Bear Cuisine

Be It Ever So Humble

One of the things I'm loving about living in a cosmopolitan city is the ready access to real butchers and real charcuterie. There is so much more to the meat-eating world than bland,prepackaged chicken sausages from the local grocery. When I saw honest-to-God bangers , a very British sausage, in the butcher's case, I couldn't resist. The  classic accompaniment to these is the potato--specifically, mashed potatoes. Not one of my British cookbooks included a recipe for these. After all, you just cook and mash the potatoes and then cook the sausage. But Ina Garten offered a unique spin on this dish that made some of the best mashed potatoes that I have ever tasted. This is a great recipe to have in your arsenal.

Bangers and Mustard Mash

 

MUSTARD MASH

1. 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quarterd
2. Kosher Salt
3. 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
4. 1/2 cup whole milk
5. 4 ounces creme fraiche*
6. 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
7. 2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
8. 1 teaspoon dry mustard
9. 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Put the potatoes in a large saucepan with 1 tablespoon of salt and enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until the potatoes are very tender. Drain the potatoes in a colander and return them to the saucepan. Add the butter,milk and creme fraiche and beat the potatoes in the pan until very smooth and creamy. Add a little extra milk if the are too stiff. Mix in the Dijon mustard, whole-grain mustard, dry mustard, 1 tablespoon salt and the pepper.  Place the potatoes in a heat-proof bowl set over simmering water and keep hot for up to 30 minutes, until ready to serve.

*you can substitute sour cream for the creme fraiche with no ill effects.

(from Ina Garten.Barefoot Contessa:How Easy is That?)

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Bringing Home the Bacon

Last fall we found that a neighbor of a friend of ours was raising pigs for sale. We split one with another friend and have been enjoying various pork products ever since. I asked the processing plant not to cure the bacon so that I could experiment with making our own. I had no idea that making bacon was so easy or that it would taste so good.

Bruce Audell's Complete Book of Pork proved a reliable guide and our Bradley Smoker was just the ticket for cold-smoking the meat.

Here's the formula for the curing solution.

• 6 cups water
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 21/2 tablespoons Insta-cure No. 1*

 

Steps to make bacon

1.Make a brine by dissolving salt, sugar, and Insta-cure No. 1 in water and chill to 45 degrees.

2. If using a whole pork belly, cut into 3 equal pieces. If using boneless Boston butt, butterfly and cut it into 2 equal pieces. Put the meat into a pleastic storage container and submerge it in the brine. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 days then remove from the brine, Pat dry.

3.Now the meat is ready to be cold-smoked. The goal of cold-smoking is to keep wood smoldering to produce smoke, but not to produce enough heat for cooking. For a nice smoky flavor, Aidell's smokes the meat for 6 to 8 hours. When the bacon is done take it out, cool it, wrap it tightly in plastic before storing it in the fridge. Smoked bacon will last a week to 10 days in the refrigerator. It can be frozen if well-wrapped for up to 2 months.

The Bacon after being smoked

Bacon cooking

* Insta-Cure is availabe from The Sausage Maker.