Pennsylvania Dutch Main Dishes

 

“Eat yourself full of what we got”

PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH

Main Dishes

CREAMED CABBAGE and DRIED BEEF

• ½ large head cabbage
• ¼ lb. dried beef
• 1½ cups white sauce
• ½ cup buttered crumbs

Chop cabbage coarsely and cook in salted water until tender, then drain. Chop the dried beef and soak in a little warm water for 10 minutes. Grease a casserole and in it place alternate layers of cabbage and dried beef. Pour the white sauce over it and top with buttered bread crumbs. Bake in moderate oven (350-f) 25 minutes.

DUTCH NOODLE CHEESE RING

• 1 cup egg noodles
• 3 tblsp. butter
• 3 tblsp. flour
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. paprika
• 1½ cups milk
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• Swiss cheese (¼ to ½ lb.)

Boil noodles in salted water until tender. Drain and place in well-greased ring mold. Melt the butter, add flour and blend smooth. Stir in milk and cook, stirring constantly until it thickens. Add seasoning and cheese cut in small pieces. Cook until cheese melts. To ½ of the sauce add the well-beaten eggs and mix well. Pour this over the noodles. Set mold in pan of hot water and bake in moderate (350-f) oven 45 minutes. Unmold on large platter, pour over the remaining hot cheese sauce. Fill center with peas, and carrots or spinach.

 

POTATO FILLING

• 2 cups mashed potatoes
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 qt. stale bread, cubed
• 2 tblsp. butter
• 1 onion, minced
• ½ cup celery, diced
• 1 tblsp. minced parsley
• 1 tsp. salt
• pinch of pepper

Put the beaten egg into the mashed potatoes and mix well. Melt the butter in a large skillet and saute the onion and celery. Stir in the bread crumbs to toast for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Add all the other ingredients, combine with the potatoes and mix thoroughly.

DUTCH CABBAGE ROLLS

• 1 lb. ground beef
• ⅓ cup rice, uncooked
• 1 egg
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 2 tblsp. shortening
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 can tomato soup
• ½ cup celery, chopped
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. parsley, minced
• 6 cabbage leaves
• salt and pepper

Combine meat, salt, pepper, rice and egg, mix well. For the sauce: saute onion in the butter until soft. Add tomato soup and equal amount of water to onion, also celery, parsley, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes. Wash the cabbage leaves and boil until tender. Put equal amounts of the meat mixture into cabbage leaves, roll tightly and secure with toothpicks. Place rolls in sauce pan, pour sauce over them, cover pan and cook very slowly for 3 hours.

DUCK UN KRAUT

Prepare a young duck for roasting. Place in a roasting pan and add 2 quarts of sauerkraut, 1 cup of water and 3 tablespoons granulated sugar. Cover and bake until duck is tender and golden brown. Serve with creamy mashed potatoes.

PORK POT PIE with DUMPLINGS

• 8 loin pork chops
• 2 qts. water
• 1 dumpling recipe
• 4 medium potatoes
• 1 lb. sausage in casing

Boil the pork chops in water for ½ hour. Then add the potatoes cut in half and the sausage cut in 1 inch pieces. Cook until potatoes are almost done. Drop well-beaten dumpling dough into the boiling meat mixture, cover and cook 10 minutes.

SAUERBRATEN

2 inch thick piece of chuck, pot roast or tender boiling beef. Place in dish or bowl and cover with solution of half vinegar and half water, put in two large onions sliced. Do this two or three days before the meat is wanted. On the day before it is to be cooked cut 3 or 4 slices of bacon into 1" pieces and chop fine 1 tablespoon of the onion which has been soaking in the vinegar. Cut holes in the meat 1 or 2 inches apart and stuff bits of the bacon and chopped onion into the holes. Put the meat back into the solution, add 1 tablespoon whole cloves and 1 teaspoon whole allspice. Bake the meat as a pot roast in part of the solution, until tender. Use more of the solution, adding sugar to taste, in making the gravy which will be almost black.

 

HORSERADISH SAUCE
For Boiled beef or Corned beef

• 2 tblsp. butter
• 2 tblsp. flour
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ cup grated horseradish
• ¼ tsp. dry mustard
• salt and pepper

Melt butter, remove from heat and stir in flour. Add the milk gradually, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. Add salt and pepper and cook for 3 minutes more. Add the grated horseradish and dry mustard and blend well. Keep hot in double boiler. Serve on slices of boiled beef or corned beef.

