Playing with bellies again...



mmm bacon.


  That there is a new batch of bacon I've got going on. Finally. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I have been buying my bacon as of late. What started as a "just this once" exception for lack of time turned into a weekly thing. And while all bacon is pretty much awesome in my book, every single time I bit into an overly crisped and much too thin strip, I thought about how much better my own would be. Making bacon is so easy and so crazy good that it's hard not to feel guilty for skipping it.
  The greatest pleasure in making your own foods is of course the experimentation. I'm not bound by what bacon makers think should be in my bacon, I can use whatever the hell I want (Now that's meaty liberation). And while I usually go the sweet and simple route with maple syrup, I wanted to play with this batch a little. This go around I opted for a bold and molasses-esque buckwheat honey, a healthy dose of whiskey, and an aromatic blend of bay leaves, juniper berries, black pepper, garlic, and nutmeg. As of this moment the pork bellies have finished their week long cure and are forming a *pellicle in the refrigerator, after which they will get slow smoked over Bourbon barrel wood chips. Stay tuned, recipe and pictures of the final product to come!

  *Fun Meat Geek trivia fact of the day*: A pellicle is a thin covering of protein that forms on a meat that is exposed to circulating air. It is essential when smoking meat as its tacky surface traps and locks in smoke flavor. It also acts as a protective membrane of sorts by preventing the meat from drying out. Forming a pellicle on home cured meats is as easy as placing the meat on a cooling rack (for circulation) and leaving it in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

 

3 of the best things in life...Combined

  It has occurred to me that making charcuterie may just be slowly evolving from interest to obsession. I often find myself fantasizing about grinding pork and smoking large quantities of meat, and scheduling days off not for socializing or relaxing but for experimenting with lard and hog casings in the kitchen. The more I dabble in the homemade, the more addicting it becomes. The only things I need now are a few pigs to raise and a bigger meat grinder.
  Lately, everything has been about sausage. The combinations and flavors one can make are endless. While bacon is a divine creation, it is not nearly so varied in styles. So what happens when a beer drinking cheese monger starts crafting sausages? Well, you get a Cheddar Beer Sausage. A power trio of superior foods. I refrained from adding any bacon (the 4th super food) to the mix for fear I might marry it.




The makings of a very good night

   This sausage is a bulk fresh sausage like the others I have made so far, but half is destined to become links after this weekend. I kept the seasonings fairly simple so the cheese and beer could shine through, just a hint of caraway and red pepper. I used an English farmhouse cheddar and an awesome smoked Marzen as the main ingredients. And just so I wouldn't feel completely ridiculous about having sausage and beer for dinner, I threw in a little spinach and spring onions as a green bed for the tender patties to rest on.






  I can think of a certain Mr. Dean who can take a hike.

CharcutePalooza: The Grinding



Good Morning

  Oh the shame! It has been nearly one month since my last post! While I could say that my distractions have consisted of only work and chores, I did manage to sneak in a tiny bit of downtime. A short weekend in the North Georgia mountains can do wonders for the soul. Just look at those wonderful fresh eggs! Those on some crisp toast, a cold beer, and a babbling brook equal the perfect morning (What...you don't drink beer in the morning?).
  Yet one cannot live on beer eggs alone, at least I can't. So, I figured this would be as good a time as any to debut some homemade sausage. Before this challenge, I had never once attempted something as seemingly complicated as ground sausage. The funny things is, once you try it, you feel like a fool for thinking it would ever be hard. I can see how that way of thinking could hold anyone back from handmade cooking. But I can honestly say I have not had that much fun making food in the kitchen at midnight by myself before.
  I decided to take up both challenges and make breakfast sausage and Chorizo. I am very glad I did. I was also surprised to find that fresh sausage was easier than some of the previous tasks of this Year of Meat. It simply consisted of a fresh pork shoulder beautifully marbled with fat, diced and seasoned, thoroughly chilled, and then ground. For the breakfast sausage I added sage, lots of fresh garlic, and dried blueberries. The Chorizo included many different dried chilies, garlic, oregano, and tequila.

Ready for grinding

  The diced meat was then chilled very well, and ground using my new and magical Kitchenaid grinding attachment. It ground quickly and efficiently. So efficiently in fact, that I barely had time to snap a photo. And that was all there was too it. To make links, I could have stuffed the fresh sausage into casings, but this was strictly to test the water, nothing more. I made both sausages the night before leaving for the camping trip.

