Monthly Archives: May 2012

Emptins / Ale Barm

Emptins, from “emptyings”, are the colonial American equivalent to the older Ale Barm. Both are made from the leftover yeasty dregs of the brewing process, and used in either baking or to start fermentation in new brewing projects.

Ingredients: Original Batch                                   More Manageable Batch

  • handful hops                                   ~1/4 oz. loose leaf hops
  • 3 quarts water                                6 cups water
  • Flour                                                  ~3 cups flour
  • emptins                                             1 Tbs. Emptins / sourdough starter

 Boil the hops in the water for 15 minutes. Strain out the hops, and put the liquid in a large bowl. Whisk in flour until the mixture resembles a sort of slurry, similar to the texture of pancake batter. When this goop is no longer hot, add the emptins or starter, and allow to sit overnight.

Provided your yeast mixture is warm and happy, it will go crazy in the hoppy-flour mixture. Mine doubled overnight, overflowing the large mason jar I had it in. Lesson learned. The final mixture will be thick and bubbly.  

Cover the mixture with a loose lid, and place in the fridge, as you would a normal sourdough starter. The yeast solution will begin to look like an eldritch creature, putting down tendrils in the jar until the whole thing separates into the heavier starter on the bottom, and the hops water on top. 

When you want to use the starter, simply stir up the solution, adding a hearty dash of new flour into the mix. This will feed the starter and help perk it back up. For best results, feed the starter the day before you wish to use it. Otherwise, feed your starter a handful of flour every week or so. 

Mint Sun Tea

“There was much more than she’d asked for: hot bread, butter and honey and blackberry preserves, a rasher of bacon and a soft-boiled egg, a wedge of cheese, a pot of mint tea.  And with it came Maester Luwin.”  -A Game of Thrones

Mint Sun Tea

Our Thoughts:

We know the text doesn’t call for mint sun tea, but no one should have to live without this recipe. This is one of our go-to drinks for summer. As sort of tea aficionados/addicts, this fills our needs for both tea and sunshine. Sun tea is a fantastic way to get your caffeine fix without having to use the kettle on a hot day. If you plan far enough ahead, you won’t have to ever go inside again! Also a great recipe to use when camping. And you always look cooler drinking from a Mason jar!

Make it at Home!

Onion Broth w/bits of Goat and Carrot

“The stewards began to bring out the first dish, an onion broth flavored with bits of goat and carrot. Not precisely royal fare, but nourishing; it tasted good enough and warmed the belly. Owen the Oaf took up his fiddle, and several of the free folk joined in with pipes and drums. The same pipes and drums they played to sound Mance Rayder’s attack upon the Wall. Jon thought they sounded sweeter now. With the broth came loaves of coarse brown bread, warm from the oven. Salt and butter sat upon the tables.” -A Dance with Dragons

Onion Broth with Goat and Carrot

Our Thoughts:

Zounds!

This is the most flavorful, delicious, unique broth we’ve ever encountered. Rich and full, heavily tinged with the salt from the pork, with the underlying flavors of the herbs and onions. We wouldn’t have expected the combined mint and sage to be pleasing, but as usual, we were wonderfully rewarded by following the original recipe. On the whole, it’s a nice, nuanced combination of flavors for relatively little effort.

Consider pairing this broth with a loaf of our Black Beer Bread, but go light on the butter; you only have a bit left, and winter is coming…


Stewed Goat Recipe

Goat Kid or Mutton, with Thick Broth. Get kid or mutton and cut it into small pieces, and put it into a pot with salt pork; then get sage, mint and onion, and cook everything together; then get good spices and saffron, distemper them with the meat’s broth and let everything boil together until the meat falls apart; then lift the meat out into a dish with the thick broth. -The Neapolitan recipe collection, Italy, 15th c.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 lb. salt pork
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 cup dark beer or ale (drink the rest while you cook! ;) )
  • 2 small sprigs sage
  • 2 small sprigs mint
  • 1 onion, roughly chopped
  • poudre forte (equal parts black pepper, cinnamon, mace, clove, long pepper, ginger, etc)
  • 1 cup carrots, chopped small
  • 1-2 Tbs. bacon fat or duck fat
  • ground goat meat, 1 lb.

Combine the salt pork, water, ale, herbs, and onions in a large pot. Simmer for 45 minutes.

Strain the broth into a clean pot, reserving the onions if you would like to add them back in. Season with a pinch of spices, and add the chopped carrots.

In a separate skillet, brown the goat meat in the fat, then add it to the broth pot. Let everything simmer together for 15 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. Skim some of the fat off the top if you like, then serve hot.

Prep:  15 minutes     Cooking:  1 hour

Serves 5-6