Ari recently talked with cured pork producer Herb Eckhouse, founder of La Quercia, about Iowa, pancetta, and the history of the Tamworth Hog .
Herb will be speaking at Zingerman’s 4th Annual Camp Bacon this summer. Please join us!

In Pursuit of World-Class Cured Pork

Herb and Kathy Eckhouse have been curing great air-dried hams, pancetta, guanciale and other fine meats for many years now.  I wrote about him extensively in the bacon book—he and I actually went to high school about four miles apart back in suburban Chicago. The Deli sells a wide range of Herb’s really wonderful cured pork products. Their cured hams, lardo, guanciale, pancetta and other pork products have been acclaimed by aficionados all over America. The flavor of everything they make is pretty marvelous and their commitment to sustainable hog raising is pretty inspiring.  Herb will be coming to speak at Camp Bacon June 1st!

Ari:  Yours are unquestionably some of our favorite cured pork products at Zingerman’s. What are some of the key things that make them so special?  

Herb:  It all starts with the pork. That’s 96 percent of what people eat when they eat our cured meats.  We are committed to using pork from pigs NOT raised in confinement and that NEVER receive non-therapeutic antibiotics. This is a very elite level of pork quality—less than one half of one percent of the pork in the country meats these qualifications. In addition, we are working with our suppliers to provide continuous pasture access for the hogs throughout the year. We work with heritage breeds, like Berkshire and Tamworth, and we select for our own quality criteria within this group. Our real candidate pool is probably more like a third of one percent of the pork on the market!

We do this for many reasons—because these practices are more humane, because non-therapeutic antibiotics and confinement production have adverse environmental impacts (that we experience directly in Iowa because so many hogs are raised there), and, maybe most important, because we think that meat from animals who have experienced minimal stress ages and tastes better. It is more delicious. We carry this same level of obsessive attention to detail and willingness to commit resources to achieve higher quality through everything that we do.

Part of why we get along so well and love your products so much is that you’re going in pretty much the opposite direction of mainstream pork. How does it feel to be departing from what the mass-market producers are doing?    

We are a small company hand crafting our meats. We knew we would be going in the opposite direction of the mainstream–we can’t and don’t want to do what the big companies do. But, just as American cheese and beer craftspeople have moved their mainstream industries, I believe that with our colleague companies, we will be able to do the same with pork curing. For example, we are seeing good growth in the production of antibiotic free pork. That’s a really good sign. Though most of it still doesn’t meet our standards, there’s movement in the right direction.

How have folks in Iowa responded to your work?

We’ve had a great reception in Iowa. You can probably find La Quercia Prosciutto more easily in Iowa than in any other state. We’ve worked on that, and local people have been very supportive.

Who raises the hogs for you?  

Our closest relationships are with Russ Kremer who heads up Ozark Mountain Pork Producers Cooperative (they sell their pork through Heritage Acres) and Jude Becker of Becker Lane Farms. Russ tells me that we are some of his most demanding customers. Together we help move his program in the direction he would like to go. Our most exciting projects have come together with Russ. We worked with him for 5 years to get our Tamworth breed program goin’. The Tamworth is an endangered Heritage breed in the US, and now we are getting regular deliveries from him of this meat that has deep sweetness when you age it. This group, and the Berkshire-cross meat we get from him are due to qualify as continuous pasture access animals by September. That enables us to make all of our pancetta, guanciale, coppa, and lardo from pastured pork. We do our Woodland Acorn Tamworth program with him too—those are hogs that we finish each fall on Iowa acorns, much as happens in western Spain to make the (world famous) Iberico ham.

What’s the history of the Tamworth hog?

What’s your favorite way to eat the Tamworth bacon?

Lightly cooked at low heat. When you eat it without cooking, you can really taste the sweetness of the meat. Light cooking is kind of the best of both worlds–the succulent melted fat with the sweet meat flavor. Because it is dry cured and low water content, the fat has a lower smoke point so however you cook it, we recommend doing so at low heat.

Are other farmers in the area taking notice?  

We regularly get calls from individuals wanting to raise pigs the way we want them raised, and we typically refer them to Russ. I think that other farmers are taking notice.

Since you’re coming to camp bacon, let’s look at bacon for a minute.  Tell us about your pancetta?  And what makes it different from American bacon that most folks here are familiar with?  