 
After a night of rum and allergies, nothing was more satisfying than blueberry sausage, toast, and eggs. The Chorizo was reserved for a late night concoction of sausage, onions, garlic, celery, tomatoes, and rice stewed together into a rich improv gruel.

Cure for the common hangover

Meal prior to common hangover

  Before now, I had not given much thought nor appreciation to sausage, as I have always been a bacon freak. But having experienced the joy in making it, as well as the comfort in consuming it, sausage has certainly been elevated to new heights in my book, and I cannot wait to construct my next grind.

CharcutePalooza: The Tasso of the Ham

Tasso Hams

  Well, I'm a little late getting to this, but nevertheless I finally got around to making tasso ham. Now I feel real embarrassed admitting this, being one who spends every day of my life around cheese and charcuterie, but I didn't know what tasso ham was. But that is the beauty of this challenge, to learn about new ingredients, new cooking methods, and new skills.
  So then tasso ham is not really even ham, but pork shoulder that has been cured, rubbed in a spicy aromatic blend of white pepper, marjoram (although I actually used oregano), allspice, and cayenne, then smoked. It isn't meant to be eaten as a main dish (or so they say), but instead used as a seasoning for just about anything you can think of. It is most commonly used in Cajun cooking for jambalaya and gumbo. It is also ridiculously easy to make. It cured in less than 4 hours, and was done smoking in less time than that. By far the easiest of the challenges as of yet.
  Ok, ham lesson over. Since I haven't really had the time lately to use this meaty condiment for things like gumbo or beans or any dish that takes hours to prepare, I turned to my ever trusty standby. Breakfast, it's the most tasty important meal of the day.
  I did nothing more than crisp up a little bit of the ham with a handful of lovely greens from the garden and a couple of eggs from the coop. In cooking, simple is rarely boring.

Spinach, Arugula, & Beet Greens

  Sauteed Greens with Tasso Ham & Fried Eggs


  Ingredients

  2 ounces Tasso Ham, cubed
  1 garlic clove, minced
  1 large handful greens (I used spinach, arugula, and red beet greens, but you can use whatever you want)
  2 eggs
  butter
  salt & pepper

 

cubed & ready for action

  Add ham to pan and crisp, about 5 minutes.
  Add garlic, saute for 30 seconds.
  Throw in greens, season, and cook until wilted, set aside.
  Lightly butter pan, add eggs, and season with salt and pepper. Cook to whatever doneness you like.
  Top greens with eggs, serve.

Breakfast is served

More bacon goodness

Smoked for 3 hours

CharcutePalooza: Pancetta...Conquered

   It appears that all of my pancetta rolling frustrations paid off in the end. Today I cut my pancetta down from its' gallows and further inspected it. No mold, slightly dry on the outside but still pliable, smelled tasty. All good signs. After freeing it from its' (bad) truss, I cut it straight through the middle. Beautiful! My crazed rolling attempts did pay off.

swirly pork



   But one cannot judge a meat on good looks alone, I needed to know how it tasted. After having consumed a good deal of bacon on its' own, I figured I should incorporate this cured meat into some sort of recipe. After picking up a gorgeous bunch of kale on impulse and taking inventory of ingredients on hand, a lovely pasta dish seemed only right. Never mind it was for breakfast. Pancetta is pretty much bacon anyway.
   I used a whole wheat spaghetti for its' nutty flavor, but any pasta will do. There really isn't any sauce, allowing the pancetta to shine through instead. The earthy bitterness of both cauliflower and kale compliment the pancetta, while sweet squash contrasts it. You could just as easily use bright ingredients like fresh peas, artichokes, or asparagus for a springtime twist.

Roasted Cauliflower, Buttercup Squash, & Kale Spaghetti with Pancetta


Ingredients

1/2 lb. whole wheat spaghetti
1 small cauliflower head, divided into florets
1 buttercup squash, peeled and chopped
3 1/2 inch thick slices pancetta, cubed
1/2 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch kale, rough chopped
1/4 c chicken or beef stock
salt & pepper


Boil spaghetti in salted water until "al dente". Drain and toss with olive oil.
Roast cauliflower and squash in a 400 degree oven until crispy and browned (about 30 minutes).
Saute pancetta in large pan until also crispy and browned (About 8 minutes). Remove and drain on paper towels.
Add onions to pan and cook until tender (4 minutes). Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add kale and toss. Add stock and cover. Cook for 6 minutes. Remove from heat.
Toss vegetables with pasta, season with salt and pepper.
Top with pancetta.

