Hinterland Kitchen

Snout to tail

2012-02-09T09:43:00.000-08:00

Recently we recieved 3 whole heritage breed hogs and 1 veal calf at the Hinterland kitchen. These animals were raised specifically for us and we are pretty excited to show what we've been doing with them. It goes without saying that we are truly embracing head to tail cooking in regards to these animals, everything is going to be used. In the coming weeks we will start showing what we've done with animals and how they will be appearing on the menu. To start off, something simple, spare ribs. Here is a quick picture tour of what we did with the spare ribs currently featured on our lounge menu. Enjoy!

We start with a cure, brown sugar, chili's, salt.

After a days cure, we smoke them, low and slow

After smoking, the ribs are still a bit tough, so we finish them sous vide style to get them just tender

Ready for you to eat, Hinterland IPA BBQ glaze, cornbread, spicy apple slaw

Artic char

2012-01-14T09:52:00.001-08:00

We have had a busy holiday season at Hinterland, our resolution is to update this blog a bit more in 2012. Let's kick off the new year by showing a new dish on the menu. We are using our fancy new immersion circulator to "poach" a piece of fish in a small amount of olive oil. The texture of the fish prepared this way is incredible (the flavor is pretty darn good too).

Here you go, Olive oil poached artic char with vanilla saffron emulsion and shaved fennel grapefruit salad.


After a quick brine the Artic Char is vacuum sealed with extra virgin olive oil

A quick few minutes in the immersion circulator and the fish is a perfect medium rare


Artic Char, ready for consumption

Sous Vide

2011-10-18T11:51:00.000-07:00

It's like Christmas in the Hinterland kitchen! Recently, we got an immersion circulator which allows us to start playing around with Sous-vide cooking. Sous-vide translates to under vacuum. In short, we vacuum pack the food item to be cooked and place it in a thermal controlled water bath. This allows us to cook evenly for long periods of time. This produces a more consistent, and juicier product.

We have only just started exploring the possibilities. First up was the egg. We've being playing with the time and temperature in order to create the perfect egg. The whites are just set, and the yolk is just getting a bit "fudgy" but still very runny. We served these beauties on our schnitzel over the weekend.

Random Updates

2011-08-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

We have been pretty busy in the kitchen at Hinterland lately. I figured I'd just post some pictures of what we have been up to.


A nice selection of local cheese!


on location for a private event in Door County

We have added a link for Hample Haven on the side

Hample Haven Farm, a new lamb provider for us


Sweet Grass Farms Carpaccio, sunflower sprouts, and house made pickled chantrelle's.

Porchetta

2011-08-07T08:31:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in the last update, we recently got some suckling pigs from Polka Dot Pastures. One pig was destined to become pierogi's, the other, porchetta. The pierogi's are not on the menu yet, so we will save them for another post. Today, we will share with you the magic of porchetta!


the tied hog

Many times we are asked, "what is your favorite cut of pork?" The answer is easy, "all of them." Those crafty Italians realized long ago that if you simply remove the bones from the pig, roll the whole thing up and roast it, no matter what your favorite cut everyone will be happy.

To start Chef Kelly removed the bones from the entire animal. I took the head and added the cheeks and jowels to the pierogi's. The tougher muscles were tenderized just a bit. From here, the pig was seasoned with salt, pepper, and some ground spices.

Kelly then rolled and tied the seasoned pork. After cooking it slow and low in our conventional ovens, we finished the porchetta in our wood fire oven in order to get a nice hard crust on the outside (and to melt some of that fat).


after wood fire oven

see the little belly!

Finally, after a nice long rest (remember, always, always rest your meats!) we cut into the beast and it was glorious! As you can see from the picture, all of your favorite pig parts are there for your enjoyment!

On the menu we are serving it with a mustard reduction, chantrelle mushrooms, brussels sprouts, neuske's bacon, and an arugula pickled carrot salad. Chef Amanda even made some soft pretzels to go with it! Come on in and get some while it's still available!


Polka Dot Pasture Suckling Pig Porchetta

The Taste and Pigs

2011-08-05T10:28:00.000-07:00


Chef Kelly plates some Smoked BBQ pork meatballs.

Last night was the annual Taste on Broadway. Over 30 local restaurants set up shop on Broadway for an evening a food, drink and music. This year we brought some Cherry Wheat, our new IPA and a whole lot of pork!

We brought 3 items this time. Earlier in the week we smoked some Sweet Grass Farms pork shoulders, added some veal and ground pork, lots of love, and a healthy glaze of our own BBQ sauce. We served these beauties with some spicy apple slaw.

We also served some Shrimp and Scallop seviche with corn chips. This was a big hit on the hot day.


Seviche!

