Sülze (Sauer Sülze)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large heavy stockpot, 6 to 8 litres
• •Skimmer or wide spoon
• •Fine sieve and cheesecloth
• •1.5 litre terrine mould or loaf tin
• •Cold saucer for gel testing
• •Thin sharp slicing knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Rinse the pork

   Rinse the knuckle, feet, and shoulder under cold water, then soak them in a bowl of cold water for 30 minutes while you ready the vegetables. This pulls away loose blood and bone dust from the butcher's saw, and that gives you a cleaner broth before you have to do any clever work.

   Ask the butcher to split the feet lengthwise. Whole feet give the same gelatin, but split feet give it up faster and let you rinse them properly.
2. 2

   Start cold

   Put the drained pork into a large pot and cover it with the cold water by no more than 2cm. Start cold because the collagen and soluble proteins move into the water slowly; drop the meat into boiling water and the outside tightens before the broth has taken what it needs. Bring it up gently until the first grey foam gathers.

3. 3

   Skim and season

   Skim the foam as it rises, then add the onion, carrot, celeriac, leek, bay, peppercorns, juniper, allspice, mustard seeds, and salt. Keep the heat low so the liquid only trembles. A rolling boil breaks fat into the broth and clouds the jelly; clear Sülze is made by patience, not violence.

4. 4

   Cook until tender

   Cook uncovered or half covered for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, topping up only if the meat is exposed. The shoulder is ready when a skewer slides through without a fight, and the knuckle is ready when the skin and rind feel soft between tongs. The feet will look spent and plain. Good. They gave the broth its backbone.

5. 5

   Pick the meat

   Lift the meat and bones onto a tray and let them cool just until your fingers can handle them. Pull the shoulder and knuckle meat into bite-size pieces, keeping a little soft rind if you like the old butcher's texture. Discard only clean bones and spent spice. Weggeworfen wird nichts until it has given its work to the pot.

6. 6

   Strain and reduce

   Strain the broth through a fine sieve lined with cloth into a clean pot, pressing nothing through because pressed vegetables muddy the set. Skim off the fat from the surface, then boil the strained broth down to about 1 litre. Reducing before you season hard matters: salt and vinegar concentrate, and a timid broth makes a weak jelly.

7. 7

   Test the gel

   Spoon a little broth onto a cold saucer and put it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. It should wrinkle when pushed and hold a soft wobble. If it runs like soup, reduce the broth another 10 to 15 minutes and test again. The test is not decoration; it tells you whether the Sülze will slice tomorrow.

8. 8

   Sour the broth

   Stir in the vinegar and pickle brine, then taste with a cool spoon, not straight from the hot pot. Cold dulls salt and fat, so the warm broth should taste slightly too sharp and well salted. Würzen, Fett, Salz zum Schluss. The vinegar goes in now because its clean bite is the point of Sauer Sülze.

9. 9

   Fill the mould

   Rinse a 1.5 litre terrine mould or loaf tin with cold water, then lay in the pork, sliced Gewürzgurken, a few onion rings, pieces of cooked carrot, and parsley. Pour the hot sour broth over slowly so it fills the gaps instead of trapping air pockets. Tap the mould once on the counter, not like you're angry with it, just enough to settle the meat.

10. 10

    Chill to set

    Cool the mould until it is no longer hot, then cover it and refrigerate at least 8 hours, preferably overnight. Do not leave it standing around the kitchen. This is old larder cooking, not shelf-stable magic, and the refrigerator is part of the recipe now.

11. 11

    Serve cold

    Dip the mould briefly in warm water, turn the Sülze out, and slice it with a thin sharp knife. Fry the cold cooked potatoes in lard until the edges are crisp and brown, because Bratkartoffeln work best from yesterday's potatoes; fresh boiled potatoes break and smear in the pan. Serve the cold Sülze with the hot potatoes, mustard or Remoulade, and more pickles if the table asks for them. Schön ist, was schmeckt.

Chef Tips

• •Use fresh pork knuckle, not smoked Eisbein, unless you deliberately want a smoky Sülze. The clean sour jelly needs pork, vinegar, and pickle to speak clearly; smoke turns it into another dish.
• •The pig's feet are not optional garnish for the pot. They carry the gelatin that lets the broth set itself, and a packet of aspic powder gives you a neat slice with no soul in it.
• •Do the saucer test every time. Different pigs, different feet, different pots; the cold wobble tells the truth better than the clock.
• •Keep the jelly clear by skimming early, simmering gently, and straining without pressing. Pressed vegetables make good soup, not clear Sülze.
• •Store covered in the refrigerator and eat within 3 to 4 days. This is a make-ahead dish, not a preserve for the pantry.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the Sülze the day before you want to serve it. The overnight chill gives the jelly time to set cleanly and lets the sourness settle into the meat.
• •Boil the waxy potatoes for Bratkartoffeln the day before, then chill them whole. Cold potatoes slice cleanly and brown instead of falling apart in the pan.
• •The strained broth and picked meat can be prepared one day ahead and kept refrigerated separately; reheat the broth, sour and test it, then build the mould.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 440g)