Like many now beloved dishes (pizza, fondue, Caesar salad, okroshka), the hodgepodge appeared by accident. The zealous innkeeper did not want to throw away the dried pieces of meat dishes, in the morning he cooked them in meat broth and added pickles. Having fed the poor with this stew, the innkeeper realized that rich guests would not refuse a delicious dish.
From the name of the dish it is clear that we will “collect” the hodgepodge from various types of meat. There is no single recipe for hodgepodge, and there has never been, this is the beauty of food. Experienced housewives and chefs can give some advice regarding the cooking process. The broth for the hodgepodge should be cooked over low heat so that it remains transparent, you need to salt it very little. If possible, cut the meat ingredients in the same way – into small strips or slices. Add olives, olives or capers at the very end and turn off the heat immediately. There are only two seasonings in the hodgepodge – bay leaf and black peppercorns. Do not put potatoes in a hodgepodge.
There are a great many options for preparing a prefabricated meat hodgepodge, it all depends on the availability and variety of meat products. Often housewives do not specifically buy products for hodgepodge, but gradually collect them, freezing small pieces of ham, ham, various sausages left over from the meal.
Combined meat hodgepodge. Option 1.
Ingredients:
- Beef on the bone – 0,7 kg.
- Lean pork – 0,3 kg.
- Cooked-smoked sausage – 150 gr.
- Creamy sausages – 150 gr.
- Cooked-smoked ham – 200 gr.
- Onions – 1 pc.
- Pickled cucumbers – 4 pcs.
- Carrots – 1 pieces.
- Tomato paste – 2 Art. l
- Butter – 2 tbsp. l.
- Sunflower oil – 2 tbsp. l.
- Cucumber pickle – 1/2 tbsp.
- Olives – 100 gr.
- Sour cream and herbs for serving.
Boil the beef and pork broth for 1,5 hours, remove the meat, cool and chop. Fry grated carrots, finely chopped onions in a mixture of vegetable and butter until golden brown, add tomato paste, mix thoroughly. Cut the finished meat ingredients, cook in the broth for 10-15 minutes. Chop pickled cucumbers, some do it on a grater, but it turns out more interesting if cut into thin strips. Send the cucumbers to the broth, boil for 5 minutes. Add frying and boiled meat, gradually add the brine. If the hodgepodge is not salty enough, add a little salt. Add olives at the very end. Let the hodgepodge brew and serve with sour cream and fresh herbs.
Combined meat hodgepodge. Option 2.
Ingredients:
- Beef on the bone – 0,7 kg.
- Chicken (carcass) – 1/4 pcs.
- Creamy sausages – 2 pcs.
- Raw smoked sausage – 200 gr.
- Beef – 200 g.
- Pickled cucumbers – 3 pcs.
- Onions – 2 pc.
- Tomato paste – 3 Art. l
- Sunflower oil – 2 tbsp. l.
- Olives – 100 gr.
- Capers – 7 pcs.
- Pickle from olives – 100 gr.
- Sour cream, lemon for serving
Boil the chicken and beef over low heat, remove the meat, separate from the bones and chop. Darken the finely chopped onion until transparent in vegetable oil, add the tomato. Sausage, sausages, balyk cut into small strips, boil in broth for 10 minutes. Add onion and boiled meat. Pour in brine, cook for 5 minutes, add capers and olives and remove from heat. Cover with a lid, insist. Serve the hodgepodge with a spoonful of sour cream and a thin slice of lemon.
In a hodgepodge, it is quite permissible to replace pickled cucumbers with pickled cucumbers, use ready-made smoked chicken, hunting sausages, add pickled mushrooms. The meaning of the mixed hodgepodge is the contrast of tastes and consistencies, salty, sour and spicy complement each other and give a feeling of warmth and satiety.
More recipes for the hodgepodge can be found in our Recipes section.