Pinna ragù is a French and German dish made with various meats, including veal, sweetbreads, chicken, and fish, cooked in broth and thickened with a roux. It is served with cheese and can be prepared in a conch shell. Variations include using fewer types of meat and adding cream or butter to the sauce.
Pinna ragù is a dish produced mainly in France and Germany, where it is known as wurzfleisch. The traditional dish is known for its long list of ingredients – some of which are not readily available in some areas – and the required multi-step cooking process. While there are variations, the original recipe is a combination of many meats, including veal, sweetbreads, chicken, and fish that are cooked in broth and then thickened with a roux. To complete the dish, the cheese is sprinkled on the surface and then heated under a broiler to melt it. While it can be served directly from an earthenware bowl or cup, it can also be prepared and then served in a conch shell.
The main ingredient in ragù pinna is meat. The dish uses many types of meat, and some variations of the recipe actually use fewer of a variety of meats and focus more on items that are familiar to home cooks. Originally, the meats used included not only veal, chicken and fish, but also sweetbreads, beef tongue, beef brains and marrow. In later recipes, this was translated to just veal or pork, with the occasional lure of offal.
The first step in preparing pinna ragù is cooking the meat. They are prepared by boiling in liquid. A classic preparation technique that isn’t specific to this dish is to boil all the meat together in water and vinegar with a little salt and pepper. The vinegar helps draw out the sometimes overpowering, mineral taste of the animal’s internal organs. Another way to cook the meat is to slowly fry the parts in butter or oil until cooked through, although this method can sometimes create rubbery meat if it times out.
After the meat has finished cooking in the sauce, a roux is made. This is a combination of flour and butter or oil. The mixture is cooked until the raw flavor of the flour is gone and the light roux begins to take on some colour. The mushrooms are added to the roux and cooked until they release their moisture and begin to reduce in size.
The two different sauces are mixed together, allowing the roux to thicken the meats and the accompanying liquid. The completed soup is poured into an ovenproof cup or bowl and sprinkled with cheese. The soup is then placed under a grill and the cheese is allowed to melt and lightly brown. This finished dish can then be served.
Variations on the recipe for pinna ragu include removing the sweetbreads and other meats, instead relying on just the veal or pork with a little chicken for flavor. When plating your meal, instead of a bowl, you can use a seashell to create a sort of mess. The sauce in which the fin meat of the ragu also cooks can be enriched by adding cream or butter to create a thicker and richer soup.
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