Hanoverian specialties

Hanoverian tongue ragout

This spicy seasoned meat specialty proves that traditionally hearty Hanoverian cuisine can also be subtle. Hanoverian tongue ragout is a sophisticated combination of beef tongue, meatballs, mushrooms and small sausages, which are stewed in a spicy broth. A special feature is the preparation of the sauce, for which flour is slowly browned in a pan in the oven, stirring constantly. The roux is then diluted with the meat stock and mixed with the pre-cooked ingredients.

Plate with pieces of meat, meatballs and sauce — Hanoverian ragout

The secret is in the sauce

The term "ragout" has its origins in French cuisine and stands for delicacies that "tantalize the palate" or "whet the appetite". In Hanoverian tongue ragout, the braised pieces of meat are traditionally accompanied by a creamy flour sauce, which gives the fine ragout a somewhat heavy note for some discerning palates. For gourmets, top Hanoverian chef Joachim Stern has modified the classic dish slightly: instead of beef tongue, he uses the more tender veal tongue for his ragout, and he mixes a dash of cream into the spicy brown flour sauce, making it velvety and less heavy.

For all those who would like to try the down-to-earth and hearty version and cook it at home, we have the original recipe from Hanover chef Hans-Jürgen Thünken:

Hanoverian tongue ragout à la Hans-Jürgen Thünken

Ingredients:
A beef tongue
500 grams Thuringian mince
500 grams of Saucischen (small sausages that must be ordered from Behnsen the butcher on Limmerstraße)
100 grams pearl onions
100 gram flour
Lard an onion with bay leaf and cloves
White pepper and salt
10 grams margarine
plus 500 grams of mushrooms from the market at Pfarrlandplatz
Preparation:
Cook the beef tongue in boiling salted water with the larded onion for approx. two and a half to three hours until soft, rinse in cold water, peel off the firm white skin, remove the glands and fat and cut into slices. Shape the dumplings and cook in the tongue stock, also set aside. Place the pearl onions in hot water for approx. one minute, then peel off. Prepare the mushrooms.
Now comes the special part: pour 100 grams of flour into a duck pan and brown in a dry oven, stirring constantly. Now pour in about two liters of tongue stock, stir the flour and stock with a whisk until smooth and cook for about 20 minutes. Dilute with tongue stock if necessary. Now add the fried sauce fish, mushrooms, pearl onions, pork dumplings and sliced tongue to the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Variation: add a bottle of red wine to the sauce, reduce the tongue stock.
Source: "Do you still have a question?" - Little chef - big mouth, Jan Brinkmann, Cadmos-Verlag