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Pickled Pork. It just sounds hardcore - and almost oxymoronic. It took me long enough to get used to pickled anything other than cucumbers. But, this is just another way that pork takes on a new flavor as it is being preserved. This is definitely a Southern thing, and the pickled pork the Grub Blogger made is Cajun style, taken directly from Chuck Taggart’s awesome site, The Gumbo Pages. This recipe sounded so good, I barely searched elsewhere, and since pickling pork is not something I learned in cooking school or can relate to other experiences, I figured I had better follow a master and give full credit. Pickled pork is used as a flavoring agent in soup and stews (especially beans - see Red Beans and Rice Method) and is sold in just about every supermarket in New Orleans. Read more…
Cajun / Creole, Charcuterie, Pickled Pork, Porcine Revolution
So, I’m finally making sausage, I thought to myself as my ground pork mixture was (now properly) easing its way into the natural hog casing I had soaked and slipped onto the nozzle of the stuffer, trying to stifle the obvious twelve-year old jokes that were coming to mind. After making sure I could grind my own pork and season it correct with some breakfast sausage and Mexican chorizo, I went ahead and ordered my stuffer from The Sausage Maker, Inc. Again, the Grub Blogger went to Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing as his guide, and started with their basic garlic sausage recipe as a base. I wanted to try the simplest sausage they had for the first time, but added a little nutmeg, all spice and white pepper to their fresh garlic, kosher salt and black pepper. Read more…
Charcuterie, Porcine Revolution, Sausage
After finding success with breakfast sausage, the Grub Blogger continued his march through Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn’s Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing by making Mexican chorizo. At this point I still hadn’t picked up a sausage stuffer, as I wanted to make sure I could get the grinding down first. As soon as I tasted my homemade chorizo, I went online and ordered a stuffer. The freshness and intensity of spices was better than any fresh chorizo I had eaten, and using the small die on the grinder made sure there were no large pieces of fat like in some of the stuff I had bought in Mexican markets. For the primer on my experience with basic sausage making, check out my post on Breakfast Sausage Patties. Read more…
Charcuterie, Mexican, Porcine Revolution, Sausage
A major part of the Porcine Revolution for the Grub Blogger has been the desire to make his own, homemade sausage. Just as with bacon, Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn’s Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing was the key to my getting my hands porky. After getting a Kitchen Aid for Christmas and the meat grinding attachment for Valentine’s Day (the Grub Blogger found the right lady), all systems were go. Charcuterie has a recipe for a breakfast sausage that I started with because it doesn’t involve stuffing the meat into casing. I wanted to make sure I nailed the basics before buying more equipment. I figured on mastering this recipe and the one for Mexican chorizo (which is generally used loose) first. Sausage making takes some preparation, so make sure you are not really hungry and have time on your hands. Read more…
Breakfast, Charcuterie, Porcine Revolution, Sausage
Salt pork is a nice thing to have in your freezer. I had bought it before for my pre-Porcine Revolution caldo gallego – a tasty, but very softcore version of the caldo that I have come to love. You can buy it in the meat section of the supermarket, and it is a bit of a scary scene: watery, opaque whiteness with the thinnest hint of a pink piece of meat. Clearly an industrial by-product, with a jelly-like consistency. But, it flavored my old caldo, so I was happy - until I found out that I could make my own, very simply and as a by-product of homemade bacon. A coup within a coup. Just take the trimming from the pork belly from your bacon, dice up into about 1 inch pieces, coat in dry cure (see homemade bacon post - link above) and put in fridge for six days, turn over, and leave for six more days. Then rinse well, and use or freeze. Can be used for beans, stews (like caldo gallego) or collard greens. Read more…
Charcuterie, Porcine Revolution, Salt Pork
Homemade bacon. I didn’t know it was possible. I just figured it came from either a small farm or an industrial plant. I don’t remember how exactly I got my hands on Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn’s Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing, but it was inevitable, and I read that I could make my own bacon. A life changing moment, really. And easy. Really easy, and the scraps made pork salt – another thing I thought only came out of some industrial wasteland as a byproduct that only the truly poor or insane would want. Charcuterie has the playbook for sweet, breakfast style bacon; savory bacon (think pasta sauce, collard greens or whatever could use some pork flavor) and the salt pork (which the Grub Blogger uses to flavor beans, soups, stews, etc.). So, with 100% credit going to Ruhlman and Polcyn, here is my Brooklyn Bacon.
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Bacon, Charcuterie, Porcine Revolution
