Entries Tagged as 'Meat'

Columbus Farm to Fork Naturals Giveaway

20

23.1.13

UPDATE!  Evin of Food Good, Laundry Bad is the winner! YAY! I hope you love your box of meat!

That’s me– looking super cool in my cheesemongering get-up. I learned so much about charcuterie while working at Murray’s Cheese, and even more about cheese of course. During the holiday chaos, I madly ran to the walk-in and fetched Columbus finocchionas and soppresattas and hoisted them onto the meat slicer. My arm would get sore from ballin’ New Yorkers demanding two pounds of thinly sliced Genoa salami. There were fun times behind the cheese counter (like waiting on celebrities and selecting cheeses for Martha Stewart), but I’m thankful to be the customer now. I often find myself buying Columbus products because they’re good value and taste great.

I was thrilled when Columbus offered to send me a sampler and sponsor a giveaway. They recently launched a new line of minimally processed, pre-sliced meats called Farm to Fork Naturals made from hogs and turkeys that have been raised with no antibiotics and 100% vegetarian feeds. The Farm to Fork Naturals line kicks off with three deli meat and four salame varieties. I’m usually suspicious of pre-sliced salami, but this product tastes just as good as meat straight from the deli (believe me, I snacked on tons of freshly cut salami behind that counter).

Farm to Fork Naturals has “no added nitrates or nitrites.”  As someone who dabbles in homemade salami, I immediately inspected the ingredients. Like almost all other “uncured” meats, this new product line eschews sodium nitrate in favor of celery salt, which has naturally occurring nitrites. I’m personally ambivalent about nitrites– I eat them in any form without worries or guilt. There is NO safe way to  make dry-cured sausage without nitrites in some form (and NEVER use celery salt to cure at home please!). If getting your meat preservatives from a more natural source puts your mind at ease, then the Farm to Fork naturals line is a fantastic alternative to other commercial salamis. I really can’t taste the difference.

Leave a comment on this post by this Sunday, January 27th, at 11:59pm CST. I’ll choose a winner at random and announce the results on Monday. This giveaway is only available to readers within the United States. The winner will receive a sampler box of the new Columbus Farm to Fork Naturals line, along with five $5 off coupons. Do it!

Disclaimer: Columbus sent me a sampler box to taste. They are also providing the giveaway prize free of charge.

 

20 comments categories: Charcuterie, Giveaway, Meat, Sausage

Festa di Salumi: Finocchiona

0

23.12.12

This post is part of the Festa di Salumi from Punk Domestics. It is the last of three projects from Salumi by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn.

A unifying theme of all salami-making guides is, “you need to be meticulous, you need to pay attention.” Well, that’s just not me.  I have zero interest in building a drying chamber from an old wine fridge. I finally broke down and bought a rack for my milk crate basket after I had done a million bike rides carrying groceries in my backpack. I won’t get the gear until I’ve earned it.

Making salami was similar to making any sausages– I flavored the meat with spices (fennel seed, black pepper, etc.), ground it up, and stuffed it into casings. Except this time sodium nitrite and nitrate were added along with a bacterial culture. I didn’t feel like ordering a bacterial culture, so I took an idea from Peter from Cookblog and added a few tablespoons of brine from my lactofermented sauerkraut.

Then I hung my sausages to dry. From the ceiling fan, no less. I scoffed at the special mold culture you can spray on your aging sausages and felt quite smug when powdery white mold appeared– “baller” mold if you will. “People pay for this mold!” I thought, “but I’m such a great salumier already that it’s just appearing out of thin air!” Then I ignored my salamis for a few days.

The next time I looked at them, the dreaded blue mold had appeared. I had to give my salamis a good scrubbing with white vinegar, but it was a little  late. The mold had penetrated two of them. It wasn’t deadly (this time), but I highly recommend against eating messed-up salami. It tasted most unpleasant. Still, two of the salamis turned out quite good.

So things didn’t go exactly as planned. Here are some pro tips I didn’t read in any of the books:

  • Hang your salamis so there is plenty of air circulation around them. Don’t let the salamis touch each other even if it makes hanging more convenient. The evaporating moisture seems to encourage blue mold growth.
  • Yes, your salami is safe to eat after it’s lost 30% of its starting weight, but the texture improves after its lost 40%. My salami still had an unappealingly soft texture at 30%.
  • Freeze all the meat grinder parts and stainless steel bowl for containing the meat. You can also place the meat itself in the freezer for about 30 minutes. It’s always important to keep everything cold during sausage making, but it’s doubly important for salami. It’s the only way to achieve those lovely chunks of white fat that dot a good salami.

Now I have great respect for legit salami-makers. I’ll need to step up my detail-oriented game for homemade salami to be worthwhile.

0 comments categories: Charcuterie, Festa di Salumi, Meat, Pork

Festa di Salumi: Lamb Prosciutto

4

15.12.12

This post is part of the Festa di Salumi from Punk Domestics. It is the second of three projects from Salumi by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn.

I’m hesitant to call this cured meat “prosciutto.” Taking a recipe from Ruhlman and Polcyn’s Salumi, this dry cured leg of lamb flavored with garlic had an undertone of gaminess and character. There was also a vague jerky quality that was especially prominent after devouring the guanciale, a cut rich with luscious pork fat.

You know the drill by now: I completely covered the meat in salt and garlic slices and placed in the fridge for about two days. Then I rinsed it off thoroughly, patted it dry, and hung it from my ceiling fan. The flesh turned an exceptionally striking purple color.