Breakfast

   I think the greatest lesson I am learning from all of these meaty DIY projects thus far is how special food traditions really are. It is so easy to order meat from the deli (well, other than the waiting part) and not give another thought to it. But when you take the time and effort to cure a piece of pork and watch it transform into something as identifiable and truly iconic as bacon, it really makes you stand back and appreciate the skill those before us had to not only survive on what they made, but make it so delicious too. I feel humbled by the craft I am learning.

CharcutePalooza: Glory be to Bacon




Oh Bacon!



   CharcutePalooza, you have been so good to me. I cannot stress enough how glorious homemade bacon is. Even foregoing the smoking step of the process, my bacon turned out salty, sweet, and heavenly. It fries up quickly in the pan without shrinking into nothingness, and has a delightful crispy chew. It therefore boggles my mind that more people don't try this easy cure at home.
   The beautiful thing about making your own is that you have complete control over what goes into it, how it's flavored, and also how it is cut. My biggest complaint about grocery store bacon (besides the price) is how terribly thin it is. I'm not looking to eat bacon flavored paper, I want something I can sink my teeth into. Speaking of price, to make a 3lb. slab of bacon, all of my ingredients cost me under $12 (local farm-raised pork included). Now that I know how easy it is to make, I will never buy bacon from the store again. And thank the stars, when the Zombie Apocalypse comes, I will not be without the good stuff.

   What have I been doing with all of this tasty meat? Well, I admit I haven't been too creative in the bacon cooking department. I do realize that there is a vast array of different applications for such a lovely and versatile food. I could be flavoring stews and beans, or wrapping all sorts of cuts of meat, maybe even candying it for a Bloody Mary perhaps (Ok, that is totally on the list). But really, I've just been eating it with eggs for breakfast. I love all ways in which bacon can be prepared, but now that my hens are churning out small mountains of eggs each day, how could I possibly resist home cured bacon with freshly laid eggs straight from the backyard?
   I did, however, try a slightly new variation on the eggs and bacon dish this morning. After an exceptionally crappy week (yes, I am sick, again), I thought maybe something warming and hearty would help heal my tired germy soul. And it is so easy to throw together that excuses such as sickness, hangovers, or sleepy Sunday mornings don't apply here.



Baked Eggs with Bacon


Ingredients

1 thick slice of rustic bread
2 slices bacon
1 slice sharp cheddar cheese (Try Seaside, Cabot Black wax, or Tillamook)
2 eggs
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Fry bacon over medium heat in skillet, drain on paper towels.
Brush a small amount of bacon grease onto bottom of a small ramekin or baking dish.
Add bread slice, top with cheese, layer on bacon, and crack eggs on top (It is ok if eggs slide off, the parts that touch the sides of the dish get extra crispy and delicious).
Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
Bake anywhere from 12-16 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs (If you like your eggs cooked hard, you can break the yolks before you bake them).


This recipe is as equally easy to make for a crowd as it is for one person. You can layer all of your ingredients into a large casserole dish if you are making this for several people.

A good day for a Hog Killin'

