Beef tongue and horseradish sauce. These are the roots of Czech cuisine.
From Prague to the farm and then back to the kitchen, where raw materials, knowledge and tradition are processed. This is the content of the seminar To the Roots, which connects theory with practice, history with today, craft with science, chefs with farmers, and professionals across the industry. In June, they were educated about beef and its importance on the (Czech) plate. Where did they go for the experience, what did they learn from the experts and why was cucumber sauce served the next day?
The first-timer and the Czech way of meat processing
The first day of the event took place in Sloupnice near Litomyšl, at Farm Poštolkawhere the Krontorád family and their daughter Jana and her husband Michal live. On arrival, bread with lard and cakes were symbolically distributed, while breakfast and a tripod for cutting meat were waiting in the yard. "When we started this place, we had no idea that one day we would specialise in wagyu breeding and process meat and run a shop and restaurant with accommodation. But we are still a small family farm," said Petr Krontorád, who has dedicated his professional life to breeding and reproducing cattle.
The summer weather eventually changed the programme, so he started not with the grazing, but with the butchery part in the morning shade of the barn. "We've prepared for you "a three-year-old first-calf who stopped giving milk and went into fattening as she used to. It's a combination of Charolais, Czech Fleckvieh and Hereford breeds," explained Jana, who together with Michal runs the sale and hospitality business. Except for a few wagyu for Amaso, they sell the meat directly on the farm.
"Today we'll be demolishing the front quarter which has been dry-aged for twenty-one days," Michal announced, inviting the cooks to help him hang the cut on a tripod. Several butchers also took on the job, including František Kšana from Amaso and Tomáš Aulickýwho shared different approaches and described the Czech style of butchery.
"We Czechs are not a steak nation, so we divide our front and back quarters between the eighth and ninth ribs. Unfortunately, we thus disturb a precious cut, namely the rib-eye. In contrast, the Americans do things in such a way as to keep this as whole as possible," explained František Kšána, while the quarter was cut into the brisket, neck and ribs. "The old butchers used to cut the brisket in half with the bone, so they got the breast muscle with the bone and the fat, which is really cooked strong soup. That's why they used to say that ...the brisket wakes you up at night...," said Francis.
The chefs were reminded of how to carve the neck and looked at the the bare rib, the high rib and the hidden steak rib. "The high rib has a bit of underarm on it, which tastes great. But we usually send the ribs as such to production. They are harder to sell, even though Czechs have been grilling a lot in recent years and learning how to handle different parts," said Tomáš Aulický.
During the demolition, there were sounds of nomenclature based on the customs of and often refers to the appearance of the lot. An example is the top blade, which is called a shoulder blade because the tendon in the middle of the muscle is springy. "Where there is fat, there is flavour and tenderness," Francis proclaimed, sending the different parts around the circle, including the chuck tender. This was so that everyone could smell and feel the quality with their own hands.
Czech wagyu
In less than two hours the work was complete. As noon approached, it was time to leave to a nearby farm where Michal's brother Petr and his wife Silvia were looking after the animals. They take care of about a hundred cattle and Přestice black-footed pigs. "We have been running the farm for more than thirty years and initially we were involved in the production and transfer of embryos. We bought cattle from all over the world as embryo donors and helped breeders to establish purebred farms," said Mr Krontorád. Later, the family bought recipient heifers, into which embryos from supermothers are inserted, and sent the born bulls to nurseries.
"Eventually, we were inspired by chef Olda Sahajdák from La Degustation, who gave us the impetus to breed Czech wagyu. We brought embryos from a farm in the USA and started breeding. We used the insemination batch for the angus breed and set a goal to raise 100% wagyu. It wasn't easy, but we succeeded," Mr Krontorád recapped before the participants headed off to pasture. There, from May to October, cows and calves graze.
"We keep mostly wagyu, the other cows are recipients. In the meadow you see Charolais, Limousin and Czech Fleckvieh. In particular, the Czech Fleckvieh are excellent mothers and have plenty of milk for the calves," commented Mr. Krontorád, explaining what makes them specific to wagyu fattening. "The breed, the method of rearing, nutrition and fattening are decisive, but stress-free conditions also play a crucial role, including transport to the abattoir and the slaughter itself. We take the animals to a slaughterhouse about a kilometre away from the farm, or a little further to Polička.'
From the farm to the grill
The sight of happy cows sparked a discussion about welfare and the importance of of cattle for humanity and the environment. "The cow has given us meat and milk, draught power and manure for centuries and is needed in agriculture but also for landscaping and soil restoration. That is why we are creating grazing areas where farmers graze hard-to-reach or neglected areas," Mr Krontorád noted.
After returning to Sloupnice, the barbecue began. Lunch was prepared, a test of the taste of the different parts. In addition to the meat were vegetables from the nearby Oucmanice Farm. Meanwhile, some of the cooks had moved into the kitchen to finish the broth, salad and a few vegetable dishes, while Jana served up beef tongue with weimdra and sliced homemade bread and sausages from the prosciutto. Before the blueberry pie appeared on the table, the participants explored the local farmshop, where meat from the farm was available for purchase, as well as a display of products from other producers. Cooperation breeds!
A question of breed
At the end of the day, the chefs listened to a lecture. "Breeding only started in the Czech Republic in the 19th century. Up until 1990, breeding was dominated by the Czech Fleckvieh, and later the Holstein dairy cow was imported, which currently dominates, because it produces more milk," said Mr Krontorád, who explained that the Czech Fleckvieh belongs to one of the Central European Fleckvieh family of spotted cattle and has excellent meat quality. This has been helped by better breeding conditions after 1990.
