May 2006 Archives

Ya know those friends that always show up when you're feeling down? The pals that know just what to say and when to say it? Yeah well, our fridge has been down for 10 days and it looks as though it'll be down for another 10 before the compressor is replaced. I've been awfully depressed about it, mostly because Amana/Maytag are assfucks and don't have the staff to repair my 3 year old 1200 dollar fridge in any less time than 3 weeks. Chilebrown has kept his ear piqued and knew it was time for a meat adventure, he has the week off. So off to Bud's Custom Meats he and his wife Ms. Goofy flew.
Wanna see what they found today?

Above image is Fatted Calf's Organic Beef Links with Aleppo Pepper from last week, homerun. These were smoked with hickory for a little over an hour and a half. This is about half the time I gave Taylor's last beef links. Why? Because they're about half the size! They're about as round as your thumb, give or take. Tons of wonderful flavor in such a small package, nicely done.

Hey everyone. Sorry for the lack of posting this week, I've been nasty busy. Our fridge died last Saturday and I've been on ice and cooler detail since then. No time, no stremfs.

That being said, this week's menu at Fatted Calf is fricken amazing. And it looks as though Taylor not only got his new smoker, but he got it working well enough to pull off an amazing feat. Big Fat Brined and Cold Smoked Pork Chops! If you know of Cafe Rouge and their brined pork chops, that's Taylor's recipe & technique. These fancy beasts are a must have.
Next up are the Harissa (North African spice mixture) marinated Lamb Brochettes (meat on skewers). I'm just sitting here, not writing. I've got a vision of the pork chops, I love pork chops, and meat on skewers in my mind and can't get past. Then I check the calendar and realize Saturday is a few days out. What do I do until then? I just don't know, this isn't fair and I don't like it. I'll bet FC has some of these things ready for me, I'll betcha. Sometimes I wish that Star Trek transporter thing was real (it's not though) so I could get myself over there and sneak me a treat.

And then ...

The crepinettes are rabbit with roasted shallots and thyme, man oh man. I haven't had a rabbit crep yet, mebbe it's time. I spy a fennel sausage and a savory pork rig with greens, helloooo. Then of course we have the beef links with Aleppo pepper, the list continues. OoOoOoO, look who's baaack. BACON !!! Why was it missing? Because Taylor gave me his oldsmoker.

And then ...

I've read over the menu several times already and can't get over it. Just when you think you get to know Fatted Calf, it makes a turn and comes at you head on. Cheers to you for making your newsletter such a delight each week. I hope to see you first thing this coming Saturday at the Berkeley farmer's market, I can hardly wait. Please read on to Fatted Calf's Newsletter not written by me.

Biggles

Here is Rory's favorite beef roast that he's never had. This one was marinated in a teriyaki blend for about 4 or 5 days. Then take a full strip of bacon, dangle it over the roast and slowly lower it while spinning the bacon in a twisty circle. And now we have a roasted teriyaki beef roast with bacon twizzles. So good, so good.

The Fatted Calf Newsletter just rolled in. Since the special is right at the top, I was happy to see the Little Lamb Leg Roasts stuffed with Olive Tapenade. It's one of my favorites and my smoker is just itching for something lamby. But low and behold, just a few lines down? What's this!?! Organic Beef Links with Aleppo Pepper, that's what. And what the heck is Aleppo pepper? Eh? A little googlin' and it turns out it's from the Aleppo region of Syria, der. What was I thinking. What does it taste like? Rumor has it the little beast is a sweet & sharp chile with a moderate amount of heat with some fruity. You can use it alone in dishes and it'll do fine on its own, it's that complex and that good. I ordered a package of these fine links.
Check out what's in the Salumi department, Sicilian al' arancia. This is hands down my favorite salami of all time. It's a Sicillian salami with a bit of orange zest in there. It isn't much, but just enough to make you smile from ear to ear. The meat to fat ratio brings the bright flavors even to the most remote taste bud with speedy ease. And you know what? My research shows they haven't had it since March of 2005. That's why I put one of these on my reserved order form as well. They don't usually have an entire cooler full, just a bin. Order yours now.
OoOooOo, look. Guanciale, hog jowl bacon. It's got a richer flavor than regular bacon and can result in a far tastier and succulent dish. I attempted to stuff a beef roast with it a while back. That was kinda silly, fun though.

All in all this looks like a great time to hit the market this weekend. And if you can plan far enough in advance, I would use Fatted Calf's Order Form to make sure you get yours. I hope everyone is doing well and see you at the market this coming Saturday.

Biggles

It seems as though Mama's blood sugar is too high, doctor says so. She went to the library (free books) to see if she could find some cookbooks for diabetics, easy enough. She found a GREAT one and it turns out the guy cooks like I do. Ain't that somethin'? In any case, this caused Mama to do some grocery shopping and she came back with a load of green things, she calls them v-e-g-e-t-a-b-l-e-s.
"What are these, things?" asks Biggles. Mama's eyes roll as she turns and leaves the kitchen, leaving him alone in his bewilderment. Biggles returns his cleaver to his holster and grabs his 13" Sabatier carbon and decided to split these suckers open and see what's what. "Whar's the damned HEAD?" he grumbles. "Must be this twiggy thing, off you go then." And Biggles is off and slicing like a madman. Or in this case, a Norwegian Axe Murderer.

