Makin' Bacon

Vegetarians, you better look away...

I make no excuses or apologies for what I'm about to display, which is a total fondness and affection for the grass-fed hog that was raised just for my family this year. Well, not just for my family because we purchased a whole hog from Wacholz Farms with some friends of ours so we ended up with half a hog, or about 80-90 lbs of fresh processed pork products.

I love pork. I do not have an issue with consuming meat but I consume smaller and smaller quantities of it and am becoming more particular about the "particulars" of the meat I do consume.  I want to consume with care, care for the animals that are raised, care for the environment, care of the locality and last but not least, care for my own health and well being.

I began to research organic and sustainable farms local to my area or within state boundaries. Granted, I live in the "Heartland of America" where my neighbors all bring something beautiful to the table (pun intended) but I wanted to first explore the abundance of Minnesota.  I will make the time and have the interest aplenty to begin this endeavor and so I embark on finding the products I use often, locally.

That it what inevitably led me to Cazzi. At the time, I wanted to find grass-fed, all natural meat. It could have been beef, chicken, lamb, pork, I was just looking to see what was available. I came across a website that I found to be very helpful, Minnesota Grown.  From there, not only did I find Wacholz Farms, but I fell down the rabbit hole and was convinced that my mission not only had viability but everything I was seeking beyond grass-fed hogs was within driving distance.

Since my car is more efficient than a commercial truck and my interest more than just a passing fancy, I felt rather elated at the possibilities of not only obtaining such quality products, but I would also get a chance to meet some pretty quality people along the way who not only think like I do, but are deeply passionate about what they do. It's a happiness circle!! Any and all kinds of grass-fed, natural meats, organic produce and dairy, grains, all of it could be found locally within my own reach if I just put forth the effort to become acquainted with all our farmers have to offer.

So, props to you, Cazzi for growing us the best dang pig I think I have ever had the pleasure of eating.  Our processing was done by Nick's Meats, who helped us figure out what cuts to choose and whether or not to smoke it or make sausages, etc. It is so well packaged, no chance of freezer burn which is an added plus, so kudos to the pride of our processor, as well.  We share recipes and ideas with our friends who have the other half of Wilbur and I have already put us back on the list for next year's hog. It's that good.

Now, for the bacon bits (lol!):

• Roughly 10lbs of pork belly (yep, bacon is from the belly of the pig)
• 100% Maple Syrup (should have been from Minnesota but I couldn't wait so will get some this weekend at the Mill City Farmer's Market)
• Sea salt

Sprinkle each of the belly pieces liberally with salt on both sides.  Drizzle maple syrup liberally all over that. Allow the bellies to cure overnight in the fridge uncovered and up to 5 days, repeating the process of adding additional salt and syrup each day.  The bellies should cure on a sheet pan with a grate or rack so the liquids can drain cleanly from the meat as this is the point of curing, to remove excess moisture from the bacon.   This means it will store better, keep longer and not get all gooey slimy when you do go to use it from the fridge.

Once the bacon has cured, wash off all salt and syrup and then pat dry with paper towels to dry the meat again. Let sit out to dry at room temperature or back in the fridge until completely dry to the touch.

We used a bullet style smoker, but if you wish to have a smoked bacon, you can cold smoke it with apple or hickory woodchips, whatever you like for an hour. That was plenty of smoke flavor. You can experiment but keep in mind that unless you vacuum pack it or seal it right away in the fridge, your whole fridge will be "smoked". :) Speaking from experience. But that smells so good, too, just keep it in mind if you have sweets or other stuff you don't really want smoked in the fridge at the same time.

It's ready to slice and because it is cold smoked, you still need to cook it but oh the joy of having homegrown, homemade bacon at a fraction of the cost for an abundance of flavor and humanely raised pork.  That, is priceless.  And what a treasure to trade come deer hunting season...  I'm unemployed at the moment, but I feel so rich!! :)

Zoku Crazy

Don't these look yummy?  I've been learning to make French Macarons, a treat I enjoyed on my recent visit to Paris.  One of the excellent by products of practicing a pastry technique you may never ever master is having an abundance of egg yolks left over from separating out egg whites.