For dessert we got a case of peaches from our friends at Ledgeview Gardens and roasted them (with an ample amount of bourbon) in our wood fire oven. Add some pound cake and a little whipped marscapone and you've got yourself a nice little trifle.

Chef Amanda prepares to unleash her desserts upon the masses

The complete product

Finally, we wanted to let you know about another farm we use that is producing great, high quality, all natural pork. Ken Kahle runs Polka Dot Pastures in Luxemburg (I've added his information in our links section) and in the past we have used his heirloom breed pigs in the restaurant (the next batch will be ready by winter he tells us). Last week got a few suckling pigs from him. We are currently in the process of using these beautiful animals to make Porchetta and some Pierogi's. Hopefully we will be able to update you on our progress soon!

Beef

2011-07-16T10:03:00.000-07:00

At Hinterland we do our best to always have local, grass-fed beef on our menu. Most people will agree that there are significant health and social benefits for eating grass-fed over grain fed beef (for more information we recommend you read any of Michael Pollan's books or check out the River Cottage). However, we do get some questions in regards to the marbling of grass fed beef. The common thought is that corn is needed to produce truly great marbling in beef. Visual evidence is the best argument we can make in the case of grass-fed. Just look at these pictures next time someone tells you that you can't get a well marbled grass-fed steak.


Sweet Grass Farms Ribeye


Sweet Grass Farms Striploin cut for Carpaccio

Carbonara

2011-06-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

Currently in the lounge we a running our version of an Italian classic. Purists will argue what true carbonara is, but everyone agrees on the basics, pasta, pancetta, cheese, and egg yolk. If you start adding ingredients beyond that it might get you into trouble (definitely stay off the streets of Rome late at night).

The current Hinterland version is a bit of a twist. Instead of pancetta, we are using a house cured and lightly smoked guanciale (the jowels are from sweet grass farms). We add some sweet peas, a little pasta water, some piave, and a little manchego. Instead of the egg yolk, we finish the dish with an sunny side up egg from Sunset Farm. A great, simple tasty dish.

We have also included the links to a few other companies. The cheeses I mentioned are from a company we have just started using called Artisinal Cheese. Not only do they work to insure the cheese we get is at its peak condition, they have tons of great information, educational tools, and pairing ideas.

Finally, our eggs come from Sunset Farm. They supply us with a good portion of our local pork, chicken, and beef. You can find their products on our menu and on Chef Brett's menu at The Whistling Swan.

Broadway Farmers Market

2011-06-16T08:37:00.000-07:00


Chef Kelly checks out the chard

Now that summer is mostly here, we thought it would be a good time to talk about the Wednesday market. Not only do we get a majority of our fresh, organic vegetables there, but Hinterland also has a stand. If you are at the market we suggest taking a break during your shopping and sip on a nice cool local micro brew and enjoy some of our Championship Nachos (poblano cheese sauce, chipotle grass fed beef, pico de gallo).

We buy from a lot of different farmers at the market, but we thought we would highlight two of the ones we use a bit more frequently.

Todd Jaskolski runs Caprine Supreme and we buy all of our goat cheese and goat cheese curds from him. Besides Chevre and curds, Todd has a rotating roster of cheeses.

Luke Wojcik runs Twin Elm Gardens in Pulaski. All of our sunflower sprouts, peashoots and micro greens are grown by Luke. In addition to greens you will also find a wide variety of other great high quality products at Luke's stand.

That's it for now, but as the summer goes on we will be sure to post more. All of these people are making some fabulous products and doing their best to help the community, please support them!

Tuna

2011-06-10T08:46:00.001-07:00

We always get the best and freshest fish at Hinterland. We are particularly picky about our tuna (only #1 sashimi grade for us). This weekend we have a special treat. #1 grade Japanese tuna! The Japanese are very passionate about their tuna and thus have a more rigid grading system. This stuff is gorgeous!

The burger is back

2011-06-04T14:12:00.001-07:00

The burger has had an occasional spot on our lounge menu in the past. Recently a regular customer requested it. Instead of going back and rehashing the kobe burger, we decided to go local and go large.

First, we have the beef itself. Not only is it local and grass fed, but its also a custom grind done specifically for Hinterland. 40% chuck, 30% brisket, and 30% shortrib have produced a moist and ultra flavorful burger.

The bun is homemade. The big, moist burger required a sturdy roll to take in all the juices without falling apart. Check them out, they're gorgeous.

Next, being pork fanatics, we knew we couldn't make a burger without some form of pig. Bacon and pancetta are natural choices, but we wanted to go all out. Pork Belly was the obvious answer. We cure the belly for a few days, cook it confit style, slice it, grill it, and glaze it with home made BBQ

After that, some arugula from Ledgeview Gardens, tempura onion rings and a nice mound of garlic fries. I like mine with Pub Draught.

Ledgeview Tomatoes!

