Recipe from our Chef Patrick Asfaux

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Short introduction : this typical Alsacian recipe (note of the translator : Alsace is a French province along the French boarder of the Rhin river, the German side being the "Black Forest" - Schwartz Wald in German) comes from 2 words : "bäcke" meaning 'baker' and 'ofe' which is the baker's oven for bread cooking. The original mould/dish to cook the 'bäckeofe' is still made of clay and is high and it is put hermetically closed with a flameproof clay (actually made of a flour and water pasta) into the oven in order to keep all fragances during cooking.

Traditional Bäckeofe for 6 servings :

1/2 kilogram (1 lb 2 oz) boneless pork chine meat
1/2 kilogram boneless lamb shoulder meat
1/2 kilogram chuck of beef
3 fairly big chopped onions
2 degermed and crushed garlic cloves
10 grams (1/3 oz) table salt
5 grams coarsly crushed black pepper
1 little thyme flower
1 bayleaf
3 juniper berries
1/2 liter (approx. 1 US pint) dry white wine (Riesling) for the cooking + 1/10 liter (3 fl oz) for the marinade
1.5 kilograms (3 lb 5 oz) sliced potatoes :
For the flameproof 'clay' : 150 grams (5 oz) wheat flour mixed with a little cold water to make a compact pasta

The day before cooking, cut all the meat into 2 in. large cubes and put them into a large pie dish with salt, black pepper (berries crushed with the botton of a sauce pan), sliced onions, thyme, bayleaf, juniper berries, garlic cloves and the wine for the marinade. Blend the whole with clean hands, cover with cling film and put into the fridge during one full night.

The day after :
1/Pre-heat the oven at 320°F
2/Into the special bäckeofe cooking dish, put a layer of the marinated stuff (including ALL ingredients), then a layer of potatoes and repeat the layers to fill in the dish. Pour the marinade and the wine for the cooking
3/Cover with the lid of the dish then take the flour pasta you have prepared in a small bowl, make a long 'snake' of it (long and thick enough) and stick it well with the thumb at the joint border of the dish and lid in order to close hermetically the dish
4/Cook into the oven during 3 hours and a half (to make it nicer, you can, after half cooking, lay down with a brush on the pasta 'snake' some egg yolk mixed with little water to make it golden after full cooking)
5/Put the closed dish on the table and open it with a knife in front of each guests : your neighbours should come fast thanks to the blended aromas invading the room ...