Last week I posted about our purchase of 44 lbs of Blue Gentian Farm meat and some people asked me to give my thoughts on what the meat was like as I ate it. Well, we’ve had some time to cook up our spoils and here’s the report:
The first thing we had was their Berkshire Pork chops. I cooked them up alongside my mediocre attempt at the butternut squash and leek gratin and they definitely stole the show. While I have enjoyed other local pork products, these absolutely took the cake and have bested anything else I have tried so far. The meat was tender, didn’t dry out, and had so much good flavor that I could not get enough. I was seriously biting the bones clean.
The second thing we had was their pork spare ribs. I was rushed, as I mentioned when I talked about Anthony’s Parkway Grille‘s poor BBQ rib job, so I only had them in the oven for two hours. While I had to tear the meat off the bone they were still very tasty ribs although the half rack that I had (my wife picked first) were slightly less meaty than I’d prefer but her’s were completely fine.
The third item I made up was their Scottish Highland Cattle ground beef. I have spent quite a bit of time learning how to properly cook grass-fed beef and this was my best attempt yet. The meat itself was cooked medium-rare for me and medium for my wife. I could tell the difference between this meat and every single other hamburger I have ever had from the first bite. It was honestly something I had to get used to but by the end of the burger I posted to twitter that it was “quite possibly the best I’ve ever had. Scrumptious.” I really look forward to making other ground beef based items like meatballs and loafs and am excited to see how this unique flavor interacts with the rest of those dishes.
And the last item that we have tried so far, pictured above, was a pork roast. After defrosting it all damn day in the fridge yesterday and then soaking it in water for two hours at night, it was still frozen in the middle this morning at 6 AM when I threw it in the crock pot. I simply cut up an onion, seasoned the roast with salt and pepper, added 4oz of BBQ sauce (Montgomery Inn!), and poured in 4 cups of water before putting the lid on and setting it to low. After 10 hours of cooking in the crock we came home to a house smelling wonderful and a very tender roast. I dragged the roast out with tongs as it was already falling apart. I removed the bones and pulled the pork apart with a fork. I added 10 more ounces of BBQ sauce and put it a pot on the stove to heat. It was served with sauteed yellow squash and rice. Let me tell you people–this was some good shit. The best part? We have enough for lunches tomorrow and three more dinners after that! I think Baldy’s BBQ in Lakeville could learn a thing or two about making tender BBQ pulled pork from me ;-)
So, I have many more cuts of meat to try and I’m looking forward to each and every one. The next two days we’re vegging it up with acorn and spaghetti squash but I promise to get back into the swing of carnivore things on Thursday with brisket and cabbage in the crock pot on Thursday. Yum yum.
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Oh and for those of you still on the fence about whether or not to get your meat locally, there was yet another recall on ground beef due to E.coli contamination. Nearly 550,000 pounds of beef has been recalled. Why people still want to risk it I’ll never know!
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November 3rd, 2009 at 8:01 am
Blue Gentian BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches: http://tinyurl.com/ylbnqnr
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:18 am
By request of @mplsfarmmarket RT @SouthMetroNews: Blue Gentian (@bgfarmboy) BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches: http://tinyurl.com/ylbnqnr
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:25 am
The pulled pork sounds good, but it would be even better if it was barbecued with a lot of smoke like pulled pork should be. :)
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:35 am
Yeah well I don’t have a smoker but I did see an article on BoingBoing (20 minutes after eating the BBQ pulled pork sandwiches) that suggests you use liquid smoke in the crock pot to get some of that flavor: http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/02/the-secret-of-liquid.html
An interesting read.
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:35 am
Per @garciasn The loca-carni-vore story continues w/ Blue Gentian BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches http://j.mp/2gFdKP
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:41 am
Yeah, I understand. Most people are done barbecuing this time of year anyways. All you need is a regular old weber grill for amazing pulled pork though.
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:46 am
jf, I only have an electric grill–a holdover from when I lived in Burnsville, in an apartment, and was forbidden from using a gas/charcoal grill on the porch. I really need to upgrade.
