Category Archives: Meat

You Never Know What You’ll Turn Up in Hawaii

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Atomic red hot dog musubi from Foodland market on Maui.

Atomic red hot dog musubi from Foodland market on Maui.

Like Neon-Red Hot Dogs

Yes, hot dogs the very unnatural color of atomic red are a thing in Hawaii.

Think of them as the red velvet cake of hot dogs.

You can find them in packages in the supermarkets, atop musubi or nestled into buns.

As one Hawaiian-born chef joked to me, “We do like our carcinogens.”

Even though he and his friends grew up on them, none could offer an explanation as to why they are the color that they are.

Even a Maui News article published a few years ago wasn’t able to shed much light on it.

I’ll take a wild guess and surmise they’re that hue to emulate char siu or Chinese barbecued pork. But who knows?

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Pigging Out at Cockscomb in San Francisco

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Brined, braised and roasted pig's head at Cockscomb.

Brined, braised and roasted pig’s head at Cockscomb.

 

If ever a restaurant embodied its owner’s personality, it is Chris Cosentino’s new Cockscomb in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood.

It’s dark and it’s loud. Picture a concrete bunker hidden away with taxidermy on the walls. There’s a ceramic pig’s head you might recognize from Cosentino’s previous restaurant Incanto, as well as a huge stuffed buffalo head (a gift from a couple of patrons). Shelves around the horned beast’s head display Cosentino’s first bike helmet and old toys. The toilet paper rolls in the bathrooms are even made from spare bike parts.

As for the menu? A lot of it is rich, meaty and rustic — the delicious stuff you picture chefs devouring after a long night, especially male ones. Even so, a female colleague and I (she treated me), dug in and were rewarded with a meal that delighted and definitely made us feel like one of the boys.

Another kind of pig's head on the wall.

Another kind of pig’s head on the wall.

Wall art.

Wall art.

Drink coasters.

Drink coasters.

Why a restaurant named for that ruffle appendage on a rooster’s head? Cosentino says it’s because it harkens to his initials, “C.C.” and because “The rooster runs the farm. Its cockscomb is a commanding piece. The larger it is, the more attention that rooster gets.”

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Snake River Farms Kobe Ribeye Roast and a Food Gal Giveaway

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A prime rib to end all prime ribs. From Snake River Farms.

A prime rib to end all prime ribs. From Snake River Farms.

 

Consider this the Maserati of meat.

Luxurious, extravagant and a work of art in its own right.

This is the Snake River Farms American Kobe Gold Grade Eye of Ribeye Roast.

At nearly $400 for a 6 1/2- to 7-pounder, it’s meat that makes an entrance. Especially on an important holiday.

I actually had a chance to try a sample of the roast recently. I don’t think I’ve ever cooked a cut of meat worth this much. My kitchen almost felt unworthy.

What accounts for its sky-high price tag? First, it’s American Kobe, which is Japanese Wagyu crossed with American Angus. Second, it’s gold grade, meaning it’s more marbled than than any other roast the Idaho-based company sells. Third, it’s aged, hand-trimmed and limited in quantity.

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Sustainably Raised Meat Delivered To Your Door with AgLocal — Plus a Food Gal Deal

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AgLocal's Moroccan lamb sausages get roasted in the oven for an easy weeknight meal.

AgLocal’s Moroccan lamb sausages get roasted in the oven for an easy weeknight meal.

 

As much as we’d like to eat local, sustainably-raised meat regularly, it often takes going the extra effort to do so.

Usually, it requires driving out of the way to a specialty store.

Now, San Francisco’s AgLocal makes it much easier to enjoy farm-fresh meat and to support local family farms by delivering a box right to your door.

All the meat comes from pasture-raised animals. The meat offerings, shipped frozen most of the time, are available in four different boxes, each of which includes a different selection: “Family Style”  (favorite cuts to appeal to all members of the family); “Grill Master” (ribs, chops and steaks); “Fit and Lean” (brisket, flank steak and the like); and “Farmer’s Pick” (more esoteric cuts such as lamb breast and smoked shanks). Each box comes in two sizes, either 7 pounds ($85) or 14 pounds ($150).

A look inside my "Fit and Lean'' box.

A look inside my “Fit and Lean” box.

AgLocal currently delivers to California, Arizona, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

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Snake River Farms Kurobuta Crown Roast of Pork and A Food Gal Giveaway

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How's this for an alternative to the usual turkey for Thanksgiving?

How’s this for an alternative to the usual turkey for Thanksgiving?

 

Tired of turkey for Thanksgiving?

Or tired of it being dry and a total letdown?

Then, give the bird the heave-ho and turn your attention to the pig instead.

Ham is too predictable. But a crown roast of pork? Now, that’s not only an unexpected pick, but a dramatic one to boot.

Now, imagine one from heavily marbled Kurobuta pork. Now, we’re really talking.

Recently, Snake River Farms sent me a sample of its crown roast to try. It’s the first one I’ve ever cooked. Now, I’m wondering: What took me so long to discover this show-stopping hunk of pork?

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