Johnny's! EPIC Guanciale Inspired Birthday Breakfast

It was my brother's birthday on June 2nd or 3rd (I always forget), which coincided perfectly with the curing of my pig cheek.  To celebrate his 26th birthday I decided to make an EPIC pork-filled breakfast and it was EPIC indeed.

First, about my brother.  We are five years apart (I'm older) but are really close friends - I think he's a pretty cool guy.  A former academic, he has given his life over to spoken word poetry and is rather good.  Our hang-outs often involve the spontaneous spouting of poetry so I get to be an early ear for his stuff, what fun!  You can check out one of his newest creations here.  He is the water bowler.

The Menu

• Guanciale Omelette
• Sweet Potato sauteed in Guanciale fat
• Guanciale fat topped Toast with a Grapefruit-Cranberry Marney

Whenever I plan a menu I always have a few focal ingredients that I like to use to tie the meal together.  For Johnny's! EPIC breakfast my focal ingredients are guanciale and thyme.  If you remember from Roman Bacon: Part 1, thyme was used to cure the pork cheek, so it was a natural choice.  Tying the meal together does not mean that thyme needs to be used in every dish though, I just used it with the sweet potato so it didn't overpower the real star.

Ingredients

• Guanciale - a large chunk, about 1/4 cup
• Sweet potato - 2 medium
• Eggs - 4
• Bread - I used
• Cranberries - 1/2 cup
• Grapefruit - 1
• White sugar - 1 tablespoon
• Honey - to taste
• Thyme - a couple sprigs
• Salt - a healthy amount

Directions

1) Start by scrubbing the sweet potatoes and then putting them straight on the oven rack and turn the oven on to 400 degrees F.  If you don't have anything protecting the bottom of your oven then you might want to put the potatoes on a tray because the sugar drips out as they bake and forms beautiful (but very hard to get off) black bubbles.  I eat a baked sweet potato every day so I just cover the bottom of my oven with tin foil and throw that out every few months.

Start to check your sweet potato at about 20 minutes by reaching into the oven and giving it a little squeeze.  Meltingly soft?  It's ready and should be taken out and allowed to cool.

2) As that is baking, put the cranberries in a heavy saucepan on medium and get to work peeling the grapefruit.  The marney is a combination of marmalade and chutney.  It's not sweet, it's not savoury, it's perfect.

Having said that, you can leave a bit of the pith (the white stuff) on your peel so just use a veggie peeler to get most of the peel off the grapefruit.  Slice into thin strips and add it to the cranberries.

 I cut the grapefruit open at this point and cut out most of the fruit (into chunks), throwing it in with the cranberries and peel.  Now add a good solid pinch of salt to the marney, because this cuts the bitterness of the grapefruit and cranberry.  Also add the white sugar.  Turn it up to medium-high and give it a good stir.  This will be cooking away as you finish the rest of the breakfast.  You can let it hard boil for a while making sure to check the consistency.  Once it reaches a nice thickness turn the heat down to low and just let it sit.  

3) It's time for the guanciale! Cut your chunk of guanciale into three pieces - one piece cubed and the other two into thin slices.  Heat a small (omelette-sized) saucepan for a few minutes, and toss in the cubed guanciale.  Let the fat render out and keep the heat to just below medium.  If it starts to smoke, take the pan off to let it cool down a little and then return it to the element.

Once the guanciale cubes have given up most of their fat and are looking crispy, take them off the heat and put them to the side and turn the heat down or off under your small saucepan.

4) As the cubed guanciale is rendering, one pile of guanciale slices should also be rendering with the sprigs of thyme in a large saucepan.  The heat and oil help to release the thyme essence.  Yummy.  Again, make sure the fat doesn't smoke!

Once the fat is rendered from the slices, take your sweet potatoes (now cool) and slice them in half.  Put the cut side down into the fat.  If you don't hear a sizzle then your pan isn't hot enough.  Sprinkle some salt and grind some pepper onto your potatoes and let them cook until they are golden brown.  Once they are done, take them out of the pan and pop them into the oven to keep them warm.