SCHNITZEL MEAT

• 1½ lbs. veal steak cut in cubes
• 2 tblsp. shortening
• 2 tblsp. flour
• 1 cup tomato juice
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 small onion, chopped fine.
• Salt and pepper
• Flour

Dredge meat with flour and season. Melt shortening (preferably bacon fat) and brown the meat in it. Remove meat from the pan, stir in the flour and blend. Add the tomato juice and stir well until mixture thickens. Add meat, carrots and onion. Cover closely and simmer for 45 minutes.

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CHICKEN POT PIE

• 1 cup flour
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ½ egg shell of water
• small teaspoon salt

Mix the above ingredients, roll out and cut in two inch squares. Flour chicken and fry in butter. Put layers of chicken, potato slices, sliced onion and squares of pot-pie dough. Barely cover with boiling water and cook for two hours.

HAM and NOODLES IN CASSEROLE

• ½ lb. noodles
• 1½ cups cooked ham, diced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1½ cups milk

Cook noodles in salted boiling water until soft. Pour into colander, drain and wash. Into a well greased casserole put alternate layers of noodles and ham. Beat eggs with the milk and pour over noodles and ham. Set casserole in pan of hot water and bake in moderate oven (350-f) for 30 minutes.

CHICKEN FRICASSEE

• chicken cut up
• butter for frying
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons butter
• boiled rice
• 2 cups water
• 12 small white onions
• small pinch each of thyme,
• celery salt and sage

Roll chicken pieces in flour and brown in butter. Add remaining ingredients and cook until tender, adding water so that there are 2 cups at end of cooking. Make gravy by adding 3 tablespoons of hot liquid to yolk of an egg. Stir thoroughly, then return to rest of liquid and cook five minutes. Pour over steamed rice.

 

BEEF POT PIE

• 2 lbs. stewing beef
• 6 medium potatoes
• pot pie dough
• 2 onions
• chopped parsley
• salt and pepper

Cut the beef into 1" cubes cover with water, season and boil until tender. Peel potatoes, cut in ¼" slices and slice the onion. Into the hot broth drop layers of potatoes, onions, a sprinkling of parsley and dough squares alternately, ending with dough on top. Cover and boil for 20 minutes. Stir meat thru pot pie.

For the pot pie dough:

To 2 cups of flour add a little salt, 1 egg, beaten and enough milk to make a stiff dough. Roll out thin (⅛") on floured board and cut into 2" squares. Equally good with veal or pork.

PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH BEEF WITH ONIONS

• 1½ lbs. boiled beef
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 onion
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 pinch of pepper
• ½ cup meat stock
• salt

Mince the onion. Simmer in butter until soft. Add flour and simmer until brown. To this add vinegar, salt, pepper and meat stock and let come to a boil. Cut the meat in slices and serve hot, with the onion sauce.

WIENER SCHNITZEL (Veal Cutlet)

• 2 lbs. veal steak
• 1 egg, beaten
• salt
• bread crumbs
• lemon juice
• pepper

Veal should be about ½ inch thick and cut into serving portions. Season with salt and pepper. Dip pieces in bread crumbs, then into the beaten egg and again in the crumbs. Let stand in the refrigerator a while before cooking. Brown in hot fat on both sides, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

HAMBURGER DINNER

• 1 lb. hamburger
• 3 cups potatoes, sliced
• salt
• 1 small head cabbage
• 1 cup milk
• pepper

Shred cabbage and put ½ of it in a greased casserole. Add ½ of the sliced potatoes and half of the hamburger a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Add remaining half in the same manner. Pour on the milk and bake in a moderate oven (350-f) for 2 hours.

CHICKEN BAKED in CREAM

• 1 young chicken, cut up
• ½ cup flour
• 1½ tsp. salt
• ⅛ tsp. pepper
• 3 tblsp. butter
• 1½ cups cream, sweet or sour

Sprinkle the pieces of chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. Melt butter and fry chicken until a golden brown on all sides. Place the chicken in a casserole, pour the cream over it. Cover and bake in a moderate oven (350-f) for 2 hours. Serve with gravy made from the pan fryings left after frying the chicken.

