I was convinced by a few people to do one more small cure while I am still in Brooklyn. I had some of those great sourced items I wrote about in The Bacon Gospel : Bacon for Brooklyn, just begging to be used. I began dreaming of curing with jasmine tea from China and honey from India back during the first big cure a few weeks back. So I just had to do a couple of slabs of Jasmine Tea & Lemon. I was so pleased with the flavors the tea infused the bacon with, which is great because I was crossing my fingers all week that floral bacon was a good idea (this is experimental curing, after all!). It was more than a good idea, it was absolutely one of my best flavors so far!
After his second request, I am now somewhat in awe of the palate of one of my oldest friends. Last month when he requested Horseradish-Lemon-Turmeric I remember giving him a doubtful look. Horseradish-cured bacon? However, it turned out to be a delicious, warm flavor combo. A fellow native of the Pacific Northwest, he this time asked for Honey & Pine, yes pine. Where would I find pine that I trusted for curing here in Brooklyn? Lucky for us both, I recently spent a long weekend in the Berkshires. There I found the freshest, most pine-y branches to bring back and use. I was very curious to find out what that slab would taste like. Sweet? Bitter? Neither actually. It turned out to be woodsy and meaty, and what I can only describe as refreshing, not a word often used in reference to bacon.
I did another Brandy-cured slab, this time combining Armagnac, Vermont maple syrup, black pepper, cinnamon and other spices. I really enjoy the way the sugars in the liquors I've used caramelize once cooked. The aromas are beyond enticing. I want to do many, many more flavors featuring liquor of different types. Tequila bacon is a distinct possibility in the near future.
The last flavor is Chinese 5-Spice. The aromas are pretty crazy on this one, too. This is one I've done a few times before and is my girlfriend's favorite. 5-Spice is a combination of pork's best spice friends and Sichuan peppers, special little peppercorn husks, that add a completely unique fruity heat.
*Brandy & Maple
*Jasmine Tea & Lemon
* Honey & Pine
* Chinese 5-Spice
All told, I cured over 40 lbs of bacon in 14 flavors during the Brooklyn leg of this project! At this rate I'll hit my goal of 100 flavors much sooner than anticipated!
Showing posts with label bacon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bacon. Show all posts
16.6.09
The Bacon Gospel : Bacon for Brooklyn II
Sometimes you have a big idea that gets bigger and bigger, and then explodes in disappointment all over you. But sometimes you have a big idea that gets so big it takes on a life of it own, leaving you to simply work out the details. The Bacon Gospel has been one such an idea. All 16 slabs of bacon came out absolutely beautiful! I was a little nervous about some of the ingredients-- curing bacon in liquor, fruit and horseradish seemed like a bit of a risk, but they each had incredibly complex flavors and aromas, making me one proud charcutier. Now that this first segment of The Bacon Gospel is complete, I am even more excited for this project to continue.What really surprised me was how much the curing process changed the flavors of the slabs in different ways. Some flavors that I thought would be intense, like horseradish and scotch bonnets, became soft and nuanced. Conversely, flavors that I was sure would be lost came shining through, the strawberries being the best example. Another unexpected effect from the berries was the deep red color of the meat. Because I cure without the use of nitrates/nitrites, the meat does not usually retain a pink color after curing. This is fine and doesn't effect the taste or quality of the bacon whatsoever. But the slabs made with blackberries and strawberries had such amazing color, even after cooking!
I took all 32 lbs in to work to slice them up and taste test with co-workers. The mixture of smells from the slabs of mole, berries, jerk, turmeric, rum and more was intoxicating, so much so that people were actually coming in from the street to find out what we were cooking! One participant even started a blog after tasting his 3 slabs, complete with photos and tasting notes! Check it out at culinaryempiricism.blogspot.com
Thanks to all who participated in The Bacon Gospel : Bacon for Brooklyn!
Up next...
Bacon for the Sound and BCN for PDX in August!! Start sending in your flavor requests now!!
29.5.09
The Bacon Gospel : Bacon for Brooklyn
The last several weeks I have begun work on a huge on-going project, The Bacon Gospel. The first installment--"Bacon for Brooklyn"--is currently underway. In this project, I am traveling to different cities, custom-curing bacon to order for a limited amount of people, using only heritage pork, local when possible. This project has become much more than I ever expected. In giving folks the option to request flavors, I have had the opportunity to collaborate with 13 people on 10 new flavors of bacon! I have also been asked to teach a restaurant staff how to make house-cured bacon.
