Kate and I took a ride up to Pound Ridge to meet John and pick up my pork.  Our route was complicated by some town parade, but eventually we were able to park and walk to where John was.

It wasn’t the most impressive farmer’s market I’ve ever been to, and I haven’t been to many.  But John was there, and he had some of what I wanted - two pork shoulders and more pork liver than I could use in a year.  He gave me the liver for free.  I guess there’s not a lot of demand for it (John even asked me what I wanted it for).  We bought some great tomatoes and some other veggies and headed home.

Without fatback, I wasn’t able to start on sausage, so I made some more pork rillettes and a pork pate.  This time I pulled the pork apart with forks, and liked the result much better.  The pate also turned out well.  Very tasty.

My friends the Beaty’s had a wine refridgerator, given to them as a wedding present, which had never been plugged in.  They offered it to me as a curing cabinet.  I’d planned to go buy an old freezer, but it sounded like it might do the trick.

With help from Jose Alvaro, we put it in the back of Bruce’s pickup and brought it over here, then wrestled it into the back room.

I’d bought a line-voltage thermostat to put inside the cabinet and wired it up.  The thermostat cuts off power to the refridgeration unit if the temperature drops too low.  I also picked up a thermometer/humidity sensor so I could monitor how things were going.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to control humidity by adding a pan of water.  I hope I don’t have to get a humidistat and humidifier.

Frustrated with Greenwich Prime Meats and inspired by Chris’ success with the Amish farmer at his local farmer’s market, I began searching for a pig farmer I could deal with.  I didn’t find anything in Fairfield County, but I came across a reference (which I can’t seem to find) to John Boy’s Farm, and to John Ubaldo.  It seems John was a stockbroker in New York for 12 years, until September 11th.  Afterwards, he moved to his brother’s vegetable farm in Pound Ridge, then bought his own pig farm.

Two things caught my eye.  First, he raised Berkshire pigs, which are renowned for their flavor and the quality of their meat, but don’t take to commercial farming.  Second, his hogs, which roam freely, feed on acorns in the woods on his farm.  I knew the famous Iberico hams come from acorn-fed hogs.  Searching some more, I found a 914 (i.e. Westchester) phone number.

I called him up.  The first thing he said was “How did you find my number?”.  He told me that if I let him know on a Sunday what I needed, he could have it for me by the following Sunday.

I sent him a list.

Here’s a story I found in the NY Times about John, who chose to go to Skidmore because they’d let him bring his goose with him.

Had the Perskys, Beatys and Metters over for Braised Rabbit.  I was worried about it being too spicy, but it was great (although Anne and Debbie Metter didn’t eat any).  Much better with Merguez than bratwurst.

Made the Merguez Couscous, Parve and Moroccan Tomato Salad for dinner with Chris, Micha, Louise, Cole, Charlotte, James and, of course, Kate.  Delicious.

From About.com

• 6-7 carrots, sliced into rounds
• 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring water, with salt, to a boil.
2. Add the carrot rounds to the pot. Boil for 8 minutes.
3. Drain. Rinse under cold water.
4. In a small bowl, mix lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, cumin and paprika.
5. Pour dressing over carrots and mix well.
6. Season with salt and pepper.

A spicy tomato salad from Morocco that goes well with just about anything from the Middle East and North Africa.  From The Veggie Table.
Yield: 4 servings

• 2 T lemon juice
• ½ to 1 t harissa OR ¼ t cayenne pepper
• 8 oz ripe tomatoes, preferably cherry tomatoes
• 2 T onion, finely chopped
• 1 T cilantro, chopped
• ½ t cumin seeds
• ½ t salt

Place 1 t cumin seeds in small pan and heat over medium-high heat for a few minutes, until they darken and smell roasted. Grind. If using cherry tomatoes, halve or quarter. Any other kind, dice.

Combine lemon juice and harissa in one bowl, and everything else in another. Stir the lemon harissa into the tomato salad, then let sit for 30 minutes before serving.

From the Food Network and Gourmet Magazine

• 2 small onions, chopped fine
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
• 4 teaspoons tomato paste
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 11/2 cups water
• 1/2 pound merguez cut in half
• 2 carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch thick slices
• 2 turnip, peeled and cut 11/2-inch-thick wedges
• 2 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup canned chick-peas, rinsed well and drained
• 1 1/2 cups couscous

In a heavy saucepan cook the onion in1 tablespoon of the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until it is softened, add the turmeric, and the red pepper flakes, and cook the mixture, stirring for 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste, the broth, the water, the broth, the merguez, the carrot, the turnip, the cinnamon stick, and the bay leaf and simmer the mixture, covered, for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Add the chick-peas and simmer the mixture for 5 minutes. Strain 1 cup of the cooking liquid into a small saucepan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, and bring the mixture to a boil. Stir in the couscous, remove the pan from the heat, and let the mixture stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork, divide it between 2 plates, and make a well in the center of each serving. Transfer the meat and vegetables with a slotted spoon to the wells and serve the remaining cooking broth separately to moisten the dish as desired.

After a trip to Shoprite to buy up little packets of fatback, Chris and I dug into the serious business of making Merguez and Saucisson Sec.  We started with the Merguez, a spicy lamb sausage from North Africa (Charcuterie, Page 129).  I have a recipe for Braised Rabbit which is spectacular, but you’re supposed to use Merguez in it, and I’ve never seen it anywhere (I substituted bratwurst, and everyone was perfectly happy).

The only problem we had with the Merguez had to do with the sheep casings, which kept splitting open.  We put the first 3 1/2 pounds into casings before Chris decided the rest would be great fried up with eggs.  I froze a pound for me and a pound for Chris, and the leftover meat mixture.

Next we turned to the Saucisson Sec (Charcuterie, Page 193).  It went much more smoothly; the hog casings are much easier to work with.  Saucisson Sec (as the name implies) is a dried sausage.  Since I don’t have a drying cabinet set up, Chris will take them home and hang them in his spare fridge.  They look great!

Slicing Peppers for Merguez

Arrived back from Maine this morning and swung by Greenwich Prime Meats to pick up another pork shoulder, a lamb shoulder and my fatback (Chris and I have sausage business to attend to tomorrow).  No problem with the pork shoulder, but the lamb shoulder came out as an entire quarter of a lamb.  They kindly cut some into steaks (which I froze) and the rest into cubes.

No fatback again.  I’ve got to find a more reliable source.