Again here, first I need to reference the meat–we use the high quality meat I talked about previously—the vast majority of American bacon makers do not.  Second, all of our pancetta is air-dried. Almost all American bacon is sold at 90 to 95 percent of its original raw weight. Its raw meat and you need to cook it to eat it safely. Our pancetta typically has a 30 percent weight loss during the curing period. This means you can safely eat it raw. It also means that it has a deep rich flavor and when you cook it, you lose about half as much of what you bought as you do with all American bacon I’ve tested.

You’re doing some great work with the acorn feeding of hogs. How’s that going?  

I am really excited about our Acorn Edition program. The woodland fed Tamworth hogs spend 4 months out foraging in the woods getting about 60 percent of their feed from acorns. The texture, fat and flavor are really different–you can taste it. People are responding very positively. It’s exciting for me because we are using American breeds produced with American acorn varieties to create a distinctive American version of these very traditional cured meats.

You’ve introduced a few really great new products in the last year or so. Can you tell us about them?

Something that is going great guns for us, and which was first picked up by Zingerman’s, is our Borsellino salami line. We ate some fuet in Spain, and thought why can’t we get these at home? So we started making them. Softer texture, easy because you just slice at home with a knife and eat ’em as they are. They’re in an edible natural casing, they’re a convenient size and packaging, with very low acidity. We really enjoy them. We offer the Borsellino (lightly spiced with fennel), the Spicy Borsellino (Pimenton de la Vera Picante and red chili) and the Smoky Borsellino. We named them Borsellino, which means little purse in Italian, because they are handy to slip into a pocket, a purse or a backpack and take with you. Also, Rob Borsellino was a good friend of mine who died from ALS, so once we get these going we are going to donate a portion of the proceeds to one of his favorite causes.

What are some of your favorite ways to eat your products? 

I’ve been in Italy recently and my favorite way to eat our meats is on an affettato misto or charcuterie board. There’s a ton of flavor and texture to experience and this makes it completely accessible. A regular dish at our house is Pasta Alla Carbonara–my son Aaron’s is the current family standard.  It’s great with our guanciale and great farm fresh eggs.  We’ve also been doing pizza out of Jim Lahey’s My Pizza cookbook—lots of room to improvise with pork toppings there.

You’ve been to camp bacon once before. We’re excited to have you back. Any thoughts on heading out this way for this 4th annual fundraiser for Southern Foodways Alliance and 4H?  

I totally admire the Zingerman’s spirit and zeitgest so it always pumps me up when I get around you and your colleagues. I love the bacon art and culture part of Camp Bacon too–Bacon poetry! Plus you always bring in great guests. It’s filled with bacon makers, bacon lovers, bacon stories and bacon history.  You get all the bacon you can eat, and it’s all really high quality product. What’s not to like?

See you at camp!

Week of  4/29/13

Here’s a quick list of some of the things happening at Zingerman’s Community of Businesses this coming week.

• Stop by the Zingerman’s Creamery anytime on Monday, and get $2 off the per pound price of your favorite Mozz, fresh, smoked, or burrata!
• Our friends from Oregon’s Rogue Creamery join us at the Zingerman’s Roadhouse for a special dinner. Starts at tonight 7pm, more info here.
• If you wear your Zingerman’s t-shirt to the Deli on Tuesdays, you’ll get $4 off the price of your sandwich. Four bucks!
• It’s Pimento Cheese Tuesday at the Zingerman’s Creamery! Get $2 off the per pound price all day!
• Tuesday is the last day for April Featured Foods in the Zingerman’s businesses; new Features start this Wednesday, May 1! Check with your favorite businesses for details.
• Mid-week blues? Wednesdays are special at the Zingerman’s Creamery. If you buy any two Zingerman’s Gelato, you’ll get a third FREE! Who can argue with free?
• In honor of Cinco de Mayo, the Zingerman’s Deli will feature delicious Pozole Verde, made with La Quercia acorn pork, and blue pozole (corn). Available all month long! Starts in May.

• And Next Door also joins the fun with the yummy Cafe de Olla, which features cinnamon, clove, and a splash of orange. Begins in May.
• Every Thursday, the Zingerman’s Roadhouse creates a delicious new menu! Stop by for more details!
• Learn Zingerman’s Marketing Secrets this Thursday and Friday at ZingTrain!
• Fridays and Saturdays at the Zingerman’s Bakehouse mean Special Bakes, limited-edition loaves available only on weekends. Stop by for a taste!

