Last year, someone to whom I was selling cheeses urged me to taste Hooligan. I was sorry that I had not tried it sooner. I was automatically struck by its supple creamy texture speckled with holes. The stinky meaty aroma intrigued me. The smell is more pungent than the taste on one's palate. It rates high up on my list of favorite American raw cow's milk cheeses.
The sharp flavor of Hooligan pairs well with dried cranberries and toasted whole wheat bread. I prefer not to melt Hooligan. Although, you can melt it and use it in place of Raclette. Hooligan tastes superb with a selection of different dark nutty beers.
Visit Cato Corner Farm!
Hooligan's name comes from the fact that it tends be unruly during the cheese making process. If the wheels are not attended to and constantly washed with a salt water brine twice weekly, the cheese will not turn out. The cheese is produced in Colchester, Connecticut at Cato Corner Farm by Elizabeth MacAlister and her son Mark Gillman. When you visit the farm, you'll be able to taste the 11 other farmhouse cheeses that they handmake from the milk of their 40 free-range Jersey cows. Suggestions on where to purchase this cheese can be found after the jump.
Where can one purchase Hooligan cheese?In Manhattan, you can find this cheese at the Essex Street Market by Saxelby Cheese Mongers. Cato Corner Farm provides a list on their website with shops and restaurants that sell the cheese. It costs on average $25.95 per pound. An entire wheel weighs about a pound and a quarter.
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