Important Announcement
Kosher.com is not currently shipping any orders outside our local delivery areas in NY, NJ and CT. National delivery resumes on April 12th, 2010. You may continue to place orders now for delivery on April 12th or later. Thank you very much and have a Happy Passover!
|
|
Q. What are some ways I can cook frozen kishka? Also, do you have the nutritional information?
Kishka is a sausage of Eastern European origin. Often called stuffed derma, traditional kishka was made by stuffing a beef intestine (derma) with a mixture of meat, schmaltz and grain (non-kosher versions added blood to the mixture, which was then stuffed in a pig intestine).
The kishka available today is made by stuffing an edible synthetic casing with a mixture of ground meat, fat, onions, spices and flour or matzo meal. The sausage is roasted or steamed and then frozen, where it can be found in the freezer section of kosher markets. A vegetarian version, called "mock kishka," is made from pureed vegetables and is also widely available.
In terms of cooking, adding a loaf of kishka to chulent is probably the most popular method of preparing kishka. But it isn't the only technique.
As a flavor enhancer, kishka adds an old-world feel to practically any baked casserole dish like rice pilaf or tzimis. Kishka is conventionally used as stuffing for chicken, either filling the cavity of a whole bird, or tucked in between the skin and flesh of chicken pieces.
A few years ago, I enjoyed an upscale version of chicken stuffed with kishka. The cook, who is a kishka fanatic, spread a few tablespoons of defrosted kishka on each cutlet, which she rolled up and covered with a square of puff pastry. She brushed an egg wash over the puffy pastry and baked them for about 30 minutes in a 350 oven.
Kishka can be fried, with the casing on or off, in a lightly oiled frying pan. Or, consider cooking kishka in a pot of salted water or baked in a 350 degree oven until warm throughout, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. No need to defrost it, just throw it in frozen.
When kishka isn't served with the food in which it's cooked, you may want to make flour-thickened gravy from the pan juices. Simply transfer the cooking juices to a small skillet placed over a medium flame. Add margarine. Once melted, sprinkle a few tablespoons of flour and quickly whisk until thick. Serve with the kishka.
When it comes to nutritional information, for a 2 ounce serving of a typical loaf of frozen fleishig kishka, there are 190 calories, 12 grams of fat, half of which are saturated.
If you opt for a more low-fat option, try this recipe for homemade "mock" kishka. Use in the same way you would for fleishig kishka.
Become part of this interactive culinary dialogue. Felisa Billet welcomes your cooking questions at editor@kosher.com
