Joe Magnanelli's Saucisson Sec

It isn't often I walk into a restaurant kitchen and am greeted by a pig face. In fact, what greeted me at Cucina Urbana wasn't just the head but the entire broken down small pig that was the work of executive chef Joe Magnanelli and chef de cuisine of Cucina Enoteca in Newport Beach, Cesar Sarmiento.

Joe had invited me to come in while he made a batch of saucisson sec for his April Beast Feast that features pork. The dinner will feature porchetta, roast loin, bacon, headcheese, a ragu, and other dishes using almost every part of this local 130-pound Guinea Hog.

"The idea is to utilize the whole animal, to respect the animal, and not let anything go to waste," he explained.

Before getting started on the sausage, Joe spent some time working on the side of the pig, trimming one half for a roast loin and bacon. The other was for the porchetta, which he rolled up and put in the walk in.

Then he got to work on the saucisson sec. It takes two months to cure, which is why he started on it in February. But I have his recipe for you below if you'd like to have the fresh, uncured version.

Joe taught himself the techniques for curing sausage, reading books on the subject--yes--but also just learning through trial and error. For saucisson sec, the recipe calls for 20 percent pork fat and 80 percent meat, along with dry white wine, roasted garlic, black pepper, salt--and then the curing ingredients (external bactoferm, pink curing salt, and dextros. The idea is to get the pH to go down and the acidity to increase even as the water in the mixture evaporates. Joe prepares the filling, presses it out into casings, ties them up, and pricks them all around to release the water and air. He keeps a small amount, rolled in plastic wrap as a tester, using measuring equipment to test the pH.

"I want to get it below 4.9," he explained. The sausages then incubate for 24 hours in a CVap Thermalizer--a machine that controls food temperature and humidity. Joe checks them again, looking for a pH measurement below 4.0. He weighs and dates each sausage.

"Eventually you want it to weigh 30 percent less," he said.

Then he moves them into the curing chamber. Covered in a wash of bactoferm 600, the sausages develop an exterior white mold. This is important, Joe explained. "It adds a little bit of flavor, it prevents the casing from getting too dry, and protects the sausages from letting in harmful molds."

The process of making cured and fresh sausages are the same, minus the curing ingredients and curing process. Joe prepped the fat and meat, cutting them into 1-inch pieces before putting them on a tray and into the freezer until they were firm. This is hugely important. The chill keeps the protein from sticking to the grinder blades and smearing. Then he mixed together the fat and meat with the flavor ingredients--minus the wine--and began feeding them into the grinder. While he used a commercial grinder, if you have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, you can use the grinder attachment.

Once the mixture is ground, it's time to blend it and get it to the right texture, using a paddle attachment.

"The texture is the most important," he said. "You want the protein and fat to bond together into an emulsion."

At that point you slowly pour in the wine. Then you can increase the speed a little for a couple of minutes. Once the mixture is sticking to the sides of the bowl, it's ready to be stuffed. Or you can cook the ground mixture to make a crumbled sausage for pizza or pasta.

Joe made me a fresh sausage to take home. His instructions were to place it uncovered on a plate in the refrigerator for a day or so until the case grew firm and tight. Then I put it in a 325-degree oven, and roasted it for 12 minutes on one side, then turned it over and continued roasting it for another 8 minutes.

Once it was cooked, I sliced some pieces and enjoyed them with mustard. The pork was sweet and just salty enough and each bite was filled with a definite flavor of wine and gentle garlic. What's next with it? Joe suggests slicing it and adding the slices to a bowl of lentils or beans. They can flavor soup or a stew. They can top a pizza or flat bread or be chopped into a tomato sauce. Or become part of a sandwich. Just enjoy it.

