When you see him strolling through Kreuzberg, Wolfgang Müller blends seamlessly into the urban scene with his black hoodie, jeans and sneakers outfit. If the veggies and kebab kids who predominate here knew about the 59-year-old Allgäu native’s preferences, they would probably cringe.
“I’m too old for this shit,” the trained chef and master butcher admits frankly during a conversation in a café on Vienna Street – and he means, first and foremost, fanatical vegetarians and vegans. “I don’t need ideological lectures, I can also eat vegetables – and I only eat meat twice a week anyway.”
Only then in the best quality and not just any ready-made meal from a snack bar or discount store. “I have no understanding whatsoever of what some people here cram into themselves every day. They don’t even want to know what a decent piece of meat can taste like anymore.”
Nevertheless, he did not lose faith in humanity and therefore wrote an ode to the roast with entirely missionary intentions. The volume, simply titled “Roast”, is not only about how to prepare large pieces perfectly, but also about recovering an old tradition. “There is hardly anything nicer than sitting together with family or friends, the big roast, sauce, vegetables and side dishes are served and everyone gets a slice. You can’t really get more of a sense of community.”
The taste of offal is underestimated
With ideas like these, the trained chef and butcher, who was successful in Berlin with his star restaurant Adermann, has been trying for several years now with his consulting and catering company not only to cooks, but also to everyone who has anything to do with meat, to use it in a sustainable but enjoyable way to win with meat. “I personally prefer to eat offal,” he explains, “because it has the most intense flavor.” On the other hand, he finds a fatless beef fillet rather boring. That’s why, in addition to the classic Christmas goose and the roast beef and pork crust, his book also brings together all sorts of pieces that are often described as exotic, such as heart, kidneys and tongue of veal, shoulder of kid, stuffed oxtail and his current favorite dish: Kelle Söğüş, the lamb’s head grilled whole.
However, for our Christmas or New Year’s Eve table we decided on his braised deer neck made with the red wine marinade. Firstly because game is still the meat that can be enjoyed most safely – the population in the local forests has to be checked – and secondly because even game lovers usually only have the loin, fillet or leg in mind and – like the columnist – never have wasted a thought on the neck. When prepared correctly, it is a true delicacy.
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To do this, the five kilo piece with the bone must be marinated for three days in a classic red wine marinade prepared with onions, soup vegetables, thyme sprigs, bay leaves, peppercorns, juniper berries, a few cloves, a little allspice and cinnamon as well as the zest of a lemon and an orange become. We recommend four bottles of the inexpensive but excellent Rhine-Hessian Pinot Noir from Weingut Kampf.
On the morning of the holiday, the neck, which has been patted dry, is salted on all sides and briefly seared in a roasting pan. Then caramelize the vegetables separated from the liquid with four sugar cubes and 40 grams of tomato paste and slowly roast them. Deglaze several times with red port wine, add the marinade and a can of pureed tomatoes and put the meat in the preheated oven at 140 degrees for four to six hours. When the roast is tender, remove it, strain the sauce and reduce by half. Sliced and served with mushrooms or beans, spaetzle, dumplings or mashed potatoes, the buttery neck can rival the taste of any leg or back.