No, not these guys

   So, the other day I attended my very first hog killin'. And yes, it must be referred to as a "killin'". Not a butchering, not a slaughtering, not even a processing. That's just the way it is in the South. I imagine that very few people would ever have any desire to ever attend a hog killin', but I have been toying around with the idea of raising pigs for quite some time now, due mainly to my immense love of all things cured and made from pork, and was curious about the process.
   When I first entertained the idea of butchering my own chickens, I wasn't sure what to expect. As the chicks grew older, I never felt any real attachment to them, admiration and amusement for sure, but pets they did not become for me. So when the big day came, it was surprisingly easy. Now, killing anything should never be enjoyable, but after the kill was made it was smooth sailing. However, a pig is a bit different from a bird. And granted the hogs I would be watching were not my own, I felt it would give me a good idea of what to expect. Not to mention there would be a lot of food involved!
   The big event was held early in the morning down in a tiny little town called Woodland at the obscure Old South Farm Museum, which turned out to be a really neat place filled with all sorts of farming and food relics. I was shocked and a little inspired by the turn out, maybe 100 or so people total. My morning haziness quickly wore off in the midst of so much anxious anticipation, plus it was just damn cold. The instructor was a professor who specialized in meat science, which I had never heard of.
   The killing itself (first of two that day), went off without a hitch. The hog was shot in the head, immediately thereafter he was stuck with a knife in the jugular and allowed to bleed out quickly in the cold air. From there he was scalded with hot water and scraped of his white hair. Then strung up, gutted, beheaded, and divided into primal cuts.
   Witnessing the event gave me a much better understanding of what to expect and how one could feasibly do the same at home. It also eased my mind a little to know that the process was so quick, humane, and painless. Lastly, I felt I had respected and honored not just those particular animals, but every pig that I consume by not turning my face and hiding, but instead facing it's death and thanking it for what it provides me.
   The rest of the day was filled with nonstop demonstrations and classes on a wide array of topics, from sausage making and curing, to lye soap making and "chitlins" (the latter, I quickly discovered, I did not like). There were of course samples to accompany all of this, of which I believe I am still recovering from.

Mmm...pork skins



Making chitterlings....um, yum?




   After all of the intense pork fat snacking, the day was rounded out with yet a second hog killin', followed by 25 lbs. or so of freshly made sausage to take home. During all of this, one could have easily gotten lost in the wide array of fascinating equipment and knick knacks laying about had it not been so blasted cold. Among them was this gem...

I need this

and naturally my favorite...

I can't help but think that this event fits into the year-long theme of CharcutePalooza perfectly. Even though the Old Fashioned Hog Killin' of 2011 has come and gone, certainly see to it that you attend next year's if you are in the vicinity. Who knows, maybe next spring a couple of piglets will find their way onto my property!

CharcutePalooza: The roast, the roll, the risotto

Bacon!

   After what felt like forever, but was really only about one week, the bacon is ready! After its' chill in the refrigerator, into the oven it went. Unfortunately, it did not see the smoker this time. The weather in Georgia is a very peculiar thing. Last weekend it was 70 degrees, I was lounging on a patio in flip flops and sipping a margarita. Today, freezing cold and rainy. So the oven would have to suffice. After a 2 1/2 hour slow roast, it was done. Nothing to it. I am going to chill it before I slice it and fry it, but I did steal a small chunk from the side, which was divine. Salty, sweet, and tons of flavor. I cut the rind off and saved it for future beans, soups, and the such.



Use rind for superior flavoring



   Project Pancetta on the other hand, was quite the pain in the ass learning experience. After its' chilly cure, it needed to be rolled up tight and tied with twine. Sounded easy enough. Maybe it was the long day at work, or possibly the lack of wine, but rolling a firm cured piece of slippery meat as tightly as possible was maddening. It took many attempts just to get the damn thing rolled, and just as many to tie it even somewhat respectably (yes, I am still completely terrible at trussing, but improving). It did not seem to matter how long I made that piece of twine, it was just never quite long enough. But after a lengthy and tiring battle, the pork caved, I won.

You guessed it, into the coat closet

   Yet another creepy piece of meat hanging silently in the closet. This one kind of resembles a person's arm, or maybe shin? It will need about 2 weeks to finish curing before it is ready. I have no idea what I am going to do with all of this meat!
   While the bacon was roasting in the oven, I thought I would take a moment to make a duck stock. I had the carcass from the prosciutto hanging out in the freezer, and I also had some leftover duck prosciutto, so naturally I should make risotto. If you haven't made your own stock before, I highly recommend that you try it. You can use either a raw or cooked carcass, be it chicken or duck. I do very little measuring when I make stock, I tend to instead just toss whatever I have in hand into the pot.


Duck Stock

Ingredients

1 carcass, stripped of meat
4 carrots, roughly chopped
1/2 onion, cut into quarters
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 scallions, cut in 1/2
4 stalks celery, roughly chopped
4 sprigs thyme
1 bunch parsley
2 bay leaves
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
water to cover

Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours. Strain, and that's it. You can chill it overnight and skim the fat off the top, but I never have the time or patience for that.

  After the stock is made, you have the perfect opportunity to make risotto. Since the stock is already hot, there is not need to go to the trouble of heating it up. I used the duck prosciutto from the first CharcutePalooza challenge to bring the dish together. This is a great recipe for a cold damp night, but can be improvised for any season.

