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 NOTE: I the good fortune to spend a few days (August 25 – 27) in Des Moines, Iowa attending the 13th Annual Niman Ranch Hog Farmer Appreciation Dinner. The weekend included a variety of activities including a panel discussion on sustainable farming, a tour of the Willis Dream Farm in Thornton, Iowa, a trip to the famous Des Moines Farmers Market and fabulous 8 course meal prepared by a group of great chef’s from around the country.
The weekend was educational the thought-provoking. Over the next couple of days I’ll be publishing a series of posts highlighting the weekend. My plan is to end the series with a serious post about what I learned about hog farming along with a call to action for my readers.
Niman Ranch Weekend (Part 1): La Quercia
 Since most participants were not scheduled to arrive until later Friday morning, a few of us that arrived late the night before met for breakfast. We had a fantastic breakfast and with the prospect of spending a quiet morning in my hotel room I jumped at the chance to tour one of the most famous charcuteries in the United States, La Quercia.
La Quercia (The Oak) was started by Herb and Kathy Eckhouse in Norwalk, Iowa in 2002 and since their humble beginning in the basement of their home they have become one of the most respected charcuteries in the United States, if not the world. Jeffery Steingarten said their’s was the best prosciutto found in the US… domestic or imported. And after getting the chance to tour their facility and spend some time talking with Herb and Kathy it’s no wonder they have found such wonderful success on the plains of Iowa. (Learn more about Herb, Kathy and La Quercia here.)
Continue reading La Quercia: Eat Well, Live Well, Be Well
| Original content here is published under these license terms: | X | | | License Type: | Non-commercial, Attribution, no Derivative work | | | | License Summary: | You may copy this content, and re-publish it in unmodified form for non-commercial purposes, provided you include an overt attribution to the author(s). You are not permitted to create derivative works. | | | License URL: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ |
I take part in a couple BBQ Forums and although everyday brings a new set of great recipes to add to my “I’ve Got To Try This” list, today’s blog post is dedicated to one of the most amazing recipes I’ve seen in a long time. It come courtesy of Cha Cha BBQ Hut in Andes, New York. When I first saw the results of this recipe I knew I had to try it. My resulting product was simply one of the best cooks I’ve done in ages. It’s a long process, 3 weeks, but man was it worth the wait. With permission from Frank Davis of Cha Cha Hut BBQ, here’s my take on his recipe.
Continue reading Let’s Do The Pork Belly Cha Cha
| Original content here is published under these license terms: | X | | | License Type: | Non-commercial, Attribution, no Derivative work | | | | License Summary: | You may copy this content, and re-publish it in unmodified form for non-commercial purposes, provided you include an overt attribution to the author(s). You are not permitted to create derivative works. | | | License URL: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ |
 Getting ready for the brine A few years ago Celeste and I visited the wonderful city of Vancouver, Canada. During out stay we stopped by Granville Island and came across a smokehouse selling Salmon Candy, I’m don’t remember what they called it, but it reminded me a Pig Candy, so I called it Salmon Candy. A few days ago I was in the store and for some reason when I saw the salmon I thought of that trip and decided it was time to recreate that wonderful taste.
I checked out the internet for recipes and there appears to be just one recipe for for Salmon Candy. And if there’s only one recipe out there on the world wide web then it must be what I’m looking for. Well, it wasn’t as good as the Granville Island Salmon Candy so I’ll have to keep trying.
The final product was a little too salty and didn’t have the sweetness that I was hoping for. The saltiness I think I can get rid of by rinsing and soaking a little longer after the brine. Or maybe a shorter brine. Instead of 24 hours maybe cut it down to 12 hours. As for the sweetness. It just didn’t come out. I even put a layer of brown sugar on at the end just to try and get some more sweetness. Just didn’t work.
Any suggestions?
Continue reading Salmon Candy
| Original content here is published under these license terms: | X | | | License Type: | Non-commercial, Attribution, no Derivative work | | | | License Summary: | You may copy this content, and re-publish it in unmodified form for non-commercial purposes, provided you include an overt attribution to the author(s). You are not permitted to create derivative works. | | | License URL: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ |
I’ve not had great results with my charcuterie efforts lately. The bacon and panchetta cures last years were good but did not yield the results I was hoping for. I decided to give it a try again this week with something that would yield a better potential for success. And the end result was fantastic and I can’t wait to cook up a batch of jambalaya or red beans and rice. The tasso is going to be a great seasoning in several dishes.
Continue reading Charcuterie: Tasso
 Photo Courtesy of www.offalgood.com I originally wrote this article for Smoke Signals Magazine, an online publication of The BBQ Brethren, it is reprinted here with their permission.
Turning something many Americans would easily refer to as awful into meals that San Francisco tourists and residents alike flock to eat is what Chef Chris Cosentino is all about. Chef Cosentino has taken the art of cooking offal to a place most American chefs have shied away from.
According to Chef Cosentino’s website offal is described as “those parts of a meat animal which are used as food but which are not skeletal muscle. The term literally means “off fall”, or the pieces which fall from a carcass when it is butchered. Originally the word applied principally to the entrails. It now covers insides including the HEART, LIVER, and LUNGS (collectively known as the pluck), all abdominal organs and extremities: TAILS, FEET, and HEAD including BRAINS and TONGUE. In the USA the expressions “organ meats” or “variety meats” are used instead.” (www.offalgood.com)
Chef Cosentino’s interest stems from a desire to feature peasant cuisine of Italy, “so much of it is based on offal. When I slaughtered my first animal, I was amazed at how much meat was thrown away. From that moment on, I made it my mission to educate myself about how to cook and use every part of the animal. By doing this I am able to preserve and resurrect old techniques before they are gone.”
“These parts are only thrown away in the USA; every other country in the world eats them. Using every part is simply the right thing to do. When an animal gives its life for food, it’s important to do it justice by serving all of it. Moreover, each cut is beautiful in texture and flavor in its own special way, so why not enjoy all of them,” Chef Cosentino continues on why he gets a certain satisfaction out of making tasty eats from parts of animals most people would throw out.
Continue reading Chris Cosentino: The Life of an Offal Chef
 Today was the day the pancetta was supposed to be finished. And as things often go when learning to do something new it wasn’t meant to be. When I cut down the pancetta and sliced the top off it was apparent that the drying time was not long enough. I was curious about this recipe and it’s short two week drying process. It needs more drying, maybe another two weeks or more.
The possible reasons for the incomplete drying are many, but more than likely the back bedroom where I had the pancetta hanging wasn’t warm enough. The ideal temp is around 60 degrees with a60% humidity. The humidity here in the northern Sacramento Valley isn’t any where near 60% but that doesn’t appear to be a problem because a couple mists of water took care of that. But having a temperature below 60 degrees most of the time may have impaired the drying.
Continue reading Drying Pancetta Day 14
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Since most participants were not scheduled to arrive until later Friday morning, a few of us that arrived late the night before met for breakfast. We had a fantastic breakfast and with the prospect of spending a quiet morning in my hotel room I jumped at the chance to tour one of the most famous charcuteries in the United States, La Quercia.