Here we see a nice little beef ball-tip roast with extra virgin, Survival Spice, two lumps of butter and of course, as you can see a killer sprig of rosemary. And if you look closely on the bottom, you'll notice a cast iron trivet. See the round holes?

That's right, this very day Meathenge is 3 years old, that's this many. The only time it seems like such a long time ago, is when I go back through my archives of the first few months, hooboy. I suppose for the first month I was really learning the software and how things went together. I remember though, in about 6 to 8 months I'd run out of schtick and wallowed for a bit. Questioned blogging, questioned my mad skills and considered going off half-cocked and doing something else. Obviously I decided to wait until I was full-cocked & refreshed for another try. I'm so glad I did. The people I've met over the last few years have turned in to permanent relationships that I talk with on a regular basis. Some of which we go out to dinner with and exchange gifts on a regular basis (Thank you CB for all those early morning bacon deliveries). It's been GREAT.

Thank you everyone and Happy Birthday MEATHENGE !!!

Here I find myself calmly stalking Poulet. The intersection of Virginia & Shattuck is nearly void of traffic, perfect for my approach. Sure is a totally badass day to be out.
I don't normally leave my box, it's tough pawing my way though my psychosis. Then how did I manage to find a path away? Shuna of Eggbeater asked me to, that's how.
Wanna come see?

The image you see above is last week's special, Lomo en Adobo. A double rib pork loin roast with garlic, sherry, paprika and fresh herbs

Well, this is an absolutely amazing menu for Fatted Calf. My usual spew would be to talk about the food and how tasty they be. This week I think I'm going to talk about cooking the little dears instead. Why? Because they have two specials listed, Hoffman Farm Quail stuffed with lemon & herb sausage. And "Porchetta" style Heritage Pork Loin Roast with rosemary, fennel, pepper and garlic.

The way I figure it, because these roasts & stuffed quails are so unique and so perfect just the way they are, I don't blend them with other ingredients. What I mean by this, I don't use vegetables and roots in the pan while roasting. If you're ah choosin' the Porchetta roast? Smile. Remove your pork roast from the fridge 45 minutes or so before you plan to pop it in to the oven. Don't wash it. Drizzle a little extra virgin over and set in a roasting pan with a trivet or rack. Try to use something with low sides, want heat all over. I suggest the rack because it'll keep the roast out of the fat and allow more of the roast to brown and be highly edible. Preheat the oven to 375 or 350, it's up to you. Install the roast in and on the lower rack. At 40 minutes check the internal temperature with an instant read thermometer, pull roast at 138. This may take an hour and a half, keep watch! Remove roast from pan and let rest for 10 minutes on cutting board, slice and serve. Or do what I do, just stand over the cutting board and eat.

The quails, while similar in roasting, one wants to take a lot of care with the little dears. They're very tender and when done, can be torn to pieces very easily. In fact, it would pay to oil the rack before laying the quail down. Yeah, just follow the instructions for the roast, it'll result in a wonderful quail. But it'll be done in 40 to 50 minutes. When testing the temperature of the quail, please insert your instant read thermometer in to the sausage stuffed cavity, when 138 to 140, pull and let rest a few minutes. One per person, even for my appetite it's plenty.

Of course these two can be smoked and/or grilled. If you're going to grill them, set your fire up for indirect cooking. Oil your grill for the quail, for sure. For the roast, sear it over high heat until a little caramelly, then cook indirect with plenty of smoky wood chips. Remember, don't adjust your fire with the exhaust vents, just the intake. Full open exhaust, this way you won't get creosote build-up on your meat. Nasty ol' bitter stuff. Keep an eye on your fire so it doesn't get out of control or go out. If you think the fire is too darned hot? Pull the meat and let the fire burn down for 10 to 20 minutes. In fact, that's true for anything in the grill or smoker. If things are getting out of control, if the fire is too hot, it's okay to pull the meat or whatever you're cooking. This way you can manage the fire and get yourself back in shape to continue.

Next up are the Rabbit Crepinettes! As most of us know, the crepinettes are a sausage patty wrapped in caul fat (fatty webbing). What this tells us right off is that they are going to create a mess no matter how you cook them. So, my first choice is always the grill. If this isn't possible, use a heavy pan with high sides. A dutch oven would be a perfect candidate, with a splatter shield. Use a medium to medium low heat and don't overcook the little pillows of meat love. I use my instant read thermometer here too or just cut in to them a little. These are exceptionally good with scrambled eggs for dinner or breakfast. mMmMMMMM, Mama love.

