HUDSON VALLEY CHEF’S TABLE

It might seem oxymoronic for a restaurant to offer locally sourced German cuisine in Highland, New York, but for Elizabeth Steckel and Dirk Schalle, the Hudson Valley was an obvious choice for their venture. Laughs Steckel, “Well, my husband is from Bavaria. And we knew that we wanted our restaurant to focus on local craft brews, locally raised meat, and local produce. We also knew that we wanted to pair food with beer the way so many restaurants pair food with wine.” She continues, “It was just natural for us to look to the example of Germany for our restaurant. They’ve had a long tradition of farm-to-table dining and of pairing food with beer. And, in Germany the beer is often local because almost every town has its own brewery.” Happily, in the Hudson Valley the pair can choose from a wealth of locally brewed craft beers.

Steckel and Schalle employ a full-time baker who only uses grains milled in New York State. Says Steckel, “It’s labor intensive because it’s all made from scratch. There are certainly people who come in here who don’t know what we’re all about. They might be disappointed that our prices are as high as they need to be. Or that they’re not getting a free bread basket with every meal.” She continues, “The bread basket thing is something that comes up from time to time, and it’s really funny. We just don’t do it for a number of reasons. One is that if a bread basket is put in front of Dirk and me, we’re just going to mindlessly eat it—and we don’t want to promote that sort of mindless eating. But also, we don’t want to put out food that often gets thrown out.” She concludes, “If people want bread, they can order it. We don’t want to waste food.

“And, also, we feel very strongly at the restaurant that the price should reflect the cost—and that means the cost of what it took to produce. So, what it costs for us to have a full-time baker who earns a living wage and makes everything from scratch. What it costs the local millers in New York State to raise these grains. I would hate to give something away that’s subsidized by raising the cost of something else on our menu. And our regulars all get that, and I know they support us, because we have been enormously successful.”

GUNK HAUS GOULASH

For the paprika sauce:

8 cloves garlic

1 bunch thyme, minced

1 bay leaf

2 quarts dry red wine

2 cups olive oil

4 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika

4 tablespoons Hungarian hot paprika

2 teaspoons sumac

2 teaspoons ground pepper mix (white and green peppercorns, allspice, coriander)

1 can (#10) fire-roasted red peppers

4 tablespoons Dijon mustard

4 tablespoons Sriracha

4 tablespoons brined green peppercorns

1 tablespoon hot chili oil

For the goulash:

1 pork butt (preferably a slow-growing heritage breed like a Berkshire)

2 tablespoons cumin seeds

2 tablespoons caraway seeds

1 tablespoon plus 1½ teaspoons sumac

1 tablespoon plus 1½ teaspoons ground mustard

1 tablespoon plus 1½ teaspoons ground pepper mix (white and green peppercorns, allspice, coriander)

¼ cup Hungarian sweet paprika

1 tablespoon plus 1½ teaspoons kosher salt

4 quarts white mushrooms

½ cup oil

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 quarts red wine

2 quarts mushroom stock

2 quarts paprika sauce

1 quart caramelized onions

1 quart stout beer, such as Keegan’s Mother’s Milk

To make the sauce: In a saucepan combine the garlic, minced thyme, and bay leaf with the red wine. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half and the garlic is very soft.

In another pan, add olive oil and spices. Warm very gently for 1 minute, then set aside so that the spices can infuse the oil, about 1 hour.

Remove the bay leaf from the wine reduction. In a large blender, or using an immersion blender, combine the infused oil, wine reduction, and all other sauce ingredients. Blend until very smooth. Reserve.

To make the goulash: On the day before you intend to cook the goulash, trim the top fat off the pork and butcher it into ½-inch cubes. In a big bowl add the meat and toss in the cumin, caraway, sumac, ground mustard, pepper mixture, paprika, and salt and allow the mixture to marinate overnight.

When ready to cook, de-stem the mushrooms and reserve the caps. Into a pot place 2 quarts water and the mushroom stems and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Quarter the mushroom caps and, in a saucepan, brown in ¼ cup of the oil. Reserve.

Preheat oven to 200°F. In a large pan with remaining ¼ cup oil, brown the pork, then add garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add wine, stock, paprika sauce, mushroom caps, onions, and beer. Liquid should cover pork. Cover and braise in the oven for 4–5 hours, or until very tender. Do not let liquid boil—should be at a bare simmer. Serve over mashed potatoes.