One thing I really hadn't anticipated was the connection that people would have to both the individual ingredients as well as overall flavors. What did the two people from Massachusetts request? Maple. Maple and nothing else, naturally. My West Indian roommate? Jerk. My food writer friend wanted seasonal fruit and herbs. One person even gave me several personally-sourced items such as ground cacao from his family's plantation in Trinidad and nutmeg from Grenada. As I begin to traverse the continent, I look forward to writing and curing at least 100 flavors of bacon! Traveling from Brooklyn to Seattle and Montreal to Austin, I don't believe that number is the least bit unrealistic. I am looking at continuing this project indefinitely, so if you'd like The Ethical Butcher to come to a city near you, don't hesitate to contact me!
To get your mouth watering and palate scheming, here are the flavors from The Bacon Gospel: Bacon for Brooklyn--
*Jerk
*Lemon-Horseradish-Turmeric
*Maple
*Whiskey-Molasses-Chipotle
*Brandy-Blackberry-Mint
*Mole Poblano
*Rum-Maple-Nutmeg
*Watermelon-Basil
*Strawberry-Tarragon
*Pineapple-Black Pepper-Clove
Check back next week for photos and notes!
One thing I really hadn't anticipated was the connection that people would have to both the individual ingredients as well as overall flavors. What did the two people from Massachusetts request? Maple. Maple and nothing else, naturally. My West Indian roommate? Jerk. My food writer friend wanted seasonal fruit and herbs. One person even gave me several personally-sourced items such as ground cacao from his family's plantation in Trinidad and nutmeg from Grenada. As I begin to traverse the continent, I look forward to writing and curing at least 100 flavors of bacon! Traveling from Brooklyn to Seattle and Montreal to Austin, I don't believe that number is the least bit unrealistic. I am looking at continuing this project indefinitely, so if you'd like The Ethical Butcher to come to a city near you, don't hesitate to contact me!
To get your mouth watering and palate scheming, here are the flavors from The Bacon Gospel: Bacon for Brooklyn--
*Jerk
*Lemon-Horseradish-Turmeric
*Maple
*Whiskey-Molasses-Chipotle
*Brandy-Blackberry-Mint
*Mole Poblano
*Rum-Maple-Nutmeg
*Watermelon-Basil
*Strawberry-Tarragon
*Pineapple-Black Pepper-Clove
Check back next week for photos and notes!
14.4.09
Bacon and Bourbon.
Making bacon is one of the easiest, most rewarding things you can do in your kitchen. I adapted a recipe from Saveur magazine. All it takes is your fridge, oven, lots of salt, a little sugar and GOOD pork belly (this is no time for skimping--many toxins are stored in fat cells, so don't use a belly from crap pork). In a week you will have absolutely delicious nitrate/nitrite-free, all-natural, home-cured bacon.
The last step in curing bacon involves either roasting or smoking. I have been curing my own Berkshire bacon by roasting for a few months now. I use it to barter for everything from massages to fresh baked bread. Smoked bacon is what you commonly find now, but roasting bacon results in a more meaty, flavorful bacon. This is because the smoke imparts so much flavor that it becomes the defining characteristic. When roasted, bacon has a taste that is both stronger and more delicate than when smoked. Roasted bacon tastes like pork, not smoke, and lends itself to experimentation quite well. Although a smoked bacon is wonderful, it is important to keep in mind that we can be exposed to the carcinogens in smoke when we eat smoked foods.
I have used different herbs and spices to come up with sweet, savory and spicy slabs of bacon. My mainstay is the Peppercorn bacon. It is cured with coriander, cumin, caraway, anise and rubbed with lots of cracked black pepper before roasting. Around the holidays, my Winter Spice bacon was very popular. In this one, I switched the sugar for molasses and used cinnamon, cloves, mace, allspice and orange zest. This turned out to be the best morning bacon, sweet and light--what you want with pancakes and waffles.
A few weeks ago, my coworker Daniel offered to take one of my slabs to a smoker he has upstate. I was curious, so I sent him off with a slab of Honey Fennel, made with raw Washington state buckwheat honey instead of sugar, fennel and anise seeds and white pepper.
He returned with my Hickory Honey Fennel bacon, part of which I traded for some of his nice Hickory Cocoa Chili bacon. This was a dark and smoky addition to my coffee and toast with jam this morning. The cocoa and coffee paired well.
I was quite pleased with my own first smoked slab of bacon, and was delighted by the way the smoking had effectively roasted the fennel seeds, releasing crazy aromas. I shared some of this with friends the other night. My girlfriend, writer/photographer Ally Picard and Helen Harris of OMG Michelle among them. I cut the bacon into lardons and cooked it up with seared Brussels sprouts, caramelized fennel, cipollini onions and spring garlic and put it over linguine with fennel/black pepper/red chili flake-crusted Berkshire pork scallopini on the side. It was a big hit.
I also did a slab for roasting as I usually do--this time a Chinese 5-spice. Much like the Winter Spice, this one was is a delicious breakfast bacon, and it has a little more kick from the Sichuan peppers. I am going to use the rest of both slabs in an old school baked mac n cheese with bacon.
