Author: Hans Susser

Germany/USA

Cheeseburger , My Way

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On the way home from work something extremely unusual happened : Burger craving !
Who would have thought. But, no ordinary burger would suffice.
Here is my concoction. Very simple, easy and fast to make, yet darn good and satisfying 🙂
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Ingredient’s :

Ground beef, 75 / 25 %
Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Jalapeno, finely diced
Garlic, paste
Chives, finely sliced
Kosher salt,
Scotch bonnet hot sauce,
Dijon mustard,
Black pepper, freshly ground
Whole egg, fried
Oil, to saute
Butter, to finish

Method :

Mix first nine ingredients lightly, do not overwork !
Make a thin patty, cover center with generous amount of cheese,
cover with another thin patty of beef and shape burger.
Saute in oil until done to your liking. Discard oil, add butter and
fry egg. Serve on two slices of rye bread,
top with fried egg and garnish with tomato and pickle.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Smoked Goodies ” – Artisanal Smoked Fish

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I recently run into an old buddy of mine from the cruise ship day’s.
Much to my surprise, Greg is now following his dream of many years,
running a comercial ” Smoke Shack “.
On the weekend he surprised me with a few (too few 🙂 samples of his
selection and I was amazed by it’s taste and quality.
Unfortunately, his website is not up to the quality of his food, so as soon as
I have the time I will be helping him with it.
In the meantime, here are some of his delicacies which I enjoyed saturday
and sunday :
(Sides are : Sauteed potatoes, onion bread, wasabi, horseradish cream,
onions, grape tomatoes, boiled eggs, scallion, capers, chilies, radish, lettuce)

Captain Greg’s Smoke Shack

Smoked Fish Selection

Smoked Marlin

Smoked Salmon Filet

Smoked Salmon, Served Warm

Smoked Salmon, Sliced

Wahoo Filet

Wahoo Filet, Served Warm

Whitefish Dip

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Three Schmuck’s & A BBQ

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Saturday afternoon, a simple BBQ 🙂

Ingredients :

Leo,
Bella,
Hans,
Rock music,
Merlot spritzer,
Argentinian morcilla, ( Blood sausage)
Argentinian chorizo,
Columbian chorizo,
Horseradish cream,
Chimichurri,
Dijon mustard,
Kosher pickles,
Banana peppers,
Sour dough bread,

Life is Good !
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” Rigatoni Rustica “

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Last night’s dinner was a perfect example of tasty comfort food,
simple, tasty, pretty, easy, and satisfying.
(Sounds like a wish list for a spouse 🙂
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Ingredient’s :

Chicken, cut into one inch pieces
Rigatoni, cooked al dente, strained, reserve some of the cooking water
Bok choy, cut into one inch pieces
Onions, julienned
Kernel corn,
Grape tomatoes, whole
Chilies, sliced
Garlic, paste
Ginger, grated
Kosher salt, to taste
Cayenne, to taste
Butter, to saute
Red wine, to deglaze

Method :

Season chicken and saute until golden brown and cooked through.
Remove and reserve. Saute onions, corn, garlic, ginger, bok choy and chili,
deglaze with red wine and a small amount of the cooking water from the pasta,
add pasta and tomatoes, season with salt and cayenne.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

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“Saure Nierchen ” ( Sauteed Sour Kidney’s )

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Another beloved dish from my childhood.
This was a very popular “Gericht” in southern Germany,
available in most “Gasthaus“, and “Restaurant‘s”
Whenever my butcher has them fresh, I buy one and
either cut it lengthwise in half and grill them, simply
seasoned with kosher salt and freshly ground black
pepper, or I make myself “Saure Nierchen”. Usually
I’d serve them with any type of pasta and any type of salad.
In this case , I made spaghetti and red beet salad to go with
the kidney‘s. Here it goes :
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Ingredient’s :

Kidney, beef, veal, lamb or pig
Onion, diced fine
Demi glace,
White wine
White wine vinegar, to marinade
White wine vinegar, to taste
Roasted garlic puree, to taste
Kosher salt, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Oil, to saute
Butter, to saute

Method :

Clean kidneys and cut into slices.
Rinse under running water for 20 minutes.
Strain, cover with vinegar and store in refrigerator for
twelve hours, Strain, discard vinegar. Rinse with cold water,
pat dry. Saute kidney’s in very hot oil until golden brown, still
medium inside. Remove onto rack (you don’t want the juices)
Saute onions in butter, deglaze with the white wine. Add the
demi glace, garlic, vinegar, salt and pepper. Simmer until well
combined. Remove from heat, add kidney’s and serve.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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” Tandoori Inspired Baked Chicken “

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Many years ago when Maria and I lived in Karachi, Pakistan, we developed a deep passion for Indian and Pakistani Food. The chicken I made for dinner tonight was not cooked in a tandoori, nor was it seasoned with the “proper” spice blend a cook wood actually use to make a traditional tandoori chicken.
Nevertheless, this dish came out of the oven smelling, tasting and looking like the best of them 🙂
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All about Tandoori Chicken

All about Tandoor

Ingredients :

Chicken, Breast and legs, cut in half
yoghurt,
Garlic, paste
Ginger, grated
Turmeric,
Hot sauce, preferably scotch bonnet
Kosher salt,
Butter, melted, in a spray bottle
Scallions, sliced fine, for garnish
Chili, roasted, for garnish

Method :

Cut deep slits into the chicken, about 1/2 inch apart.
Mix all seasonings with the yoghurt, rub onto chicken
and into the cut’s until well covered. Marinate overnight.
Bake in a 410 F oven until done. During baking, spray often
with the melted buter.
To serve, top with roasted chili and sprinkle with scallions

