We’re Moving!

Don’t worry, at least if you’re a Bay Area fan of Chicharrones, since its only a virtual move.

Over the next day or so, you should see this blog appearing along with the other great 4505 Meats content. If it all works right, everything will be at http://www.4505meats.com/bestbyfarr/ and you’ll be able to keep up with the latest there!

Blame the little man behind the curtain if anything goes wrong…

Spiced and Cured Pork Shoulder

 

 

Sliced spiced pork shoulder

Slice nice an thin

Nice and dry on the outside, firm and moist in the middle and yes those are cured rabbit faces in the background

Dry for 4-7 weeks till solid to touch, no squishy give.

Hang in 60 f fridge with rh of 60-70%

Tie shoulder nice and tight. Once tied, make small pricks with a needle to remove air pockets.

Put shoulder into bung

Bung and shoulder

Wash and dry cured shoulder

Remove from bag

Firmer to touch and apparent water loss

Check for leaks

Clean and rinse out bung

Soak bung for 72 hours

Salted beef bung

Suck and Save, leaving almost all the cure behind. Cure for 10-14 days

Rub and massage the meat

Mix the dry cure mix

55% salt, 45% sugar, chili, madras curry, sichuan peppercorns, garlic

Picnic shoulder. Upper part of the shoulder, right behind the neck

Butcher Class

Sausage Making 101 at La Cocina, Saturday May 30th and

Sunday June 7th

The class costs is $70 and includes-

5#’s of different styles of Sausages that you hand made and get to take home.  We will focus on grinding the meat, mixing the meat and stuffing the meat.  We will also discus cooking methods and all the vital steps that go into a properly emulsified Sausage.

 There will be Chicharrones, hot dogs and beverages available during the class.  The 3 hour class will start promptly at 10 am.  Aprons, towels and a knife per person will be supplied during the class.  If you have a knife or knives you are comfortable with and love to use, please bring them with you.  We will be in a professional kitchen so please wear flat shoes and the appropriate attire.  Full participation is recommended, if you only want to watch and ask questions you are welcome too.  RSVP here. Come with questions and prepared to get dirty!  

 

⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒

Whole Pig Butcher Class at La Cocina, Sunday May 24th

starting at 3 pm till 6 pm

Hands on whole animal butcher class with a demo from me and I will walk you through the butcher process. $75  includes-

7-8# of pig that is yours to take home and you helped butcher.  The 3 hour class will start promptly at 3 pm.  There will beChicharrones, carnitas and beverages available during the class.  Aprons, towels and a knife per person will be supplied during the class.  If you have a knife or knives you are comfortable with and love to use, please bring them with you.  We will be in a professional kitchen so please wear flat shoes and the appropriate attire.  Full participation is recommended, if you only want to watch and ask questions you are welcome too.  RSVP here. Come with questions and prepared to get dirty!  

Thanks, Ryan Farr

Post Pig Butchering Class

***Next class May 30th and June 7th, RSVP here!***

Below is a email from one of the students that participated in last weekends Butcher class and it’s a awesome testimonial.  Thanks to everyone that participated, I had a blast and make sure you check out all of Lydia’s pictures.  Thank you La Cocina for such a awesome venue, Lydia for the great review, Isabel Pazos of El Buen Comer and Grocery eats for all the killer posts!  Stay tuned… a plethora of classes soon to come, sausage, goat, rabbits, salami, torchon, turduckens and many more.  Here is a link to another great post, thanks. Ryan

 

I took the whole pig butchering class from Ryan Farr on Sunday. Holy fucking shit was it amazing. Best $75 bucks I’ve spent in a long time. Ryan Farr gave a demo breaking down the entire pig by hand with a little ass knife proving it ain’t the size of the knife but how you wield that fucker. He broke it into big ass primals and then gave everyone their own chunk of the beast. I was given the pork shoulder with the entire front leg attached. I got to break out the picnic part of the shoulder and then separate the butt of the shoulder from the shank. Then the moment, I paid $75  for came. I got to saw the through thefucking shank and separate the foot with a hacksaw. At the exact same time, dude next to me was going full sav removing the facefrom the pig’s head. Fucking gnarly but awesome. There were only about 12 of us so we all got a chance to attack large chunks and do some finer trimming and portioning. I took home about 10# of meat. I’ve got that foot and shank in a cure right now and I’ll be brining my pork belly for bacon tomorrow.

