Since the big effort for the dinner party, I've been craving more simple, rustic stuff. Take a look at the simple, rustic chop to the right.

Avedanos' Holly Park Market, in Bernal Heights, breaks down a Berkshire hog and a Sonoma lamb every week. When you walk in to shop there, what's available is whatever's left from the last hog and lamb, whatever they've got in from a few beef farms (Five Dot Ranch, Strawberry Mountain, Snake River Farms...), chicken from Soul Food Farms, duck from somewhere, etc. Also, they have a random selection of fish and shellfish, a very small selection of veg, a bunch of prepared foods, various stocks and esoteric items (caul fat, marrow bones, pig skin and feet, duck fat, lard, etc.). It's mostly pretty overpriced (though there are plenty of deals to be had), and not everyone who works there knows what they're talking about ("Kobe" beef raised in Oregon?) but I love the direct contact with the butchers, the fantastic meat, and the ability to obtain and order special cuts and items.

The other day they told me they were getting in a rare item that Thursday: a feral pig. They asked if I'd like any of the cuts. So I asked for a tenderloin, because it's Jeanette's favorite, and a two-bone rib chop, cut from near the shoulder. What better way to sample of this wonderful animal than this obscene chop?

When I picked up the chop, I was amazed. I had never seen anything like it. They left all of the fat and skin on (it's basically belly, but up toward the breast), and the layer of fat was so thick. The color was deep red. I was really looking forward to it.

When I cooked it up, I didn't fuss with anything fancy. Just salted, peppered, dusted with a bit of flour, pan-roasted to an internal temperature of 136F, then rested (bringing the internal temp up to about 140F. Then I cut it into two chops, and served them with glazed carrots, Romanesco, and an obscene amount of gravy. The flavor was outstanding. It was probably the most flavorful pork I've ever had. It was tender thanks to all the fat, and nicely browned, and I loved it.

Before cooking it, I trimmed off the skin along with some of the fat. I rendered the fat, and made chicharrones out of the skin. Even after leaving a nice fat cap on the chop, I got 9 ounces of rendered lard out of it. I finished all the chicharrones that same night.

Posted by Barzelay on 2009/03/30 @ 22:54 | Comments (1) | Meat

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