Salted Brick Part 2 - Chelsea : farm to larder to fork

Last week we shared Part 1 of Chelsea, the lucky pig's journey from the farm to the chopping block atSalted Brick with Chef Jason Leizert, where no part was left behind. Let's continue. 

Part 2

You saw Chelsea the pig broken down by Chef Jason from a couple of parts to 100's of parts in part 1. Here in part 2, she is broken down to 10's of 1,000's. Still no parts left behind. Sausages will be made, Chelsea's head will be broken down and the liver and heart will be smoked. 

The photos are graphic. For no other reason than that they are true. Maybe you flinch… ask yourself why you flinch or cringe at the truth. If you are interested in the "farm-to-table movement" (a term I think is misleading, just like I feel the word "foodie" is - more on this another time) then make space for your reaction and open to the answer and resolve it. It may bring about the empathetic awareness of just what nature offers you, miraculous and beautiful sustenance. Or you simply might love your butcher more for doing the "dirty work". It may just be like relationship therapy with your food, the partner who builds your world with you. After all you are what you eat. You do want to know what you are made of right?

On Monday morning Aman Dosanj of Poppadom's Indian Restaurant showed up at Salted Brick eager to learn Chef Jason Leizert's butchering techniques. She's been in Jason's kitchen before, a couple of Mondays back (Aman's only day off from her home kitchen at Poppadom's) to learn the craft of sausage making. This week she is excited to take the learning a few steps deeper, all the way back to the "whole beast".  

SAUSAGES

Chelsea is divided in to meat and fat parts, then the two are ground separately for precision in the recipes to come

the prized "kidney" fat, is set aside and put in kryo-vac for later use

Chef organizes Aman at the sausage station to mix recipes before his breakfast rush ensues

Leizert's sausage recipes for Saucisson Sec and Chorizo come together in Aman's hands

hog casings are washed and prepared for the recipes ready to fill them

sausages are filled, twisted, then perforated before the cure

here the Saucisson Sec and Chorizo will hang to cure for 3 weeks

CHELSEA'S HEAD  (Face your food, you can do it. You will love your food more for it.)

Pig's Head is a pork delicacy. Leizert prepares the head in a traditional british style, wrapped in itself.

de-boning Chelsea's head is Aman's first lesson in pig head butchery

Aman's sister Jasmin Dosanj (a virtual vegetarian) arrives as Aman separates head from the skull

friend and CBC Reporter, Gillianne Richards peers in inquisitively to learn a bit (about the bits) in the process

The head will come back together once the skin has been pickled. The meat and fat will be wrapped together in the skin and found soon in Part 3. 

OTHER PARTS

The brain. I have eaten brains in Spain prepared as an Astorian recipe - breaded and pan fried. No parts unknown.

Chef Jason smoked the liver and kidneys overnight. He plans to make a salad of them once they have dried for a few more days in the curing room.

Stay tuned for Part 3 when the parts start to come back together :) 

Visit Salted Brick at 243 Bernard Avenue, Kelowna. 10-10 Wed - Sat, 10-6 Sun - Tues.

By Tarynn Liv Parker