Year of the Pig » Stoopit

Bacon Chocolate

Piggie — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 04:41:10 +0000

Alissa got me a bar of this bacon chocolate for Christmas. I have to say I was intrigued and interested. What a combination–everything is better with bacon right? Well, we busted it out at a party not too long ago, and although it was good with tiny crunchy bits of bacon mixed in with the chocolate bar, I was disappointed that it was milk chocolate–it definitely would have been better with a nice dark chocolate. What were they thinking!? Recommended for novelty, but not for repeat business.

Braised Pork Loin and Peas

Piggie — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:56:38 +0000

The following post is dedicated to loyal Y.O.T.P. reader Ben, who got a cast iron dutch oven for Christmas and didn’t know what to do with it. Try this!

All Year-of-the-Pig long, I have neglected one of the best cuts of pork around, the loin. Why would I do this? I guess sometimes I think that pork loin gets a little dull, but that doesn’t have to be true. It’s a great cut and there is certainly no shortage of good stuff to do with this leaner piece of pork.

Awhile ago, my dad pointed out the interesting fact that pork is the only meat where the bony and fatty pieces (like ribs) are more expensive than that meaty lean parts (like the loin). That is an interesting point, and this lean cut should not be neglected.

Since winter started, I have been enjoying braised dishes as often as possible. In the winter when the grill is covered and the heat is on, there is nothing better than a nice braising dish to fill the house with savory smells and to heat my cold basement kitchen! A couple weeks ago I tried the following pork and peas recipe out of the book Pork & Sons which I got for Christmas. This is a pretty great book. It is beautifully laid out, and really fun to flip through. Full of lots a super uber frenchies doing everything under the sun with pigs. Not to mention that the photos and recipes all look great. This book is a must if you have a pile of pig cheeks laying around and you have no idea what to do with them. If you wanna know what to do with your pork, surely you must be able to trust these folks:

This is the recipe from Pork & Sons:

This is a quick simple standard braising recipe. Basically, you take your pork loin and brown it on all sides in a little oil (10 minutes). Then you add the bacon, shallots, onions, garlic and cook until they are a little softened (another 10 minutes or so).

Then you add your braising liquid (white wine) and herbs, cover it and simmer until done, about an hour or so, basting it from time to time.

Of course you need a secret ingredient, so I added a little extra nipular smoky pork flavor by tossing in a smoked pork nipple, for much needed flavor but mostly for effect.

When you are about done with braising the pork, cook up a butt load of peas and the mix them in with with all that delicious braising liquid. Serve.

Makes great leftovers too!

Jimmy Dean Complaint

Piggie — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 18:21:57 +0000

This is gosh darned funny.

Holiday Gift Ideas: Bacon

Piggie — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 05:06:06 +0000

Looking for some good gifts for your favorite bacon lover?

Everyone loves bacon, especially Jim Gaffigan, click here!

Patriotic Pork

Piggie — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 04:57:13 +0000

Nuff Said.

Squidocto’s Corner: Itsy bitsy Bac-ini

Piggie — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 02:24:35 +0000

Will sunbathing in a bacon bikini not only tan you, but also provide
you with a porky snack?

Mary decides to find out.

A Smoker For All My Broke Friends

Piggie — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 23:35:05 +0000

Yes, this is a cardboard box. But if you wanna try a little smoking, with a minimum investment of cash, I think this could be a fine idea to try. Please, have a hose or a fire extinguisher though!

I seriously doubt you are gonna be able to get the temperature up to a nice constant 225-250 degrees, but if you wanted to get a some smoke flavor from the cardboard smoker, and finish up your dinner in the oven or on the grill, I think this could totally work. Try it!

The Great Collecting of Pigs

Piggie — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 01:05:22 +0000

Getting my palette ready for my upcoming trip to Europe, I busted out a can of Liverwurst that Alissa had brought me back from Germany last year, and has been sitting on my shelf a little too long. I noticed the sticker on top had a very festive pig in overalls doing a little jig, and I asked Alissa to translate the German text. I learned that if I can collect 49 more of these stickers, presumably by eating 49 more cans of Liverwurst, I can send them in together for a “free” Pluschschwein, translated as “Plush Piggie.” If anyone has some of these stickers and would like to contribute to the cause, please let me know. This could be my big chance to score a Pluschschwein.

The Smokehouse of the Catskills

Piggie — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 02:15:55 +0000

I was up in Bearsville, NY this weekend for a gig, and on my way back I passed by the “Smokehouse of the Catskills,” just west of Saugerties. I have driven by this place many times and have always admired the great mural on the side of the building depicting angelic pigs trumpeting their brethren to heaven.

This time I decided it was necessary for me to stop, and I was hungry and ready to see what they had to offer. I walked in the door, and realized that it was a butcher shop. It seemed like a perfectly nice butcher shop, and the people seemed friendly, but it hardly seemed like much of a smoke house. In the corner of the butcher case I saw a couple very sad little smoked chickens looking like they did not want to be eaten. Other than that there was some smoked bacon, and I am sure that was fine, but I didn’t see much else. In fact the most interesting thing I saw were some big soft “bavarian” pretzels sitting out on a table for a dollar.

I moved along, but took a couple pictures of the piggy mural, which is still tops in my book.

the PORKIN DOG

Piggie — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 23:24:31 +0000

I was down in Philadelphia for a gig last Saturday, and walked around for a while in Philly’s Chinatown. It had all of the standard Chinatown fare that you would have in New York, but a decidedly mellow flavor by comparison. You can actually stroll around at leisurely pace and not get trampled, and I like that. We walked into a Chinese Bakery because my friend Dave wanted to get one of those weirdo tapioca tea drinks with the super straw that my mom loved when I made her try one in Chinatown NYC a couple years ago:

Anyway, while I was waiting I perused the assortment of Chinese baked goods, you know, pork buns and bean doughnut thingies, etc, when what caught my eye? The PORKIN DOG! Certainly a great name and one damn fancy Chinese Hot Dog. Yowzers! Hmmm, most definitely a bargain at the low, low price of 60¢. Dave sported me the money, and we walked out with our very own Porkin Dog. When Dave had sucked down his last tapioca ball with an abrubt sloink, we tried our fancy dog. It had that unmistakable ultra-sweet Chinese dough with those nice little hotdoggers all arranged in that fun little clover, and topped with little soft onion bits and scallions. Hey, what can I say, it was a pretty good fancy hot dog.

We walked around a little more, enjoying the pleasant mild Summer Solstice weather. There was a dinky street carnival going on. While we looked around a bit I looked up to see a window with some (presumably clean) red, white and blue briefs hanging out to dry. I thought that
would make a nice image. And ain’t it nice to know that the residents of Chinatown, Philly are so patriotic!

PS–Can I just say from my limited times visiting Philadelphia, I think its a great city. Go Philly! Don’t forget to get a Philly Porkin Dog when you visit.