Bridgestone

I buy these all the time and, "Yes", authentic prosciutto can be really, really cheap. I'm willing to bet that the ham is boneless and that is has been sliced on a rotary slicer. Eventually, it gets small enough that either the personnel get worried about slicing their fingertips or the customers don't want such small-diameter slices. Either way, it's better to sell, say 3 pounds for five bucks then it is to throw 3 pounds away. If I find a fatty one I'll remove as much fat as possible and use it by itself. It makes a wonderful fat for use in risotto. I frequently end up grinding a good chunk or two to when making ground beef for meatballs or bolognese sauce. It makes an excellent, subtle addition.

Could the vinegar you soaked the horseradish in be the culprit? I've read that horseradish "heat" comes from an enzyme reaction that begins when the cells are crushed. Vinegar stops this reaction. So, soak your grated horseradish in vinegar immediately after grating to preserve a mild flavor. Or, let it sit for a few minutes before adding the vinegar to let it get more pungent.

Horse meat is available at one of the butchers I frequent in Stockholm. It turns out that Swedes eat a decent amount of horse but normally only (salted, smoked and thinly sliced) on sandwiches and/or mixed into sausages. I was curious to try horse in steak form. I picked up this steak: I'm not sure how much it weighed but it was probably somewhere around 250 grams. At 28 kronor (or, about 3 dollars), it was absurdly cheap. For perspective, the parking fees and tolls I paid while buying this steak cost more than the steak itself... I simply salted the meat and put it in a hot pan with plenty of butter. I like rare beef. I knew I wanted this steak to be rare and had the various preparations of raw horse meat I've seen in my mind as I cooked this steak. In the end, I took it off of the heat about one minute too early. I was also rushed to eat so I didn't let the meat rest enough before I sliced it. Here's a shot of some slices from the half I let rest properly: All in all, it was very tasty although disappointingly similar to wet-aged beef. The steak was extremely tender and I was able to taste a hint of sweetness and/or game every now and then. I'm glad to have finally tried horse meat but, as steaks for me are only an occasional splurge, will probably stick to dry-aged beef in the future.

No mystery, really. I used fingerling potatoes and cut the edges off to make roughly squared cylinders. I then peeled the edges to remove any non cut-off peel and sliced into discs. Thanks everyone for the kind words regarding anything I had to do with the steak! I'll pass on your admiration next time I stop by the butcher.

Speaking of good butchers... Here's the selection of dry-aged beef at my favorite butcher in Stockholm, Sweden: Starting at 12-o'clock is the 4-week Cote de Bouef. The 4-week "T-bones" (2-o'clock and porterhouses, really) were amazing (especially the one in back) but I'd had one not too long ago. At 3-o'clock, the "Gold"-level, 8-week strips are awesome... And, at 7-o'clock-ish, the true dry-aged tenderloin (they accomplish a true dry-age on the tenderloins by dipping them in tallow prior to aging) look incredible even if they aren't really my cut of beef... I ended up with the Cote de Bouef that was hidden under the one above. It was magnificently marbled and looked like it had been sitting around a bit extra (a good thing in this case...). At home: Grilled and served with pan-fried fingerling potatoes and green/wax beans: About as "well-done" as I'm willing to grill one of these incredible steaks.

Some pictures from a hare I cooked about a year ago. Marinate overnight: Ingredients for final dish: Brown the hare and braise in the chopped vegetables and reserved marinade: When tender, remove bones (while reducing the braising liquid) and chop the meat. Add to the reduced braising liquid. Boil some pasta and serve: Gamey, tasty and not too dry.

Not too sure, either, prasantrin... It may not be too apparent in the pictures above but I normally try to keep at least some of the capers whole or in large pieces. This way you'll get a bite every now or then with a caper kick. I can see how finely diced capers would disappear easily in a ground beef mixture. I used non-rinsed, brined capers. Better luck next time!

Yes, Adam, fresh burbot is very slimey.

(Go for it, monavano! You deserve it...)

Thanks you two! Peter the eater - that's a bunch of tarragon you see in the first picture. I used dried tarragon (plus the fresh stems) in the bernaise reduction and added plenty of chopped leaves to the finished sauce. Otherwise, this steak was seasoned with salt and a little ground pepper. Susan in FL - the butter flares a lot but closing the grill's lid and air vents keeps things from getting too sooty. Don't forget a little extra butter while the steak rests, either: Most of the butter, of course, simply runs off. But, the little bit that clings on certainly tastes delicious!

Biff Lindström - great idea, TheSwede! Here's one recipe. The ingredients (left to right, top to bottom): a couple tablespoons of capers (chopped), two anchovies (chopped), three egg yolks, a tablespoon of HP sauce (perhaps A-1 steak sauce or even a few drops of Worchestershire sauce would work?), three tablespoons pickled beets (chopped), a few tablespoons ground pork, about a pound of ground beef, an onion (chopped), a cooked potato (chopped) and a tablespoon dijon mustard. Start by mixing everything up. Of this mixture, make four large patties. I suggest serving this dish with pan-fried potatoes. So, after making your patties, peel as many potatoes as four people will eat and cut into uniform pieces. Fry in plenty of oil (I used a combination of canola and home-rendered lard as all of my duck fat is currently preserving a batch of confit) at a moderate heat until golden. Here's the potates as well as a few patties (one adult, two kiddie) frying: Serve with a vegetable of choice and with a fried egg on top.

