More Modern Marvels
Apr 26, 2008 Television, offal watch
Last night the episode of Modern Marvels was titled “The Pig.”
Although I braced myself for a biased portrayal of the pork industry as it shifted from the lard type breeds of old to the lean “white” meat of the 80’s and 90’s; and they were a bit generous with their praise regarding the genetic engineering of hogs and made it sound almost like a good thing that you need to take showers before going into a CAFO operation; they did swing it around at the end showing an organic farm that raises Berkshire hogs and even fattens some of them on acorns in their final days.
Still, it was after showing some medcal uses for pig genetics like insulin and tissue repair that the episode steered into a direction I didn’t see coming: Chris Cosentino was on cooking offal at Incanto.
He cracked open a pigs head, poached the brain, and then sautéed it with mushrooms and capers.
The listing on The History Channel’s website also shows that Missouri’s Burger’s Smokehouse was also in the episode, but I missed the first ten minutes and it must have been in that segment as I didn’t see it.
It will air again May 7, and here’s the rundown on upcoming episodes of food-related interest:
- Whiskey – April 26
- Corn – May 5
- Farming Technology – May 6
- The Pig – May 7
Tags: Berkshire, Burger's Smokehouse, Chris Cosentino, hogs, modern marvels, offal, pigs, pork
May the Pork Be With You
Nov 7, 2007 farming, slow food, sustainable agriculture
Shamelessly stealing another man’s thunder for the second time today, Michael Ruhlman, superstar of pork that he is, mentioned an email from Heath Putnam, owner of Wooly Pigs, who referenced his own blog on which he posted his thoughts about USDA slaughtering versus Austrian slaughtering. Specifically he spoke of his sale of three pigs to The French Laundry and his concern about their slaughter in a USDA plant.
Offering an interesting look from a breeders standpoint, the blog is definitely worth reading.
Even more interesting than the blog, however, is his website. I know far more about pig breeds than I did 30 minutes ago, and also about his soon to be specialty, the Austrian Mangalitsa.
Just look at that picture and tell me you’ve seen anything like that before? I had not (until 30 minutes ago), and it’s because it’s a lard-type pig which he describes as such:
Breeds suitable for producing lard were called “lard-type,” because they fattened so easily. The Mangalitsa was especially well-suited for lard production, because of its metabolism. It could be raised to 79% fat by weight, the highest percentage ever measured.
Certainly biased (and really why shouldn’t he be with pigs this well cared for), he’s written a great deal about the history of pigs in America, and our shift towards faster growing, leaner, and less flavorful pork. There are a bunch of pictures past and present as well as a great deal of video footage of his Berkshires and Mangalitsas and I highly suggest poking around on the site.
You should start right here.
Tags: Berkshire, Heath-Putnam, Mangalitsa, Michael Ruhlman, pigs, Wooly Pigs
From the mountains of Panama and Ethiopia, to the urban-jungles of Portland and Chicago, journalist Michaele Weissman takes us behind the scenes for a look at the world of third-wave specialty coffee. How did we get to Starbucks, and where we go from here?