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:53 am
I’m a year-round barbecuer (thanks to my father-in-law for hooking up my grill directly to my gas line). I also have a grill that modifies into a smoker, allowing me to make ribs, chicken, pork roasts, turkeys, squirrels and any other meat the way God intended (said the boy from Virginia… the state, not the confusingly named Minnesota town). Bill, we have to go to the Farmer’s Market and get some ribs and a roast for smoking on the grill. Oh, yeah, and some more of those wings we made the last time. Dang, I just drooled on my keyboard.
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:05 am
We do pork roasts in the crock pot fairly often. I did one a couple weeks ago with a little liquid smoke and a 22 oz. beer.
After 10 hours on low it is pretty damn delicious. After pulling it apart, I sometimes will season it and throw it under the broiler on a sheet pan to give it some crispy edges. Works well with BBQ sauce or as is in tacos.
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:01 pm
I have discovered that a low oven and a covered roasting pan impart better flavor than a crockpot while still achieving fall-apart results. 275 degrees or so works well. This is how I do a pork shoulder. A nice fatty roast, some seasonings, and NEVER any added liquid really makes for great flavor.
Oh, and we braised some beef shortribs from the Wedge over the weekend – YUM! Onions, shallots, garlic, mushrooms (all sauteed first), red wine, prime rib stock, a dab of tomato paste S&P. Probably not as good as I Nonni, but a run for their money, I hope.
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Oh, and a spec of thyme.
November 4th, 2009 at 10:27 am
Any thoughts on why the roasting pan is better than the crockpot? I grew up with roasts being a very regular meal. Usually cooked in a roasting pan filled with beef roast, carrots, potatoes, and whatever else my grandma hid in there. Usually the next several meals were beef stew.
My wife and I now make roats (pork and beef) often, usually in a crock pot. Honestly I dont see much difference, if any. Just curious on your thoughts/insight. Also, its interesting that you can get a pork roast to stay moist without any added liquid. I guess the fat is the key? Or are you seering the meet beforehand? Or some combination?
November 4th, 2009 at 10:43 am
I wish I had the time to roast in the oven as that’s really what I’d prefer but being that we’re a working family (this will change when my wife becomes a stay at home mom) it’s easier to use the crockpot (just set it and go).
I watched PBS’ “America’s Test Kitchen” episode last weekend where they talked about doing turkeys and how you should consider using salted pork to baste the turkey as it cooks. I can’t find the episode’s information online but they basically laid slices of salted pork across the turkey, covered it in cheesecloth and then baked it at a low temperature before removing the pork and putting it back in the oven at a higher temperature to finish it off. I mean, seriously, what’s basically bacon and turkey?! YUM!
November 4th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Speaking of turkey, the absolutely best way to do it is on the grill, preferrably a charcoal grill. That’s how mine will be made again this year.
November 4th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Kris, more specifics please!
November 4th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
America’s Test Kitchen did a brined, high-temp. butterflied roasted turkey that was done in something like an hour and a half. I think the oven was at 450, and the flat turkey was roasted on a rack which was over a pan of stuffing to catch the drippings.
Now, we don’t really like turkey, but we had guests that year who did, so we tried this method in an effort to make it edible, and I have to say that that was the best turkey I’ve ever had. It had crisp, brown skin and juicy meat – not the turkey of my previous experiences. I’ll look on their website and see if there’s an electronic version.
On the roasting vs. crockpot, one is roasted and one is basically boiled. The slowly roasted shoulder renders out its fat, basting the meat to delicious juiciness.
Bill, I understand the time factor – slow-roasting is either a weekend thing or a roast it all evening, fridge it, then gently heat it for the following nights dindin. This is for flavorful &/or fatty cuts only, though.
November 4th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Heck, you can deepfry a turkey in 45 minutes. That is the only way to go. That said, I’ll probably deepfry one and smoke one this Thxgiving. Have a crowd coming for dinner.