30-day dry-aged porterhouse: Grilled over hardwood coals... ... sliced... ... and served with duck fat-fried potatoes, local asparagus and homemade bernaise: Incredible and satisfying enough to not desire beef for the rest of the week!

Good to see this wonderful post again! Adam mentioned burbot way back in post #118 but didn't actually have one. I bought and prepared one myself this past spring and thought I could add a little to this thread. Winter is the best time of the year to eat "lake", or burbot. Burbot are related to cod and live in the cold, dark, freshwater lakes of northern Sweden. They can, of course, be eaten year round. However, burbot spawn midwinter and therefore are full of roe between December and February. Burbot isn’t very popular in Sweden anymore. I bought this fish at giveaway prices and the fishmonger seemed surprised that I’d want it. He seemed downright suspicious when he noticed my accent but quickly warmed up when I mentioned that burbot, due to its slimy coating (the slime insulates them) and general low status amongst fishermen, are also known as “lawyers” in the Northern U.S. He even offered to inspect his four burbots to find the one with the most roe. Alas*, it seems I was a few weeks late in my searches as none of the burbots he had contained any roe. Back in its day, burbot was a pretty popular fish. Burbot can be caught by any number of means but one method was especially popular for generations of poorer Swedes. In midwinter, burbot swim from their deep lairs to spawn in shallow, shoreline waters. And, with the right conditions (i.e., clear, snow-free ice), burbot can be stunned by smaking the ice with a sledge. Apparently, one does not want to hammer through the ice but instead simply crack a “rose” in it. This stuns the burbot. One then may make a hole in the “rose” and retrieve the fish. And, finally, there is one aspect of the burbot that makes it especially appropriate for survival food: its liver. Burbot liver is both huge (up to 10% of its body weight) and packed full of vitamin D. The burbot: its liver: Start by filleting the burbot and setting aside the fillets along with the liver (and roe, if your burbot hasn’t spawned yet). With the scraps, bones and trimmings, make a quick stock. I simply rinsed the scraps in cold water and simmered them for about 45 minutes with ½ carrot, a little leek, 1 stalk of celery, a bay leaf and some thyme. The ingredients for the final dish: An onion, 1 stalk of celery, 1 small carrot, ½ of a leek, about 20 haricot verts (or, say 10 green beans), 1 tablespoon lemon juice, the burbot fillets and liver (about 1 ½ pounds – cod would make a fine substitute), one whole mace “flower” (maybe ½ tsp ground?), one bay leaf, ½ tablespoon instant-blending flour, ¾ cup white wine, 2 ½ cups of the burbot stock, 1 cup heavy cream or half & half, 2 egg yolks, about ½ cup broccoli florets (or peas or other green vegetable). Not pictured: 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar Start by adding the wine, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, mace and bay leaf to the stock and bringing it to a simmer. Add the fillets and the liver and simmer for 10-15 minutes. While the fish is simmering, finely chop the onion, carrot, celery and leek and haricot verts: Remove the fish (keep warm) and strain the stock. Bring the stock back to a boil and reduce by half. When reduced, add the cream… … and chopped vegetables: Simmer for about 5 minutes. Next, thicken the sauce. Start by adding the instant-blending flour: Whisk in the flour and let the sauce thicken for a few minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat and add (while whisking) the two egg yolks. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Place a serving of fish and liver on a plate, coat with sauce and vegetables, garnish and serve: All in all, an excellent dish. The burbot (both the liver and the fillets) is mild tasting and, apart from its firmness, could easily be substituted with any type of cod or firm whitefish. The sauce was very rich and I’d probably recommend using half-and-half for anyone even a little sensitive to rich dishes. Finally, the mace makes for an interesting spice. I’m normally not wild about mace by itself (too much of it makes everything taste like ketchup to me) and was concerned after tasting the poaching liquid. However, once thickened and full of fresh-tasting vegetables, the mace flavor had kindly retreated to the background. * I use “alas” lightly here. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I’ve become more and more squeamish about eating fish roe as report after report of collapsing fish stocks hits the newsstands.

Thanks! I used veal shoulder. By the looks of things, Operakällarens bakfika was an excellent choice! Many Swedish restaurants serving lunch will generally have a few daily choices of traditional Swedish fare or "Husmanskost". This particular dish would probably show up from time to time - especially now (in the winter). Although it's getting tougher and tougher to find places that actually make this fare from scratch...

Yup - you ate it! (Sorry for being smart...) What you had is called "Pepparrotskött" or "horseradish meat" and is a classic dish pulled out of Sweden's culinary roots. Pepparrotskött is really a cousin dish to a dish I've got some photos of. The only difference between these two really is the choice of meat (veal, lamb or beef are all acceptable) and the seasoning (dill or horseradish). Initial ingredients: Veal stock, veal, spices (thyme, allspice, black peppar, bay leaves), leeks, onions, carrots and parsley. Place all of these ingredients in a pot and simmer until tender (about 1 hour). After: (Save everything except the spices!) Next, make the sauce. Ingredients: The reserved stock, two egg yolks, sugar, concentrated distilled vinager, flour, dill, cream, butter. Bring the stock to a boil and add the flour (I made a slurry by adding a few tbls water): Add the cream and the sugar. Remove from the heat and add the egg yolks, the vinegar and a few knobs of butter. Add the dill: Finally, add the boiled meat and the reserved vegetables: Serve with a vegetable and boiled potatoes (and a Swedish ale if you've got one sitting around!). So, the preparation is, well, probably worldwide. However, the flavors (sweet, tangy and dill or horseradish) are very scandinavian!