BaeckeoffeBaeckeoffe: Alsatian Meat and Potato Casserole

Cube the 3 meats and marinate with white wine and aromatics

• 1 Cut 500g each lamb, pork and beef shoulder into 4–5cm cubes and place in a large bowl.
• 2 Slice the large marinade onion, 1 onion weighing 200 g, and stud the small one, 1 onion weighing 100 g, with 3 cloves. Halve the small onion, keeping the cloves in the onion pieces.
• 3 Divide the 3 thyme sprigs, 2 bay leaves and 4 parsley stems between 2 small bundles and tie each with kitchen twine to make bouquets garnis, bundles of herbs.
• 4 Divide the meats, sliced onion and 2 crushed garlic cloves between 2 large zip-top food bags. Add one clove-studded onion half and one herb bundle to each bag, distribute the total 10 g salt and 1 g black pepper between them, pour in equal shares of 500 ml white wine, expel air and seal.

Marinate overnight in the refrigerator

• 1 Place the bags on a tray and refrigerate for 12 hours, turning the bags 1 time during marinating.

Slice the potatoes and onions and grease the pot

• 1 Preheat the oven to 160°C.
• 2 Peel 1kg potatoes, slice into rounds about 4mm thick and toss with 8g salt and 1g black pepper.
• 3 Thinly slice 250g onions for layering.
• 4 Grease the inside of a covered cast-iron pot of at least 4 L capacity with 15 g lard. Choose a pot that holds the packed layers with at least 2 cm of space below the rim.

Layer potatoes, meat and onions and add the marinade

• 1 Drain the bag contents in a strainer, reserving the marinade in another bowl.
• 2 Remove both herb bundles and both halves of the clove-studded onion.
• 3 Cover the pot bottom with 1/3 of the potatoes, then spread over half the marinated meat and aromatics and half the layering onions.
• 4 Add another 1/3 of the potatoes, then the remaining meat, aromatics and onions.
• 5 Cover the top with the remaining potatoes.
• 6 Pour in the marinade. Add the additional water in 50 ml increments only until it reaches the top potato layer, using no more than 500 ml. If that is not enough, repack the layers in a narrower pot of at least 4 L capacity, retaining at least 2 cm of space below the rim, rather than adding more water.

Seal the lid with flour dough

• 1 Knead 300g flour and 180ml water by hand in a bowl to make soft, pliable dough.
• 2 Roll into a rope 2cm thick and place around the entire pot rim.
• 3 Put on the lid and press down so the dough seals between lid and rim.

Bake at 160°C for 4 hours

• 1 Put the pot on the middle oven rack and bake at 160°C for 4 hours.
• 2 If the oven’s maximum timer setting is less than 4 hours, immediately reset it to 160°C for the remaining time when it stops.

Break the seal at the table and serve from the pot

• 1 Take the pot to the table on a trivet. Tap the sealing dough with the back of a knife to break it and open the lid.
• 2 Insert a large spoon to the bottom and portion onto plates, keeping the meat and potato layers together; spoon over the liquid.