Hawaiian Grines - Wild Big Island Boar Sausage for Charcutepalooza

Grines is a term for food in Hawaii, in this case pork....ground.  I guess it makes sense in a way.  Finding them was the big deal, however, as I was not at all happy with the last bit of piggy we sourced.  Should have driven out to the scene of its undoubtedly sad upbringing, several hours away, down the coast to Hamakua, and checked things out  for myself.  Well, this time I was determined, one way or another to get some free range, wild and happy boar.  If I had to go hunting myself, with my trusty Glock.  Ha ha.  Just kidding folks.  I'm not into that really....  Unless sorely pressed.

I was walking away from the store yesterday when an employee came running after me, "Claudia, your pig came in."  Likely any vegetarians in the area were cringing, eyes squished closed.  So, back I went to collect my wild boar bits.

From free as a boar can be, in the forests of the Big Island, brought to the slaughterhouse by Mr. Hunter, to the store and then to me.  I cut the meat in half, ground one part for Breakfast Sausage and the rest for Chorizo, since the challenge for this issue of Charcutepalooza was grinding your own sausage.  Then added the seasonings and put both portions away in the fridge to chill up again.  We are using the authoritative book on the subject, Charcuterie, by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn, as a guide, and I pretty much stuck with his recipes, excepting as noted below.

Brining My Brisket for Charcutepalooza

Brining is the Charcutepulooza challenge for March.  I have prepared food in a salt brine a few times, so I was looking at this as opportunity for improving technique and trying new recipes to use with it. Pickles are a favorite. Especially of mixed vegetables. I did brined Chicken, and Corned Beef last year, both using Ruhlman's Ratio book and his web directions as well, but didn't post about it, other than to complain over all the room the brisket took up in my fridge. And, the fact that it was late for St. Paddy's. This year will be different.

I decided make more of those pickles, since I was out, and the Beef Brisket for Corned Beef, in time for St. Patrick's.

Guanciale for Charcutepalooza

If you can pronounce the words in my title, there is a special prize. I (don't ask why) have decided to attempt this year-long challenge of preparing a different type of charcuterie, each month with the participants of Charcutepalooza, currently taking place at Mrs. Wheelbarrow's site. It has been called A Year in Meat, and is hosted by Cathy Barrow and Kim Foster. These two women have come up with the quite inspirational idea for us to cure, smoke and salt our way right through Michael Ruhlman‘s how-to cookbook, Charcuterie.

January's challenge was Duck Prosciutto, which came and went before I had a chance to join in.  Though, I would say making Duck Confit several times comes close, as it involves salting, then slow cooking and preserving in fat, rather than dry curing.  At any rate, the hosts have decided to extend the January Challenge, allowing late posts throughout the coming year.  So, I'm okay, and certainly looking forward to doing Duck Prosciutto, and especially eating it.

The February challenge is the salt cure, either bacon, pancetta, guanciale ("gwan-chi- ah-lay") or lamb prosciutto.  Folks, this does not mean that I am not committed to using less meat.  Only to preparing more myself, and from humanely raised animals.  At any rate, for non meat eaters, salmon, salt cod or even lemons can be done with a salt cure on this challenge. One of the things I do with the lemons life gives me.  Lemon Mead is good too, but that's another story.

Having procured some small farm, locally raised hog jowl, I began the simple (very) process of preparing homemade guanciale.  From what I was able to read, this fatty cut of meat, the jowl or cheek,  has a more intense piggy flavor than bacon or pancetta.  Which, if you enjoy pork, is a good thing.  According to Mario, in The Babbo Cookbook:

Guanciale is the very distinctly flavored bacon made from the jowls and cheeks of our hero, the pig.  It has a depth of flavor and intense richness that is simply not present in commercially made American bacon.  It is quite simple to make at home; we make fifty pounds a week at Babbo and use it with abandon whenever possible.

Whoa, if Mario uses it with abandon, it is likely pretty darn good.  However, having never heard of it before (goes to show that I don't read every word in my cookbooks), seen it in a store, or eaten this item, it's all new to me.  But, being up for trying something different and tasty, away we went.