5) Using the sweet potato pan, render the last pile of guanciale slices.  As you are doing this, put the small saucepan back on the heat and start whisking the four eggs.  I find that if I whisk the eggs and then immediately pour them into the saucepan my omelette is ultra-fluffy!  I like ultra-fluffy.

Put your toast on when your omelette is close to done.

Don't overcook your omelette.  I tend to take mine off the heat when it is still slightly liquidy.  If it is left on too long then your eggs will get tough.  Tough eggs = a no no.

6) Now to put it all together!

Take your sweet potatoes out of the oven and onto the plate they go.

Cut the omelette in half and put it next to the potatoes.

Put the rendered fat slices on the toast and then pour, yes pour the rest of the fat onto the toast.  Smear a large dollop of the marney on top followed by a drizzle of honey.




Notes

• If you have skin on your jowl, you should remove it but put the fatty side down into the one of the sauce pans and melt the fat out of it.  Maximize your pig fat!
• Cut the potato into whatever size you want.  If you like crispiness then cut into smaller pieces and brown for longer. 

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Shonagh writes An Offal Experiment - exploring the guts of food

Roman Bacon: Part 2

The roman bacon was ready.

Unfortunately I had quite the time getting it out of my storage closet.  I have lived in my apartment building for seven years.  I have had a key to my storage closet kicking around solo for seven years.  I have never lost it, or misplaced it, ever.  When do I lose it?  Yeah, that's right when I have a pig cheek hanging from the ceiling.

First, I searched.  Nothing.  Second, I fretted.  That also did nothing.  Third, I posted an ad on craigslist looking for a lock pick.  Again, nothing.  Fourth, I attempted to pick the lock myself from the oh so useful collection of youtube videos on lock picking.  Can you guess? Nothing.  But, as I am attempting to pick the lock, I notice a gap at the top of the closet!  Is it possible?  Will the cheek fit through?  Eureka!  My pig cheek is rescued!

And then my love affair began...

I danced around my kitchen after unwrapping my guanciale, oohing and ahhing.  "My God, you are beautiful!" I exclaimed.  "Oh my Lord, I think you are luscious!"  I ran my fingers over the pork fat and it melted at my touch.  I felt like the poet Petrarch who wrote 366 poems to a woman he had only just glimpsed.

How will I feel once I taste it?

I have big plans for this guanciale.  A small piece is being used in the morning to make breakfast for my brother - it's his birthday.  It will also become pasta carbonara.  Having recently bought locally grown and milled flour I am also making the pasta.  This will be a meal to remember and a post to look out for.  My father might even get a chunk for father's day or at least a meal because I am not sure that he will know what to do with a piece of pig fat.  Subscribe to my blog to learn the fate of my little pig cheek.

"Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music."

  -Angela Monet

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Shonagh writes An Offal Experiment - exploring the guts of food

My Food Library: Odd Bits

I was signed up to volunteer the other day at the Grape Juice Wine Auction with Big Sister's at the Ferrari-Maserati dealership on Burrard.  I've been a Study Buddy with Big Sister's for five years and do whatever I can to help this organization raise money.  Arriving early for set-up I was told that they had enough volunteers so I had an hour to entertain myself before the event started.  What does a food lover do with a free hour when they are at 3rd and Burrard?  Anyone who lives in Vancouver knows that they visit Books to Cooks.

This was no idle visit, however; I knew what I was looking for - a book about offal. 

My experiments with organ meats so far have not gone well.  The internet is useful but not thorough and cobbling together random recipes has resulted in some questionable results (stinky beef kidney, overcooked goat heart, disgusting liver soup, rubber tire pork liver).  Because I'm trying to develop a taste for organ meats, eating bad organ meat is very counter-productive.  I needed a passionate expert to hold my hand and I found her in Jennifer Mclagan.

