Fat hammer
As fat Ammer one is stalled Ortolan referred.
The ortolan, a songbird about the size of a sparrow, is caught and fattened in the dark or after removing its eyes for about 14 days. The darkness confuses the bird's day and night rhythm , so that it eats constantly. It then reaches about three times its original weight. It is drowned in Armagnac and cooked in fat in a special small saucepan.
To eat, the bird is put completely in the mouth and chewed. The eater puts a napkin over his head. On the one hand, the napkin should keep the scent close to your mouth and nose, and on the other hand, it is considered to be well-mannered not to bother your table neighbors with the sight and the resulting noises.
Ortolans were already considered a delicacy in ancient times. Since the population of ortolans has declined sharply and the bird is under species protection, catching and eating is prohibited in Europe today. In France, consumption is still widespread among affluent circles.
Alternatively, other smaller songbirds are prepared similarly, as they are easier and cheaper to get hold of. Animal rights activists see it as cruelty to animals . Depending on the state, this may also be a violation of animal welfare law .
Popular culture
- In season 3, episode 6 ("The Third Ortolan") of the television series Billions , Wylie Dufresne serves the illegal specialty.
- In Succession Season 1, Episode 6, an ortolan is eaten in a restaurant to celebrate a high payday and as a proof of power.
- In the series Hannibal Season 2, Episode 11 ("cheek red"), Hannibal Lecter William Graham serves the delicacy as part of an initiation rite and to illustrate his worldview.
- In the animated series American Dad, Season 4, Episode 1 ("Soldier Steve Smith"), Roger asks Francine to prepare an ortolan for him.
- In the series Brooklyn Nine-Nine season 1, episode 16 ("Here the level jumps towards you from every angle"), the consumption of ortolans is mentioned as a delicacy.
- In Tom Hillenbrand's thriller "Red Gold: A Culinary Crime. Xavier Kieffer's Second Case" , the imaginary Parisian mayor Francois Allégret serves the main character, the Luxembourg chef Xavier Kieffer, an ortolan. According to Allégret, this symbolizes the "soul of France". By consuming it, Kieffer is supposed to prove that he is French when it comes to culinary matters, "not a German or a Belgian".
- In the computer game " Call of Duty: WWII ", SS and Police Leader Heinrich tells the protagonist Camille "Rousseau" Denis that although he longs to return to Germany after leaving Paris, he will miss the French food. He describes the preparation of the ortolan as a fat hammer in detail and for him with pleasure.
literature
- E. Chancerin (Ed.): Larousse Ménager, dictionnaire illustré de la vie domestique , Paris, undated
- Georges-Marc Benamou: Le dernier Mitterrand , Paris 2005 ISBN 2-266-15166-5 . (Controversial report, inter alia, about Mitterrand's Ortolan meal.)
- Liz Alderman: Chefs Fight for Songbird . In: The New York Times . October 15, 2014, p. D1 ( online ).
- Tom Hillenbrand: "Rotes Gold", 2012-04-19, ISBN 978-3-462-04412-6 , Publisher: KiWi-Taschenbuch
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hillenbrand, Tom: Rotes Gold: a culinary thriller: Xavier Kieffers second case . 1st edition. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 2012, ISBN 978-3-462-04412-6 .