BACON REVUE (EDEN FARMS)

Welcome back to the Bacon Theater. Today we are trying bacon from Eden Farms. Eden Farms is located in the Upper Midwest States and consists of 28 farm families. They raise Hogs from the Berkshire Breed. These Hogs are fed corn and soybeans which are grown on the same farms. These pigs are not given hormones or antibiotics.

When we are Revue(ing) bacon, we look for several things. The most important is the taste. Does it taste good? We look for the smoke equation. Does the smoke grab you? Is the bacon salty? The sweetness factor is one of personal taste. The texture of the bacon can be fickle. If you over cook bacon it will have the texture and taste of charcoal. I try to cook the bacon to the point it has achieved color and is just starting to crisp. What is the meat to fat ratio? These are some of the things we are looking for.

Eden Farms bacon is a mellow bacon. It is not salty, sweet or smoky. It does have a great taste. It has a taste like the pork chop your mom used to make you. Let me try to elaborate and show you a picture of the two. When you have Supermarket Bacon, it grabs you with smoke and salt. That is all you taste.

Eden Farms has a taste that will grab your attention. It will not overwhelm you. The meat to fat ratio is okay. The texture is good. I am going to give this a rating of 3.5 stars out of 5

Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Cost: Thanks again Larry!
Where: Preferred Meats
P.O. Box 2274
Oakland, California 94621
510-632-4065
Ms. Goofy has prepared some bacon wrapped cream cheese filled jalapeno's for the smoker tomorrow.

MEMPHIS MINNIES

Barbeque is a serious business to a lot of people. I feel it is my duty to try every barbeque establishment in the Bay Area. I have enlisted help in my QUEst. We have organized barbeque crawls. They are way to much fun. One BBQ place stood out on our adventure. This place is a step above the rest. It has been consistently good every time I have visited . This smoke palace of meaty delights is called Memphis Minnies.
Memphis Minnies is located on lower Haight St. It just happens to be across the street from the Toronado Pub. The Toronado has 50 or more beers on tap. It is a destination in itself, but that is another story. Memphis Minnies is not a large place. What they lack in size is made up with colorful decor and great food. Walking in you will go by a counter showcasing the meats and side dishes. You step up to the counter and place your order. The hard part is finding a place to sit. The place is usually packed.
The Beef Ribs are some of the best I have ever had. It is hard to find a Meaty Beef Rib. These ribs must of been taken from a prehistoric Fred Flinstone type steer. They have been coated with a dry rub and have been smoked over a green almond wood. This meat is falling off the bone. At each table there is a choice of three barbeque sauces. There is a tomato , vinegar,and mustard base sauce. You can go to the cashier and request the hot sauce.
The brisket is moist and juicy. It has the perfect smoke ring. The pork ribs have just the right amount of smoke. I ate it without any sauce at all. Ms. Goofy had a pulled pork sandwich. I am not sure how she like it because she was moaning, slurping and licking her plate. (and then mine). The side dishes are plentiful. All the side dishes are made from scratch. The cornbread was just out of the oven. We did not make it to the desserts.
Memphis Minnies serves Anchor steam on tap and has a collection of Sake. Sake sounds a little unusual, but it goes well with barbeque. The owner Bob Kantor is Sake expert. We met him on our crawl. He is a dedicated and passionate man. His love for this restaurant shows.There is a Saturday and Sunday Brunch. We will return to try the "Barbequed Pork Rolls w/ chipotle chili dressing" and everything else.

Memphis Minnies

576 Haight St.

San Francisco, Ca. 94117

415 864-PORK

Anybody interested in "Barbeque Crawl"?

Beef Rib Photograph by Dr. Biggles

MEAT ADVENTURE (AVEDANO'S)

This Sunday we went on a mini Meat Adventure. We ventured over to the City to visit Avedano's Holly Park Market. It is an old fashioned real life Meat Market. I discovered this place through a magazine called "meatpaper". This magazine is a new publication that is all about meat. You know I had to subscribe.

Avedano's is located in the Bernal Heights district of San Francisco. It is a funky old neighborhood which has turned into a trendy and urban chic destination. There are plenty of boutiques, cafes and coffee shops. There now is Avedano's. It originally opened in 1901 and was called Ciero's until it closed in the 80's. Three women (Tia Harrison, Angela Wilson and Melanie Eisemann) are the present owners.

It is everything you would imagine of an old butcher shop. When you walk in you will notice a bull inlayed in the floor tile. It is very clean and tidy. There are old pictures of Ciero's displayed on the walls. The meat display cases have a selection of Beef and Pork, often from local farmers and producers. Everything is natural (no hormones,antibiotics), free range and or grass-fed. There is Kobe Beef, Buffalo Rib Eyes and duck. There is something for everybody.