He also talked about an original Czech breed which is currently bred only for the preservation of genetic resources. It does not meet the performance requirements. "After 1989 there was a boom in dairy breeds, cows now produce two to three times as much milk than before the revolution. Similarly, the breeding of meat breeds has developed. In terms of performance and quality parameters, the Czech Republic is among the world leaders," Mr Krontorád stressed.
For interest:
Higher animal performance reduces the number of animals on farms. In 1989, 1,300,000 cattle were kept in the Czech Republic, while current surveys indicate 500,000 cattle. Yet, as a republic, we have the highest concentration of animals per farm in the world, with an average of 145 cows.
The presentation introduced the chefs to common breeds of cattle, such as Holstein and Jersey, Montbeliard, Limousin and Piemontese. "The most numerous meat breed in the Czech Republic is the Charolais, followed by the Simmental and Angus," said Mr Krontorád, who tried to describe the insemination process. His company Bovet used to be the largest embryo transfer company in Central Europe. "Human society is too focused on growth and profit, and that does it no good. Nature and man benefit from stability and balance.," Mr. Krontorád mused aloud, and on the way home he packed the participants with reflections on the extent to which we want and can return to our roots.
Roasts, tripe and horseradish sauce
The second day took place at the UM Educational Centre on Národní, where historian and professor Irena Korbelářová from the Silesian University in Opava also arrived. Her task was to plant the topic in the context of culinary heritagethat has survived in the Czech Republic and Central Europe. "Beef was considered the most valuable type of meat in the Middle Ages. Steaks in a minute, however, are a modern affair. The basic preparation was roast, usually from the loin and the rump. It was only later that sirloin steak and sirloin steak came to the fore in noble cuisine," the professor began the morning session and continued:
"In the 19th century in the 19th century, stews and stewed meats and recipes for ragout, and fried beef, mostly in the form of steaks, also appeared. In addition, vegetable side dishes proliferate and beware - sauces for beef were originally not cooked on a base but separately."
Just sauces deserve their own chapter. The tradition includes, for example, cucumber sauce (made from fresh or pickled cucumbers), anchovy sauce or sweet sauce made from wild fruit. "Our cuisine is characterised by horseradish saucewhich was served as a wedding dish, but sirloin steak also has a unique position. The recipe with the addition of sour cream is only found in the Czech lands," emphasised Irena Korbelářová, confirming that she our ancestors valued tripe, especially beef tongue, heart, spleen.
"It was also rare veal. In the Middle Ages, for example, a calf's head was eaten, dressed for sauces or served whole. In the 19th century, veal was was mostly braised with thyme or marjoram, for example, or in paprika and cream,' noted Mrs Korbelářová, who has been studying recipes and cookery books for many years.
One of the esteemed authors was Anna Marie Neudeckerova, who ran restaurants in western Bohemia and was one of the first in the country to offer à la carte. Among other things, she wrote in her cookbooks the oldest Czech recipe for sauce made from paradise apples. The lecture ended with a (nowadays somewhat questionable) quotation from the book Marie B. "In the animal kingdom, beef is the only food that we can eat every day without overeating, and it is also the most pleasing to man of all meats."
Protein over gold
Karolína Kunftová, who works in the field of naturopathy - holistic natural medicine, followed the last sentence. In UM, she tried to summarise how crucial the role of proteins is for the functioning of the human body. "Proteins are the basic building material for the function of immunity, regeneration and operation of the body, as well as sleep and good mood. It is important to remember that without protein, the organs would not have enough energy to function and recover," she stressed in her introduction, adding that protein has an impact on muscles, skin, nails and hair, for example.
Karolína Kunft then took us back to the classroom and reminded us of the division of proteins into plant and animal proteins. But it should be added that in school we were not taught that animal proteins are made up of nine essential amino acids, while plant proteins (with the exception of quinoa, amaranth, hemp and soy) contain fewer essential amino acids.
And now the most important question that all participants pondered during the lecture: How much protein should we give our bodies every day? The answer is quite simple. And the amount can be compared to the size of our fist," Kunft said. If a fist is too abstract a unit for you, follow that you should take in at least one to two grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, depending on your activities and individual preferences.
At the end of the lecture, Karolína Kunftová mentioned that the magic of protein lies in its preparation and combination with vegetables or herbs, for example. Rotate protein sources, play with their culinary preparation and also focus on the appropriate timing. In general, the best time to digest protein is between 10am and 3pm. At the same time, keep in mind that each person is unique and something different suits them. So listen to your body and notice which proteins it craves and at what time it does best.
Seven-course finale
After the lectures, the participants changed into their aprons and stood in the kitchen to form teams and improvise in creating the menu. A seven-course tasting dinner eventually emerged from the front quarter, which is a bit more interesting culinarily. Guests were welcomed with tartare on potato chips with faba bean mayonnaise, then tasted roasted shoulder with a salad of grilled and fermented vegetables and bear garlic mayonnaise.
Directed by František Kšány, the beef wurstaccompanied by pickled vegetables and mustard, and the legendary talián salami of beef neck and tallow. The smoked meat was combined with grits, peas and horseradish sauce. The next course was roast beef with young cabbage, mustard seed, chanterelles and puffed buckwheat, the star of the evening was slow braised short rib with cucumber sauce and bun dumplings.
The two-day journey of discovery was rounded off with squeezed strawberries with Smolík's apple balsamic, whipped cream and basil - a refreshing ending for guests and chefs who believe that education advances gastronomy and the world beyond the kitchen.