If you are going to be cooking any of their sausages this coming weekend, I would most certainly plan on doing them grill/smoker side. Fatted Calf's cased sausages are exquisite little bundles of juicy. You'd want to build your fire to a medium heat, nothing crazy. Set a few on and see how they do. If they start to spazzle and split, pull to side and cook indirectly or wait a bit. Do not go and do household chores or get too loaded while grilling. Stay ready with tongs in hand. These sausages cook pretty darned quickly and they must NOT be overcooked.
Lastly I'd like to say that you should most certainly order your goodies ahead of time. This is Mother's Day weekend and it's going to be a sell out for SURE. Please place your order HERE.

Well, that pretty much lays that down for that. If you have any questions, even on the weekend, don't hesitate to contact me at drbiggles at cyberbilly dot com. I'm here to help!

I most certainly will be attending Saturday's market in Berkeley and hope to see you there. Remember, FC is also at the Ferry Building on Saturday too. Share the love.

xo

I've been working in this area for nearly 16 years, a long time for most. While I believe this is a good thing, having to find lunch in the same area for 16 years can get just a tad lonely, boring and mostly leaves me feeling more than melancholy. Especially when this area is Richmond. So, when a new anything moves in, I am so there. Round eyed, bouncy and ready for anything would probably give you a good idea as to my demeanor when ordering, poking and reading. Just picture Tigger and you'd about have me nailed.
Recently RW posted something about a new Torta place on a local foodie forum, I marked my calendar and the map. You most certainly want to read further, oh yes.

No, this isn't a close-up. Look to the right and you'll see my stove, and there in front? A large bread knife.
Where did it come from? What would one possibly do with such a beast? Got any ideas?


Today's entry is brought to you by Nikon's latest and most recent release, the 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor with Nano Crystal technology. Man this lens is fricken amazing. You can shoot 4 stops slower, hand-held.

You shuddup. No, you shuddup. No, you shuddup. You shuddup. No. You shuddup. Purely having fun today, nothing more, nothing less. I've been in an odd mood with regards to food over the last week. At weird times of the day I've been lusting after those old traditional American casseroles. Something way too rich, creamy and/or cheesey. A dish made with frozen vegetables and a crunchy topping of some kind. A dish that Gramma would carry in with a huge smile during the holidays, warbling something about someone's favorite casserole. That's what I wanted, but wasn't sure how to go about it. Then, I was also interested in cooking chicken another way, other than roasting. It wasn't until yesterday when I was digging through Meathead's discarded cookbooks that I sawr my prey, Tater Coated Chicken.

The image above was last week's Little Lamb Leg Roasts stuffed with Picholine Tapenade, smoked. The weather has been so nice here lately that putting this in the oven would have been a crime. And since it isn't a beef brisket or pork shoulder, all it needed was to come up to maybe 140 and pull. I ate most of it myself. I hadn't planned it like that, but what're you going to do? My knives are so sharp, the meat just fell in to my mouth.
With last week's roast in mind, Fatted Calf has a Special Roast I haven't seen before, Lomo en Adobo. A double rib pork loin roasts with garlic, sherry, paprika and fresh herbs. They say 1 roast will feed 2 people, so buy 2. Listen up, the weather is picking up and these fancy roasts will be all spoken for by the time FC opens up. I really encourage you to use their Online Order Form and make sure you get one, or two. Just to give you an idea of how fast these goodies fly, the crepinettes were gone by the time I left the market last week, about 45 minutes. POOF !!!
And speaking of crepinettes, they made of lamb this week! Lamb Crepinettes with Nicoise Olives, Red Wine and Herbs. Grill worthy? Oh yes. In fact, I would truly recommend doing the little lamb pillows of love on a grill. They're sausage wrapped in caul fat (fatty webbing), so they have all kinds of splattering going on. If no grill is handy, use a cast iron dutch oven (high sides) and carefully sear them over medium heat, do not oil the pan. They're tender little things so make sure you don't overcook them.
And as far as cooking the pork roast goes, I go basic when you're dealing with such high-class meat. A cast iron skillet with a trivet or wire rack for the meat to sit on is the way to go. Don't wash the roast, FC has already taken care of that. In fact, there's usually freshly ground black pepper that needs to stay on. Install in to a preheated 375 degree oven on the bottom rack until the meat reaches 138, pull. Rest for 10 minutes, slice and serve. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, you can use vegetables as your trivet and wind up with a wonderful base for gravy. But see, those veggies will release moisture in to the oven and keep your roast from reaching its peak caramelization. Do you want a soggy pork roast? No. Dry heat baby, that's the way! If you want to have some fun, toss in some whole shallots or heads of garlic, that'll make the flavors jump.
Don't be afraid of the roast. Come to the roast. Be one with the roast.
Come git yours on Saturday morning at the Berkeley Farmer's Market, I'll be there.

Go now and read on the Fatted Calf Newsletter not written by me.

Biggles

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drbiggles(at)cyberbilly(dot)com

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