16 Monday Apr 2012
Posted in Lamb, Making Charcuterie, Rillettes and Other Potted Meats
True confession time. I am a saver. I want my favorite things to last forever, so I do what every “saver” does to their favorite preserved foods – I continue to take a bit and return it and by doing so, I can never run out. The only problem with this is that when food is “saved” for too long, things begin to grow. So when I looked at the lamb mortadella from Cypress a few weeks ago and noticed that a little bit of mold had joined the party, I knew that I had to act fast. Continue reading »
12 Thursday Apr 2012
Posted in Bacon Tasting, Cured Meats, Smoked Meats, Tasting Charcuterie
I have reached my limit on Bacon. Not bacon, but Bacon. The desserts, the coffins, and festivals (where chefs have bacon shipped in and then trendify it) — all of it. The part that it is meant to commemorate, bacon, is all but eliminated and, in its place, gluttony has been substituted. When I see bacon on a menu item, it is simple to distinguish whether it is added to create balance and harmony or to advance and encourage gluttony. Not that gluttony doesn’t have any place at the table, there will always be special meals where indulgences occur, but the pride associated with the excess is what has gotten so deeply under my skin. Continue reading »
09 Monday Apr 2012
There are traditions that are well known of which I have never experienced. Over Twitter this week, I have read about lamb cakes and, for the first dozen times, I honestly visualized something like the trotter cake. A small, crispy patty of lamb was what I thought, but what it actually is – a freakishly white cake with frosting layers large enough to push legal limits of blood sugar (see photo below) – scared the living hell out of me. Coming clean about my ignorance of this actual cake, I decided to create an Easter lamb cake worthy of your attention. Continue reading »
05 Thursday Apr 2012
Posted in Condiments and Pickles
To most, if you would ask how they would preserve citrus, they would likely talk about jam or marmalade. There is a select community, and I am assuming that if you read this blog that you are one of them, who think, “Duh, preserved lemons.” However natural with lemons, when presented something tasting incredibly similar yet appearing different, I was confounded as to how to use the whole thing. Continue reading »
02 Monday Apr 2012
Posted in Making Charcuterie, Other Game, Sausages
For as long as I can remember, we have been sold the myth that there is a magic rabbit that hatches eggs made from chocolate containing an bi-colored interior of congealed confectioner’s sugar. As someone who does not understand the draw to this marketing ploy or the egg itself, I wanted to take Easter back a little by marrying the bunny and the egg in a more natural way.
Just like I was always mystified by the Cadbury egg phenomenon, I have been mystified, both equally and oppositely, by the Scotch egg. The idea of wrapping a hard boiled egg in sausage then breading it and frying it seems like one of the more complete, handheld breakfasts around – certainly better than a pop tart or any of the artisan pop tarts that seem to be popping up everywhere lately. Continue reading »
29 Thursday Mar 2012
Posted in Butcher Cuts, Offal, Pork, Smoked Meats, Tasting Charcuterie, The Low Country Sconnie, Turkey
In the past. when looking at recipes that included smoked pork neck bones, I always asked myself if bacon could be substituted bacon for the neck bones. Smoked pork neck bones are not easy to find – they are a humble ingredient and most groceries do not get whole animals, so no neck bones. After a meal cooked over the past weekend, I now know that the answer is no, you can’t substitute them, and yes, you need to seek them out.
Bacon and pork neck bones are not even close. Both pork and both smoked, but then they diverge. The reason is texture and is hard to pinpoint at first. Then you wake up to pack the leftovers for work and a deli container of the okra soup falls from your hand and you find that the liquid has solidified from the rich gelatin in the neck bones. That texture softens when heated, but that added richness never goes away. Once you have the dish with it, the same dish without would never do. Continue reading »
26 Monday Mar 2012
With March in it final days, winter is ending and with it go some winter favorites. Braising turns to grilling. Roasting goes to grilling. Hell, it all goes to grilling. Cooking foods over fire is one of life’s great pleasures, but, despite two weeks of record high temperatures in Chicago, I had been putting off cooking rabbit and could not let the winter go by without making this winter-y dish. Continue reading »
22 Thursday Mar 2012
Posted in Lamb, Making Charcuterie, Pâtés and Terrines
Over the past year or so, I have sworn off most processed foods and, with stories like pink slime meat additives and the like, it looks like it may have been the right call. There are things that I miss though, like the dreaded cone of mystery meat, the gyro. Loosely described as “Greek” or “lamb“, the American gyro is found at most establishments that serve hot dogs and fries and comes from a truncated cone of meat-type substance, there are no discernible signs of being Greek and few people could identify the meat, or even that it is meat, by sight. While that is slightly offputting, but the pita-encased parcel of sliced “meat” cone holds a special place in my heart – and not simply clogging the arteries.
After watching Sean Brock describe his Husk Cheeseburger to Charlie Rose as an homage to his fast food burger, but made with care and actual ingredients, as he had stopped eating fast food, my mind went immediately to the beloved cone of mystery meat, the gyro. After a few searches, I found a cool SeriousEats post on the top, but the preparation did not really satisfy me. It seemed like someone trying to pass of a twice cooked meatloaf as a gyro. Continue reading »
18 Sunday Mar 2012
Posted in Bacon Making, Cured Meats, Making Charcuterie, Pork
As a legit Irish-American, I have a certain amount of guilt inherent to feeling responsible for the drunken displays of youthful exuberance so associated with St. Patrick’s Day. This year, while on a long pre-dawn jog, I saw a group of twenty-somethings in green lined up outside of a bar at 6 AM waiting to drink. Now, I regularly see bar workers leaving the bar while on my run, but this was a first. Coincidentally, this was the year where I stepped back from novelty St. Patrick’s day meats of years past, both corned beef tongue and corned beef, Guinness, and cabbage sausage, and went traditional. Continue reading »
15 Thursday Mar 2012
Posted in Beef, Cured Meats, Dried Meats, Lamb, Pork, Sausages, Tasting Charcuterie, The Low Country Sconnie
My Artisan Meat Share — Clockwise from top left: Finocchiona, pepperone, lamb salami, milano, snack sticks, Cypressata, lamb mortadella, bresaola, and nduja
A few weeks after leaving for Charleston, I still miss it. From the 80 degree weather to the Southern charm to the high concentration of amazing places to eat. I have a feeling that I would miss the coffee, ethnic foods, and proximity to family that I have in Chicago, but there is a lot to love about Charleston and the surrounding low country. Through the wonder of twitter, I was lucky enough to stumble into bringing back to Chicago a bit of Charleston in the Artisan Meat Share from Cypress Restaurant. Continue reading »
