The Weekly Feed: Sexy Beast Edition
Loin of ibérico de bellota pork cooks on the grill.
To hear restaurateur José Andrés talk about Spain’s ibérico pigs—calling them “sexy” and “stylized, like models”—is to listen to a man whose love for pork seemingly knows no bounds. To taste the fresh ibérico de bellota pork loin from those pigs is to develop a bit of a crush yourself. The prime cuts of pork had their U.S. debut this week, thanks to Andrés and his partner, Wagshal’s Markets proprietor Bill Fuchs, and are now available at Andrés’s restaurants and Wagshal’s markets in Northwest D.C. While Spanish farmers started exporting the cured ham from the pigs, jamón ibérico, to the U.S. last summer, this is the first time the meat is being shipped fresh to the United States.
The pork is cut from pigs that roam free-range in the rural village of La Alberca in Spain, living on a diet made up almost entirely of acorns and wild herbs. This singular diet and life of luxury results in a ridiculously tender, juicy pork loin marbled through and through with fat—but not in a bad way, if that makes any sense. Andrés and Fuchs recently provided reporters with a taste of the pork, known as ibérico de bellota, fired over hot coals in Andrés’s own backyard, all the while gushing like two teenagers in love about the meat’s unique “nutty” flavor and smooth texture.
“I fought all my life to try to make this happen, to bring the ibérico to the U.S.,” Andrés said. “It’s no easy thing. You have to have a real belief in and love for meat. When I thought, ‘who would be crazy enough to try to do this?’ I immediately thought of Wagshal’s.” Fuchs said that while he ordered just 1,100 pounds for this year—half of which will be sold for $24-30 per pound at Wagshal’s—he’s hoping to import more, with a greater diversity of cuts, next year.
Getting your own taste of the fresh ibérico pork won’t be too difficult—Andrés will incorporating it into tapas dishes at his restaurants throughout the D.C. area, or you can splurge on some of the meat to play with in your own kitchen at Wagshal’s. The ibérico de bellota will lend itself to any dish calling for pork loin, although those with little to no sauce or very few ingredients are ideal to avoid masking the meat's natural flavor.
If you’re looking for porkstravaganza, you’ve got to go with what Andrés last week jokingly called the “Spanish taco”—the ibérico pork roasted in salt, sliced, and wrapped around pieces of jamón ibérico. (Recipe can be found in Andrés’s cookbook.) Something on the simpler side? Grill the pork loin and a baguette over hot coals. (If you're not too squeamish, leave some pink in the middle of the pork.) Halve a tomato, rub it over the grilled bread, and then sprinkle course salt and drizzle olive oil. Serve slices of the pork on the tomato bread.
Small Bites
Watch Out for Spies, Fojol Bros.
Another street food cart is joining the downtown D.C. area, this one a product of Spy Café owners Stir Food Group and the D.C. Central Kitchen. Spy Diner is a sidewalk food cart that is now open for business at the corner of 9th and F Sts. NW that will serve up egg sandwiches for breakfast and an array of sliders for lunch and dinner seven days a week. The cart be manned in part by graduates of D.C. Central Kitchen’s culinary training program, which trains unemployed, underemployed, homeless and previously incarcerated people for jobs in the food industry. Late night last night? Stop by before work for a much needed Taylor ham and egg sandwich. Desperate to leave your office at lunch, but don’t have much time? Grab a quick lunch of sliders—in the burger, roast beef, lamb or pulled pork varieties, among others—or a bowl of soup with a brownie or a cupcake for dessert. Prices for breakfast range from $2.75-$4, and sliders range from $4 to $6 for an order of two.
Make friends with what you eat
Used to hitting the farmer’s market in your neighborhood? You can take it to the next level this weekend by getting out of D.C. to the Montgomery County Farm Tour and Harvest Sale. There are 13 participating farms in all, ranging from the Blue Ribbon Alpaca Breeding Co. to Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard to the Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary. Products grown and raised on the farm will be available for sale, so pack a picnic—or pick one up when you get there—and enjoy lunch on the farm, or maybe a pony ride or hay ride for the kids.
Speaking of farmers markets
Dr. Preston Maring, Kaiser Permanente physican and avid foodie, will put on a cooking demonstration at the H St. NE Farmfresh Market Saturday, July 25 between 9 a.m. and noon. Maring is a contributor to the recently released cooking guide, EatingWell in Season, The Farmers Market Cookbook, and a doctor who helped launch a program to host farmers markets at Kaiser Permanente medical facilities around the country. Maring blogs about his exploits, and his recipes, here.