On Thursday, I was invited to a strategy meeting held by a community organization called Oregon Rural Action. Check out the link...http://oregonrural.org/. Ours is the Blue Mountain Chapter. I was anxious about what to expect, but it was very interesting. Not only did I find out where to get chicken feet from a church's food bank, but I also found out there were a number of young people in this area that are very passionate about local/sustainable food, and local enery conservation, etc. It was very interesting, and after the meeting, I was invited to hang out with some of the community organizers at a bar in La Grande. I had a great time chatting about lots of things, and it was parlayed into a Super Bowl party invite. The Super Bowl party was much more laid back than I am used to. My memories of them are quite hazy, but usually they involve me not showing up to work the next day. We had good food and beer and rooted for the Steelers (I thought the Steelers @ +2.5 was the smart $, unfortunatley). One quick note about beef: Since I had the carne asada at my rental in FL last year, I have been looking for a particular cut of meat that our crew got from the mercado. I had no idea what it was, but it was one of the best flavors of beef I had ever tasted. Last week, a customer ordered flanken-style ribs. These are about 3/8" thick and they are basically small circles of rib bone that are surrounded by a strip of meat. It looks like flank or "fajita" meat, but it has these rib bones in it. Jeff said they are also called "Asian-style ribs". If you have a meat shop nearby, ask them if they can cut these for you. Marinate them in beer (preferebly Mexican), fresh lime juice and salt for about one hour. Lay them on the grill and cook them on a very hot flame for about 1-2 minutes on each side. Ridiculous.
On another amazing food level. I had a top 5 meal this past weekend. I have become friends with the proprietors of Golden Crown restaurant in La Grande. I happened to walk into the place on my first night here to get some food after imbibing heavily. I was not dissapointed. They had a very low-key sushi bar (the only one within 60 miles), and I was at home. I met Franky, who along with his family owns this place and another in Baker City, OR. We had great rapport, and talked about food, hardcore. I have since been to Golden Crown on a weekly basis to enjoy their fresh salmon sashimi and an occasional TG IPA. The staff behind the sushi bar is great too. Polo and Francis take care of me well, along with Franky, his Mother and his wife, Angela. I will keep this short: I was invited to partake in a staff meal at Golden Crown consisting of pork belly and lotus root. Obviously, I was in. 9:00 p.m. Saturday night, I showed up with a empty stomach, drool crusted on my lips and a curious mind.
Every night, the employees of Golden Crown cook an authentic Chinese dinner for all the staff to enjoy before the joint closes. One of the regular dishes contains a top 5 ingredient of mine: pork belly. This is basically bacon that has not been cured or smoked. It has multiple layers of fat and muscle tissue and really needs to be cooked low and slow to create the desired texture. This shit can chew like shoe leather if left to an amatuer (see Brugge Brasserie in Indianapolis). Luckily we had Franky's Mom cooking for us tonight. From what I can gather, she starts cooking the pork belly in a stock with unknown spices, etc. Very soon after, she adds the Lotus root after it has been stir fried in oil. Lotus root is an authentic Chinese vegetable that is grown and harvested under water. It can grow up to 4' long, and is very fibrous. This is why it has to cook slow with the pork belly. 
Basically, when all is said and done, you have food texture porn. Seriously. If you haven't eaten slow cooked pork belly...do it immediately. I guess the only thing I can compare it to is the hot cracklins I had in Marksville, Louisiana. Although the craklins are a bit different in texture, but you can still feel the pork fat melt in your mouth like roasted bone marrow. Next, if you have the ability to buy imported Chinese produce at your local International market or your city's China Town, pick up some Lotus Root. It may be a bit pricey, but do yourself a favor. This shit is life-changing. It is a starchy root vegetable, and it picks up all flavors it is cooked with. But the texture...the texture is unexplainable to me. I want to say potato, but it is firmer. Firm, but as you chew it, it also melts in your mouth dispensing all flavors/seasoning that Franky's Mom decided to throw in the pot. It is cut into discs that are about 1/4 inch thick. I could not get enough. The great thing about this meal was that it was basically the protein and the veg served over white rice. No over-sweetened sauce or ridiculous flavor-enhancers that are often added to the American version of Chinese food. This was a taste of home for their kitchen staff. It was no frills, home-cooked food. Cantonese-style. The ingredients were cooked the way they should be. There were 2 stars in the movie, and they were unimpeded by an over-priced set or special effects. It was pork belly and lotus root cooked exactly the way they should be. Simply amazing, really. Quickly: We just sold a beef to the owners of Terminal Gravity. Here is part of our payment. I was lucky enough to bring 6 cold ones home last night.
We are currently cutting meat this week, and it has been great to get back to practicing. Next blog will contain details about a nice meatcutting surprise.
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