The homie Unagi just bought a gangster ass smoker so I’m gonna hook up with dude and get my smoke on once the cure and brine comes off these pig parts in about 5 days.

Farr is super fucking cool and is going to be doing more classes this summer. So if you want to boss the fuck up and learn how to make salami, sausages or butcher a whole lamb in the coming months holler at a player. I’m officially up on game. I’m committed to Rick Ross Magnificent this shit.

If you aren’t a pussy here’s a gallery –http://gallery.me.com/lpopovich/100026

Plans for Easter?

Wondering what you are doing for Easter?  

Join yours truly and Taylor of Fatted Calf at Bloodhound for a rabbit feast.  $30 per plate, each plate will include a rabbit sausage, grilled rabbit and Taylor’s smoked ham, beans, salad, bacon chocolate peanut butter brownies and a beer.  There will also be plenty of Chicharrones and other fun treats.  We’re starting at 2 pm and will be grilling till 7 pm, RSVP at info@bloodhoundsf.com.  We’re real excited and hope you can make it, look forward to seeing you then. 

Thanks, Ryan Farr  

Spicy Beef Tendon

My wife’s famous spicy tendon, pork, rice and kimchi bowl. Always hits the spot

Sliced spicy tendon, its a long process, but ohhh so good

Slicing

Cool completely before slicing, you can even slightly freeze to make slicing easier

Mmmm done and ready to eat

Simmer for 5-8 hours till tendon is completely tender through

Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer

Add unwashed cured tendon, sauce, leeks and carrots to a pot of water

Special General Kleinman’s sauce, baby leeks and carrots

Fresh out of cure, brush big chunks of cure off, don’t wash

Suck and seal, let cure in fridge for 5-10 days depending on size

Massage tendon with the cure mix

Add salt and sugar to spice mix

If you dare… stick your nose it the blender and take a big whiff, 10 bucks say you will only do that once

Add all dry ingredients into vita mix or spice grinder and pulverize

Tendon, ginger, garlic, chili, sichuan pepper, and fennel seed

Beef tendon

Vadouvan Short Ribs

If serving the bone, make a small incision to free the meat from the bone

Slice meat off the bone

Remove from the bag and reserve the juices

Remove ribs from the spa and let rest for 20 minutes, resting will help the meat retain all the juices

Once the spa is up to temp add the short ribs and sous vide for 24 hours

Set the circulator at 61.5 celsius, let heat fully

Kryovac each portion individually

Orange peal

Add some fermented vadouvan curry

Season with salt and pepper

French the short rib 1-2 inches without removing any of the meat

Long cut bone-in short rib from Prather Ranch

Join us in Berkeley for The Art of the Butcher

Hosted in collaboration with Meatpaper

Thursday, March 5

Reception at 6:45 pm.  Lecture starts by 7:30 pm sharp.

105 North Gate Hall, UC Berkeley Campus [directions]

No tickets necessary!  Suggested $10 donation at the door.  No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

With panelists Ryan Farr (Ivy Elegance, CHEFS Program), Nate Appleman (A16, SPQR, Urbino), Melanie Eisemann (Avedano’s), David Budworth (Marina Meats, Avedano’s),  Mark Pasternak (Devil’s Gulch Ranch), and Marissa Guggiana (Sonoma Direct, Secret Eating Society, Meatpaper) as moderator.

Our panel will discuss how butchering whole animals delivered from local slaughterhouses stands in stark contrast to the plastic-wrapped grocery store steak.  They will talk about the retail component of the local meat system and how this changes the relationship of chefs, home cooks, and diners with meat.

The discussion will be followed by a demonstration by Chef Ryan Farr on how a whole carcass is broken down into cuts of meat.  Meat CSA shares will be available the night of the panel. SOLD OUT! Rancher Mark Pasternak will be available to coordinate more CSA shares of his delicious, Marin County-raised pork.

Contact SAFE for more information.

Bacon Mayo… the new black

Bacon fat scraps

Put all scraps in a pot to render

Add water to the bacon fat

Bring to a simmer and cover

Once water has evaporated and the fat has started to melt remove the lid

Render till all fat has clarified

Strain and separate fat

I like to save the bacon scraps and use for cooking risotto

Egg yolks, bacon fat, oil, lemon juice and water

Whip all and slowly add fat

Best served cold and will break if heated

Whip and chill till thickened, mayo will fully setup if completely cooled down

Bacon mayo is great with anything and everything!

