I really do need to do a better job of updating my blog as I’ve logged three more smoking sessions in the month that has elapsed since my last post. I like to think that with each subsequent smoke, not only has the ‘degree of difficulty’ increased, so has the overall lip-smacking deliciousness of the [...]
Posts under ‘Pork’
My New Smoker and Her Maiden Voyage
While working at the store over these last 4 1/2 months, I’ve seen and learned some really cool new things. For example, I can now practically debone a lamb leg and tie it up into a handsome roast with my eyes shut and I recently also got to try my hand at taking apart some [...]
Trimming a Ham
My humblest apologies for taking another lengthy break between blog updates. A lot has happened in the last few weeks as I continue to figure out what I’m supposed to do with all of my wonderful culinary training. For now, I’m happy to say that I’m still working at the Fatted Calf store in San [...]
Sausage Making Class
One of the greatest things about being back in the Bay Area is that it serves as home to a large community of do-it-yourself food enthusiasts that love getting up close and personal with their food. From home-brewing to whole-hog-butchering, if you can think of it, you have a great chance of finding a class [...]
Tamales Night!
I had never really given much thought to making tamales at home until one fateful day during culinary school when we covered the cuisine of the American Southwest (with its heavy influence from its neighbor to the South, Mexico). On this day, my partner and I were assigned to scratch-make tamales, the popular and portable [...]
White Bean Soup
My recent well-documented home trials and experiments leading up to my pork sliders project for culinary school yielded one especially handy byproduct – tons of great pork stock made from all of those pigs feet. This especially rich and gelatinous stock was just calling out to be used as the foundation for a white bean [...]
Cochon 555 Recap
Just the fact that I even have the opportunity to write this post makes me an incredibly happy guy. You see, a few weeks ago I had heard about an event coming to Boston that just about sounded like the greatest thing ever…Cochon 555, a traveling pork-themed competition/free-for-all. Throughout the spring, Cochon555-related events are held [...]
Stuffed Cabbage
Like many ‘traditional’ dishes, there are countless ways to prepare the Eastern European delicacy that is stuffed cabbage, with each home cook potentially claiming that their family recipe is the best version. Personally, I was never a huge fan of the dish until recently when I finally had a version that I liked (too bad [...]
Creative Practicum – Pork Sliders
Last Friday, the day after my final culinary school class, I had my first of four exams, the only obstacles still standing between me and my culinary school diploma. This first exam, referred to as a creative practicum, was actually much less of an exam and more of a chance for each student to demonstrate [...]
An Experiment with Pigs Feet
With the end of culinary school right around the corner, it is unfortunately time to begin thinking about exams. I will have both an extensive written exam and a lab (cooking) exam to prepare for. An additional requirement for graduation will be something that my school calls a creative practicum. The requirements for this creative [...]
