fryguy

Finished:

The 2 part cure ended up being a 3 part process. I started with the brine above, then used the basic dry cure out of Charcuterie with the addition of a bit of light brown sugar, maybe 4 tablespoons or so. I let the belly sit in the cure for 3 days, and on the 4th, I rinsed the belly and ladled in a ton of straight Dr Pepper syrup, at least a cupfull and let that sit for about 18 hours. Then rinse again and let dry in the fridge for a day before smoking it over hickory and cherry wood. IMHO, this is effing fantastic. After the first bite fresh off the smoker, I did a little dance. Really. I won't go so far as to say that it's the best bacon ever, but it's damn close. *Damn* close. Pics to come as soon as I figure out how to upload them from my ancient phone.

I got mine from work.

I decided to do a two part cure on it. Here's what's happening: 1000g water 420g Dr Pepper syrup 200g salt 30g brown sugar for 24 hours, then on to a standard dry cure with a handful of aromatics (thyme, garlic, peppercorn). It should give it a decent blast of the Dr Pepper flavor without making the belly too mushy. I think the secondary dry cure will firm up any damage that the acid did to the meat (I don't have any science to back that up). Just thought y'all might be interested in what I decided on.

So I want to do a Dr Pepper brine on some gorgeous pork belly I was lucky enough to find today. I'm thinking garlic, chilies, thyme and Dr Pepper syrup, but I'm worried that with a 3-4 day brine, the phosphoric acid in the syrup is going to mangle the meat. Any ideas? Should I just do a standard brine, and the a short dry cure with the syrup? I'm sort of at a loss on this one.

I got lucky. Garret Angus Farms had some at the Nashville Farmer's Market. I was not looking forward to driving to Madisonville on Monday morning.

Does anyone have a lead on pork belly in Nashville? Preferably locally raised. I'm really in a pinch and any help is greatly appreciated.

That's the prices I found as well. I was hoping they might carry locust bean gum, no such luck. That stuff's a pain to find in smaller quantities. ← I'm pretty sure Le Sanctuaire carries locust bean gum. (www.le-sanctuaire.com)

Link doesn't work for me.

What are the other 3?

You can always check jbprince.com for serving pieces. (mirror trays, etc.)

Found one at The Butcher's Block in Franklin.

I've got a dinner party coming up in a couple of weeks, and I really want to serve a whole lot of pork. Where can I get a suckling pig in/around/near Nashville? I live in Hermitage, if that makes any difference.

Creamy grits 8 oz butter 1 qt heavy cream 4-1/4 oz quick grits 2 T Minor's chicken base Bring butter, cream and chicken base to a boil. Reduce heat to low, whisk in grits. Whisk over low heat every few minutes; they will be done in 45 minutes to an hour. Keep an eye on these, or they will either burn or break. If they break, you can rescue the emulsion by whisking in more cold heavy cream. Keywords: Side, Easy, Breakfast, Dinner, American ( RG2024 )

Yes.

Last night: Pork tenderloin: grits, shiitake, creamed corn

This was by far the best episode of this show I've seen.

I think JB Prince is the only place to get them.

I'm not black, but most of my friends who are, fix fried chicken livers this way: 1 pound chicken livers 1 egg 1 C milk 1 C flour 1 t baking powder seasonings: 1 t salt, pepper, prepared seasonings of some kind. One girlfriend uses something called, "Soul Seasoning" that she buys in a jar; several use Tony Cachere's creole seasoning, or other prepared cajun spice. Beat egg with milk until just mixed. Soak livers in egg mixture. Combine dry ingredients in plastic baggie. Drain livers and put into baggie with seasoned flour. Shake to coat well. Fry in hot oil. Serve immediately while hot and crispy. This is best when served with some kind of really good chicken gravy. ← That's how I roll, except I use bacon fat.

I bought a couple of these, and I'm using them every day. Perfect for 1-spoon quenelles, saucing, etc. The ones they're producing now are slightly lighter than the older ones, but only slightly.

Does le sanctuaire ship their products?

Seared salmon, carrot/ginger puree, parsley/lemon pesto, roasted fingerlings.

Butterfly, stuff with dried cherries, apples sauteed in butter w/ shallot, garlic, s&p, and a shot of cider vinegar, sauteed beet greens & manchego. Serve with a cider vinegar & maple syrup gastrique.

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/heknca16po.html I've had this one for a couple of years now, and it's working out great for me. Easy to clean off since it's fake leather on the outside (not cloth or something else that's absorbent). Lots of space to fill up. I think you can find it cheaper elsewhere online (I seem to recall paying about $30ish after shipping), but that's the first one that popped up.

Now that's an excellent idea. You can't have too many kinds of porky goodness. ← I think I'm stealing from Alinea, though I can't be certain. Someone mentioned a bacon powder in that thread, so rendered bacon drippings in tapioca maltodextrin just seemd to make sense. I think I went wrong when I tried to add a drop of liquid smoke. Maltodextrin really seems to hate water, a lot. ← Here's my first attempt at bacon fat powder. Could've used a bit more maltodextrin and a good sieving, but otherwise turned out pretty well. Bacon-y, anyways. I think that grinding cooked bacon with a small amount of maltodextrin would work a little better. Just enough to powder the excess fat, and still have all the good qualities of "real" bacon, color included. Pic of bacon fat powder