Joe Magnanelli's Fresh Saucisson Sec
Yield: 2 or 3 large sausages, depending on the size of the casings
(Printable recipe)

Ingredients
4 pounds pork shoulder
1 pound pork fatback
25 grams roasted garlic
45 grams salt
7 grams finely ground black pepper
125 milliliters dry white wine
75 milliliters ice water

Directions
1. Clean the pork should of any silver skin and sinew and dice with the fatback into 1-inch pieces or what will fit into your grinder top.
2. Place the trimmed, diced meat and fatback on a tray and put in the freezer until the pieces are firm but not frozen.
3. Grind with the roasted garlic into the bowl of your Kitchen Aid.
4. Add the salt and pepper and mix using the paddle attachment on medium speed. While it's whipping, slowly add the white wine and ice water.
5. Whip for about 2 minutes or until the meat starts to have a sticky or tacky texture. When it's ready you can case the pork. If you're not going to case it, don't whip it as long after the wine is added and omit the water.

Note: If you are going to case the sausage, hog casings (scrubbed, salted pig intestines) are the best. You can find them at Sisel's or Iowa Meat Farms or ask a butcher like Heart and Trotter if they carry them. If you are in the market for a stuffer, you can buy a 5-pound sausage stuffer from Northern Tool for about $100. There are lots of videos online that demonstrate sausage stuffing technique.

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Spicy Pork and Vegetable Stew

I spent Monday morning with executive chef Joe Magnanelli at Cucina Urbana and the little pig he and Newport Beach's Cucina Enoteca chef de cuisine Cesar Sarmiento broke down in anticipation of April's Pig Beast Feast. Joe taught me how he makes his saucisson sec--and I'll show you how with his recipe for a fresh sausage version next week.

But I left craving pork. So I stopped off at the market before the rain started and picked up the makings of a pork stew. I had just written about Sabor Imports for my Close to the Source blog on Edible San Diego and had bought a jar of their Chintestle (smoked mole) Paste at Specialty Produce. Owner Sara Polczynski had suggested a little teaspoon of it could be added to flavor stews, soups, and sautéed vegetables. So I was interested in trying it out.

So on a chilly blustery day, I put together a spicy pork stew that will last me for several meals. It's a little time consuming at the beginning but once you've prepped all the ingredients, it goes smoothly without your presence and the kitchen smells so warm and comforting. Even better, you wind up with a veggie-filled pot of porkilicious comfort food. It's a little spicy and smoky from the Chintestle but every bite is speaks to the flavors of the vegetables. You could add cut up potatoes to it, but I decided to leave them out and have the option of ladling it over a grain like brown rice or scooping it up with warm corn tortillas.

Spicy Pork and Vegetable Stew
(printable recipe)
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
1 ½ pounds pork shoulder (often called butt), cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons ground masa or AP flour
Salt and ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 medium white onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded, cored, and diced
1 poblano pepper, charred, peeled, and diced
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon smoked mole paste (I use Seasons of my Heart Chintestle paste)
4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas
1 bunch cilantro, minced
Salt and ground pepper to taste

Directions
Place pork in a large bowl. Add masa, salt, and pepper. Using your hands, toss the ingredients to coat the pork pieces.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large Dutch oven. Add just enough of the pork to cover the bottom of the pot, but don’t crowd the pieces. Let brown on one side. When they can easily be turned, brown them on the other and remove to a medium bowl. Add more pork and repeat with remaining pork. It may take three times.

Add the remaining oil to the pot, heat, and then add the garlic and onion. Saute for 2 minutes, then add the peppers. Saute another 2 minutes. Scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen the brown bits. Add the chicken broth, bay leaves, tomato paste, and smoked mole paste. Stir well and bring to boil. Reduced heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and simmer for 50 minutes.

Add the peas and ¾ of the cilantro. Simmer uncovered until the peas are tender and the stew sauce thickens—about 5 minutes. Remove and toss the bay leaves. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Serve over grains like brown rice or with warm corn tortillas. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro.

Golden Oil at Baker & Olive

I've been so tickled to see the rise of local olive oils over the past several years, but I have to admit I'm still enamored by the variety of quality oils produced in other parts of California and around the world. So, I was interested to learn about a relatively new North County retail business that focuses on selling premium olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars.

