I Love Pork

I love pork. I love pork in all its forms. Bacon is quite possibly God’s greatest gift to gastronomy. I feel bad for those unable to eat pork due to religious reasons. They are really missing out on one of the most robust and beautiful flavors out there.

If you want to have a fun food adventure, you should try different forms of pork in all its glory.

Pork Chops
I’m talking the real deal, not over-cooked over-lean cardboard you get at most restaurants. I’m talking thick chops, cooked to medium with a healthy layer of fat charred to a crisp. This is a thing of beauty. It is unfortunate that in most areas of the country, the fear of Trichinosis is so high that all pork is over-cooked shadows of what it could be.

Ham and Bacon
Again, I am talking real ham. Not the city ham, water soaked salty mess. Instead, I am talking country ham. In Kentucky and Virginia in the US, country ham is a true art. We have spent time in Parma, Italy and various parts of Spain. In these countries Prosciutto and Serrano are religions. The combination of salt, sweet, and creamy is unbelievable.

I am thinking of making my own bacon and ham this year. It is the first time that I have lived somewhere cold enough as an adult. I don’t know anyone who does this now. It is a lost art. It is time to take it back. I have no idea what I am doing, so it will be an adventure.

Pig’s feet
Two of the best food surprises I have ever had have been pig’s feet.

The first time was rather fun. We were at a Vietnamese pho restaurant. Pho is a wonderful soup. Essentially it is a broth with either noodles or rice as a base. You then add fresh herbs and bean sprouts along with chili sauce to bring out the full flavor. It is a bit of soup perfection. The major variation is the protein. It can be literally anything.

The beauty of the story is the fact that I have never gotten what I ordered at this particular restaurant. We both ordered chicken pho. When the order came in we had two very different things. Not sure what either was, but they were different. One had a yellow tint (we assumed chicken) the other was a shade of gray.

We asked the waiter what we had. The reply, “soup”. ” What kind” we asked…”rice” they replied. No kidding…Next up was the owner. Finally got an answer, “pork”. “What type of pork” we asked since we couldn’t place all of the floating parts. Then we got the answer we wanted, “everything”. Heart, tongue, knee tendon, etc. Sounds interesting if you are adventurous. The resulting flavors were incredible. The richness of the broth along with the flavors of the herbs was unbelievable. I would never have ordered this way back then. I only got it because I got the wrong order. This mix up really help change my view of food.

The second pleasant surprise was at Radius in Boston. Pied de cochon, pig trotters, by any other name pig’s feet. Radius is one of the best restaurants in the US. The place is amazing. Really one of the best meals I have ever had, maybe the best. I was not expecting one of the main courses to be pig’s feet or trotters. They were braised and literally falling off the bone. The cartilage and fat had been reduced and gelatinized. The dish was a thing of beauty.

I never expected pig’s feet to be as good as they are. But what was I expecting, it is pork after all.

Crazy Food

I consider myself a bit of a foodie. We’ve eaten at some of the best restaurants in the U.S. Two of the most impressive were The French Laundry and Alinea.

The common thread here is their unbelievable experimentation. The chefs have spawned legions of followers. Some have been kind enough to share their experiences. They blog religiously.

Two that are worth mentioning:

French Laundry at Home
This home cook, Carol, is working her way through the French Laundry Cookbook. This sounds easy enough unless you’ve seen the book. I have this book and it is daunting. I love cooking crazy meals. Long, hard, complicated ordeals. But I haven’t taken the plunge into these recipes yet. It takes gusto and commitment.

She’s made it a long way through the book. She deserves major kudos. I hope she takes it to the next level and goes pro.

Hungry in Hogtown
This guy is amazing. After reading the post I linked to, go to the left and go to the link called Molecular Gastronomy. This food is more in line with Alinea. Many of the recipes are total science experiments.  This whole style of food was pioneered by el Bulli. The author of this blog has really gone all out to figure this out. He is becoming famous for his efforts, having been covered in Canada’s national newspaper. If your looking for a way to make science cool for kids, read his blog.

Changing Your Buying Habits

Commercialized food has gotten too easy and too cheap. It is really astounding how cheap some things are.

On certain days, we can buy whole chickens at the local grocery store for under $5. How is this possible? It should cost more than that to feed a chicken. If you have cats or dogs you’ll know what I mean. How long can you feed a cat for $5?

Everyone should read the latest New York Magazine article about a guy who decided to grow his own food for one month of eating. Veggies, chickens and rabbit – in Brooklyn. This guy’s struggle to grow his own food for one month is inspiring. At the end of it you really have to ask yourself, “how is it possible to get so much for so little?” I really don’t want to know the answer to the question. I do buy the $5 chickens, but I try to balance this with purchasing chickens and other products from local farmers. If I were religious about this, I would go the whole localvore path and buy everything from local merchants. I think this is the right thing to do, but it takes real dedication and a willingness to at least double your food bill. 

We take too much for granted. Our quest for ultra cheap food (and everything else) has lead us down a nearly irreversible path. People now think that “organic” food is weird. 50 years or so ago, everything was organic. It just means “no chemicals added”.

My philosophy is to do everything in moderation. Buying things and doing things that are extreme is extreme. This includes buying things that are so cheap that it makes no sense. Somebody or something has to be paying the price for the insanity. This has to be bad. I’m not generally a bleeding heart. But sometimes you have to pick a cause.

So, what can you do?

1. Grow some of your own food. Tomatoes and herbs are easy, start somewhere.
2. Go to farmers markets, buy from the source. Keep these guys in business. It’s the only way many of us will ever taste heirloom varieties.
3. Buy “heritage breeds“  if you can. This is the most expensive part. Not everyone can do this, yet. The more that do, the easier and cheaper it gets. Why are chickens white? The answer is that they were bred that way because black chicken feathers show after plucking. Most people (in the US) don’t like seeing missed feathers. White ones are hard to see. The end result, we have plenty of chickens that look great in the meat counter, but have no taste. Try a chicken or a turkey bred for flavor. It will blow your mind. They almost don’t taste real. Kind of like eating wild deer versus farm raised cattle. Huge difference.

Take a stand. Do something you can be proud of, and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Old recipes found

It seems everyone has forgotten how to pickle and can things. Our generation is missing out on outstanding food.

I’ve been trying to find recipes that I loved as a kid. Here are two my Mom sent me that are from my Dad’s mother Dessie Johnson.

Today’s project is going to be making these recipes to see if I can make them taste like I remember.

I think the salt should be a tablespoon or even a teaspoon but NOT a cup

Hot Dill Pickles                     Dessie Johnson

Pinky size cucumbers (a lot)

1 quart vinegar

2 quarts water

1 cup coarse salt

Bring to a boil.

Pack tightly in jars:

cucumbers

1 whole banana

1 small (Pearl) onion

1 head fresh dill (or 1 teaspoon dried)

Pour biling mixture in packed jars to fill, seal jars.

Boil sealed jars 5 minutes

Lime Pickles                         Dessie Johnson

Prepare in crock, enamel or plastic Only.

7 pounds medium size cucumbers

2 cups slated lime (hydrated)

2 gallons water.

Pour salted water over cucumbers and let set 24 hours.

Rinse thouroughly in several changes of water.Let set in water 3 hours.

Drain.

Mix together;

1 Tablespoon coarse salt

1 teaspoon mixed pickling spices

1 teaspoon celery salt

1 teaspoon whole cloves

2 quarts + 1 cup vinegar

5 pounds sugar

Pour over pickles and let stand over night.

Next day bring entire mixture to a boil

Simmer 40 minutes

Pack in hot jar and seal.

You need them set at least a week