See you soon!

Zingerman’s 4th Annual Camp Bacon is coming soon and to help get everyone prepared, we’re sharing tasty excerpts and recipes from Ari’s book, Zingerman’s Guide to Better Bacon. 

BLT in a Bowl

Basically, it’s everything great about the sandwich but served in a bowl, inverting the normal ratios of a BLT in order to make the lettuce and tomato the feature. Use good cider vinegar—I’m very partial to the oak-barrel aged one we get from Pierre Gingras in Quebec, or the one from Albert Katz out in California.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces sliced bacon (about 4 to 6 slices)
• 1 slice good bread of your choice, preferably a bit stale, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 6 ounces good greens, washed, well dried and coarsely chopped (I like mustard greens, but of course any good lettuce will work)
• 1 big or 2 medium or 4 small ripe, in-season tomatoes, cut into ½-inch chunks
• 1 ripe avocado, cubed
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• Coarse sea salt to taste
• Plenty of freshly ground Tellicherry black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 2 eggs

Procedure:

1. 1. Fry the bacon in a skillet over medium heat. Remove the bacon from the pan, leaving the fat. Add the bread cubes and stir well. Keep cooking, stirring occasionally, until golden brown on all sides.
2. 2. Meanwhile, put the greens in a pair of chilled salad bowls and top with the tomatoes and avocado. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and cider vinegar and toss well.
3. 3. Add white vinegar and two inches of cold water to a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and carefully break the eggs directly into the liquid. Cook until the eggs are lightly poached. Turn off the heat and allow the eggs to rest in the warm liquid.
4. 4. Chop the bacon and add it to the salad bowls. Sprinkle with the croutons and remaining bacon fat and toss well. (If there’s not enough bacon fat for your liking, add a glug from your stash or augment it with a good olive oil.)
5. 5. Gently remove the eggs from the pan with a slotted spoon and spoon one over the top of each salad.
6. 6. Option: Drop the egg (figuratively) from the recipe and substitute a handful of blue cheese broken into small bits. I like to put the cheese on the salad before I add the croutons, so that the heat of the hot bread softens the cheese.

Serves 2 as a main course, or 4 as a side dish

SEE YOU AT CAMP!

Zingerman’s 4th Annual Camp Bacon is coming soon and to help get everyone prepared, we’re sharing tasty excerpts and recipes from Ari’s book, Zingerman’s Guide to Better Bacon. 

Kieron’s Grilled Plantain with Mustard and Bacon

When Kieron Hales, sous chef at the Zingerman’s Roadhouse, first told me about this recipe, I thought it sounded a bit crazy. But, lo and behold, it’s actually delicious. Kieron hails (sorry, couldn’t resist) from England, but he learned this dish while he was working in Maine, from a Jamaican-born chef. The recipe works either on the grill or under the broiler, and you can make it with either ripe plantains or bananas. The latter will of course be somewhat sweeter, but both versions are quite good.  Kieron recommends making it with a thickly sliced, very smoky bacon—consider Broadbent’s, Edwards’ or Benton’s. It’s also very good with the long pepper bacon from Arkansas—the tropical flavors of the plantains and bananas go well with the equatorial accent of the long pepper.

So yeah, it sounds strange, but tastes darned good!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons dried mustard (preferably Colman’s English)
• ¼ cup water
• 4 large ripe plantains (their skins will be mottled or black) or bananas
• 4 teaspoons freshly ground Tellicherry black pepper
• 8 to 12 slices bacon (each plantain requires 2 to 3 slices)

Procedure:

1. 1. Soak a handful of wooden skewers in water for at least 1 hour or overnight. (I used 6-inch bamboo skewers, but toothpicks will work, as well.)
2. 2. Mix the dried mustard and water together with a fork until it forms a paste. Let stand for 30 minutes so that the mustard’s flavor can “bloom.”
3. 3. If using the grill, bring to medium-high heat. Alternatively, you can do the whole recipe, start to finish, under the broiler.
4. 4. Rub each plantain with 1½ tablespoons of the mustard paste and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon pepper. Wrap each plantain in bacon slices, overlapping by one-third the width of each slice as you go. Secure bacon to the plantain by inserting skewers crosswise and at angles as necessary.
5. 5. Place the dressed plantains atop an oiled grill. If the plantains are very ripe, grill them for about 5 minutes, then turn and repeat on the other side for another 5 minutes. If the plantains are less ripe—with yellower skins—you’ll want to keep them on the grill longer (about 8 to 9 minutes per side).
6. 6. Carefully remove the plantains to a baking sheet and place under the broiler for another 15 minutes, or until the bacon is crisped and the plantains are caramelized.
7. 7. Take the pan from the broiler, carefully remove the skewers and cut the plantains into chunks. Serve hot, with some English mustard on the side for dipping.

