"Since time immemorial, the ancestors of the people of the world have cooked food over an open fire. I'm not talking about our great-grandfathers, but about the ancestors of mankind - people who lived a hundred thousand years ago, when there were no different nationalities, countries, cultures and culinary traditions," says Vilniaus restaurant Chef Dominykas Kupčinskas is one of the founders of "Protėviai". He is the one who helps fire meet the recipes of modern cuisine.
Homo sapiens, a thinking man, after hunting the beast, came up with the idea of roasting it on an open fire. He probably liked the taste of the roasted meat, and not only families, but also tribes began to gather around the fire, sharing the day's fried food and stories of his quest. Over the centuries, the fireplace was replaced by a table, fire moved into the house, became an integral part of the kitchen, and then it was forgotten again - gas and electricity made their revolutions.
"We have to relearn how to control the fire," says D. Kupčinskas, the chef of "Protėvii". - we miss real things. Fire, firewood, quality meat, fish, the vegetables grown by the farmers create them, the old cuisine begins to live in our modern world."
Although the name of the restaurant speaks of old times, its creators see in the tradition of the ancestors of the world what is suitable for the modern diner. "Some things do not change, they remain for millennia," D. Kupčinskas is convinced. "Tasty food, good company on the grill terrace in the very center of the city, dinner cooked on an open fire and fellowship is definitely a well-deserved reward of the day for today's man."
The dishes of the recently opened open fire steak restaurant have already been appreciated by national celebrities and guests. When they visit a grill restaurant, they are not surprised by a huge, three-meter-long, wood-fired and open-flame grill, on which the restaurant's dishes are prepared.
"We created the restaurant together with "Meat Brothers", they provide meat grown by the best cattle breeders. We serve not only meat, but also fish and vegetables, we prepare everything over an open fire. Chefs around the world choose electricity and gas for cooking today, but we want to return to the old tradition of cooking modern dishes over a flame. Just like our ancestors did. Such food is more alive, retains its good qualities and taste", the chef is convinced.
D. Kupčinskas has worked in well-known restaurants in the country - "Stebuklai", "Bizarre", "Pachamama Dinner Club", the one with a "Michelin" star in a restaurant "28 +" in Sweden. He says he is not one to admire fine dining and can patiently place details with tweezers. He likes shareable food that looks good and tastes good. The chef is especially interested in sauces, which can raise dishes to a new level of taste, spices that are not characteristic of the Baltic Sea countries, Scandinavia and even Europe, which awaken the taste of the eater, and Asian Fusion direction of food production.
"When I'm asked to single out my favorite product, I'm always confused - everything suits me: meat, fish, and vegetables. Fish is the easiest to prepare - you don't need much, just a fresh citrus sauce. Meat is something else. It is extremely important to get and serve a good, high-quality product to the diners," says the chef of "Protėvius" and suggests using the meat glossary prepared for the diners.
Meat Glossary or What's What?
Steak (steak): it is often believed that only beef steak is called this, but in fact, any meat and even fish steak can be named just like that.
Beef Cuts (tenderloin): the least active back muscle of the ox, located below the part called the loin. The meat is soft, without a fatty layer. This is the most expensive part of the beef, because it is the least obtained from the whole ox, but lovers of expressive steaks choose it less often - precisely because of its too mild, indistinct taste. Standard cut front or back steak (filet mignon) weighs about 200 grams. The thicker middle part of the cut is cooked as a succulent chateaubriand steak for sharing. Weighs about 500 grams.
Sirloin (New York Strip): slightly leaner meat, with a layer of fat over the muscle. When cooking, it adds flavor to the meat, but does not leave it greasy. Real lovers eat this steak briefly fried, "with blood". The steak weighs about 300 grams.
Entrecote (rib eye): unlike sirloin, the layer of fat is not at the edge of the steak, but in the middle, so it is evenly distributed during cooking. Meat with the most expressive taste, juicy, interesting. A standard entrecote steak weighs around 300-350 grams.
Sirloin on the bone (t-bone): this is the part of the loin and sirloin divided by a T-bone. The bright taste of meat and tenderness meet in one steak. This is a larger steak for sharing, even weighing up to 1kg.
Older cow meat with bone. The meat is juicy, a little stiffer, the taste is intense. Vegetable fat is rich in beta-carotene, is yellow, and resembles melted butter when fried.
Dry aged meat. The meat is matured with the bone, thus it acquires a concentrated flavor and becomes structured. Dry aging reveals the so-called umami flavors - a nutty spice, highlights the best qualities of beef, and gives it softness. The experience of the chef of "Meat Brothers" and "Protėvii" states that the ideal period of dry aging is 45-50 days.
Wagyu beef. This meat is distinguished by fat, which melts at a much lower temperature than normal beef. Wagyu beef is juicy with a buttery and umami flavor. Wagyu beef comes from Japan, Australia, JAV and Uruguay. In 2022, "Wagyu Akune gold A5" grown in Japan won the gold medal for the best steak in the world. The Japanese feed some Wagyu bulls grape pomace, this feed gives the meat a distinctive smell.