 

DUTCH MEAT LOAF

• 2½ lbs. hamburg
• 2½ cups bread crumbs
• 1 cup cheese (cubed small)
• salt and pepper
• ½ green pepper, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup catsup

Mix all ingredients, form into two loaves. Pour some catsup over top of loaves. Bake at 350 until done.

LIVER NOODLES (Leberknoedel)

• 1 lb. calf’s liver
• 1 onion
• 1 tablespoon butter
• salt and pepper
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup flour
• ¼ teaspoon cloves
• ¼ teaspoon marjoram

Simmer the liver in boiling water for 30 minutes. Then trim off any skin or ligaments and grind the liver fine. Season. Mince the onion, add the butter, beat the eggs and add them. Work into this paste the flour, using enough to make the paste quite stiff. Form into small balls and poach them in any meat soup for 15 minutes. Serve them swimming in the soup.

STUFFED PEPPERS

• 1½ lbs. ground beef and pork
• 6 green peppers
• 1 can tomato soup
• 3 tblsp. rice, uncooked
• 2 eggs, beaten
• ½ tsp. salt

Mix the meat, rice, eggs and seasoning together. Cut tops off the peppers and soak in hot water for a couple of minutes. Scoop out seeds and fill with the meat mixture. Stand them in baking pan, pour the tomato soup over them and bake in slow oven (300-f) for 1 hour.

MEAT PIE

• 1½ cups leftover meat
• 3 tblsp. flour
• ¼ cup drippings
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tblsp. grated onion
• ⅓ cup chopped pepper
• salt
• pepper

Add flour to drippings and blend, add milk gradually and cook, stirring constantly until it thickens. Stir in the salt, onion and green pepper. Mix cut-up meat into the gravy and pour it into pastry lined baking dish. Top with crust and bake in hot oven (425-f) for 25 minutes.

STUFFED ACORN SQUASH

• 3 acorn squash
• ⅓ cup molasses
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 lb. pork sausage
• 1 tsp. sage
• bread crumbs

Wash squash and cut in halves, remove seeds. Put a tablespoon of molasses in each half, sprinkle with salt and a pinch of powdered sage (if the sausage does not contain sage). Fill the cavity with sausage and top with bread crumbs. Place the squash halves in a baking pan, add about an inch of water to the pan. Cover and bake in hot oven (400-f) for 40 minutes. Remove cover and brown.

 

BAKED SPARERIBS and SAUERKRAUT
with Dumplings

• Spareribs
• sauerkraut
• 2 cups flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup milk

Cut spareribs into serving portions and place in the bottom of roasting pan. Add the sauerkraut and a little liquid. Cover and bake in moderate oven (350-f) 1½ hours. Make dumplings by combining flour, baking powder, milk and egg. Drop by spoonfuls on sauerkraut, cover tightly and bake for 20 minutes.

SOUSE

Use 3 pigs feet or about 2 lbs. Scrape, wash and clean thoroughly. Place in stew pan with 1 chopped onion, ½ cup chopped celery and cover with cold water. Let it come to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until meat is tender and comes easily from the bone. Pick meat from the bones, strain liquid, which should measure a scant 3 cups. (If less add water). Put meat and liquid into a bowl. Add 3 tblsp. strong cider vinegar, ¾ tsp. salt, black pepper and several thin slices of lemon. Chill overnight, remove surplus fat from the top. Turn out on a platter and serve with lemon slices and parsley.

PORK AND KRAUT (Speck Un Kraut)

• 2 or 3 lbs. fresh pork
• 1 qt. sauerkraut
• water
• salt and pepper

Put pork in large stew pan and cover with cold water, cook slowly for 1 hour. Add the sauerkraut making sure there is enough liquid in the pan to cover. Cook slowly for another hour. Season to taste. Serve with mashed or boiled potatoes.

MOCK DUCK

• 1 thick round steak
• 2 cups bread crumbs
• 1 tblsp. onion minced
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup milk
• 1 tblsp. butter
• 1 tsp. salt
• poultry seasoning

To make dressing beat eggs, add milk and pour over bread crumbs. Add the onion, seasoning and work in the butter mixing thoroughly. Spread the dressing over the meat and roll up carefully. Fasten with skewers or tie with string. Place in a greased pan and bake in medium hot oven (375-f) for 1½ hours. Slice to serve.

