Offal

Extreme Grilling: Go whole hog

by Emily Matchar, Posted Jul 18th 2008 @ 7:00PM

As I wrote several weeks ago, a pig pickin' is a North Carolina tradition involving a pig, a converted petroleum drum cooker, a bunch of charcoal and a whole lot of time. But a pig pickin' is not the only way to cook a whole hog - cultures across the world have been spit roasting, grilling and burying pigs in hot ash for thousands of years. In many places, pork is the cheapest meal available, making pig roasts an affordable way to have big festive meals for the whole community. Here are a few whole hog traditions from around the world:

Hawaii: Possibly the most famous whole pig preparation of them all, the kalua pig is a staple of the Hawaiian luau. The pig is "dressed" (gutted, the outer layer of skin and hair removed) and salted and placed in an imu - a banana leaf-lined pit filled with hot stones. The pig is covered in more dirt and left for hours until smoky and falling apart tender.

Cuba: Cubans love their lechón (suckling pig), a Christmas Eve tradition. Pigs are often cooked in backyard roasters made from bricks or cinder blocks. One popular version of the homemade roaster is called a "caja china" (a Chinese box), a rather coffin-like device in which the pig is placed on the metal-lined bottom and a tray of coals is placed on top, cooking the meat through indirect heat.

Italy: At the annual Sagra del Maiale festival of pork, Italians grill whole pigs over a food fire and lovingly dis-articulate them to feed the whole village. Skin becomes crispy and meat is buttery soft and succulent. And not a big of the porker is wasted - even the ears and trotters are fair game. Not headed to Italy any time soon? Some Italian restaurants in NYC and other cities have their own Sagra del Maiale.

The Philippines: The image of the golden-skinned pig spinning on a spit over a roaring fire is a reality here in the South Pacific, where Filipinos adore stuffing the pig's belly with herbs and spices, impaling it horizontally, and roasting it until the skin crackles and the meat is meltingly tender. The dish, known as lechon baboy, is a festival day favorite.

Filed under: Did you know?, Head to Tail, Ingredients, Offal, Methods

An entire farm in a burger

COMMENTS 4

by Kat Kinsman, Posted Jul 2nd 2008 @ 11:00PM

Behold the Whatafarm burger, which according to alanbeam.net, via about.blank is "a burger ordered from the Whataburger chain and includes chicken, egg, cheese and bacon. 2 parts cow, 2 parts chicken, 1 part pig."

I'm all for the orgiastic multi-species chow down, what with my penchant for Kentucky burgoo (2 formats of cow -- old and young, lamb, pig, and chicken) and applaud the orderers for their gastronomic gumption. If I were being all harrumphy about it, I could note that the menu offers pig in sausage form and a fish filet as well and they opted for neither, but hey - Michelangelo didn't knock out the Sistine Chapel on his first jaunt up the scaffolding.

We salute you with all hooves, claws and trotters up!

[Via about:blank]

Filed under: Food Oddities, On the Blogs, Guilty Pleasures, Head to Tail, Ingredients, Chefs & Restaurants, Fast Food, Restaurants, Offal

Extreme Grilling: My pig pickin'

COMMENTS 3

by Emily Matchar, Posted Jun 20th 2008 @ 10:30AM

I've always wanted to throw my own pig pickin,' and my departure from North Carolina finally gave me an excuse. So I went for it - whole hog, if you will, earlier this spring.

A pig pickin,' known in other parts of the country as a hog roast, or simply, a barbecue, is a Carolina tradition involving a hog, a converted oil drum cooker and a lot of time.

Pickin' (ALWAYS drop the 'g') have been a stable of church fundraisers, family reunions and political rallies in the South since long before the Civil War, as pork was always much cheaper than beef. You can't feed 100 people much more cheaply than with a nice hog and all the fixin's - baked beans, hush puppies, slaw and sweet tea.

Pig Pickin'(click thumbnails to view gallery)

Filed under: Head to Tail, Ingredients, How To, Offal, Methods

An offaly good dinner at the Astor Center - P20

COMMENTS 0

by Jonathan M. Forester, Posted Mar 10th 2008 @ 5:05PM

Here's a look at the dinner.

Michael Ruhlman calls up Chris Cosentino for a round of applause after the dinner.

And for those of you who would like to see a short video about the dinner click here to see it at NY Magazine online at Grub Street.

Back to beginning

Filed under: Head to Tail, Offal

An offaly good dinner at the Astor Center - P19

COMMENTS 0

by Jonathan M. Forester, Posted Mar 10th 2008 @ 5:05PM

Plating the blood orange cockscombs and rice pudding.

