What to do with 14.13LBS of Mortadella?
Too much meat, considering donating this but was wondering if there was anything exciting i could do with this much meat. I was thinking like large open pit fire roast, any wild ideas?
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Too much meat, considering donating this but was wondering if there was anything exciting i could do with this much meat. I was thinking like large open pit fire roast, any wild ideas?
16 Comments
The only other thing I can think of, besides trying 28 recipes that each call for 1/2 lb of mortadella, is to throw an enormous mortadella party where everyone is required NOT to bring any food, and make a recipe but multiply it by 14 - LOL. I have no idea what your tastes are, but here's a recipe or three :)
Muffaletta Calzone
From Cook's Country | February/March 2010
Why this recipe works:
With layer upon layer of meat and cheese, a traditional muffaletta is a hearty sandwich large enough to feed a small family. We took the original concept, trimmed it down, and converted it into a Muffaletta Calzone. To vary the texture and flavor of the relish, we used a mix of black and green olives. Making homemade dough was time-consuming and unnecessary. We got great results from premade supermarket dough. Although we found most of the deli meats for our Muffaletta Calzone recipe prepackaged in the supermarket, tasters preferred the meats bought freshly sliced from the deli counter.
Serves 4
Sharp, briny olive relish balances the richness of Italian meats.
Ingredients
6 ounces thinly sliced deli salami
1/4 cup pitted olives, chopped
1/4 cup drained jarred roasted red peppers, chopped
2 tablespoons drained jarred banana peppers, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (1-pound) ball ready-made pizza dough
6 ounces thinly sliced mortadella
6 ounces thinly sliced provolone
6 ounces thinly sliced deli mozzarella
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Arrange salami on large plate lined with paper towels. Cover with 2 more paper towels and microwave until fat begins to render, about 1 minute. Combine olives, red peppers, banana peppers, and garlic in bowl.
2. On lightly floured work surface, roll dough into 14-inch round about ¼ inch thick. Layer half of salami, mortadella, provolone, and mozzarella on half of dough round, leaving 1-inch border around edges. Spoon olive mixture over mozzarella and layer with remaining salami, mortadella, provolone, and mozzarella. Brush edges of dough with water, fold over filling, and crimp to seal.
3. Brush 1 tablespoon oil over rimmed baking sheet. Transfer calzone to prepared baking sheet and cut four 1-inch slits on top of calzone. Brush with remaining oil and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve.
OR
New Orleans Muffulettas
From Cook's Country | August/September 2014
Why this recipe works:
We wanted to do this iconic Southern sandwich justice, so we started with (semi) homemade bread. Store-bought pizza dough bakes up into puffy rounds of bread, and we topped it with sesame seeds just like at Central Grocery in New Orleans. The traditional meats and cheeses—mortadella, salami, hot capicola for kick, and provolone cheese—are layered into the split loaves along with the signature ingredient: olive salad. Ours is a briny, bright combination of olives, capers, giardiniera, garlic, herbs and spices, and just a splash of vinegar for extra tang.
Serves 8
You will need one 16-ounce jar of giardiniera to yield 2 cups drained; our favorite brand is Pastene. If you like a spicier sandwich, increase the amount of pepper flakes to 1/2 teaspoon.
Ingredients
2 (1-pound) balls pizza dough
2 cups drained jarred giardiniera
1 cup pimento-stuffed green olives
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 large egg, lightly beaten
5 teaspoons sesame seeds
4 ounces thinly sliced Genoa salami
6 ounces thinly sliced aged provolone cheese
6 ounces thinly sliced mortadella
4 ounces thinly sliced hot capicola
Instructions
1. Form dough balls into 2 tight round balls on oiled baking sheet, cover loosely with greased plastic wrap, and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, pulse giardiniera, green olives, kalamata olives, capers, vinegar, garlic, oregano, pepper flakes, and thyme in food processor until coarsely chopped, about 6 pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Transfer to bowl and stir in oil and parsley. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. (Olive salad can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.)
3. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Keeping dough balls on sheet, flatten each into 7-inch disk. Brush tops of disks with egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake until golden brown and loaves sound hollow when tapped, 18 to 20 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Transfer loaves to wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour. (Loaves can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 24 hours.)
4. Slice loaves in half horizontally. Spread one-fourth of olive salad on cut side of each loaf top and bottom, pressing firmly with rubber spatula to compact. Layer 2 ounces salami, 1 1/2 ounces provolone, 3 ounces mortadella, 1 1/2 ounces provolone, and 2 ounces capicola in order on each loaf bottom. Cap with loaf tops and individually wrap sandwiches tightly in plastic.
5. Place baking sheet on top of sandwiches and weigh down with heavy Dutch oven or two 5-pound bags of flour or sugar for 1 hour, flipping sandwiches halfway through pressing. Unwrap and slice each sandwich into quarters and serve. (Pressed, wrapped sandwiches can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
OR
Ragu alla Bolognese
From America's Test Kitchen Season 13: Ultimate Italian
Why this recipe works:
There are many different ways to interpret what “real” Bolognese sauce is. But no matter what the ingredients are, the sauce should be hearty and rich, but not cloying, with a velvety texture that lightly clings to the noodles. For our version we used six different types of meats: ground beef, pork, and veal; pancetta; mortadella (bologna-like Italian deli meat); and chicken livers. These meats and the combination of red wine and tomato paste, gave us a rich, complex sauce with balanced acidity. The final addition of gelatin lent the sauce an ultra-silky texture.
Ragu alla Bolognese
Our goal was the richest, most savory interpretation of this famous meat sauce. But how many meats did that require—and would the dairy have to go?
Makes about 6 cups
This recipe makes enough sauce to coat 2 pounds of pasta. Leftover sauce may be refrigerated for up to three days or frozen for up to one month. Eight teaspoons of gelatin is equivalent to one (1-ounce) box of gelatin. If you can’t find ground veal, use an additional ¾ pound of ground beef.
Ingredients
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup beef broth
8 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1 onion, chopped coarse
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped coarse
1 celery rib, chopped coarse
4 ounces pancetta, chopped fine
4 ounces mortadella, chopped
6 ounces chicken livers, trimmed
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 pound 85 percent lean ground beef
3/4 pound ground veal
3/4 pound ground pork
3 tablespoons minced fresh sage
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
2 cups dry red wine
Salt and pepper
1 pound pappardelle or tagliatelle pasta
Parmesan cheese, grated, for serving
Instructions
1. Combine chicken broth and beef broth in bowl; sprinkle gelatin over top and set aside. Pulse onion, carrot, and celery in food processor until finely chopped, about 10 pulses, scraping down bowl as needed; transfer to separate bowl. Pulse pancetta and mortadella in now-empty food processor until finely chopped, about 25 pulses, scraping down bowl as needed; transfer to second bowl. Process chicken livers in now-empty food processor until pureed, about 5 seconds; transfer to third bowl.
2. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add beef, veal, and pork; cook, breaking up pieces with spoon, until all liquid has evaporated and meat begins to sizzle, 10 to 15 minutes. Add chopped pancetta mixture and sage; cook, stirring frequently, until pancetta is translucent, 5 to 7 minutes, adjusting heat to keep fond from burning. Add chopped vegetables and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until rust-colored and fragrant, about 3 minutes.
3. Stir in wine, scraping pan with wooden spoon to loosen fond. Simmer until sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in broth mixture and return to simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook at bare simmer until thickened (wooden spoon should leave trail when dragged through sauce), about 1½ hours.
4. Stir in pureed chicken livers, bring to boil, and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste; cover and keep warm.
5. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Reserve ¾ cup cooking water, then drain pasta and return it to pot. Add half of sauce and cooking water to pasta and toss to combine. Transfer to serving bowl and serve, passing cheese separately.
I hope yours has pistacchi!
http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Saveur-100-2011-Mortadella-Smear
Anyway, I think this calls for a ham party. I personally love diced mortadella toasted up and thrown into a Brussels sprouts slaw. Also tough to use if you don't have a meat slicer, so I'd use it in place of lardons for a while!