This morning I was awoken by Coe scratching and falling off the bed! She was so shaken up and I was trying so hard not to laugh! She’s such a sensitive flower.
It was already destined to be an early morning since I was picking Christa up at the airport. From there we headed to North Mississippi for breakfast at Gravy before a quick stop at The Meadow for some pink curing salt. Breakfast was yummers! I got the corned beef hash that tasted like corned beef! Their portions are huge- really enough to feed you for 3 meals. This was my second visit here and both times the service has been good and the food outstanding. The bloody mary was one of the best I’ve had. My only beef was there was no local vodka. I’ll live.
After dropping Christa off, I got home to the pork belly I had picked up from Tails and Trotters. I’m making BACON! I’m such a good bacon loving Jew ;).
Let me back up a hair and tell you the first part of this endeavor. I went to T&T knowing exactly what I wanted. Upon walking into KitchenCru community kitchen and being enveloped by the heavenly aroma of cinnamon and sugar I met Mark. What can I get for you, he asks. I can’t form a coherent thought. I’ve been thinking for a week about buying a pork belly and lard from T&T. Now that the time is here and I’m at the cusp, a little cinnamon and sugar and I’ve lost all control of my cerebral cortex. Um, um, um… Shake it off. Pork belly. oh, right, pork belly.
I mentioned earlier I’m reading Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. I’m starting with their Basic Dry Rub on page 39.
1 pound Morton’s kosher salt
8 ounces sugar (I didn’t start with the dextrose version)
2 ounces pink salt
I took 2 ounces of the dry rub mix and put it in a heavy duty zip-top bag along with 3 large crushed garlic cloves and 1 crumbled bay leaf. Rubbed all about (and did the hokey-pokey) and put in the fridge. As per the instructions, I’ll turn it daily for one week before smoking. I’ll keep you apprised of my progress..
After my gluttonous breakfast and a good workout at pilates, I had a good dinner of steamed broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage with a homemade peanut sauce. Dessert was a perfect pomegranate. Pomegranates are my favorite thing about fall.
Lula Harp 
Hi! Most of my Jewish friends who eat pork do it in secret, you know! ; )
What is Pink Salt? How does it differ from kosher salt?
I love kosher salt, especially on my meats. Those flakes taste totally different than table salt. I find table salt tastes “metallic” in comparison.
LikeLike
There are different types of pink salt, but the one I’m referring to here is a pink curing salt that has a blend of nitrate and nitrite. Not something you’d put on your dinner. If you haven’t had a chance to check out The Meadow, it’s worth a trip to North Mississippi. They have something like 80+ different varieties of salt. What they specialize in are finishing salts. and I agree, I don’t keep “table salt” any more. Kosher is what I keep in my kitchen.
LikeLike