As soon as I stepped into Books to Cooks I was greeted warmly and within moments was ensconced at the book bar, piles of offal-centred books grew around me.  Being a student I'm very careful about spending my limited budget and after chuckling through a few pages I knew that Odd Bits fit my bill.  Within a few days I had almost finished reading it, bringing it with me on my weekend trip to Vancouver Island.  Who brings a cook book with them to read on vacation?  Guilty as charged and I unabashedly admit to relishing every page.

This book will be an incredibly valuable reference book and source of inspiration (see a future post on turkey neck soup, a delectable and meaty odd bit).  For anyone who is serious about expanding their palate and celebrating every part of the animal, Odd Bits is an essential addition to their food library.

Roman Bacon: Part 1

I first heard about guanciale on Chopped.  It was a secret ingredient and for some reason I decided to look it up.  Oh my goodness!  Luscious pig jowl washed with wine and scented with black pepper and thyme.  This was something I had to try.

The word guanciale comes from 'guancia', which means cheek in Italian.  The jowl is the lower part of the cheek, the part that droops down, all fatty-like.  Mmmmm...  Supposedly the taste of the jowl is intensely porky, I would imagine because it gets a good workout from the pig chewing all day.  I won't know for another couple weeks though, when my guanciale is ready.

To make the guanciale I cobbled together several different recipes (see my reference list down below).  My method relied on sensuality rather than strictness.

1. The first step: purchase the jowl.  I called my local butcher and they brought one in from Gelderman Farms.  It weighed about a pound and a half.  Once I arrived home, I unwrapped the butcher's paper and found a very fatty and very hairy piece of pig cheek.   Hmmm...  What to do with all this hair?  Rather than look it up, I decided that I would tweeze out all of the hairs.  Yeah, tweeze them out.  After tweezing for half an hour and making some but not a whole lot of progress I decided to leave it hairy (see notes).  I figured the salt and sugar and/or final cooking would disintegrate the hair and if not, I would either remove the skin or just eat the hair.

2. The second step: bathe the cheek in wine.  Not being a wine drinker I wasn't sure what kind of wine to buy.  White I decided, because I didn't want the pig flavour overwhelmed or the fat stained burgundy.  I chose the brand to inspire my guanciale process - Barefoot.  Any suggestions for better wines to choose are appreciated.  I massaged half of the bottle into the jowl, taking my time.  The beauty of home cooking, or one of many, is the ability to luxuriate over the process.  There is no head chef barking at me to finish with my cheek already or a customer distracting me with an order.  It's just me and my pig cheek and a bottle of wine on a sunny day in early spring.  Lovely.

3. The third step: cover with cure.  The cure recipes I found contained sugar, salt, thyme, and black pepper.  Normally I like to fiddle around with my spice combinations but not so with my guanciale.  It seemed like the spicing was the essence of the charcuterie, as if I couldn't call it guanciale without using the correct spices.  I used equal portions of salt and sugar, a solid amount of freshly ground black pepper and several sprigs of thyme (picked fresh from my garden).  All of this went into a ceramic dish with the jowl and was popped, covered, into the fridge.  It was supposed to be left for 5-7 days but mine got ten and was flipped half-way through.

4. The fourth step: rinse and hang.  The last step before I eat my cured cheek is to let it hang in a cool spot for at least three weeks.  Oh the patience it takes!  I decided to use my storage closet in the unheated basement of my apartment building.  While it doesn't have the sweet Mediterranean winds blowing through, it is cool and close so it will have to do.  I tied up my pig cheek in cheesecloth with a few extra sprigs of thyme tucked in.

Check back in a few weeks to see what happens or better yet subscribe to my blog!  Thanks for reading!

Notes:

• Learn more about the awesome anti-microbial power of thyme here!
• Since making my first batch of guanciale I have bought Odd Bits by Jennifer McLagan and now know to shave the pig skin with a disposable razor or burn it off with a propane torch.  I will probably shave it because I don't like the idea of taking a torch to my little piece of piggie.

