don't touch my pork belly!

Confession. If you would have asked me maybe five years ago what Charcuterie was or even how to pronounce it, I couldn’t have said.

Who would have thought that in a relatively short period of time I would now be, dare I say, a little obsessed with the topic.  To the point that when the mention of pork belly comes up I start clapping.  Yes, clapping.  Sadly I’m now one of “those” (whatever those are).

Just yesterday someone found out that I have a food blog and was asking me about it and what I’m working on now.  They should have known better.  I began on this dissertation with such animation, throwing terms around I figured everyone knows and was quite chagrined when they began to glaze over the conversation quickly diverted to something else..I think the weather.  Am I the only one that gets so passionate about pork belly?  Am I alone?

Well, in any case I am plunging head first into this meat adventure.  And yes, if you come over you might just see meat hanging from a rope in the kitchen, curing.  And no, 8 lbs. of pork belly hanging from a rope in the kitchen is not strange.  Believe me when it is cured and ready to be eaten it will be all worth the raised eyebrows.  I hope.

So today, thanks to Drew at The Meat House I am picking up my fresh pork belly that is flying in from a Quaker farm in South Dakota.   The book Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn arrived yesterday.  I am dangerously close to beginning my meat adventure.

I’m so excited!

Shannon

a year of meat...the challenge

The blogoshpere is buzzing with a new contest/challenge for all those brave enough to jump on board and learn how to preserve meat,  formally called Charcuterie pronounced shahr-koo-tuh-ree  which is the art and science of making cooked meat preparations (preserving in salt),  usually with a special emphasis on pork.  

The challenge is aptly called "Charcutepalooza" quite a mouth full, but fun to say none the less.  It is a  group of maniacally dedicated food-bloggers across the world currently engaged in a 12-month charcuterie making, salting, curing, cooking and writing contest.

The co-creators of this challenge are Cathy Barrow (Mrs.Wheelbarrows Kitchen) and Kim Foster (The Yummy Mummy). The grand prize for the challenge is a trip to Paris from the folks at Trufflepig Travel.  The winner will enjoy a week in Paris where you’ll be wined and dined, taken on guided tours of the markets, introduced to fromagieres, and truffle sellers.

The winner will also enjoy 5-days at the Kitchen at Camont in Gascony to sit under the tutelage of Kate Hill for one of her week long butchering classes.  Learning about charcuterie where many say the craft was first perfected.

The numbers of bloggers (180 and counting) are signed on to tackle a recipe each month, from Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn’s 2005 "Charcuterie:The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing"  This is the book that Barrow chose as a reference guide for methodology and technique.  But because of all of the crazy press this contest is getting Michael Ruhlman along with chef Bob del Grosso, a former instructor at the Culinary Institute of America have offered to come along side the challenge to help facilitate any questions or comments as they arise.  As well as be two of the judges for the winner of the contest.

D'Artagnan, a specialty food purveyor has signed on to offer a special discount for the project participants through use of a secret promotional code sent out on the 15^th of each month. D’Artagnan is dedicated to procuring the best from small farms that support humane and sustainable farming practices and never use antibiotic or hormones.

The challenge for the month of February is pancetta or quanciale. If you would like to join in and try your hand at curing up some pork belly just pick up the book Charcuterie or go to Michael Ruhlmans' blog site and follow his recipe there.  So with the Charcuterie book ordered and in transit from Amazon, the secret code acquired for D’Artagnan (Thanks Cathy!) on getting the discounts for the meat products I’m ready to get started.  Pork belly here I come!

Better late than never.

Shannon