Falscher Hase (False Hare)

A Special German Meatloaf

That's right- there's a fucking egg in it. 

I found this recipe on Stumbleupon and changed it up a little to be able to feed the boys and anyone else who happens to come over. The original recipe is here. Serving with oven roasted Brussels sprouts and parsley potatoes.

From the original recipe site, a little history: "As a Sunday roast, Falscher Hase came into prominence after World War II. Meat was still scarce but housewives wanted to put a special dish on the table so they mixed chopped meats together, wrapped them around eggs and “roasted” the meatloaf in a shape reminiscent of rabbit, a highly prized meat. As per usual, bacon, or “Speck” spiked the flavor, as did parsley, mustard, Hungarian paprika and sour cream."

1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 lb ground Italian Sausage
1/2 lb Ground Beef
2 c. chopped onion (about 1 large)
1 c. bread crumbs, divided
4 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tsp. ground paprika
2 tsp. prepared mustard
6 T. chopped parsley
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
6 - 8 strips of bacon
2 c. beef broth
1 c. hot water, divided
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 c. sour cream (low fat is not recommended)

Chop onions very fine for even cooking. Mix the meat, onion, 6 tablespoons of the bread crumbs, the 4 raw eggs, salt, pepper, paprika, mustard and parsley thoroughly. Sprinkle the rest of the breadcrumbs on a cutting board and flatten out the meat mixture in a rectangle about an inch thick. Arrange the whole, hard-boiled eggs in a row down the middle. Fold the sides of the meat patty over the eggs. Form the meat into a loaf shape. Coat liberally in bread crumbs.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Chop 3 strips of bacon into small pieces and brown in a Dutch oven on the stove. Remove bacon pieces (reserve) and brown meatloaf on all sides in the bacon grease. (This part is really tough.) Lay the remaining strips of bacon over the meatloaf, pour half the beef broth into the pan and place the Dutch oven in the preheated oven. Bake, basting occasionally with the remaining broth for about 45 minutes to an 1 3/4 hours.

Remove meatloaf to a serving platter, cover with aluminum foil and keep warm. Place Dutch oven back on stove top and add 1/2 cup of hot water. Scrape all browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Mix cornstarch with 1/2 cup hot water and add to pan. Bring just to a boil, reduce heat and stir in sour cream. Try not to boil after sour cream has been added. Season with pepper and reserved bacon bits, if desired. Taste before adding more salt.

Jalapeno Marinade Beer Can Bacon Wrapped Chicken

That's right. :)

It's like he's wearing a little bacon vest!

1/2 Tsp ground thyme
1/4 Tsp ground tumeric
3/4 Tsp paprika
1/4 Tsp cayenne
1/2 Tsp ground ginger
1Tsp pepper (I used mixed peppercorn, white is good too)
1 Tsp sea salt or more per taste
1 Tbsp light brown sugar
1/2 Small onion minced
1/2 Small onion sliced
2 Jalapenos
5 Cloves garlic minced (we love our garlic)
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Can chicken broth
1 5 lb whole chicken, innards removed and fed to weasels
Slices of thick cut bacon


Roasting pan
Aluminum foil 
Big ziploc bag
Glass jar
Small food processor if you've got it. You don't need it, but it makes mincing jalapenos more pleasant.
Beer can- empty. I was going to use a bean can, but I couldn't get the sticky stuff off


I have only ever cooked jalapenos and dates wrapped in bacon before, but it occurred to me recently I could wrap all sorts of shit with bacon! Wrapping meat with more meat is only the natural progression of this idea. And now that I know how easy (and cheap) it is to make a whole chicken is, it's on!


Mix brown sugar, sea salt, pepper, ginger, cayenne, paprika, tumeric, and thyme in the jar with olive oil. 
Mince jalapenos, onions and garlic or chop in food processor. I like the food processor method with 2 tbsp of the broth to make sure the jalapenos and whatnot are super pulverized to make for good marinade spreadage.
Put "garlipenion" in jar with about 1/3 cup of broth. Add lemon juice and shake it up.
Put a couple of spoonfulls of marinade under loosened chicken skin and squish it around under there then place chicken in ziploc and pour half the mixture all over inside and outside of chicken. Use more if you need to, just be sure to reserve some. Put the bird in the fridge to think about its delicious fate.
Pour the rest of the broth into the jar with the remaining marinade and stick it in the fridge too.

Marinating

When you are ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 350°. Pour the marinade/broth into the empty beer can, place in a foil-lined roasting pan, and put the chicken on the can. You see where I'm going with this? Good.
Put the thin sliced onions in through the top hole of the chicken and shove down into the cavity. Get your bacon strips and basket weave them around the front and back of the chicken. My bacon weaving technique needs work... 

I should take a class for basket weaving, this is horrible!

Make a tent over the chicken with foil to trap the steam in and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Remove foil and bake for additional 15 minutes to allow it's bacony skin to crisp. Turn off oven and let the chicken rest a bit before carving.