Greek patsas recipe in the wood fired oven

Greek “patsas” (tripe soup) is the must-have breakfast for those who had a long night out since it’s the perfect cure for the stomach -a cure for heavy drinking and heavy smoking side effects... Of course, there are also those who just prefer starting their day with this dish. “Patsas” is a soup made of cow head broth or a mix of cow head, feet, and beef tripe. It can also be made with pig’s head and legs. Today’s recipe is the easiest version to start with; everyone can make it and that most of you will love it. We visited the last (and the oldest!) tavern serving “patsa” in Karditsa, Greece, on Valvi Street. Nikos Kapekas is the one that carries on the family tradition. He is now the owner of the traditional tavern once his father (90 years old today) used to run and he is still a big fan of this dish. We had a long conversation with him and enjoyed a mixed version of “patsa”. We learned that back in the day they used to cook “patsa” for many hours in the traditional wood-fired oven that everyone had in the neighborhood. Late at night, they would place the cooking vessel in the oven and they would remove it from the oven at five o’clock the next morning. The dish would have the taste of a slow-cooked meal, which we cannot find today because the slow-cooking method isn’t usually applied. The first customers would appear early in the morning. This is what we got: this recipe needs time, it has to be cooked slowly and anything extra should be avoided. Let’s see all this step-by-step. You can also refer to the video below for further detail.

INGREDIENTS

1 whole or ½ cow head (cheeks and tongue)
Sea salt (preferably fleur de sel)
Garlic (optional)
Vinegar (optional)

PREPARATION

The stage of preparation is simple. You can pick out beef cheeks and tongue (1/2 or a whole cow head). The only thing you have to do is to rinse the cow head thoroughly, place it in a large saucepan and cover it with very cold water. Change the water 3-4 times, until the meat turns from red to white. After you have changed the water for the last time, place the cow head in a clay cooking pot and add water. The level of water should be 4-5cm (1.6-2 in) above the cow head. Add fine-quality sea salt; one tablespoon of salt for 3kg (6.6 lb) of cow head.

Prepare “skordostoupi” (garlic-vinegar sauce) by adding 4 garlic cloves -that you’ve crushed into a paste with a mortar and pestle- to a glass (140 ml) of vinegar. Shake it well and the sauce is ready.

You’re now ready to cook in the oven.

COOKED ON Traditional wood-fired oven

COOKING

Before changing the water of the vessel with the cow head for the last time, preheat the traditional wood-fired oven. Place thin pieces of dry wood -on top of alcohol-soaked cotton- inside the oven (back to the middle). Add thicker pieces of dry hardwood on top of them and initiate fire. Leave the oven’s door open for a while to establish the fire. Then, close the door leaving the chimney inside the oven. When the fire has burnt down to embers and the oven’s dome has turned white, the oven is ready. Remove the embers with a shovel, and if you don’t want to waste them, you can use the embers to grill your appetizers in your charcoal grill.

Close the door and wait as long as needed, until the oven matures. When the temperature is down to 220⁰C (428⁰F), place the clay cooking pot with the cow head inside the traditional wood-fired oven. Slowly cook it until the next morning (8-9 hours).

When the process of slow-cooking is complete, remove the pot from the oven and wait until the temperature drops a little. Carefully remove the pieces of meat along with the tongue from the broth. Serve the broth hot along with finely-chopped pieces of meat and tongue. You can also add 1 tablespoon of “skordostoupi” or hot chili flakes.

It’s perfect for breakfast, but mainly, it’s the perfect meal to cure your stomach because of the gelatin derived from collagen by the slow-cooking method (the broth literally bursts with gelatin).

Happy cooking (the traditional way) everyone!