GOING HOG WILD

Swine isn’t a word we use in our everyday dialogue, well unless you are a pig farmer. It is one of those words if you say it ten times really quickly is becomes non-seneschal. By definition the term swine is a contemptible person, a brutal sensual person or any stout, cloven-hoofed artiodactyl, aka pig. And this past Sunday it was all about the noble hog and craft beer at the inaugural Pig and The Pint event. Hosted by Jade Presents and sponsored by Bernie’s Liquors, The North Dakota Pork Council and Hatch Realty at the Plains Art Museum the nesting place of The Blue Goose Café.

The premise was simple, give several local chefs a 250 pound hog, compliments of the North Dakota Pork Council, and see what they can create in a week utilizing the whole animal. Three local craft breweries; Drekker, Fargo Brewery and Junkyard Brewery were on hand to pair their fare with that of the chef’s. So the chefs of Montes, Luna, The Toasted Frog and Ushers took on the formidable task of turning a whole hog into some tasty treats.

I say formidable, as breaking down a whole hog can be physically challenging, sawing through bone to separate the different cuts. Chris Shepherd, a well-known Houston chef and master of all things pig, almost bled out butchering a hog when he accidentally cut one of the pig’s arteries with a slip of the knife. It will be interesting to see how the chefs negotiate the anatomy of the two hundred plus pound piggies and how they incorporate the different cuts.

Real time now at the actual event and it looks pretty tasty. Kudo’s to all the chefs and their co-collaborator breweries for their efforts on their food and their beer. It turned out to be a good day for the Fargo Brewing Company as they had literally just arrived back from Denver where they won a bronze medal for their Fargo Original Lager. They were paired up with Luna and The Toasted Frog’s chefs Ryan Nitschke and Steve Schultz, respectfully. They were pouring a Cold Pressed Coffee & Smoked Black Peppercorn Stout to pair up with one the several creative dishes Luna brought along like the Porchetta with BBQ Sauce or the Shrimp & Pork Sausage with Dumpling Sauce and Sauerkraut or Pigskin Pasta Salad. Chef Schultz also brought an amazing amount of goodness with his Chorizo Corn Dog, Pork Jerky and Posole all aptly paired with Sodbuster Porter and infused with Mexican Chocolate & Dried Chilies.

Moorhead’s Junkyard Brewery brought a refreshing Hibiscus Sour which Chef Cary Carr of Ushers utilized in his Pork Belly dish with Hibiscus Flower Cherry Chutney and he also showcased a Pork Chili with Grilled Corn Crema and a Pork Salad with Pepita Pineapple Salsa. Also on tap from Junkyard were Skunk Ape Pale Ale and Coal Miners Daughter Stout. These chefs really put good use to their pigs and Chef Ian Berry of the Monte’s / Boiler Room Group, and soon to be head Chef of their new venture Barbacoa, really got into it with eleven variations.

Drekker Brewery was paired up with Chef Berry and their Hausterhosen Festbier infused with Smoked Mesquite and Cherries was appropriate for Chef Berry’s Carnitas with Green Salsa or his Spicy Pork Ribs. The chef also brought along some Asian Style Pork Belly with Sweet Miso and Pineapple. Igor’s Black IPA with Orange Peel and Rye Saison with Lemon Peel & Bell Pepper were also on tap. Sausages, head cheese, cured and smoked pig was everywhere and Chef Ryan even pulled off his first Pate en Croute.

It was an interesting event and I am sure there is chatter about doing it again. I found one thing missing and that was one of sensory delight, olfactory. One of our most powerful stimuli especially when it comes to food, our sense of smell. We have all woke up to the smell of bacon cooking in the morning or at least I hope you have. It is powerful and just gets your mouth watering. As the event was inside and with no cooking taking place that great aroma of meat on a fire was missing. My thought would be to take advantage of our late summer weather, put up a big tent and do some cooking along with all those wonderful pates, sausages, soups and stews. That would make everyone go hog wild.