Mmmmm… Bacon

 

Salt, sugar, chili, shallot, garlic, thyme, peppercorns

Add half the water you will need, bring to boil and simmer till salt and sugar have fully dissolved

Add ice to thin out the strong brine and will also cool it down fully

Skin on Pork Belly

Add belly to a non reactive container

Cover with ice brine, refrigerate for 8 days

After the 8 day brine

Remove from brine and lightly rinse

Discard the brine

Perforated pan with a rack

Smoking chips in a foil trey

Lay the bacon on the rack while you start your smoking chips

Place the pan with the chips on a burner turn on high or start with a blow torch

Turn down the burner once the chips have started to smolder

Once the chips are burning but not on fire add the belly and keep the burner on low

Cover with a pan and let it smoke for 20 minutes on low

Keep smoking for 20 or 30 minutes more

Perfect

Remove smoked belly and transfer to a rack on a sheet trey

Cook at 285 f for 30-40 minutes or till cooked through

Nice

Hang belly in fridge for 24 hours to let all flavors melt together and settle

Bacon slab cut in half

Remove skin and save

Remove all fat, skin, scraps and then slice while very cold

Skin and scraps are great for pork and chili braised tomato sauce

Save fat for all the great things in life.

Cured Rolled Face

 

 

 

Rolled face is great strait up or with mustard and beer

Slice cold and should be eaten strait from the slicer, friction warms the fats up perfectly

Ahh, real sexy, you can see the jowls, tongues and ears

Ready to cut

Hang overnight

Real tight

Remove from bag and tie as tight as possible

Remove and let cool down before removing from bag

Sous vide for 72 hours at 66.5 c

Suck and seal

Tie as tight as possible

Wrap in a apron or cheesecloth

Roll up

Add the cured ears and tongue to the face

Add spices, thyme, microplane ginger and lemon

Lay down flesh side up and remove ears, julienne the ears and dice the tongue

Squeaky clean

Remove all hairs that have been left behind… shave, snip or torch

Unroll after the 5 days and rinse off cure

Roll the face with the tongue and cure for 5 days

Lemon, thyme, ginger and black pepper

Salt and rub the inside too

Salt heavily and massage the cure into the skin

Scrub and clean face

 On behalf of all of us at the C.H.E.F.S. program I would like to thank Sasha Wizansky of Meatpaper and Mark Pasternak of Devils Gulch for there gracious donation of the pig that we butchered at the issue #6 party.  Since the live butchery demo at Acme Chophouse, the students and I have completely made hot dogs, consomme, rolled face, rendered lard and bacon.  We currently are curing curried copa.  In the future the step by step process with the finished product will be posted when complete.  

Thank you again to everyone at Meatpaper, the volunteers, all the meat loving guests and the chefs that killed it that night.

Chef Thom Fox (Acme Chophouse)
Chef Staffan Terje (Perbacco)
Chef Leif Hedendal
Sam White & Chris Kronner & Friends (OPENrestaurant)

Homemade Hot Dogs

Keep all protein on ice and keep cold as possible at all times

Grind all the meat with a large die first

Once all is ground, hold in the freezer, do not let the farce freeze through

Next grind all the meat through a small die

When the small die grinding is complete, return all to the freezer

Chicken, Beef, Pork and Back Fat

Mix all on speed 2 with a chilled paddle and bowl, hold in freezer

Mix your emulsifiers and ice water to make an emulsifying slushy

Put your very cold protein in a robot coop or cuisenart and add slushy

**It is very important not to let the temperature rise above 60 f while pureeing

Once pureed silky smooth, store in a mixing bowl and return to the freezer

Parsley, Garlic, Thyme, Pink Salt, Paprika, White Pepper and Salt

If temp exceeds 60 f, the emulsification will break and you will have a broken greasy sausage

Always cook a small piece to check the seasoning before stuffing a sausage

24-26 mm Sheep casings

Stuff and Twist as fast as possible and keep in fridge, not the freezer

While stuffing and twisting, store in small bundles, hanging will be easier later

Hang on oven or smoker rack with wood skewers or dowels, not directly on the metal rack

Carefully put in a oven or a smoker with pan below the dogs

Oven temperature is @ 185 with smoke, cook till internal temp of the dogs is @ 146 f

Once cooked let the hot dogs chill in fridge

Dogs are ready to go once they are fully smoked and cooked through

For best results let the dogs rest and the flavors marinate overnight

Snapshot from Heaven

Beans & Weenies… The Cadillac of Comfort Food

Don’t throw those bunny skulls out… they make great gifts for the holidays!