The Brine- Part I

The Brine- Part I

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I think my family is really enjoying Charcutepalooza!  They are eating quite well as I hole myself up in the kitchen, not just curing meat, but baking breads and experimenting with desserts to go along with the meals that feature the meat of the moment. 
Last month, for the bacon and pancetta chapter of Charcutepalooza, because not many retailers stock it here in Orange County (I guess the Real Housewives don’t cure their own, eh?) ,
and because I was on a tight timeline, I substituted Morton’s Tender Quick for the “pink salt” that Ruhlman suggests using in his book.   And then I procrastinated, only getting around to ordering on line when this month’s challenge was announced.  And, though my plan was to brine beef brisket and beef tongue, once the challenge was announced I was, of course, so eager to get started,. I invited the whole family for dinner and brined two chickens and a bone-in pork loin while waiting for the pink salt to arrive!

Chicken Brine

The brine for the chicken was both beautiful looking and wonderfully fragrant, smelling quite strongly of tarragon.  Most impressive, the tarragon essence lasted even after washing the brine off the bird and allowing the chicken to air dry for a few hours before roasting it.  I got a huge drift of tarragon as I was pushing the roasting pan into the oven.  After rubbing the chicken with duck fat (ordered along with the duck breasts to be used for the duck prosciuttco which is still to come- boy I love this expeience!), I used a high heat oven (425 degrees) for about 1 1/4 hours.   The chicken came out golden brown, cooked through, and oh, so moist and tasty!



Pork Brine

We had great success with the pork roast, too.   After washing off the brine and patting it dry,  it went into the 425 degree oven, au natural, for just under an hour (it was about 6 lbs.), when it registered 150 degrees on the instant thermometer.  This too, was moist and juicy after sitting tented for half an hour.   In fact, it was still moist and juicy when I grilled a leftover slice to heat it up for dinner the next night, and tasted even better with the carmelization from the grill.   My next brined pork (and there will be a next) will be cooked on the grill for certain!
I served the pork with a sauce made from pan drippings, about a cup of chicken stock, about a cup of white wine, and a few hefty tablespoons of grainy mustard.  I noticed a few people used this on the chicken, too…

And then there was the issue of what to cook as sides to tie all of this together?   Out of the freezer came two thick slices of last months pancetta to become part of:

Sweet and Sour Cabbage and Apples
.1/2 lb. pancetta, cubed 
1 1/2 heads red cabbage, quatered, cored and sliced
1 lg onion, halved, then sliced
3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced in 1/4″ slices
3/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
salt and pepper to taste
In a medium skillet, fry the pancetta until crisp.  Remove and drain on paper towels.
In a large dutch oven, add the cabbage, onion, apples, vinegar and sugar.  Cook, covered, over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage and apples have softened. Add the pancetta and cook for about 5 mins., then add salt and pepper to taste, and adjust adding more vinegar or sugar if necessary.   This can be made ahead and reheated to serve, or may be served at room temperature.
Along with this we had oven roasted yams (peeled, sliced, tossed in salt, pepper and olive oil) and, since my sourdough starter was officially of age that day,  a loaf of sourdough boule (Ruhlman’s Bread Baking ipad ap).  For dessert, an almond tart inspired by one that Frank and I shared at Chez Pannise on Valentine’s day (more about this one in another blog, for sure!) and goat milk fudge, also from an inspiring trip to the Harley goat farm in Pescadero the week before. 
This is when we should talk about the fact that I have only a single oven, and I went close to crazy trying to bake a tart, bake a loaf of bread, roast potatoes, a chicken and a pork roast.  Yes, it took all day, and yes, a lot was served at room temperature.   But the bread was HOT!

And, this is when we talk about the fact that I had a glass or two of wine while getting this all on the table, so when we set it all out, I forgot to get a picutre of it all.  The picutre above was snapped in haste as we were all eating our dinner.  But I did get a good picture of the goat milk fudge.

 


    

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