Porterstek, a very Swedish dish

Posted by petra08 on May 18, 2015 · 14 Comments 

There is a category of people I always feel a faint worry about cooking for, the ones who have what seems like an almost opposite pallet to my own. I love spices, chilli and garlic and use it in just about everything. This time I was looking for a nice recipe and the Swedish cuisine is always a great place to look for wholesome, flavoursome foods.

My mind went to a recipe called “Porterstek”. Porter in English is stout and the beef is poached rather than roasted. The meat is very tender but this dish is actually all about the gravy! It is delicious and for this recipe I doubled the amount of cooking liquid so we would have extra gravy for the next day, a little greedy I admit.

Due to the fairly long cooking time you can use a cheaper cut of meat but if you have time it is well worth it and it is a crowd pleaser. The recipe is scribbled down on a piece of paper that has been with me for many years so I am not sure where I got it from but I haven’t changed a thing! Don’t try to replace the stout, it makes this dish.

 

 

Porterstek

preparation time 10 minutes 

cooking time 2 hours + 20 minutes resting time for the meat

serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 kg silver side of beef, tied to shape
• 2 bottles of stout
• 2 dl or 1 cup of Ribena, with sugar, not the light version (a black currant squash)
• 2 dl or 1 cup soy sauce
• 1 small handful of fresh lemon thyme
• 12 juniper berries
• 12 black peppercorns
• 5 beef stock cubes
• 2 onions, peeled and quartered

For the gravy

• 1 dl or 1/2 cup cream
• 3 heaped tsp corn starch
• a little cold water

Mix all the wet ingredients except the cream in a pan with a lid. Add the juniper berries, peppercorns, onion and thyme.

 

 

Last add the stock cubes and make sure they dissolve before adding the meat. Gently simmer the meat for two hours, turn it half time.

 

Whilst that was cooking I did a starter, a tomato and goats cheese tart that we ate in the garden whilst sipping a glass of wine as the sun was setting.

 

 

The chive is blooming and I love the flowers. They taste like chive but has a slightly milder flavour.

 

 

Once the meat is cooked let it rest for 20-30 minutes. Whilst that is resting boil down the cooking liquid a little. Dissolve the corn starch in a little cold water and add to the cooking liquid. Let the flour boil for a couple of minutes, add the cream and put the liquid through a sieve and the gravy is ready.

Slice the meat thinly and add gravy on top. Serve more on the side with boiled potatoes and red currant jelly.

 

 

I baked a Betty Crocker Devils food cake for dessert. I added cream cheese frosting, raspberries and pecan nuts and served it with cream and a raspberry and rhubarb coulis.

 

 

The portersteak isn’t the best looking dish but it worked and the day after there was plenty of meat left over for a beef and gravy roll!

 

 

This is a perfect dish that will suit everyone. It has the fruitiness from the ribena, saltiness from the soy and the bitterness from the stout. It is the gravy that makes this dish!

 

I am bringing a large pate, better late than never to Fiesta Friday! Time is just slipping from me and I have to admit I am glad I made it! Foodie party Fiesta Friday was created by the lovely and talented Angie, hostess of the blog The Novice Gardener, have a look at her blog if you haven’t, it is truly inspirational!

This week her two co hosts are Justine, Electric Odds n Sods and Juhls, The Not so Creative cook. Both are funny, witty and very talented!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed under Beef, Herbs, Jelly, Main course, Meat, Pasta, Recipe, Snack, Tomatoes · Tagged with Betty Crocker, Devils food cake, porterstek, silverside beef, tomato tart