Charcuterie

This Week In Charcuterie News: Cured in San Antonio, Koji Fungus Steaks, Wisconsin Meat Champs, Knoxville Breakfast

Davila’s Barbecue in Seguin Texas

We’re running low on bacon. Anytime that starts to happen the crew gets anxious. The last time we ran low was back in the winter so we did what any cooking team would do: we drove the 894 mile round trip up to Madison, Alabama to pick up a pork belly from old-timey hog man Henry Fudge. Continue Reading

Charcuterie

Breaking News Out Of Kentucky: 2017 Kentucky Grand Champion Country Ham Sells For $325,000

2017 Kentucky Country Ham Grand Champion

Broadbent Country Hams of Kuttawa, Kentucky took home the Grand Champion prize for best in show at the 2017 Kentucky State Fair. It was their 17th victory.

That 21 lb ham was put up for auction this morning.

Central Bank submitted the winning bid of $325,000 with the monies then being donated to the University of Kentucky.

We live in the most fertile food region of the US but we suffer greatly when it comes to country ham. In spite of New Orleans status as being the finest eating city in the US, a country store in rural Kentucky will afford you a better chance of scoring pluperfect cured country ham.

This was a down year for the big ham auction. Last year’s winner brought in $600k.

Charcuterie

How To Dry Cure 12lbs Of Berkshire Hog Jowls

How To Dry Cure 12lbs Of Berkshire Hog Jowls

In the 1894 Berkshire Yearbook And Breeding Herds tome, the Berkshire hog is lauded by W.H Embry and Gregory (livestock commission merchants) thusly: “We consider the English Berkshire, as a class, the best hogs for the market. The Berkshire is the best hog to follow cattle as you can make him weigh 300lbs in 10 months and he will walk farther to market than any breed of same fat and weight. Continue Reading

Charcuterie

This Week In Charcuterie News: Louie’s Finer Meats, Hermann Wurst Haus, Bootleg Meat

Louie’s Finer Meats

Louis Muench of Louie’s Finer Meats in Cumberland Wisconsin was elected president of the American Association of Meat Processors during the group’s convention in Lexington, Kentucky recently. Mr Muench is a member of the National Cured Meats Hall of Fame. I will consider my life complete if I can somehow, someday become a member of that august Hall.

The American Association of Meat Processors Cured Meat Competition awarded its Grand Champion trophy to Hermann Wurst Haus for its German-style bologna last week. The shootout took place in central Kentucky where the appellation ‘bologna’ sure raised some eyebrows. Lexington is deep in boloney country.

Bootleg charcuterie has always been a thing in the US where the government regulates all forms of meat processing. The Cleveland Scene lays out what it takes to go completely legal. It’s not cheap.

Charcuterie

This Week In Charcuterie News: World Butchers Challenge, Uncured Bacon, Nordic Culinary Conference, NYC Pastrami Scene

Benton’s Country Ham In The Texas Morning Light

Last night we put 10lbs of pork shoulder in a salty, sodium nitrite brine. It only takes 48 hours of wet-curing to turn raw pork into Cajun tasso ham. We’re penning a recipe later this week. The Tasso is our contribution to a wedding party. The couple are getting married on the 10th anniversary of their first date.

And they love ham. Continue Reading

Charcuterie

Don’s Specialty Meats Fights Back From Scandal And Fire

Don’s Specialty Meats is one of the top charcuterie houses in all of Acadiana.

They produce 2000 pounds of boudin a day and that doesn’t even take into account all the cracklins, andouille, and chaurice that patrons queue up for out on the western prairies of Louisiana.

But the long-running concern has not had an easy go of it lately: Don’s Carencro outlet burned to the ground in October of 2016. That location had been running since 1993.

Then the feds came calling and walloped Don’s with a fine of $480,313 .

Don’s was a mite shaky when it came to properly compensating their workers and the feds had to have a come to Jesus meeting with them and their coffers.

Heart of Louisiana featured Don’s in the video above and it’s worth checking out if you’re into our state’s rural butchery scene.