The egg whites are used for the macaronnage lessons I am faithfully attempting on the weekends.  I typically need 4 egg whites and wind up with 4 egg yolks with nothing to do... until this.

I recently bought a Zoku Popsicle maker from Sur la Table in Minneapolis.  There was a self proclaimed "Zoku Queen" in house at the time who gave me such lively encouragement on this new kitchen device that I quickly gobbled up two of the little units. One for myself, a Zoku Queen-in-the-Making, and one for some friends of mine who were visiting at the time.  They have six amazing children who could surely make this successful even if I couldn't.

It takes a little practice but the most important aspect is to have a good recipe with all natural ingredients.  This post is for my Mom, who wanted the perfect ice cream base for her new ice cream maker and for Noelle, one of the kids who seemed to enjoy the Zoku machine from the start.  Noelle, in case you haven't found the perfect recipe yet, let me share mine with you:

Vanilla Pudding - World's Best Ice Cream Base:
4 egg yolks
1 cup of Organic Whole Milk
1 cup of Organic Heavy Cream
1/3 cup of sugar
1 tbsp corn starch
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out or 1 tsp of vanilla extract

Flavoring Additions:

• 2 tbsp of cocoa powder (I used Black Cocoa Powder from King Arthur but use what you like best) for making a luscious chocolate flavor like above 

OR

• 2-4 tbsp or organic fruit preserves such as strawberry, cherry or apricot

Directions and a little encouragement:

First of all, this is a "cooked" ice cream base that is really just homemade pudding.  I know you can buy pudding in a box, but really, if you want to really cook, you will try this way just once. I promise you, you will never be fooled by pudding in a box again.

Find a glass or metal bowl that will nest in the top of a soup or stockpot.  My kitchenaid mixing bowl works great for me and the bowl should fit the pot underneath but not touch the bottom of the pot. This is very important because what we are doing is creating a double boiler.  The point is that the bottom pot holds about 2-3 inches of water which will gently simmer but it must not actually come in contact with your mixing bowl or your mixture and mixing bowl will get too hot. Because we are using eggs, think about what would happen if the bowl of eggs got boiled... You would end up with scrambled egg popcicles, kinda yucky. So just make sure that the water can't touch your bowl and you are set.  

1. Put all the above ingredients into your mixing bowl and whisk thoroughly to incorporate the ingredients well. (Cocoa can be added at this time too. For jams, etc, add them last and wait until after the pudding has cooled.)
2. Add about 2-3 inches of water to the bottom of your simmering pot.
3. Set your "double boiler" pot and nested mixing bowl on the stove over medium heat and allow the water to begin to simmer. It doesn't need more heat than this.  This creates enough heat to cook the eggs more slowly over a lower heat so they don't curdle or scramble.
4. Stir constantly, do not change the tv, wash your hands, go to the bathroom, nothing. Just stir constantly.  It will take about 15-20 minutes but when it begins to thicken, it happens very fast which is why you need to stir the mixture at all times.
5. When the mixture coats the back of a spoon, take it off the pot and allow to cool down. It will continue to thicken as it cools. 

**Tip:  Transfer to a squeeze bottle with a fine tip if you will make Zoku pops. Makes it easier to fill the popcicles quickly and cleanly as you need to put the sticks in right away before the pops freeze too hard.  If making ice cream, transfer it to a storage jar and keep in the fridge until it is cold. 

**Remember, ice cream maker inserts need to be frozen for 24 hours before they can make a good ice cream. Same is true for the Zoku Popsicle maker.

Why the pudding? Well, this is the real secret between a good ice cream and an AWESOME ice cream. In fact, in Europe this is the only way ice cream is usually made. This is often referred to as "Gelato".  Gelato is made from a custard (pudding for us Americans) base and custards use cooked eggs in their base.  Most American ice creams don't do the cooking step because well, ice cream makers are lazy and looking for ways to streamline the process and that is why our ice cream isn't really as good as the Europeans. Sorry, America, it's true.  

But all this means really is that you simply need to make a pudding first.  Like I said, if you do it once on the stove yourself, you will be so well rewarded that you will not want to try it using a box pudding and it is likely that your first batch of pudding will never see an ice cream freezer or popcicle maker either. It's that good.

This is really two secret weapons in one so give it a try.