Rob Levitt, owner and head butcher of Chicago's The Butcher & Larder.
Photos by Huge Galdones.
While I love this video—and, yes, Le Creuset is giving away ten of these awesome oval pots (yes, giving them away)—the video doesn't show how succulent and delicious and simple these bean dishes are. Kate will be pissed that I'm desecrating her beloved cassoulet with American middle-of-the-week ease. Sorry, Kate (but not really). I got great Tarbais-style beans from Steve Sando of Ranch Gordo; these and a great pot are all you need. Sure, I'd love some moulard duck leg confit, but I don't have it here! What I have is pork! And I love pork, and it's delicious, and this dish adds up to just a few dollars a portion (even with Whole Foods meat!). Easy cassoulet, American style: thick chunks of bacon started in water (to speed the fat-rendering), browned, then pork shoulder chunks seared in the bacon fat, the ...
To celebrate this week's publication of Salumi, my and Brian Polycn's deeper quest into the craft of dry-curing meat, I'm giving away three copies signed by both me and Brian to three commenters on this post.
For those who aren't clear on the definition (and Italians don't make things easy), salumi refers to Italian cured or preserved meats—mostly dry-cured, and mostly made from pig parts—everything from guanciale to mortadella to prosciutto. Salami, with an A rather than a U, are dry-cured sausages and are one of the many preparations that salumi comprises.
My aim, as in much of my cookbook work, is to simplify what seems to be complicated. When I walked into my first salumeria, I was astonished by the variety available. Case upon case of salumi, whole sections devoted to different kinds of lardo, different types of prosciutto, and ...
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