Baker & Olive opened in Encinitas almost two years ago and is about to launch its second shop in Del Mar Highlands in just over a week. Owned by Marion and Paul Johnson, Baker & Olive is all about specialty foods--whether it's their vast array of oils and vinegars or high-end salts, honeys, preserves, marinades, and teas. They bring in locally baked breads, cheese, and olives as well.

But let's focus on the oils and vinegars because this is really why you'll want to go.

I spent some time with manager Sean Fisher, a chef of 30 years who clearly has a passion for these condiments. He works with a purveyor who knows the producers, their families, the groves, and the production methods. In other words, someone he trusts--which is hugely important when it comes to olive oils. It's all too easy to buy oils that are mislabeled, old, mishandled, and just plain lousy. Supermarkets and even some specialty shops fail miserably when it comes to buying and handling olive oil (think five-year-old clear bottles under warm florescent lights) and customers wind up spending a lot of money on worthless oils.

So, you want to know that your purveyor knows his/her stuff. Fisher reminded me that as with wines, cheese, and coffee, terroir is important. Like grapes, the same olive varieties can grow halfway around the world from each other or just miles apart and will have a different flavor, thanks to the soil and the rest of the environment. In fact, environmental conditions can impact the harvest, the quality and quantity of the olives, and the oil from year to year so what you fall in love with this year may not be available the next or may be hugely bountiful and even more delicious.

Fisher emphasizes that Baker & Olive focuses on single varietals from a single estate and single origin and they pay close attention to the harvest date. After all, unlike most wines, olive oil doesn't mature and improve with age. You don't want to hoard it, but instead use it no later than within a year of harvest.

To that end, twice a year Baker & Olive switches the origin of their oils between northern and southern hemisphere producers to reflect harvest and production. That way, you get the freshest oils available.

So, you'll find oils produced in Europe and North America sold in the late fall to spring and oils from Chile, Argentina, and other South American countries in the summer and going into fall when those olives are harvested and pressed below the equator.

Additionally, Fisher notes, all of the oils the store carries are .3 percent acidity and below, meaning that they are more durable under heat and healthier.

There is a full row of natural oils with a range of intensity--butter soft like the creamy California Arbosana I bought to a grassy, slightly bitter Favolosa from Italy. The store also carries a large selection of infused oils, some you'd expect like basil or blood orange, but others that are unusual, such as Persian lime or wild mushroom and sage.

And, as you can see, they provide a good description of the oils and how to use them, as well as tasting cups (no bread; it interferes with the flavor). And, Fisher says, the staff will help customers identify the best oils and vinegars for the way they cook and entertain, even dissuading them from some purchases in favor of others that they'll be more likely to use and enjoy.

Then there are the balsamic vinegars. These are white balsamics from Modena, Italy--most aged 18 years while a couple, like the peach, are aged eight years to keep the flavors in harmony. Again, you'll find both very traditional aged balsamic...

... and you'll find flavors that will blow you away. Chocolate. Jalapeño. Thai mint-lemongrass. And, the one I bought, violet. Yes, violet--which I intend to use to glaze a roast chicken.

 
Here's a tip from Fisher for creating a balsamic glaze. Instead of reducing your balsamic over heat and possibly burning it, simply pour what you need into a flat ceramic or glass dish--the more real estate the better. Cover with cheesecloth and let it sit on the counter overnight. By morning, the evaporation process should leave a thick reduction you can use as a glaze. Easy.

I particularly liked that, given the range of these exotic flavors, Fisher has put together lists of potential combinations and applications that are up on a blackboard behind the counter and on the website. So, for instance, you can pair the Persian lime EVOO and Cranberry Pear Balsamic to dress a gulf shrimp, citrus, and avocado salad.

Along with retail customers, Fisher has been working with chefs around San Diego, including Paul McCabe of Delicias, Joe Magnanelli of Cucina Urbana, and Jeffrey Strauss of Pamplemousse Grill. So, you'll find these oils and vinegars incorporated into menu dishes around town.

Baker & Olive is located at 165 S. El Camino Real and later next week at 12925 El Camino Real in the Del Mar Highlands Town Center.


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