BBQgeek

Cochon 555 - Atlanta, GA

Pork liver pate with apple jelly from 2010 winner Sean Brock of McCrady's of Charleston, SC at Cochon 555.

Cochon 555, a multi-city, national event celebrating the cultivation of heritage breed hogs, rolled into Atlanta, GA this past Sunday.  It was my second pork-themed event in less than a month.  You may have already read my write up of the Southern Foods Pig Out in the Park.  What can I say?  I'm a lucky guy.  The basic premise of Cochon 555 is to assemble five of the best regional chefs, give them each a 175 lb. heritage breed pig to cook, and let the assembled masses enjoy the fruits of their labors.  Joining these five chefs are five wineries showcasing their wines.  So, the 555 equals 5 hogs, 5 wines, and 5 chefs.  Simple enough.  Atlanta's Cochon 555 took place at the downtown W hotel.  Several hundred foodies, food critics, and bloggers turned out to indulge in everything fine about swine (did I really just make that horrible rhyme?).  I've assembled a simple photo essay with minimal commentary to describe the event for you.  Enjoy.  Continue reading Cochon 555 - Atlanta, GA here....
 

Smoked and Sous Vide Duck Confit

 

For well over a year now, I've been trying to figure out how to make smoked duck confit.  Standard confit technique requires one to cook the duck in duck fat that has been seasoned with herbs and spices.  Once the duck is cooked, it is allowed to cool in the fat and can be stored for months.  It is an ancient preservation method that yields incredibly tasty meat.  Combining confit and smoke is an entirely different matter.  I've tried several times, and it never worked out the way I wanted.  It was only after I purchased my Sous Vide Supreme that I realized that I might be able to fix some of the problems I had run into previously.  What were those problems?  Well, the first question is do you smoke or confit first?  If you smoke first, the smokiness tends to disperse once you sink the duck into fat and confit.  The end product just is unsatisfying.  Working in reverse by first using confit and then smoke, the end product tends to be bitter.  But one recent day, it occurred to me that sous vide might be the answer.  If you can smoke the duck to satisfaction and then seal it in a bag to cook with duck fat, herbs, and spices, then you might avoid the bitterness issue while retaining all the flavor.  So, I set forth on a grand experiment to blend sous vide and smoke and see if I had found the secret.  Continue reading Smoked and Sous Vide Duck Confit here...

Clyde Cooper's Barbecue - Raleigh, NC

 

For the second time in a month, business took me to Raleigh, NC.  On my last trip, I paid a visit to the Pit to experience Ed Mitchell's vision of upscale barbecue.  This time I decided to try and find a different experience.  I wanted something that really painted a clear picture of traditional Eastern Carolina barbecue.  I did a little Googling and ran across Clyde Cooper's Barbecue, in business since 1938 in downtown Durham.  Online reviews of Coopers were very good.  I also checked with a couple of my Raleigh colleagues and they said it was very good stuff.  One colleague even remarked he remembered eating there as a kid and loving it.  After finishing up my morning business meeting, I made a quick run into downtown Raleigh with three of my coworkers to sneak in a quick lunch before hopping back on my flight back to Atlanta.  Coopers really impressed me that day with  some great food and an authentic experience.  Continue reading Clyde Cooper's Barbecue here....