafelspitz experience they'd like to share?

[KatieLoeb]

Many of the finest restaurants in Vienna have this dish on their menu. Every Oma has her own version. Think of this as Austrian pot roast. Comes out on a big platter and you serve the meat with applesauce laced with freshly grated horseradish on the side. A bowl for the broth and veggie bits is good on the side as well, but that's just my preference.

Delicious and simple stuff. A good recipe can be found HERE.

[ned]

I had a go at tafelspitz last night. We started by poaching a brisket in very lightly salted water with carrot and onion, skimming as we went along to create a mostly clear broth. The vegetables were removed as they became weary and new ones were intoduced. We cooked the brisket for about four hours in this way. About forty minutes before serving we added nicely sliced celeriac, carrot and leek. At around this time in a separate pot (so as not to dirty the broth) I poached beef ribs, from the rib chop but minus the chop, that had only a little meat on them. When they had leached all their blood and were mostly cooked I added them to the main pot. The meat and vegetables were removed and the broth lightly seasoned. We sliced the brisket, served with a ladle of broth, a rib, a few chucks of vegetable and a nice spoonful of fresh horseradish sauce (horseradish grated on a box grater, creme fraiche, heavy cream, salt, pepper, sugar and lemon juice).

Tafelspitz is a simple thing that trades on nuance. A delicate hand (and lots of experience) can make this a very special dish.

[Vlcatko]

In case someone was still interested in this:

Tafelspitz is indeed one of "national dishes" of Austria but I believe it is not merely a boiled beef. It is a bit more complex than that.

Very famous restaurant in Vienna that serves excellent tafelspitz is Plachutta. I have been there and it was indeed marvelous, but more about that later.

First, "real" tafelspitz is made from one specific cut of beef (the cut is called tafelspitz). I know many countries have different cuts and so it is probably not very common to find it - one usually has to request it (providing you are not in Austria and that your butcher is informed enough to know what are you talking about - most butchers here sadly aren't).

Next, what you get when you order tafelspitz at Plachutta (it is possible that elsewhere it is just the meat) is actually a whole menu, not a single dish (and it is enough to feed 2, maybe even more, people). There are toasted slices of rye bread for the bone marrow from the bone which is in the pot with the beef itself. That's your starter. Then there's the incredible meaty broth which you can enjoy by itself or with some of the cooked vegetables (or noodles, which they also bring as a matter of fact) - soup. And finally there's the tender and juicy meat and an assortment of side dishes - traditionally sautéed grated potatoes, beans, spinach with cream and different condiments - horseradish sauce, chive sauce...

During my visit at Plachutta, it was not possible to eat everything - there's simply too much for one person. But let me tell you, it is worth it - even if you are unable to finish everything, every single bite/slurp is a bliss. Some of my fondest memories of Vienna are of the incredible broth which was so clear it might have been called consommé and so flavorful I wanted to be saturated with it

There are several books with Plachutta recipes. I have none of them but I found a recipe posted in Czech somewhere and according to the poster it is from the Plachutta book.

- 1 onion, unpeeled and halved
- 2 kg tafelspitz
- 3.5 l water
- 10-15 pieces of black pepper
- 250 g of assorted root vegetables (carrot, celery, parsley...) - yellow carrot is a signature vegetable of Plachutta's tafelspitz
- 1/2 leek (white part only)
- granulated bouillon, as needed (I can't believe that great flavor came from granules, but the poster swears it is in the book)

Caramelize the onion halves till almost black, wash the meat with tepid water, drain and bring to boil. Lower the heat, add the onion and pepper and cook over low heat (under 100°C) for at least 2.5 hours until done (pierce the meat with a long metal skewer/fork and lift - if it "tears" by its own weight it is done). Around 25 minutes before 2.5 hour mark add your vegetables.

There are no marrow bones in the recipe but it could be a transcription error or it is a variant without them - I think everyone here can play with the recipe according to their own tastes...

I hope this is helpful...

Edited by Vlcatko, 27 April 2011 - 04:57 AM.

[Vlcatko]

Also, I later found these two recipes which seem really authentic.

The Passionate Cook.com - should be from one of the Plachutta books but seems more complete than the one I re-translated from Czech.

Classic Tafelspitz @ Wien.info - good source if you plan to visit Vianna.

[pep.]

Also, I later found these two recipes which seem really authentic.

The Passionate Cook.com - should be from one of the Plachutta books but seems more complete than the one I re-translated from Czech.

Classic Tafelspitz @ Wien.info - good source if you plan to visit Vianna.

If anyone is interested, I have several of Ewald Plachutta's books (Die gute Küche I + II, Kochschule) and can translate the recipe if necessary. The granuled bouillon could be correct, I was similarly stymied when I reread one of the recipes recently. It seems that these were adapted for home cooks (but the recipes are quite good nonetheless).

If you want a truly classical recipe for Tafelspitz, you'd have to look into Franz Maier-Bruck "Klassische Österreichische Küche" (vormals "Das große Sacher-Kochbuch"). It's a bit old-ish (1975), and I think some procedures where rather old-fashioned even then, but this is the authoritative book an classical Austrian cuisine. Anyway, I have that one available, too.