Serves 4 as a side dish, or 10 to 12 as an appetizer

SEE YOU AT CAMP!

Zingerman’s 4th Annual Camp Bacon is coming soon and to help get everyone prepared, we’re sharing tasty excerpts and recipes from Ari’s book, Zingerman’s Guide to Better Bacon. 

Grits & Bits Waffles

This old Georgia dish has long been one of the most popular items on the Zingerman’s Roadhouse brunch menu. The story is that the Dutch brought waffle irons here with them and that as they moved south from Manhattan they began to blend the local leftover grits that were so common into their waffles to make breakfast the next morning.

The dish really isn’t very hard to make, but by bringing together the flavors of wheat, corn, bacon and maple syrup you really get a great, unique way to start the day. As always I’ll recommend the Anson Mills grits, though other artisan offerings will also serve you well. The key is that the grits add flavor as well as texture to the dish. If you’re into sorghum or cane syrups, you could certainly use either one instead of the maple. When it comes to the bacon, I’d go with one of the dry-cured offerings—Broadbent’s, Edwards’ or Benton’s to stand up to all the other good flavors here.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
• 2 cups water
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup Anson Mills (quick-cooking) grits
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 4 eggs
• 1½ cups whole milk
• 1 pound sliced bacon (about 8 to 12 slices), cooked and coarsely chopped
• 6 ounces sharp cheddar (I’d recommend a nice two-year-old white cheddar like the one we get from Grafton Village in Vermont), shredded
• Maple syrup and butter to taste for serving

Procedure:

1. 1. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and baking powder and set aside.
2. 2. In a saucepot, bring the water and butter to a simmer. Before the water comes to a boil start adding the grits, stirring steadily until incorporated. Add the salt and stir well. Reduce heat to low, cover and continue to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more water if needed.
3. 3. While the grits are cooking, separate the eggs. Set the yolks aside in a dish, and refrigerate the whites.
4. 4. When the grits are done (you can always cook them longer than half an hour—they’ll continue to get creamier the longer you cook them), remove them from the heat; transfer to a large mixing bowl and let cool to 110°F. Stir the egg yolks into the grits one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
5. 5. Add the milk and mix well.
6. 6. Add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined.
7. 7. Beat the cold egg whites in a mixer or with a hand beater to medium peaks. Gently fold the whites into the batter and mix gently. Chill for at least 1 hour prior to cooking. (Note: the batter can be made the night before and stored in the refrigerator until you’re ready to start cooking.)
8. 8. When you’re ready to eat, pour the batter into a preheated and well-oiled Belgian-style waffle iron, and add a generous bit of chopped bacon and shredded cheddar. (We use 1 cup of batter with ¼ cup each of bacon and cheddar.) Close the waffle iron and cook until golden brown. Remove the waffles from the iron and place on warm plates. Sprinkle more chopped bacon and shredded cheddar over the top of the waffles. Serve with good butter and real maple syrup.
9. 9. Repeat until all the batter, chopped bacon and grated cheddar have been used.

Serves 4 to 6 as a main dish.

SEE YOU AT CAMP!

Zingerman’s 4th Annual Camp Bacon is coming soon and to help get everyone prepared, we’re sharing tasty excerpts and recipes from Ari’s book, Zingerman’s Guide to Better Bacon. 

Angels, Devils, Pigs . . . and a Nice Date with Bacon

These four little appetizers have been around a long time. They’re great ways to bring bacon into a party setting without a whole lot of work. You can adjust the portions easily to fit whatever appetite, group size, budget or BQ (Sarah Katherine Lewis’ “bacon quotient”) you’re working with.

