BEEF AND KIDNEY STOUT POT WITH ROOSTERKOEK
What do winter and Fraser’s Folly Stout have in common? They’re both dark, cold and go great with a beefy braai pot. Yup, you heard us, a braai pot. Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you should do all your cooking indoors. If anything, winter gives you the perfect excuse to light two fires: one for cooking and one for drinking beers around. This beef and kidney stout pot is slow cooked in Fraser’s Folly Stout. It’s the kind of food people are referring to when they say, “stick-to-your-ribs food”. Our advice is to make sure you cook it in a cast iron pot. Why? Because cooking over the coals in cast iron is good for the soul.
Ingredients (Serves 6 | Cooking time 4hrs):
For the stout pot:
A splash of oil for frying
1.5 kg beef shin (bone-in)
500 g lamb kidney, cleaned and cut into rough chunks
A small handful of flour, seasoned
1 Tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
2 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh sage, chopped
1 Tbsp garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp ginger, finely chopped
12 baby onions, peeled
1 bottle Fraser’s Folly Stout or Darling Black Mist
2 Tbsp NoMU Beef Fond (stock)
1 tsp cornflour
50 ml water
Salt and pepper to taste
For the roosterkoek:
5 ml sugar
10 ml dried yeast
100 ml warm water
400 g flour
10 ml salt
A knob of butter
2 eggs
Small handful of chopped fresh thyme
Canola oil
Method:
- Season your meat and braai over a seriously hot fire to seal and caramelise. Take it out and let it cool. Once the beef has cooled, cut into bite-size chunks. Leave some meat on the bones because you are going to toss them into the pot as well.
- Heat oil and butter in a pan and fry off your onions until golden. Throw in your thyme, sage, garlic and ginger and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the meat and bones (with marrow) back into the pot, then pour in the stout. Cook for a minute, then add the stock. Get it to a simmer, put the lid on and let it cook slowly for an hour and a half.
- In the meantime dust your kidneys in the seasoned flour then fry in a hot pan to seal them – about 2 minutes.
- At the hour and a half mark add the onions and kidneys to the pot and cook for another hour with the lid on. After the hour, mix the cornflour with the water, add to the pot and leave to simmer for thirty minutes to thicken with the lid off.
- In the meantime you can get cracking on making the roosterkoek. To activate your yeast, mix the sugar, yeast and warm water together. Set this aside in a warm spot until it gets frothy.
- Sieve flour into a bowl and add your salt. Chuck in your butter and work it through the flour with your fingertips.
- Beat your eggs and add them to the yeast mixture.
- Make a hollow in the flour and pour in the egg and yeast mixture. Knead well until you have a soft dough. Brush the dough with a little canola oil then place in a big bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Leave it in a warm spot to rise for about 30–40 minutes. It should double in size.
- Knead the dough again and divide it into even, fist-sized balls. Leave them in a warm spot for another 15 minutes to rise again. Just before you are about to braai, use the palm of your hand to press the roosterkoek flat. They will puff up again during the cooking. Get your roosterkoeks onto the grid over medium coals. Braai until they are browned on all sides and cooked through – they will sound hollow when tapped when they are cooked through.
- Try not to eat them all before the pot is finished… maybe just one with butter.
- When the cornflour has done it’s thing and the stout pot has thickened up nicely, serve with a toasty roosterkoek and wash it all down with a Fraser’s Folly Stout.
Fraser’s Folly Stout is only produced in small quantities – so when you can’t get your hands on any, Darling Black Mist makes an excellent substitution.