Recipe: Fried Matzah and/or Matzah Brei, the Chicago way.

Most people don't know this dish even exists. And just to be clear, for any food snobs, don’t pronounce this “bree” as in brie cheese; it’s not nearly that sophisticated. It’s pronounced “bry” as in “bribe” or, more relevantly, “fry.”

Matzah Brei, in Hebrew and in Yiddish, literally means “fried matzah” (var. matzoh, matzah or matzo).

The development of Fried Matzah, in which crumbled pieces of matzah and beaten egg is combined before cooking, is attributed to the influence of Eastern European Jewish immigrants to New York and Chicago. The introduction of the first matzah–baking machine in 1857, produced slightly thicker and flakier matzah than those made by hand. It is the ideal type of matzah to use for this dish.

Fried Matzah is scrambled in the pan.

Matzah Brei as a fried matzah-and-egg dish originated in North America. Egg-based recipes began to be published in early Jewish-American cookbooks, including Aunt Babette's (1889 edition) and The Settlement Cook Book (1901). These early recipes called for whole matzahs or large, broken pieces of matzah to be dipped in beaten egg and then fried (like today's French toast). 

Matzah Brei is baked and served pancake-style.

Decide which style of this recipe you wish to serve:
    Fried Matzah or Matzah Brei

Ingredients for one or two servings:
    3 matzah sheets (for each additional matzah sheet - ADD one egg)
    4 large eggs 
    Salt - to taste
    White Pepper - to taste
    Oil / Butter / Chicken schmaltz (you choose)
    Example: (Serves 4 people - use 6 matzah and 7 eggs; or more)

Fried Matzah Directions:
    1) Wet both sides of the matzah sheets completely, under the running faucet.
    2) Pat the excess water from the wet matzah (lay flat on a kitchen towel or paper towel).
    3) beat eggs.
    4) break up the matzah sheets into medium-sized pieces.
    5) combine matzah and eggs in a bowl and stir lightly to coat all the matzah.
    6) In a frying pan, coat lightly with oil.
    7) Pour the mixture into a hot frying pan on medium heat.
    8) Fry and gently stir until the eggs are not runny any longer (soft) or to the desired
        consistency.

Matzah Brei Directions:
    1) Preheat oven to 375°F.
    2) Follow above directions #1 to #5.
    3) Pour the mixture into buttered glass bakeware, size depending upon serving size.
    4) Bake uncovered for 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serve immediately.

Traditional: Serve with grape jelly (or your choice of jam, jelly or preserves)

Variation: Serve with Sour Cream or Apple Sauce or both
Variation: Serve with Honey
Variation: Serve with natural Maple Syrup
Variation: Use Onion Matzah or Egg Matzah
Variation: Add onions
Variation: Add Apples & Cinnamon
Variation: Add Nuts

Recipe by Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Wally's Kosher Deli in the Milk Pail, Lincolnwood, Illinois.

I fondly remember working part-time after High School for "Wally's Kosher Deli" in the Milk Pail at 3320 West Devon Avenue, just west of McCormick Boulevard in Lincolnwood, Illinois. Before the Milk Pail, it was Blanche's Super Milk Market.

A BIT ABOUT WALLY BRIN'S YOUTH:

November 04,  1941, Chicago Tribune: Crane Tech High Defeats Anundsen in Soccer, 8-0, in a north section Chicago Public High School soccer league game in Winnemac park. Wally Brin, playing center forward, scored four goals for the west siders. It was the fourth win in six games.

May 02, 1942, Chicago Tribune: Wally Brin hit a home run in the last half of the seventh inning after two were out to give Crane H.S. a 12 to 11 victory over Foreman H.S. in Altgeld park. It was Crane's sixth straight win and  left it the only undefeted team in the west section.

October 22, 1942, Chicago Tribune: Wally Brin is the captain of Crane Tech H.S. soccer team. Undefeated Aledo H.S. with only one game to play, clinched at least a share in the Little Six Conference championship last Friday night, October 16, when it downed Avon H.S., 33 to 13. All other conference teams have lost at least one game.

June 03, 1943, Chicago Tribune: Crain Tech H.S., defending west section champion, defeated Steinmetz H.S., 6 to 4, in Altgeld park, cutting Steinmetz's lead in the current race to half a game. Wally Brin caught the first six innings for Crane H.S. and then when to the mound in the seventh, relieving Gene Revell and checked the rally after Steinmetz had scored four runs.

 

Wally was a minor league baseball player for the Chicago White Sox before he entered the Army. He was an Army MP for three years during WWII.  

Walter "Wally" W. Brin has owned the Deli since 1971. Wally retired due to illness in 1976 and passed away on Monday, May 30, 1988. He is interred at Westlawn Jewish Cemetery on Montrose Avenue, Norridge, Illinois.

The family said, "It broke our hearts when we sold this business, but many things change regardless of what you do to make improvements." 

I worked part-time after High School for Wally's Deli in the Milk Pail, which was 5 blocks from my house, for 4 years, most nights but some weekend mornings too.

It was a great job and pay, especially for a high school student. Wally was a great guy to work for. We cooked the best brisket corned beef, 15 briskets at a time, three days a week, in the back room of the Deli.

We were free to eat anything from the Deli except for the Lox and Smoked Chubs (small white fish), which I ate nearly every night for 4 years. Wally knew! 

Rosen's Rye Bread was delivered into a locked box in the alley behind the building every morning around 4 o'clock. They were so hot that you needed gloves to handle the loaves. 

The top sellers were the 1. Meat, 2. Cheese, 3. Fish, and 4. Vegetable Lazy Susan Trays. The average order was 3 types of trays, feeding anywhere from 30 to 300 or more. Being Kosher, we catered to Synagogue events, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, Weddings, Funerals, Shiva (a week-long mourning period in Judaism, [aka Wake; non-Jewish]), Family Reunions, Sweet-16 parties, and other special events. We delivered at no cost. 

Wally's made a killer 3-bean salad, chopped chicken liver, lox cream cheese, and many other Jewish favorites that people would drive 20-plus miles to purchase. 

Wally found me a part-time day job two summers in a row with one of his restauranteur friends. One was a fast-paced breakfast and lunch sit-down restaurant downtown with a deli/sandwich counter where customers lined up outside waiting to order. Another summer job was with the "Bagel Nosh" in the Gold Coast neighborhood on State Street in the Rush Street area. 

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Wally's served sandwiches, hot and cold. One evening, a regular customer, a complainer, came in, "Last night, my sandwich didn't have enough corned beef on it." Wally's served huge sandwiches. He ordered a hot pastrami sandwich with heavy mustard on both sides and a half-pound of coleslaw. I put a lot of mustard on both sides of both slices of rye bread so he couldn't pick it up with his hands. Wally asked me if that guy had been in a few days later. I told him I hadn't seen him since I put mustard on both sides of both slices of the rye bread. Wally burst out in laughter. He said he didn't know how to get the guy to stop complaining. While he gave me a hug and thanked me, he said, "That's the funniest way to rid the Deli of an unwanted customer I've ever heard." 

You knew he was genuine because Wally was always upbeat, in a good mood, and treated everybody respectfully and kindly.

The Milk Pail closed its doors in 1992.

Not to be confused with the Milk Pail Restaurant in Dundee, Illinois. 

INDEX TO MY ILLINOIS AND CHICAGO FOOD & RESTAURANT ARTICLES.

Copyright © Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved.

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