Μπεκρή-μεζές (Bekri Mezes)
Feb 7th, 2008 | By Peter Minakis | Category: Appetizer, Greek, Meze, Pork, Wine
ΜπεκÏή μεζÎÏ‚ (Bekri Mezes) literally translates as “drunkard’s appetizer”.
Recipes for this dish vary widely but they all seem to use pork and wine in them.
The origins of this dish no doubt come from the Greeks who left Constantinople (Istanbul) and brought their rich cooking traditions with them.
Interpretation of this dish will vary from region to region and town to town so, I’m going to give you my take on this meze.
It’s a great winter appetizer and you probably won’t find it on the menus of tavernas in the summer in Greece.
You have succulent pork, wine, stock, sauce…all enhancing the sauce that was made for the simple pleasure of dipping it in good bread.
Preparation for this dish didn’t take too long and you certainly won’t have any leftovers. OH… this time I also volunteered to do dishes…they were easy to clean (wiped clean by the bread).
ΜπεκÏή μεζÎÏ‚ (Bekri Mezes)
1 lb. of pork butt, cut into cubes
flour
sweet paprika
vegetable oil for browning
1/4 cup olive oil for saute
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 cubanelle pepper, sliced
1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
4 ripe plum tomates, chopped
(or crushed from can)
1 bay leaf
6 whole allspice berries
1 small red chili pepper
1 cup of chicken stock
1/2 white wine
salt and pepper to taste
dried Greek oregano
- Cut your pork butt into cubes. In a bowl, mix some flour, sweet paprika, salt and pepper and dredge in the mixture. Shake off the excess flour and set aside.
- In a large skillet, pour some vegetable oil and warm to a medium heat. Brown your pork cubes in batches and set aside in a plate. Discard the oil and place the skillet back on the heat.
- Add your olive oil and saute your onions, peppers, garlic and some salt on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add the smoked paprika and stir to coat all the vegetables for a minute or so.
- Add your stock, wine, bay leaf, allspice, chili pepper, chopped tomatoes and pork cubes and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Check seasoning, adjust with salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes so that the sauce can thicken.
- Serve hot on small plates with a good sprinkle of dried oregano on top and some good crusty bread.
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I could eat this appetizer as a meal!
Peter, this looks so delicious.
Oh my, I am weeping at the deliciousness of this. I’m sad I’ve never had it! Cubanelle AND allspice? Heaven :)
We love this dish and have it all the time.
We don’t have pork often, I’m not sure why.
You have till Monday to make your dolmades. I have it written in stone that I shall make them on that day. LOL I warn you the competition is fierce, have you checked out valli’s and ivy’s dolmades? Am intrigued to see your version.
This pork dish looks fork tender. I can only imagine the flavour…British Columbia is a little too far for the flavours to waft over to my place. Do I detect a challenge also for dolmade making from Pixie. There is no Greek Ya Ya in my past but Aglaia taught me a thing or two…wink…wink…
This sounds amazing. I just got some pork butt the other day and now I’m wishing I had read this before cooking it!
Your sauce looks out of this world!!!!! Bring it on!!!
This looks simply great Peter. I can almost taste the delicate flavours…..
The ingredients to that sauce sound heavenly.
I have a pig’s ass (err, shoulder) in my freezer right now! I was gonna slow-cook it using the sous-vide method and make pulled pork sammiches, but I might hafta save a hunk for your recipe! :)
This couldn’t look better, and that thick sauce… mmmmmm, so good! Sure it tastes as good as it looks :D
Kevin, I could too!
Elly, this is a great winter meze…go for it!
Pixie, everything’s tastier with pork.
Heather aka Potty-mouth, you actuallt have sous-vide equipment? *&%%((!
Nuria, try it..the family will love it!
Peter this looks awesome and there you go with that oregano!
Peter, I am totally drooling over this recipe! That sauce looks so wonderful and rich!
Oh my god, I just love all stew dishes. I discover you blog and yours recipes look mouthwatering.
This was fantastic! I doubled the amount of meat and peppers, but did not quite double the liquids, nor did I double the smoked paprika as I did not want it to overwhelm. I used Kourtaki Restsina which I had on hand, a long skinny green pepper that was only slightly spicy, and cut the meat into very small cubes, trimming away much of the fat as I went. I cooked it longer than you suggested too – maybe 45 minutes at the end. It was SO GREAT! The hit of the new year’s party we attended!