2010-05-27T11:12:00.000-07:00

Ledgeview Tomatoes are at Hinterland! Both beefsteak and cherry tomatoes,the black cherry variety look particularly stunning, these little beauties are irresistibly delicious sweet and rich,with great color that adds to many of our dishes. In addition to the wonderful tomatoes we are also getting greens, cucumbers and pole beans. Look for them at the Wednesday Farmers Market on Broadway.

Softies are here!

2010-05-07T15:16:00.001-07:00

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Cheeks

2010-04-16T15:47:00.001-07:00

Check out this monster halibut cheek that came into our kitchen today! If you want to try some, come on in. This weekend we are preparing these cheeks tempura style with lemon caper emulsion and spicy slaw.

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Spring

2010-03-25T16:20:00.001-07:00

Halibut, morels, fiddleheads, and ramps!!!

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Sweet grass

2010-03-25T15:35:00.001-07:00

We got some Sweet Grass Farms ribeyes and strip steaks at hinterland this week. Check out the marbling!

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Belly

2010-03-11T18:00:00.001-08:00

We love our pork at Hinterland. Just a few minutes ago we pulled this belly out. It was lovingly poached in it's own fat until fall apart tender.

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Morels!

2010-03-05T14:13:00.000-08:00

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Sausage Saturday!

2010-02-26T15:03:00.001-08:00

After loading up on fish tonight ( we got great halibut, artic char, scallops, and swordfish) come on in tomorrow for our German sausage platter. 4 types of authentic German sausage, 3 types of mustard, caraway braised cabbage, and homade soft pretzels. All that's missing is the beer!

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Hearts of Palm and DVR

2010-02-20T07:37:00.000-08:00

Fresh from Hawaii we just received some hearts of palm, and they look good. This vegetable comes from the inner core of certain palm trees, it's high in fiber, low in fat, and aids in digestion.

Also, all of us in the Green Bay kitchen at Hinterland want to congratulate Dan Van Rite (the Executive Chef of the Milwaukee Hinterland) on receiving a James Beard nomination for Best Chef Midwest region. It's a huge honor and it's great that Danny is finally being recognized for his work. Here's the full article.

It's alive!

2010-02-18T12:13:00.001-08:00

The bottling line is now operational, luna stout being packaged!

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Gearing up...

2010-02-11T10:49:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day weekend is almost here. We are filling up so if you don't have a reservation yet, hurry!

For this weekend we've brought in sashimi grade tuna, mahi mahi, Hawaiian marlin, halibut, east coast mussels, fresh calamari, organic sweet grass farms beef, kurobuta pork, and cold water lobster!

Sushi Thursday

2010-02-10T07:57:00.000-08:00

Thursday is almost here and that means $10 sushi rolls all night long!

Focus on Cheese

2010-02-06T09:14:00.000-08:00

We use a lot of cheese at Hinterland (it's Wisconsin!). One of our favorite's is Pleasant Ridge Reserve by Uplands Cheese. At Uplands they only make 1 type of cheese, and this is it. Pleasant Ridge Reserve has won Best in Show from the American Cheese Society in 2001, and 2005. It was also named US champion at the United States Cheese Championship in 2003.

Head on over to their website (we've got a link on the sidebar), you can find information on how it's made, how to store it and even some videos. Best yet, you can order it direct from them.

Commodity Beer

2010-02-04T07:59:00.000-08:00

If you haven't seen the movie Food, Inc. go see it now! It does a great job at showcasing why we need to support local, grass feed beef farmers (and organic free range chicken and pork).

The state of beer in America is in a similar situation. Big corporations control nearly every facet of the industry, due to advertising, buying power, and of course special interest groups. What do they do with this power? Just like the cattle industry they use cheap grains in order to produce a cheap product. However, in the beer world things look a little better. The little guy is gaining ground. Grab yourself a case of Hinterland (or least a local micro brew) and watch Beer Wars.

Seafood Watch

2010-02-03T08:22:00.000-08:00

Most of you know that the world's oceans are being over fished. What may surprise some is how bad aquaculture is as well. In some instances it is worse then mass produced pork or chicken. Here's a horrifying article about shrimp.

At Hinterland we use wild caught gulf shrimp, a good alternative to the typical tiger shrimp. A useful tool for background information and a list of what fish to avoid is the seafood watch list by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. They even have a free app for the iPhone!

Welcome!

2010-02-02T09:37:00.001-08:00

The Chef team at Hinterland Green Bay has decided to make this blog to allow anyone who wants a peak in at what we do. As we develop the site you can expect to find information on products, dishes, beer releases, season changes, and special events. We are also hoping to make it a great resource for information on our local vendors. Many of the resources we have are available to the public and we want to get the word out.

We are committed to using local, sustainable, and fresh ingredients whenever possible and we hope to pass this on to our readers.