The Yoke of Abundance
It is strange that the simple way to feed yourself requires so much conviction. Where once we were threatened by scarcity and thus motivated to create (what are still) the best cured meats known to mankind, today we face the easy bondage of gluttony and the attendant ubiquity of bland ham.
The good news is that you can cure your own ham and indulge without the reproach of ill health. It won't be convenient, but it will be simple. And at least proportionate to the invisibility of the forces that produce spiral cut ham in the super market will be the hitherto unimagined superiority of the ham you brine yourself. By that I mean, if you source it well, it will defy your phenomenology. Literally the harmony between what is good for you and good to you will resound without dissonance or distortion. Longinus would call it sublime.
And if sublime ham seems like a stretch, it is only because you haven't made one yet. So I invite you to learn how the good ordinary things are in fact the thrones of the extraordinary.
and it is technically the aim of the Membership to restore the raising, harvesting, cutting, curing and cooking of meat to their original context: the prowess of the ordinary kitchen.
For a year, Members have been contributing the wisdom and experience of their kitchen economies to the forums, the closed Facebook group and the Facebook live chats. There is a year's worth of Meatsmith films, my harvest journals and the entire Butcher's Salt series in the Membership as well.
The Membership is for those who want to raise livestock and do their own harvesting, but also for the cook who wants to unlock the working principles of good food by intimacy with the first things. Taken in this light, bacon, sausage and even smoked meats are not only possible for the standard domestic kitchen, but native to it.
For a full rundown of the Membership and to sign up click here. Signups close Sunday, April 8th. We'll be raising the price and signup fee next time we open registration in the fall, so don't miss out.
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Mangalitsa Shares
Nothing speaks of the imperative to waste naught like an 18 month old, hazelnut finished lard pig. As icons of the burden of abundance, mangalitsas deposit a minimum of three inches of olive oil-like fat just beneath their skin. As someone fanatically committed to zero-trim butchery, this presents a harvesting challenge I relish, on many levels.
The result is the most unique pork share in the cosmos. There are no chops, for example. Rather than force the woolly pig into lean pink pig butchery, everything is traditionally cured, drawing from the Mangalitsa's origins in central Europe. There are a few new shares available. For information on reserving pig fat that tastes like almonds see this video and then read more here. |
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Whiskey and Pork
For a sample of the Mangalitsa Share, make it to the Seattle Cochon 555 on April 22nd and look for me at the Westland Distillery spread. They will be sampling whiskey aged in garry oak barrels along with mangalitsa lardo finished on garry oak acorns because harmony isn't just for the spheres. Though I did not think such a thing was possible, Matt Hoffman's whiskey is a worthy companion to Chris Gruver's Meatsmith harvested mangalitsas. (If you're not in the PNW, this fine pairing will also be available for tasting at the Cochon555's in Austin in May, as well as Miami and Denver in June.)
Furthermore, we have a YouTube Channel now where we will post each edition of our Meatsmith Podcast. Keep an eye on your inbox for more hands-on classes, coming at least as soon as late summer. And in docility to the yield of each type of pig, we will be offering more Gloucestershire Old Spot shares soon.
I apologize that the soul of wit eluded me this time. Thank you for reading and I hope these salubrious opportunities are in no way diluted by the many words of
your grateful friend,
Brandon
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