Angels on Horseback
The angels, in this case, are oysters—their little frilly flaps get all fluffy and angelically wing-like under the heat of the broiler. Angels on Horseback is often presented as fancy food, but it’s in really basic books too, like V. M. Sherlock’s Apalachicola Seafood Recipes—a small, softcover, brown pamphlety thing that I like a lot. Ms. Sherlock calls them by the unfancy name “broiled oysters,” which just reinforces my belief that they’re really a pretty darned down-to-earth way to eat. I like to use Arkansas long pepper bacon—it’s got a nice bit of spice, but the moderate smoke level keeps the wood from completely overtaking the dish. Other bacons from the lighter smoke end of the spectrum, like Vande Rose, Nodine’s and Nueske’s, will also work well. As for the angels, any good oyster will work. I love Apalachicolas, which we bring to the Zingerman’s Roadhouse regularly from Florida. I’ll just share this note from Sherlock, who wrote that, “Throughout the ages, men have argued over the superior flavor of oysters of their regions, but until they have tasted the Apalachicola oyster, they’re in no position to judge.”

Ingredients

• 8 oysters, shucked
• 4 slices bacon, cut in half crosswise

Procedure:

1. 1. Heat the broiler.
2. 2. Wrap a half-slice of bacon around each oyster and then run a toothpick through the whole thing to hold it together. Place on a baking sheet, run it under the broiler and cook until the bacon is done, giving it a turn halfway through. If you want the bacon well done you can cook it part way in a pan before wrapping it around the oysters.
3. 3. Cook carefully: as V. M. Sherlock says, “Local appetites may differ but most will agree that you should never wash an oyster and never overcook one.”

Devils on Horseback
These are made in the same manner as Angels, except that the oysters are replaced by dark Devils—in this case, prunes. Pork and prunes are a classic combination found in all sorts of big-flavored dishes from southwestern France, and this easy-to-make appetizer delivers that same wonderful flavor pairing to your guests in mere minutes! Of course you know already that I’m going to say you have to find really good ingredients to work with—my favorites are the prunes from Agen in France, but I don’t think you can get them in the U.S. anymore. If you find a variety that’s better than the standard supermarket grade, grab it. I like to make this dish with one of the smoky, dry-cured bacons to balance the sweetness of the dried fruit.

Ingredients:

• 8 really good prunes, pitted
• 4 slices bacon, cut in half crosswise

Procedure:

1. 1. Heat the broiler.
2. 2. Wrap a half-slice of bacon around each prune and then run a toothpick through the whole thing to hold it together. Place on a baking sheet, run it under the broiler and cook until the bacon is done, turning the “devils” halfway through the cooking. Again, if you want the bacon well done, you’ll do better to cook it partially through on its own before you do the wrapping.

Clam Pigs
This is the same dish as Angels on Horseback, but made with fresh clams instead of oysters. Gotta love the name, which I came across in Sherlock’s Apalachicola cookbook!

Ingredients:

• 8 fresh clams, shucked
• 4 slices bacon, cut in half crosswise

Procedure:

1. Follow the instructions for Angels on Horseback, substituting the raw clams for oysters.

Bacon Dates
Taking our passion for bacon a tad bit beyond the now-standard allusions to love and sex, it seems reasonable to go ahead and actually make a real life “date with bacon,” don’t you think? That said, I guess this recipe really is a literal as well as figurative date with bacon (or, actually, if you prepare the whole recipe, 16 dates with bacon). Of course there’s really no limit, since you can multiply the recipe as many times as you like.

Bacon dates are a great little appetizer and extremely easy to make. If you’re up for a “double date” you could serve it for dessert, too—I’ve never thought of using the same dish to both start and end a supper before, but given Americans’ fondness for bacon it sort of makes sense to bacon-end the meal. I love the organic dates from Four Apostles in Bermuda Dunes, California. The sweet smokiness of the bacon with the buttery richness of their ripe dates and the spice of the long pepper gives this finger food a great bit of balance in its flavors.

Ingredients:

• 16 dates, pitted
• 8 slices bacon (we prefer these with the Broadbent bacon), cut in half crosswise
• 4 whole Balinese long peppers, quartered lengthwise

Procedure:

1. 1. Heat the broiler.
2. 2. Stuff each date with a sliver of long pepper, then wrap with a half-slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place the bacon-wrapped dates on a baking sheet and broil 10 to 15 minutes or until the bacon is crisp, turning once. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn!
3. 3. Remove from the oven once the bacon is done, let cool for a couple of minutes and serve while still warm.

SEE YOU AT CAMP!