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” Naan, Veal Ribs & Other Stuff “

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Last night’s dinner made me realize that I eat a lot of comfort food which does
not necessarily fall into a specific group or cuisine. Sometimes, just raiding the
fridge without a grand plan and simply putting some stuff together on the fly
does produce some great dishes. This was one of them :
” Naan with ribs, chilies, onions and yoghurt ”
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Ingredients :

Veal ribs, simmered, bones removed
Naan, Generously buttered and sprinkled with sea salt
Greek yoghurt,
Chilies, finely diced
Lime, juiced
Garlic, paste
Scallion, sliced
Onions, rings
Sesame seeds,
Oyster sauce,
Sriracha,
Soy sauce,
Teriyaki sauce,
Kosher salt,

Water,

Method :

Blend all ingredients except ribs and half of the chilies.
Put a bit of water into a small, rimmed pan, into which
the ribs just fit, one layer only. Add the ribs.
Cover ribs with the sauce, (the sauce should be very watery
at this point) cover airtight and bake in
a low heat oven until very tender, about 3.5 hours.
When the ribs are tender, the sauce should have thickened
and cling nicely to the ribs.
Arrange rib meat on hot naan, drizzle with yoghurt, add onion rings,
sprinkle with chilies, sesame seeds and scallions and serve with a
garnish of spinach salad and sliced lime.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

” Flank Steak & Veggies “

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I have done a few variations of this dish lately and I have become a real fan of it.
Cutting the flank in finger sized pieces, dusting it with corn starch and sauteing
at high heat gives a very pleasant texture and taste. And of course, mixing it with
great vegetables, lots of garlic and then deglazing the pan with red wine or
white wine, depending on the type of veggies – what could be better, once all
these flavors and textures come together in a simple, hearty, flavorful dish 🙂

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Ingredient’s :

Flank steak, cut into large strips
Corn starch, to dust beef
Onions, diced
Grape tomatoes, whole
Artichoke hearts, whole, canned
Butter beans, canned
Garlic, paste
Scallions, sliced large
Oyster sauce, to taste
Sriracha, to taste
Teriyaki sauce, to taste
Kosher salt, to taste
Cayenne, to taste
Peanut oil, to saute

Method :

Season beef with salt and pepper, dust with corn starch and saute
in very hot oil until nicely browned at the outside, rare on the inside.
Transfer to a rack with a plate underneath to catch the juices.
Saute all vegetables and garlic. except scallions, until fragrant.
Add a bit of white wine and the collected beef juices to deglaze,
add sriracha, oyster sauce and teriyaki sauce, blend well.
Add the beef, adjust seasoning if necessary .
To serve, sprinkle with the sliced scallions.

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” Breakfast Of Champions ” # 10 – Tortilla Española

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This is without doubt one of my favorite potato dishes
and the good thing about it is that it tastes even better when you re-heat the leftovers.
Serve it as a substantial breakfast, as a snack, lunch, dinner or part of a buffet.
As for the ingredients, use potatoes and eggs for sure. Everything else is up to your fancy.
I have used seafood, chicken, ham, braised pork, any kind of sausage, mushroom, cheese,
any kind of vegetables, you name it. Just make sure that if you plan to serve it
at room temperature, season it stronger as when you plan to serve it hot,
since the seasoning is not as prominent at lower temperatures.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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The ( culinary) world is a big, beautiful, interesting, evolving place, and it’s center is not necessarily in our own backyard :-)

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Hans Susser wrote on LinkedIn
about the vanishing need of butchery knowledge by chef‘s :

Dear fellow professionals,
It always amazes me how many americans think we are in the center of the world and only our practices make sense and are up to date. The fact is that in most countries around the world there is a paralel world of meat utilisation. While there are comercial slaughterhouses everywhere, the majority of meat and seafood is processed on a much smaller scale. Those chef’s who travel the world practicing their trade will be faced with the fact of seeing whole animals being delivered to their hotels and restaurants and then broken down on the property. Dishes are being cooked from every part of the animal,including the blood, feet, snout, heads, etc, etc. A chef would look pretty silly and useless not to be able to teach his staff to work more time effective, cost effective and cleaner while doing these tasks. Then you have the areas where game is a big attraction during the seasons and again, many hunters just take out the digestive tract and deliver the animal whole, pelt, head, innards, EVERYTHING 🙂
Imagine the waste which would occur (and it does) when the animals are not handled by knowledgeable folks.
Unnecessary craft and skills ? Not in my opinion, unless you plan to work in a environment without creativity. I am aware that sometimes we don’t have the opportunity to be creative to a certain point, after all, we need enough customers who are willing to pay for dishes they have never heard of or are not currently on the “in”list. However, if given the chance, we should embrace the opportunity to be well rounded chef’s who can carry on the traditional skills which will always be needed in one place or another, during one time or another.
While I have embraced the convenience and cost effectiveness of buying pre-cut meat and fish on many occasions and places, being able to break down the whole animal was a far more common requirement during my career. I have also worked with a professionally trained american butcher who was amazed by how much he could learn from me in all aspects of butchery, from the traditional cuts as they are done around the world, down to sausage making and breaking down seafood. So in conclusion, it is my opinion that if you work in an environment where certain skills are not required, please don’t dismiss them as being unnecessary and antiquated.
The ( culinary) world is a big, beautiful, interesting, evolving place, and it’s center is not necessarily in our own backyard 🙂