MMMMMmmm...don't worry, I'll eat a big salad with it.
On to the Bourbon...and more about bacon.
Char No.4 196 Smith St.
Last week Ally and I went down to Smith Street to check out Char No.4. No only does the menu feature all house-cured and smoked meats, but the bar has 300 types of whiskey to choose from. I was a very, very, happy man.
We started out with a clam chowder with bacon and an apple-fennel-blue cheese salad. We were both thankful that the clam chowder was light and the potatoes were not heavy or mushy. Given the gluttony that lay ahead, this was a thoughtful touch by the chef. Ally had a perfectly grilled hanger steak paired with garlic potatoes and homemade BBQ sauce, and on the side kale, cooked in apples and bacon. I went with the beef hot link over mustard potato salad, crispy shallots and lovely, sweet baked beans. The link was almost as big as the plate, which makes this German boy feel good about the world. The whiskey list is enticing, as are the whiskey cocktails. The Horse Drawn Carriage was just my speed that night. With 300 selections ranging from $3-$100 an ounce, there are many choices for every budget. I have been raving about Char No.4 since that night and can't wait to go back! If you are in Carroll Gardens, do yourself a favor and get one of the nice tables out back, a nice bourbon and dig into some serious carnivorous action.
The last step in curing bacon involves either roasting or smoking. I have been curing my own Berkshire bacon by roasting for a few months now. I use it to barter for everything from massages to fresh baked bread. Smoked bacon is what you commonly find now, but roasting bacon results in a more meaty, flavorful bacon. This is because the smoke imparts so much flavor that it becomes the defining characteristic. When roasted, bacon has a taste that is both stronger and more delicate than when smoked. Roasted bacon tastes like pork, not smoke, and lends itself to experimentation quite well. Although a smoked bacon is wonderful, it is important to keep in mind that we can be exposed to the carcinogens in smoke when we eat smoked foods.
I have used different herbs and spices to come up with sweet, savory and spicy slabs of bacon. My mainstay is the Peppercorn bacon. It is cured with coriander, cumin, caraway, anise and rubbed with lots of cracked black pepper before roasting. Around the holidays, my Winter Spice bacon was very popular. In this one, I switched the sugar for molasses and used cinnamon, cloves, mace, allspice and orange zest. This turned out to be the best morning bacon, sweet and light--what you want with pancakes and waffles.
A few weeks ago, my coworker Daniel offered to take one of my slabs to a smoker he has upstate. I was curious, so I sent him off with a slab of Honey Fennel, made with raw Washington state buckwheat honey instead of sugar, fennel and anise seeds and white pepper.
He returned with my Hickory Honey Fennel bacon, part of which I traded for some of his nice Hickory Cocoa Chili bacon. This was a dark and smoky addition to my coffee and toast with jam this morning. The cocoa and coffee paired well.
I was quite pleased with my own first smoked slab of bacon, and was delighted by the way the smoking had effectively roasted the fennel seeds, releasing crazy aromas. I shared some of this with friends the other night. My girlfriend, writer/photographer Ally Picard and Helen Harris of OMG Michelle among them. I cut the bacon into lardons and cooked it up with seared Brussels sprouts, caramelized fennel, cipollini onions and spring garlic and put it over linguine with fennel/black pepper/red chili flake-crusted Berkshire pork scallopini on the side. It was a big hit.
I also did a slab for roasting as I usually do--this time a Chinese 5-spice. Much like the Winter Spice, this one was is a delicious breakfast bacon, and it has a little more kick from the Sichuan peppers. I am going to use the rest of both slabs in an old school baked mac n cheese with bacon.
MMMMMmmm...don't worry, I'll eat a big salad with it.
On to the Bourbon...and more about bacon.
Char No.4 196 Smith St.
Last week Ally and I went down to Smith Street to check out Char No.4. No only does the menu feature all house-cured and smoked meats, but the bar has 300 types of whiskey to choose from. I was a very, very, happy man.
We started out with a clam chowder with bacon and an apple-fennel-blue cheese salad. We were both thankful that the clam chowder was light and the potatoes were not heavy or mushy. Given the gluttony that lay ahead, this was a thoughtful touch by the chef. Ally had a perfectly grilled hanger steak paired with garlic potatoes and homemade BBQ sauce, and on the side kale, cooked in apples and bacon. I went with the beef hot link over mustard potato salad, crispy shallots and lovely, sweet baked beans. The link was almost as big as the plate, which makes this German boy feel good about the world. The whiskey list is enticing, as are the whiskey cocktails. The Horse Drawn Carriage was just my speed that night. With 300 selections ranging from $3-$100 an ounce, there are many choices for every budget. I have been raving about Char No.4 since that night and can't wait to go back! If you are in Carroll Gardens, do yourself a favor and get one of the nice tables out back, a nice bourbon and dig into some serious carnivorous action.
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