here chick, chick, chick… they’ve flown the coop!
The mother hen in me is clucking around the Internet, pecking over at Twitter, and flying over the Wire as my SAF chicklets leave their nest for the first time to work in real life farms and butcher shops across the UK and here in France. Here in France over at the Chapolard farm, Matt joins newly arrived AB&C student Hilary for an early 6 am call to start work butchering the newly arrived pig carcasses. Today they’ll be making saucisson, saucisse seche, chorizo, pate de tete, noix de jambon, coppa and saucisse de toulouse. Welcome to our meaty worlds!
In the UK, Sally and Mat will be tweeting from Forest Pig in the Wyre forest; Struan with Ruth and James at Trealy Farm; Nick is with Northfield Farm; Jane in Norfolk Diet Country with Blakeney Deli, De-lish and Brays Cottage Pork Pies.
How will we stay in touch? By Twitter, of course-t he official meaty communication darling of the whole darn Charcutepalooza Charcuterie world! For a list of the SAF meaty tweeters see my new list at @KatedeCamont/saf-uk.
Charcutepalooza Grand Prize Winner- acookblog.com’s Peter Barrett
Peter Barrett's Rubber Boots
Bravo.
Bravo, Bravo, Bravo to you all!
And especially to Peter Barrett, the persistently innovative, mouthwatering edgy talent from cookblog who swept the votes to become the Grand Prize Winner of the ‘Year of Meat’ called Charcutepalooza.
Peter’s contemporary tastes on traditional charcuterie reflects a new look at the oldways of curing and cooking we are discovering across the globe. I like it. I like the slipping of a bit of dried duck breast into a bowl of noodle & soup and the shaving of an overcured bresaola to make dashi. His Lamb Pastrami was damn cute and on cue and the miso-ed bacon tarte renversée an invitation to jump the traditional Gascon ship.
Wednesdays at Welbeck – a wild taste of terroir
Searching through my photographs taken this week- pictures of standing stones, tea shops, abbeys and pies, I return again and again to this image of the week.
Red Deer- 160 lbs., estate shot, delivered to our Butchery training room door by a crew of gamekeepers in green oil-cloth coats and caps.
This is why I am at the School of Artisan Food. This is why the students are here, too. To learn the not-so-gentle arts of Butchery and the sweet salty side of Charcuterie.
I challenge anyone to find a location like this in which to learn: the camaraderie of a group of 20+ students, a willing staff and teaching team of 20+, the old stones anchoring us to the traditions of past, a new approach to define the Artisan Food trades of the butcher, the baker, and yes, the cheesemaker.
Noix de Jambon- part one: boning and trimming a French ham
If you are following that great global charcuterie project- Charcutepalooza either virtually or in your own kitchens, then here is a special cadeau from us admirers- here on the Gascon Farm.
from guerrilla to gorilla meats…
No, not dinosaur ribs. Yes, a full rack of ribs from a Chapolard pig- a sow. And these two are the latest smiling butcher students, Bryan Rudd of Portland, Oregon and Renzo Garibaldi of Lima, Peru who are training here on the Chapolard family farm through our Artisan Butchery & Charcuterie program.
Bloody Bryan
With a new nickname and head full of ideas, Bryan and partner Mike back in PDX are getting ready for a new look at making great sausage at http://gorillameats.com/. While they may not be making these fresh boudin noir/black pudding/blood sausages every fresh Monday morning like Bryan was learning here on the farm here in France, we may see a variation on their sausage menu in PDX soon…
It’s been a great 3 weeks with Bryan here in Gascony. We wish him the best as he gets ready to leave (with a brief stopover at SAF), Dominique (here with younger brother Marc) send their best wishes back to all our friends in Portland. As we say here at Camont around the big round terrace table- here’s to those who show up!