HOG MAW

• 1 pig’s stomach
• 2 lbs. smoked sausage meat, diced.
• 3 cups boiled potatoes, diced
• 3 cups sliced apples
• 2½ cups bread crumbs
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cups chopped celery
• chopped parsley
• salt and pepper

Clean stomach well and soak in salt water. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Stuff the stomach with the mixture and sew up the opening. Simmer for 2 hours in a large kettle with water to cover. Remove to baking pan with hot fat, brown in hot oven (400-f) basting frequently. Slice with sharp knife.

 

SCHNITZ UN KNEPP

Boil a 3 lb. piece of ham for two hours. Pick over and clean 1 qt. of dried apples; soak in enough water to cover. When meat has boiled for the stated time, add dried apples and water in which they have been soaking and continue to boil for another hour. Prepare dumpling batter as follows:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 egg
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 tblsp. melted shortening
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon salt

Sift together the dry ingredients and mix the dough with egg, which has been well beaten, the melted shortening and the milk. Drop batter by spoonfuls into the boiling liquor of the ham and apples. Cover tightly and cook for 15 minutes. Raisins may be added if desired.

HAM and GREEN BEANS

• 2 or 3 lbs. ham or ham bone
• 1 qt. green string beans
• potatoes
• salt and pepper

Place ham in large pot and cover with water. Cook slowly for a couple of hours (less if the ham is tenderized) keeping plenty of water on the ham. Clean and break-up the string beans, put them in with ham and cook for 25 minutes more. Add the potatoes, which have been pared and cut-up, and cook slowly until ready. Season to taste.

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SAUSAGE PATTIES

Equal amount of lean and fat fresh pork, ground. To each pound of this mixture, add 1 teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon pepper, pinch each of sage and thyme. Add one egg beaten, mould into cakes and fry until brown. Wonderful with pancakes or waffles.

DUTCH MEAT ROLLS (Boova Shenkel)

• 2½ lbs. beef
• 10 potatoes
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons minced parsley
• 1 chopped onion
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup milk
• 3 eggs
• 2½ cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon shortening
• 1 tablespoon butter

After seasoning the meat with salt and pepper, stew the meat for two hours. Then make dough with flour, baking powder, salt and the shortening. Mix into a pie-crust dough. Roll into a dozen circles 8 to 10 inches in diameter. Steam the potatoes, pared and sliced thin; add salt and pepper, 2 tablespoons of butter; the parsley and onions and then beat lightly the three eggs into the mixture. Put this mixture on the circles of dough after it has stood a little while. Fold half the circle of dough over like a half moon and press edges together tightly. Drop these into the pot with the meat and stew water. Cover tightly and cook for 30 minutes. Into a frying pan put a couple of tablespoons of fat skimmed from the stew before putting in the dough rolls, add to this 1 tablespoon of butter. In this brown small cubes of hard bread and stir in a half cup of milk. Pour this milk sauce over the Meat rolls when serving.

SCRAPPLE

• ½ lb. chopped raw meat (beef or pork)
• 1¼ teaspoons salt
• ⅛ teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup corn meal
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1¼ qts. water

Brown onion slowly in a little fat. Add meat, seasoning and water. Cook at simmering point 20 minutes. Add to corn meal and boil for 1 hour. Turn into a mold, cool, cut in slices and fry in fat until brown. Serve with gravy or tomato sauce.

PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH CHICKEN AND OYSTER PIE

• 1 stewing chicken
• 1 pt. oysters
• ¼ lb. butter
• salt and pepper
• a little flour
• pastry crust

Stew chicken until tender, season with ¼ lb. butter, salt and pepper. Line deep dish with pastry crust. Pour in the stewed chicken and cover loosely with a crust in the center of which a hole the size of a tea cup has been cut. Prepare separately 1 pt. oysters, heating the liquor with a little flour and water. Season with salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of butter. When it comes to a boil, pour over oysters. 20 minutes before pie is done, lift the top crust and put the oyster mixture in.

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