Bekri Meze: The Drunkard's Meze
with
John Mitzewich
A meze is a Greek term for small plates of food served with wine at parties. This delicious pork meze gets its name from the wine that is used to braise the meat, resulting in rustic Greek cooking at its best.
Transcript: Bekri Meze: The Drunkard's Meze
Hi, I'm Chef John Mitzewich for About.com. Today we're doing a rustic Greek pork dish called bekri meze.Prepare the Meze Pork
This delicious meze starts with pork. Get a pork shoulder roast, it's going to be about 3 lbs and if you trim that and cut it in 1 or 1 1/2 inch cubes, you'll have about 2 1/2 pounds of pork.Start the Meze Saute
You'll also need 1 diced onion. In a sauté pan on medium in 2 tbsp of olive oil, saute the onions for about 5 minutes to give them a little head start. And then add the pork. We're going to cook that for 20 minutes. Stir it occasionally and what will happen is the liquid, the juices will come out of the pork and that will evaporate and it will begin to brown. You'll hear it, it will start to sound like it's frying.Cut the Meze Peppers
In the meantime get the pepper ready. We're going to need about 1 1/2 cups of sliced peppers. Any combination of hot and/or sweet will work. I used some pepperocini, a Fresno, and some red jalapeno. It depends how hot you want it.Add Wine to the Meze
Okay, the 20 minutes is up and its time for the wine. Add 1/2 cup of red wine. That's where this gets its name. Bekri meze means "drunkards" meze. And that comes from the addition of wine. Simmer that on medium for 20 minutes. Most of the wine is going to evaporate. Just don't let it burn. Keep an eye on it when it gets low. Then we're going to add 1/2 cup of water and time it for 10 more minutes. And it's going to look like that.Let the Bekri Meze Cook
Now the pork is getting close. It's starting to tenderize and now we're going to season it. Give it some salt, 1/2 teaspoon, and add the peppers and cook for 10 more minutes. The peppers will soften a bit, the pork continues to tenderize. We're going to add a couple drips of water if it gets to dry. You may not need that.Season the Bekri Meze
So, after that, 10 minutes with the peppers, we're going to add 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp cumin and 1 tsp of dried Greek oregano. Give that a stir and cook for just 3-4 minutes more. It's not suppose to be soupy, it's supposed to be kind of dry and sticky. This is packed with flavor. Fantastic party food. This is just really great rustic Greek cooking.Anyway, that's the Bekri meze, the drunkard's meze. And, a meze is a small plate of food to be served at a party or gathering where you're drinking wine. You'll have 5 or 6 of these different mezes. Really easy, so delicious and just a couple ingredients - super easy techniques. I hope you give it a try. Enjoy.
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