Christmas Day 2010, Nashville
Speck, anyone? Not your familiar Southern pork product.
Waking up this morning to a backyard that looked like this:
Cafe Latte’s…..to wake up, walk the dog and make a special Christmas Day morning breakfast of Pannekoeken with Speck. More about Speck later…..first the coffee…
…next Ella…
…lucky dogs get new toys and walks in the snow.
Now to our breakfast….I have blogged about Wouter’s fantastic Dutch Appel Pannekoeken before, but not Pannekoeken with Speck.
A bit about Speck:
References to “speck” have been showing up in many of my cooking books and magazines from Great Britain & Australia recently…to my mind it was “just smoked cured bacon”….wrong!
Wouter has always talked about speck…the taste, how it is different from any of our regional bacons in the US, about not being able to purchase it here…my curiousity inspired me to request some from his last trip home.
Curing
Like prosciutto and other hams, speck is made from the hind leg of the pig, but, unlike other prosciutti, speck is boned before curing.
A leg of pork is deboned and divided into large sections called “baffe”, and then cured in salt and various spice combination which may include garlic, bay leaves, juniper berries, nutmeg, and otherspices, and then rested for a period of several weeks. After this the smoking process begins.
Speck is cold-smoked slowly and intermittently for two or three hours a day for a period of roughly a week using woods such as beech.
USES:
Speck is ubiquitous in the local cuisine of the province of Bolzano-Bozen, and is also found in the Austrian, Czech, Dutch, Croatian, German, Italian and Slovak cuisines.
Speck can easily replace bacon or as a smoky alternative to Pancetta. The differences between speck and bacon include different time lengths of smoking, the technique of curing it, and the fact that speck cures for a longer period of time than bacon does.
The slab of speck is cut into thin bacon-like slices.
Cooked until somewhat crispy.
Meanwhile pancake batter is whisked together. You can use your favorite recipe or even a boxed mix as a last resort. If using a boxed mix add extra liquid so batter is runny.
Batter is poured over speck in skillet and cooked on both sides til golden brown and crispy.
One thing that just must be the real thing is the syrup…real maple syrup, not anything else.
Pannekoeken with Speck drizzled with maple syrup for a cold Christmas Day morning.
a merry christmas morning to you and Wouter! love the snow today–such a gift!
here’s to health and happiness, and more delicious, beautiful food, of course.
xox nance
Is’nt it wonderfull, that picture of the espresso is amazing i think i going to make another one. Happy New Year Everybody
i “speck” rev finster would hallelujah wouter’s breakfasts! merry, merry my good friends.
Pannekoeken with speck, sounds divine, I think Nancy and I will have to take another trip to Nashville so Wouter can make them for us!
hey. wouter and teresa…this is dylan, barbara’s nephew…i love your blog…keep me updated on more great treats…happy, dylan powers
Hello Dylan, nice to meet you via my blog…keep checking back as I try to do a new entry every 10 days at least…sometimes every week…thanks for the nice words of “blog” encouragement.
with love for a beautiful holiday, teresa & wouter…xoxox
Barbara, the best to you as well. Stay warm and cozy.
What a beautiful christmas breakfast–especially the lattes (as I’m sitting here in ABQ with my own latte…). I’ve so enjoyed your blog Teresa (and Wouter)!!! All the best in 2011! love, Licia
Licia, thanks for the nice comments…my blog gives you guys a chance to keep up with what the “Dutchman” is up to here in Nashville. Happy, happy New Year.