Delicious pig parts
To me every part of a pig is absolutely delicious. This head and some bits were dropped off to me on Friday. They came from a duroc hog from biagio a Sonoma meat co-op run by Michael. These parts were put to use quickly for a new dish for the menu Saturday.
Raw pork heart, liver and kidneys from 1 animal, before they are cleaned and trimmed for use.
These meats have been trimmed and cleaned of ventricles, membranes and fatty tissues before they were diced and marinated overnight, in a mixture of juniper, allepo chili, thyme, bay leaves, black pepper, and a splash of red wine.
Using a hot stone from Le Sanctuaire , I cooked the pork bits with red onions until they were medium rare. The hot stone cooks like a plancha and caramelizes great without any added fat. Cooking on the stone has a primeval feel to it, as well a it adds a great charred flavor to the meats.
I have tossed the meats in a bowl with rucola, mint and zinfandel vinegar,with a bit of extra virgin olive oil. And of course I seasoned it with salt and pepper.
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Offal Notes
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Thank you for doing what you do. I’m a hunter and am familiar with desire/obligation to use every part of an animal if you’re going to take its life.
I have to throw this out there: I will have access to ‘veal’ [milk-fed] moose and elk this year. My grandfather has used the tongue, liver, and heart, and even moose-nose [which apparently is chicken-like]. But generally, the 5th quarter feeds coyotes and birds. I’d love to have some idea of what to do with it. Presumably it won’t taste like pork, so must be approached a bit differently? Any ideas out there? I’d appreciate any help!!!
that plate looooks reallllly sexxxxxy.was that cooked on that plancha …OLDSCHOOL
I’ve been getting pork heart and liver from a little hobby farm in my county, whenever they send a hog for processing. I did cook the liver for us once and my husband pronounced it the best liver he had ever had. But usually it goes into the cat food. Nxt time I’ll save some for us again.
I should try cooking the hearts for us, too, but since heart muscle is so hard to come by and less plentiful than the liver, all of it goes into our cats’ homemade raw food (one of the cats cannot tolerate commericial food and both are now thriving on homemade raw food). I think the actual heart muscle is preferable to the taurine capsules I have to out in the food when I don’t have heart.
Nice recipe on the pork bits, Chris! Hey Kevin, I too am a hunter and have used most of the innards of the critters I’ve collected (killed). As for the heart, I clean an elk/deer/moose heart like Chris showed you, then slice it thin, pound it like a scalloppine, flour it, saute it then serve with lemon and a sprinkle of thyme.
I don’t like the consistency of liver so I grind it for mazzofegati, an Italian liver sausage. Or put it in a bolognese sauce.
Slivered tongue tacos are a mainstay at the taco trucks here in California’s Central Valley. I’ve yet to find a better way to eat tasty tongue!
Hope this helps,
Hank
Hank,
Thanks a million for commenting – it sounds like you have some rare serious experience with game offal. If you’re willing to share more, please email me or track me down on my blog. I’d love to hear about what else you’ve tried.
Kevin
Hey! I’m an amateur cook and I haven’t really cooked with offal and er… other meats yet. Any tips?
Do you have any substitute recipes for those of us who are vegeterian/kosher? Some of these dished look wonderful, but I can’t partake in the offal.
Mike
I have been butchering my own meat since I was a kid and helped my dad. There is nothing wasted on an animal when we are done. Some of the best eating is when the heart, tounge and kiney of the hogs come out of the kettle of cooked meat before we make liver sausage.
What about ‘nduja or mosett’ (calabrese cotechino)?? Anyone making these offal ‘preserves’?
cheers!
I’m a bit surprised to see someone who eats kosher asking about offal alternatives. I’m a strict vegetarian who finds this blog absolutely fascinating. I think the thing to keep in mind, no matter what diet you follow, is that recipes are an outline. You can do whatever you like with it. It’s not the same with substitutions, but you can still come up with something tasty. So go nuts and substitute kosher sirloin for the offal but do everything else the same…the result will be tasty, for sure. As far as vegetarian offal goes, I think it would take quite an ingenious mind to come up with anything that would come close. I’m not that mind.
But there’s nothing wrong with taking what you see above and substituting some big fat portobellos.