Blood orange candied cockscombs, with bay leaf rice pudding
Wine: Recioto di Soave "Col Foscarin", Gini 2004, Veneto

The Bay Leaf Rice Pudding was excellent. The candied cockscombs tasted like blood orange gummi's. It was weird, interesting, and actually pretty good.

Filed under: Head to Tail, Offal

An offaly good dinner at the Astor Center - P18

COMMENTS 0

by Jonathan M. Forester, Posted Mar 10th 2008 @ 5:05PM

Whole roasted spring lamb neck, with sheep's milk polenta and gremolata
Wine: Nieddera Rosso, Contini 2003, Sardinia

The lambs neck was rubbed with a mixture of Meyer lemons, garlic and wild fennel; and then roasted at 200ºF for seven hours. It was rich and deep flavored with no gaminess. Served with it was broccoli rabe which was nicely bitter and mustardy, and a very rich sheep's milk polenta. This dish was HUGE! No one could finish it and many folks took the remains home with them to enjoy the next day.

Filed under: Head to Tail, Offal

An offaly good dinner at the Astor Center - P17

COMMENTS 0

by Jonathan M. Forester, Posted Mar 10th 2008 @ 5:05PM

Preparing the venison liver. This is free range, wild venison raised by Broken Arrow Ranch of Ingram Texas. The deer are actually wild and are hunted by helicopter and then rushed to the slaughterhouse to be butchered there as FDA approved.

Crudo of venison liver, with beets and juniper balsamic vinegar
Wine: Sangue di Giuda, Tenimenti Confalonieri, la Versa 2006, Lombardy

The wine was excellent, a frizzante, slightly sparkling and slightly sweet with lots of ripe berry flavor.

The raw venison liver had been scalded in blistering hot olive oil to briefly cook the outside. The flavor was nice but the texture turned me off so much that I couldn't eat it, which is pretty rare for me.

Filed under: Head to Tail, Offal

An offaly good dinner at the Astor Center - P16

COMMENTS 0

by Jonathan M. Forester, Posted Mar 10th 2008 @ 5:05PM

Mazen Mustafa, Chef de Cuisine at Public, plating the lobster onto the trotter roulades.

Turf and Surf: Pork Trotters and Lobster Tarragon
Wine: Ribolla Gialla, La Castellada 2000, Friuli-Venezia Giulia

The lobster salad was delightful, with two types of grapefruit and tarragon leaves.

The trotter roulades were delicious, amazingly rich and complex. When you cut them open they had nuggets of sweet meat surrounded by the gelatinous skin and fat. I only ate half of one because it was so rich. One of my tablemates was Michael Yezzi, owner of Flying Pigs Farms who supplied the pigs feet. We had a short chat about them and the rare breeds of hogs he raises.

The wine was the most unusual color, a sort of yellow/brown/gold. I leaned over to my left and pointed it out to Mike Colameco of the Colameco's Food Show on TV and the WOR radio show Food Talk. I said that it looked like it was oxidized and he agreed with me. Then we tasted it. yes it was oxidized, but pleasantly so with many things going on in it. It had a musky, almost mold like flavor that was very interesting and very good. We asked about the wine and got another pour each and found out that the Ribolla Gialla is made like this on purpose. It's a love it or leave it wine. I loved it and thought it went very well with the dish.

Filed under: Head to Tail, Offal

An offaly good dinner at the Astor Center - P15

COMMENTS 0

by Jonathan M. Forester, Posted Mar 10th 2008 @ 5:05PM

Chris taking a short break before getting back to work.

The Chefs pose for a group photo. I will post names later.

Aaron watching all the craziness and probably thankful he has the day off from his restaurant. he's wearing one of Chris's t-shirts, "Lips & Assholes." You can get them here.

Filed under: Head to Tail, Offal

An offaly good dinner at the Astor Center - P14

COMMENTS 0

by Jonathan M. Forester, Posted Mar 10th 2008 @ 5:05PM

Beef tendon & sweetbreads, with chile and mint being plated.

Beef tendon & sweetbreads, with chile and mint
Wine: Nero d'Avelo, Feudo Montoni 2003, Sicily

The sweetbreads (pancreas and thymus glands) were the best I ever had; creamy and meaty. This is kind of funny because I had just said the same thing less than 24 hours before at another event.

The beef tendons were in chillies, mint, and arugula. They were slightly peppery, paper thin, translucent sheets that had the slightest al dente texture with a hint of a crunch to them that was great in your mouth. The greens were slightly floral and musky which was a great counter-point to the tendon and sweetbreads.

The wine was absolutely excellent with a full load of fruit flavor and a nice spiciness that went great with the dish.

Filed under: Head to Tail, Offal