“We make our own bacon here, from Flying Pigs Farm pork belly. We cure it in-house in a mixture of salt and sugar and other spices — star anise, fennel, some chile. Then we smoke it in a hotel pan with hickory chips. It comes out fork tender, so I cut a nice big chunk in there. It’s not distributed all over as little lardoons. You can take as much as you want!”
“We make the fresh garlic sausage from the same Flying Pigs Farm pork; I get half a pig delivered every week. What I really like about it is the textual element it lends: the snap and crunch of the casing. Also, it’s incredibly juicy, and all that adds to the flavor and comforting feel of the dish.”
“These are tarbais beans, which are like the official bean of southwestern France. They’re what you need to do the classic Toulousain cassoulet. We simmer them half in water and half in duck broth, but we don’t let them go too long. You’re looking for an al dente bean, because it’s going to cook with all those good meat juices in the pot. ”
“This is pulled lamb shoulder. Jamison lamb from Pennsylvania. It’s a hardworking muscle, and it lends itself to braising really well: The collagen breaks down, making it tender, and the fat, which there is plenty of, lends its flavor and fragrance to the dish. It’s really robust without being gamey.”