Written by Péter Pataky
Martin's Day was the last holiday before the 40-day fast before Christmas. It celebrated the end of the harvest and the harvest season, typically with a big feast. If they were lucky, the first new wines would be ripe by early to mid-November, so everything was in place for a good time. The most characteristic dish of the feast was the roast goose, but those who had duck for dinner didn't complain.
(food prepared and photographed by Péter Pataky)
Before the advent of refrigerators, the main way to cure meat, apart from salting and smoking, was
was confit. The meat was cooked slowly and gently in its own fat, with minimal spices added. When they were tender, the fat was drizzled over them, carefully to avoid spilling any of the juices that had collected at the bottom of the fat, as the fat would spoil the meat more quickly. If they were clever, meat prepared in this way would keep in the larder until spring. When they needed it, they just took a few pieces out of the fat and ate it either cold with bread and its own fat, or in the oven, sparrowed and roasted as if it had been freshly baked.
Many of today's households and restaurants still prefer to use this process to preserve meat and speed up service. However, it also has a number of disadvantages
the technology. The huge amount of fat makes the process significantly more expensive. A full vacuum, and therefore an oxygen-free environment, cannot be achieved, so the meat may oxidise to some extent, and may also keep for less time than if vacuum packed.
That's fine so far, but where does that leave the original, grandmother's homemade grease libacomb taste when vacuum packed? What happens to the famous French confit duck when it is heat treated in this way? A Matusz-Vad sous vide your supply partner (whose products
Hungarian Gourmet available on the market) has found a way to do this.
(food prepared and photographed by Péter Pataky)
The confit-sous vide Goose and duck legs are vacuum-cooked in house-cooked duck fat at the Tiszalök plant and prepared for almost a whole day at low temperatures to achieve the best possible end result, whether it's taste, texture, juiciness or shelf life. The products have been on the market for years, with more and more hotels and restaurants choosing to
will opt for our predictable, easy to dose, reliable and consistent quality products. Meat prepared in this way is never over or under seasoned, never under or over cooked, and can be on the table fresh, hot and crispy within 15-20 minutes of your order. They are also a great service for a well-organised and pre-arranged dinner party. sous vide products, because we just put them on trays before serving and put them in the oven 15 minutes before serving. Another of their strengths comes during A'la carte service, when you don't know exactly how many guests you'll have and who will eat what. This is also when
a sous vide is the best solution, as it is always produced in minutes, always in perfect quality, with almost no loss. The vacuum bags in the duck fat is perfect for any kind of cooking, you can roast potatoes as a side dish, and the juices from the meat can be collected and used as a great sauce base. You can make a stew, a quick fruit or mushroom sauce in minutes.
(food prepared and photographed by Péter Pataky)
A sous vide It's no coincidence that technology has trickled down from the world's best restaurants to more casual eateries, street food and now to the family table. It's predictable, reliable, fast, healthy and still has the WOW FACTOR, which means that the customer smiles and exclaims: how did you make this so good?! And what is hospitality all about if not satisfied and happy guests...?
(food prepared and photographed by Péter Pataky)
Good to know: Look for dozens of our sous vide products on the Matusz-Vad website, in the search box type: SOUS VIDE