References:

Guanciale
Guanciale, The Magical Roman Bacon
The Art of the Cure
Guanciale from Babbo

Braised Pork Shoulder

I think knowing how to make a tasty braised pork shoulder is a really good kitchen skill.  Why?  It's easy, it's cheap, it's tasty, it's versatile, and it's quick (kinda).  In the context of a casual dinner party, braised pork shoulder is one of those crowd-pleasing dishes.  A really good pulled pork is wonderful in the winter when it's cold outside and fantastic as part of a summer time barbecue.

I winged this recipe and if I do say so myself it turned out delicious - the leftover braising liquid especially.

Directions

1. Buy a pork shoulder.  I bought a small one, about two pounds.  Mix up your dry rub and massage it into your shoulder.  You can let it sit to absorb the spices if you want.  I decided not to simply because I wanted to use the pork for dinner. 

Dry Rub

1 teaspoon smoked paprika
3 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon mustard powder

2. Then get a pan nice and hot to sear the pork shoulder.  Sear it on all sides and then pop it back into the pan with all of the ingredients below.  Add some extra water or apple juice if there isn't enough liquid in the pan. 

Braising Liquid

1 chopped apple
1 chopped jalapeno
1 star anise
2 tablespoons of ginger roughly chopped
1 chopped onion
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup malt vinegar

3. Cover the whole mess with tin foil and pop it into an oven at 250 degrees fahrenheit.  My shoulder was small so it only took about four hours (the prep time is quick though, all you need to do while it cooks is go take a nap).  You want to pull it out of the oven when the internal temperature gets to 190 degrees or higher*.  Let it rest for half an hour.

4. While it is resting, pour the contents of the roasting pan through a sieve.  Try to remove some of the fat if you would like - I'll admit to just leaving mine as is.  Once the pork has rested (allowing the juice to distribute through the meat) it is ready for pulling.  If cooked properly the pork should shred easily using either your hands or two forks.

Eat pulled pork on its own, on a bun or in a taco with the pan sauce drizzled on top.  So yummy...

References

Cooking Time
Barbeque Thoughts

*I read that 210 is best for pulled pork.

My first batch of pancetta

Yay!  Here it is!  My first ever finished batch of pancetta!  I put ground black pepper and bay leaf in the middle and then rolled it up.

 People who make pancetta are probably thinking - that is a tiny roll.  You are correct.  After struggling to roll the darn thing up, I gave up, cut it in half and did two mini-rolls.  What can I say I have very small hands and they are a bit weak.  

This is just a small segment of it.  There were three pounds in total.  I just forgot to take a picture before chopping it up and freezing it in smaller amounts.

I am enjoying my pancetta tremendously.  Mostly I am cubing it and using it to flavour braised greens and brussel sprouts - that's my dish of the moment.  I'm also slicing it thinly though and eating it on sandwiches.  It's just so sweet and spicy and delicious.  I love the addition of the bay leaf.  Yummy and might I add a great gift for the holiday season.

A vintage meat grinder

So I decided to buy a meat grinder after taking my butchery class.

My inspiration: Every year I do a Christmas Eve Brunch.  It is quite a to-do and I get very excited about the menu.  This year I decided to capitalize on some of the new food products I learned to make including preserved lemons, yoghurt, and now charcuterie/butchery.  I decided to make lamb sausages with a variety of sauces and I needed a meat grinder.  I started to look online at Canadian Tire but the reviews were not very positive.  The machines seemed to break down quickly.  I changed tack and looked on Craigslist for an older meat grinder.

Voila!  

A woman in North Vancouver was selling a vintage meat grinder made in the 1950's in England.  It is a Spong No. 5 and off I went to grab it for a knock-down deal - $15!!!  

Now it is time for some grinding!

 Working like a hot damn!

That would be some pork that you are seeing work its way through my lovely new grinder!  And could I just say that it is delicious.