Today I picked up three hogs I had processed a week ago by Dean Street Processing. This trip, we expanded what we have by adding in some exciting new products.
When I got back home from picking up all the pork, I noted that it was lunch time. Perfect! In case you don’t know, the final quality control step in our product is a taste test. No matter what it is, before I sell it I always take it in the kitchen and try it. If it’s not up to my standard, it doesn’t get sold. I know this sounds obvious, but I’ve not met any people who do this before ANY product is sold.
Knowing I had some folks who were waiting on pork to get in today, I needed to get my testing done right away. I grabbed what you see above and texted Miguel to meet me in the kitchen. Miguel is a mighty fine cook and I always value his opinion on our product. Plus, I knew he’d be happy to know we had chorizo since he likes it so much.
The item I was most excited to try was the Eastern NC style BBQ. Our processor has the ability to BBQ an entire hog and then package it into 1 pound packages like you see below. You can then freeze this BBQ and when you come home cold, tired, and with a family screaming for dinner, simply plop the BBQ, bag and all in boiling water and in 15 minutes you have beyond organic, tasty, never any GMOs or grain BBQ ready to serve.
Miguel looked askew at the BBQ but he jumped right into cooking the chorizo. Chorizo was the food of his people, BBQ was the food of mine. We had a lot of verbal jabs and laughing at gringos and Mexicans and their food and habits.
We also cooked up some of the hot breakfast sausage as I wanted to see just how hot it was.
And here is a lunch like you never see. Miguel complained mightily that there was no rice nor beans, and no tortillas. I think I had offended his culture. He also wasn’t too sure about this shredded pig stuff called BBQ. I told him he’d have to tighten up to hang around us white boys. In the end we both enjoyed lunch, especially after I found some tortillas SWMBO had hidden in the fridge. And the results of our testing, besides loosening the belts one notch?
The chorizo was really good “for white people” per Miguel and regular good if it was “for a Mexican.” This means that it’s nicely spiced if you eat normal food. If you are used to a very spicy Mexican diet, it’s good with good flavor, just not as spicy as you’d like it. I thought it was really good myself but on the red-nexican scale, I lean quite a bit towards the red end.
The breakfast sausage was perfect. Not hot to me (I’m someone who eats very hot stuff routinely) and flavored well. It’s packaged in small packages perfect for getting out for breakfast.
The BBQ was spot on. Both Miguel and I thought it could use just a little more vinegar but in further conversation we observed that not everyone likes vinegar the way we do and people who do usually add a bit at the table when it’s served. That would make it perfect for the family as everybody gets what they want, some get less vinegar and some get all they want.
We also have linked, extra sage sausage plus all the normal cuts like pork chops, Boston Butts, etc. I’ll be updating pricing and availability on the website ASAP. I already have a large order for next week but I’m holding back a supply for people who want to come out and meet their farmer. If you would like to stop by and stock up on pork, just shoot me an email at dan@ninjacowfarm.com or give me a call at 919-810-2530.