dinner « (y)our food choices™

Here piggy, piggy...

Confession time. Yes, we have been keeping a secret from many of you and it’s finally time to come clean. Jason was once a vegetarian and Steve, in his effort to impress Jason, was a vegan. That’s right, the two guys that cook and eat venison with passion were once PETA supporting, Birkenstock wearing, tree hugging, dirty hippies! We’re still a bit crunchy, and called dirty hippies by Steve’s co-workers, but now we have our vegetables with a side of meat. We know many of you may be shocked and dismayed and you have every right to be, but come on everything in moderation, right? Including pig.

Jason's birthday pig. It's time to BBQ!

Alas, we’ve long since abandoned the vegetarian lifestyle as we’ve embraced our inner carnivore with a bit of gusto. Now, make no mistake, we believe more than ever that a diet based on fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, beans and grains is the only means to a healthy, long life. But meat is so satisfying and so important to our nutritional well being that we can’t imagine ever forsaking it again. And nothing says carnivorous bliss quite like meaty, succulent pork.

4505 Meats at the Ferry Building's Farmers' Market. Yummy pork sausage sandwich.

We took our interest in all things porcine to a new level in April when we joined 7 other hog loving epicures at a 4505 Meats pig butchery class in San Francisco. The 9 of us, all scrubbed and in aprons, broke an entire hog down into various chops, roasts and steaks using the tools of the trade – boning knives, hacksaws, mallets, hatchets and cleavers. Indeed, this was as hands-on a butchery class as one could ever expect and it was amazing! Under the patient tutelage of 4505 Meats’ Ryan Farr, we learned to skin the pig, break it down into primal cuts, “French” chops, and de-bone hams. When we were finished with the work, we had many, many pounds of fresh pork to divide among us and virtually nothing went to waste.

Our first chop before the pan.

With our freezer full of pork we’re working our way through the different cuts. Our first meal from the pig consisted of just one huge chop. The chops are so large that both of us are able to split one and still feel full. We grilled the chop on the stovetop and finished it in the oven seasoned with nothing more than salt and pepper. The flavor was nice and fresh, but not nearly as good as the other pig parts that we later brined before grilling. The blueprint for the brine recipe comes from 4505 Meats, with the addition of a few other ingredients and a reduction in sugar.

Pork chop with polenta.

We know we’ve been saying this often, probably too often, but it’s time for us to have a party. We’re thinking of a bbq in the park. But since summers are so darned cold in San Francisco, we might need to wait until the fall when the weather is more inviting in our foggy neighborhood. Of course, if any of our friends are up for hosting responsibilities, we’re willing to bring the party, pig and all! Leave a note and let us know.

Spicy Pork Brine (2 – 4 pork chops or 1-2 pork loins)

Adapted from 4505 meats Spicy Brine recipe card

½ cup brown sugar
1 cup kosher salt
8 juniper berries
6 cloves
small handful of whole black peppercorns
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
¼ cup red pepper flakes
4 cups water
4 cups ice

Mix all the ingredients except the ice in a sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a boil and stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Add the ice and refrigerate until very cold, around 40 degrees. Transfer the brine to a large bowl with a lid or a large zip lock bag.

For brining a pork loin leave in the solution at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.

For pork chops leave in the brine for 4 – 8 hours.

Rinse the pork after brining and pat dry with paper towels before cooking. Grilling the meat and then finishing in the oven is the best way to eat the meat once it’s been brine, in our opinion. Be careful that the meat does not burn. The added sugar from the brine can cause a quick char to occur.

An olive oil fried egg sits atop the delicious le tourin.

Jason’s exquisite wild yeast bread seems so precious a resource that wasting even a crumb is criminal. Stale bread is a marvel of versatility as an ingredient. Dry crunchy old bread can be transformed quickly into crumbs and used as a coating for pan fried chops, as a topping for gratin or a as thickener of sauces. Large pieces of stale crusty bread are refreshed when tossed with chopped ripe, in-season tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil and fresh herbs. We toast slices of fresh country bread and set them in the bottom of large soup bowls where they absorb the rich vegetable broth that is Lidia Bastianich’s Acquacotta. Chad Robertson’s Le Tourin recipe makes use of days-old bread as an absorbent sponge in a hearty vegetable soup topped with a creamy yolked fried egg reminiscent of the Acquacotta. In fact, the simple principle of soaking hard old pieces of bread in a richly flavored broth or sauce to create a meal is universal, born of necessity in less prosperous times.

The simple makings for a wonderful soup.

The next time you hesitate to buy the baguette you know you’ll love, or the big round of crusty bread that looks and smells too good to be true, simply because you don’t think you’ll eat it all, remember that the bread you buy today will age into a delicious, nutritious and inexpensive ingredient tomorrow. Breakfast, lunch or dinner, days-old bread and vegetable soup never disappoints. This recipe is a general guide, a statement of technique. You should use whatever veggies you have on hand as well as whatever broth you like. Water works just as well if seasoned properly. Fried eggs are great, but you could also poach eggs in the soup before spooning the broth over the bread.

The drizzle of red wine vinegar over the egg in this dish adds a little zip to an otherwise earthy soup. We used peppery “wild” arugula in place of the kale, but just about any flavorful green will do (beet, chard, collard). I like to flavor the soup with whole sprigs of fresh herbs that are plucked out of the pot just before serving. Fresh thyme is a favorite. In summer, peeled diced fresh tomato would make a perfect addition as would thin strips of fresh basil scattered over the top after plating. If you want to guild the lily, a fine dusting of grated hard cheese adds a lot of rich flavor to the final dish. A final drizzle of extra virgin olive oil never hurts either!

Le Tourin Recipe

(Source: Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson)

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 medium carrots, peeled and quartered lengthwise, cut into 2 inch lengths

1 large yellow onion, cut into half inch wedges

1 bunch kale, stems removed

4-6 cups stock or water

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Red wine vinegar

3 slices day-old bread, whole-wheat or country, torn into chunks

Heat oil in large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add carrots and onion wedges, cut-side down. Reduce heat to medium and cook without stirring until veggies begin to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Turn to brown the other side and cook an additional 5 minutes. Add greens and broth to the pan, bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes.

Divide pieces of broken bread between two large soup bowls. Spoon veggies over the top of the bread and then ladle broth over the bread. Top with fried or poached egg and drizzle a teaspoon or so of the red wine vinegar over the egg. Dust with freshly grated black pepper and serve.