Me and Meat; An Introduction Of Sorts

I was encouraged to put together a blog detailing a recent home butchery experience (thanks Damian!). That got me thinking that it might be fun to just have a place to post about some of the stuff I do that involves meat in general. So that is what this blog is about.

A little about me: My wife and I got turned onto the concept of better food a few years back when my doctor suggested I watch a documentary called "Food Inc." Since then, we've made quite a bit of progress towards changing what we eat.   We mill our own flour from wheat (and various grains) and bake our own bread. We source locally and humanely raised grass-fed beef (can't recommend Rocking Chair Ranch Cattle highly enough) and pork (Thanks for Josh at Frolona Farm). We were members of a local CSA last season that provided us with lots of veggies, fresh eggs, and raw milk (Thanks to Mike and Judy at Country Garden Farms). We do our best to shop on the edges of the grocery store and stay away from the processed stuff that litters the middle aisles. In a way, we see it as our expression of personal freedom; to check out on the industrial food supply and take control of what our family puts into our bodies.

Some home cured and smoked pastrami I did last fall.

From a meat standpoint, this whole adventure started with a co-worker who was a competition BBQ pit master. He encouraged me to try it on my own.  After the generous housewarming gift from my in-laws (a shiny new sidebox smoker from Char-griller), and my first attempt at pulled pork (which down here in the south is known simply as barbecue), I was hooked.  That was about five years ago.  I've branched out into sausage making and some basic charcuterie type stuff (pastrami, bacon, cured ham) and even want to try pork confit, terrine, and maybe pate.  At the end of the day though, there is just something majestic about adding fire to flesh... and despite my lofty goals of mastering salami, I derive the most joy from just cranking up the grill and tossing meat on there.

I have no idea how often this will get updated.  I do hope that some of the stuff in here might serve as a reference for someone else who is trying to wrap their head around a technique, concept, or recipe.  I know I got a great deal of understanding by perusing blogs.  Nothing beats just diving in though!