Avedano's is a quality meat market. I would frequent it if I lived a little closer. We did not actually purchase anything today. We were on our way to the second half of our Meat Adventure. (Memphis Minnies)

AVEDANO'S - 235 Courtland Av. San Francisco, Ca. 94110

415- 285-MEAT

STEAK

Boy, do I love a barbequed Steak. My steak of choice is the Rib eye. A couple of times a year We go to CostCo and buy the whole Rib Eye. This beauty is 16 pounds of Choice Beef. When I get it home, I slice it into steaks and I leave one end as a roast.My steaks are 1 inch to 1 1/2 thick. They weigh approx 20 ounces. I then vacuum seal it and put it in the Chilebrown Ice Cave. This is a economical way to buy steaks. I paid 6 dollars a pound. Our local butcher is charging 14 bucks a pound for Choice Rib Eye.
My favorite way to prepare the Steak is very simple. I coat both sides with a liberal mix of Coarse Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper. I let is sit for at least 45 minutes at room temperature. I build a Hot Fire of Mesquite Wood in my Weber. Clean and Oil your cooking grate. Place steak on grate and leave alone. Step away! If the fire is flaring put the lid on. After approx. 5 minutes turn the steak 1/4 turn. This is for the grill marks. Flip over and cook to desired doneness. I like my steaks Medium Rare. (14 minutes total time, approx).
The best part is I have English Muffins and homemade butta for Sandwiches today.

ENGLISH MUFFINS

This is one of my signature dishes. It is a comfort food to me. The smell and the taste are just to Kool for School. English Muffins take a little work but they are worth the effort. I make a Sourdough English Muffin thanks to Dylan. You need to start your Sourdough starer the day before. Today's batch was extra special because I used leftover buttermilk from the butta I made.

English Muffins

½ cup sourdough starter,

3 cups all purpose flour

1 cup milk or buttermilk

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 cup corn meal

Combine starter with 2 cups of flour and 1 cup of milk. Stir thoroughly, cover with plastic wrap and let sit out overnight (about 7-10 hours).In the morning, add the baking soda, salt, sugar to the dough and gradually add the remaining 1 cup of flour, 2 tablespoons at a time, until the dough looses its stickyness. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll until about ½ inch thick. Use a lightly floured biscuit cutter and cut the dough into as many rounds as possible. Place rounds on an ungreased baking sheet, covered with cornmeal. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with cornmeal and leave them to rise, covered with a clean dishtowel, for about 45 minutes.Heat a lightly oiled or nonstick skillet over high heat until very hot, then reduce the temperature to medium/medium high.Cook the muffins for about 5 minutes on each side, turning only once. The muffins will reach a light or medium brown (turn town the temperature slightly if they cook too quickly) on both the top and the bottom when they are cooked through. Before the first flip, the sides of the muffin will start to look dry, like the edges of a pancake, when it it ready to be turned. You can peek at the underside, too.Cool completely before storing.

BUTTA

Homemade Butter
by Wes Martin

Homemade Butter? I had to try. You know butter is better! English Muffins Tomorrow!!

We found that ripening the cream a bit first—in essence, culturing it—yields a more fully flavored butter. Start by pouring a quart of the best-quality organic heavy cream into a large bowl; then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the cream sit at room temperature (ideally, around 68 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit), undisturbed, for six hours so that it begins to sour slightly. In the meantime, line a colander with cheesecloth and set it inside another bowl.
1. Begin slowly whisking the cream using a balloon whisk; as the cream reaches the soft-peak stage, speed up the whisking motion.
2. Butterfat, in the form of tiny granules, will begin to accumulate on the sides of the bowl as it separates from the buttermilk (the liquid portion of cream); continue whisking until the butterfat granules are about half the size of a pea.
3. Pour the entire contents of the bowl into the cheesecloth-lined strainer and let the mixture drain for several minutes.
4. Gather the ends of the cheesecloth together and squeeze, pushing downward to extract as much additional liquid as possible; then unwrap the butter solids from the cheesecloth. (Reserve the butter milk to use in your favorite biscuit recipe, if you like.)
5. Pour cool water over the butter and rinse, carefully squeezing and folding the mass in on itself, until the water runs clear.
6. Put the butter into a bowl and sprinkle it with 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt.
7. Using a wooden spoon, smear the butter mass repeatedly against the side of the bowl to aerate it and thoroughly incorporate the salt; pour off any additional liquid the butter may release.
8. Using the wooden spoon, transfer the salted butter onto the center of a piece of wax paper and form it into a single, smooth-sided brick.
9. Wrap the butter tightly in the wax paper and refrigerate it overnight before you use it, to allow its flavor to develop. It will keep for about three weeks.

Yeah, I cut and pasted the recipe. It takes a lot of stirring. You need to be inspired and dedicated to do this. It is so much easier to buy ‘Organic Butter’.
I am going to tell you what. Do it.!!!

NUESKE BACON MUSHROOMS

My best friend Chris came over today. He is Super Nova Bossa Fossa Kick Ass Friend. We made Stuffed Mushrooms. We used Nueske bacon so it was a no brainer. We cooked the mushrooms in the oven. The barbebeque will be next time.

INGREDIENTS
3 strips bacon
6 large mushrooms
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, sliced
3 ounces cream cheese
3 ounces blue cheese
1/3 cup bread crumbs

What can you say but WOW!