Duck Risotto with Mushrooms & Spiced Raisins

Ingredients

2 T butter

2 T onion, minced

6 mushrooms, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 sprigs thyme, stripped

1 3/4 c Arborio rice

1/3 c red wine (heated)

7 cups of hot duck stock (can substitute with chicken, beef, or mushroom stock)

*handful of spiced raisins

1 T butter

2 T half & half (optional)

Pecorino Romano to taste

Duck Prosciutto to garnish

Melt butter in a large saucepan and add onions and mushrooms. Saute until tender.

Add rice and garlic, cook for 1 minute.

Add wine and stir until absorbed.

Add 1/2 c of stock and stir until absorbed.

Continue adding 1/2 c of stock at a time until rice is thick and al dente (about 20 min.)

Add raisins, remaining butter, half & half, and cheese.

Stir and cover for 3 min.

Spoon into individual bowls, top with more Pecorino Romano, and garnish with thin slices of duck prosciutto.

*Spiced Raisins

Heat a handful of raisins in a small bowl with brandy, allspice, and orange peel. Let steep for 20 min.

CharcutePalooza: The Salt Cure



A gorgeous local farm-raised pork belly



   At last! My pink salt has arrived! Now I can move onto more pressing matters, like curing! And blogging! The CharcutePalooza challenge for the month of February is salt curing. While sodium in general has gotten quite a bad rap in the health world, salt is an incredibly valuable mineral our bodies cannot do without. I realize that many of you are concerned about nitrites and pink salt. Nitrites, however, naturally occur in many fresh vegetables (hence why celery juice is used in "uncured" lunch meats). I personally do not consume large amounts of nitrite cured meats anyway, and do not worry myself over it, but that's just me. You should do your own research.
   I feel it is truly a crying shame that more people do not cure their own bacon. If I had known how easy the process was, I would have done it ages ago. My hopes are that I can possibly persuade you to try it for yourself. All it involves is some really nice pork belly, some salt, pink salt (although you can do without it), and whatever flavorings you so choose. Bacon is traditionally smoked, but you can skip this step as well.
   I prefer sweet bacon, so after acquiring a beautiful pork belly, I slathered it in a mixture of salts, maple syrup, maple sugar, and black pepper.

Basking in all its' maple glory

   From there, it was into a Ziploc bag to be stored in the refrigerator to cure for about 7 days. It will need to be turned over every other day. Finally, it will be smoked. I am really looking forward to a good excuse to fire up our smoker in the middle of winter. Next up was Pancetta. Made much in the same way bacon is, pancetta is its' Italian cousin, just as tasty, only it fore goes the smoking and adds a little dry curing time.
   I trimmed another pork belly until it was nice and square. For its' rub I used salt, brown sugar, pepper, bay leaves, nutmeg, mustard seed, thyme, and fresh garlic. It was hard not to start gnawing on it right then and there, it smelled that good.

   Like the bacon, it will also spend 7 or so days in a bag in the refrigerator. But instead of meeting a smoker/oven, it will be rolled, tied, and hung to dry in the same coat closet that the duck prosciutto hung out in. Yay, more creepy meat in the closet! It will take a few weeks to finish, but will be oh so worth it.
   After trimming the second belly, I was left with a small heap of meat and fat leftovers. According to Mr. Ruhlman, an excellent way to put those scraps to use (waste nothing!) is to make Salt Pork out of them. I have actually never used salt pork (which is exactly what is sounds like), but it can be used to flavor any number of dishes. Chili, stews, beans, tomato sauces, soups, and risottos can all benefit from a small hunk of salt pork. And it can be kept in the freezer for seemingly forever, so why not?!

Salty & Porky


   Since finally getting my hands on Charcuterie, I have been reading over all of the chapters and getting a good sense of what Michael Ruhlman is all about, at least when it comes to meat. I find it very exciting that someone is so passionate about supporting the art of meat curing. With so much negative hype about salt and fat, most people won't even look at a slice of salami, let alone put it in their mouths. What most people fail to realize is that the real concerns are the quality of the foods we eat, and the hidden evils that lurk in them. Preservatives, additives, flavoring agents...those words you can't pronounce on the label, those are what you should be worried about. Salt and fat have been around as long as we have, and always will be. So here is to salt and fat!

Long live charcuterie!