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steak

Ireland: Gaelic Steak (March 16, 2008)

This dish is a fairly modern one -- dating back not much further than the last century -- and the name "Gaelic" may be doubly appropriate, since the basic concept may possibly have been adapted into Irish cooking from that other great nation of the Gaels, Scotland.

Naturally this works best with Irish beef. But those who have no access to that should seek out a butcher who at least ages his or her beef for ten to fourteen days before sale. Prime ingredients are important for this dish.

EuroCuisineGuy, our local expert at the whiskey end of things, suggests that the cook should select a stronger-flavored Irish whiskey like Jameson's, which is robust enough to stand up to the deglazing process that produces the sauce without losing its unique character when the alcohol cooks off. Additionally, there are versions of this recipe that call for flambéeing the steak in the whiskey. EuroCuisineGuy suggests that this is just showing off, and feels strongly that simply reducing the whiskey and then further reducing the sauce after adding the cream produces a better flavored final result.

Click on "read more" for the recipe.

Ireland: Gammon Steak with Sauteed Apples and Whiskey Sauce (March 7, 2008)

The word gammon goes back a long way, at least to the fourteenth century. It may have come into English from French, as the word jambon starts being used for ham in the middle-French dialects around the same time. Once gammon meant any rear haunch of a pig, or specifically the ham: later it came to mean some of the side cuts as well, though only as long as they were still attached to the pig's haunch while the meat was being cured. Today it simply means ham, and "gammon steak" is ham steak.

Generally speaking, gammon steak isn't a dish you would often see offered at breakfast in Ireland (though some hotels might do it). It's more usually a lunch or dinner entree. At a pub it would most likely turn up with chips / fries on the side, as so many things do here. (The illustration shows champ and braised cabbage, which are a good idea too. There should be some kind of mashed potato preparation involved, so that the sauce that comes iwth this recipe has something to soak it up.)

This treatment is particularly nice because of the synergy of the apples and the whiskey in the sauce. Try to use a tart apple like a Granny Smith or Bramley for this: the sweeter eating apples won't work so well.

Click on "read more" for the recipe.

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