I’m not sure where Ruhlman gets the eight pound lamb legs he speaks of. My boned out leg weighed in at about three or four pounds, meaning it took less than a month to dry instead of the standard three to four months.  All and all, it was a satisfying charcuterie project, but I’ll probably stick to dry curing pork from now on.

4 comments categories: Charcuterie, Festa di Salumi, Lamb, Meat

Festa di Salumi: Bucatini all’Amatriciana with Guanciale

2

30.10.12

This post is part of the Festa di Salumi  from Punk Domestics.

As a pasta taskmaster, I’m gonna go out on a limb here.  According to legendary Italian cookbook writer Marcella Hazan, All’amatriciana and bucatini are “as indivisible as Romeo and Juliet. But other couplings of the sauce…can be nearly as successful.” I utterly disagree! Those hollow rope-like bucatini tubes are the only noodles that stand-up to this extraordinary sauce.

Not that making this dish is any trouble– most of the cooking is hands-off. Rendered pork fat amplifies the bright tomatoes and red pepper flakes to create a vibrant synergy. It feels crude adding a dollop of butter to the bubbling tomatoes rich with pork fat and olive oil,  but just do it. It adds creaminess and pleasantly coats your mouth.

Use home cured guanciale if you can. Pancetta is an acceptable substitute but lacks the nutty depth of dried pig jowl. For the love of god, DON’T USE BACON. The smokiness muddies the delicate harmony. The sauce is done after it has simmered for over an hour and pools of oil collect on the surface. Slather the cooked noodles in the sauce, and garnish with crispy guanciale and grated cheese.

My bucatini all’amatriciana recipe will make you swear off stodgy Prego slop on gluey spaghetti forever. Just please take care while making it.

Bucatini all’Amatriciana

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 ounces guanciale, sliced into thin lardons
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 28-ounce can tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 pound bucatini
  • 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Regianno

1. In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the guanciale. Turn the heat up to medium high, and let the guanciale cook for 2 to 3 minutes to get it going, and then turn the heat down to low and let it cook for about 15 minutes or until crispy.

2. Turn the heat down to medium low. Using a slotted spoon, remove 2/3 of the guanciale to a paper towel.

3. Add the diced onion and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.

4. Turn the heat up to medium. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 to 3 minutes.

5.Carefully add the tomatoes to the skillet. Cook on low for 15 minutes.

6. Stir the butter into the simmering tomatoes and mash them with a wooden spoon. Cook on low for another 45 minutes or until pools of oil collect on the surface of the sauce. Serve over cooked bucatini noodles garnished with the crispy guanciale and the cheese.

 

 

2 comments categories: Charcuterie, Festa di Salumi, Italian, Meat, Pasta, Pork, Vegetables

Happiness is a Dirty Kitchen

4

10.9.12

What’s the first thing you cut out when life gets busy? Laying on the couch? Checking stuff/internet surfing? I start slacking on the blog and cleaning. Dustin recently told me, “I like it when you’re busy– you’re much happier. Even though the kitchen is much dirtier.”

And I don’t even know why it’s dirty. It’s not like I’ve done any cooking except testing sausage and bacon recipes for a magazine article. Instead I’ve been living off a steady diet of kolaches, tacos, and the other healthful things for Serious Eats, washed down with rivers of iced coffee, beer, and $3 Whole Foods wine. “How I suffer for my art.”

What else did I do this summer? (It feels like summer is just ending here in Austin BTW) Visited New Orleans for wedding planning! But really just did more eating, drinking, and socializing… then hosted said friends during Hurricane Isaac and repeated the pattern in Austin. I also biked to and from my day job everyday in the 100+ degree heat. I get props for that, right?

I also basked in the glorious Portland late summer weather and attended IFBC while completing a writing class through Cook n’ Scribble. Really, I can always find the time for something if I want to. The class and conference made me realize that this blog has grown SO tiresome. The here-is-some-cool-stuff-I-made-with-a-recipe-and-photo format feels played out.

The last couple months have been a swirl of working, writing, drinking, and schmoozing. I’m exhausted, but I’ve had a blogging breakthrough. Can’t wait to share it with you after I clean my house!

In the meantime, I’m keeping up with the format. Here’s a country pâté I made with some of the scraps from bacon and sausage making along with some venison I found in my freezer.

Paté Campagne
 with Venison

1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small shallot, diced
1/2 of a medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, minced
1/4 cup cognac
1 pound pork shoulder, cubed (or various leftovers from sausage making)
1 pound venison shoulder or stew meat, cubed
1/4 pound pancetta or slab bacon, cubed
2 bay leaves
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground clove
1/4 teaspoon dried ginger
1/4 teaspoon dried coriander
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup shelled pistachios

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Toss the pork, venison, and bacon with the bay leaves, allspice, clove, ginger, coriander, and salt and pepper. Place in the refrigerator overnight.
3. Place the meat mixture in the freezer for 30 minutes.
4. In a pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic, shallot, onion and thyme and cook for about five minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Deglaze the pan with the cognac, scraping up the brown bits. Reduce by half, remove the onion and shallot mixture from the heat, and let cool to room temperature.
6. Discard the bay leaves and grind the cold meat into a bowl set in ice.
7. Add the cooled onion mixture to the meat. Using a sturdy spoon, stir vigorously to combine until the meat takes on a uniform texture.
8. Fold in the pistachios, distributing them evenly.
9. Pack the mixture into a terrine. Cover in foil and bake in a water bath in the preheated oven for about 90 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 170°F at the center of the pâté.
10. Allow to cool for 1 to 2 days in the refrigerator. Slide the pâté out the terrine and slice before serving.

4 comments categories: Charcuterie, French, Meat, Pork, Ramblings, Venison, Wild Game

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