Part of the point of patronizing butchers and craftsmen in general is the joy of criticizing the next guy’s favorite haunt. Arguing about whose Whole Foods is superior is hardly a logical conversation-it’s all the same acreage of steam tables and odd brands of grain. But you have a relationship with your butcher. Even if it’s only skinning a chicken breast, he customizes your food. Pino, our local guy, does a superior job.
Pino the butcher is a small shop on the corner of Sullivan and Houston. It’s a weird area, a half-block, postage stamp-sized remnant of Italian Soho. Not Little Italy, mind you, a (with some exceptions) mall of pasta slinging houses, menu barkers, and Sinatra tunes piped out on a loop.
In the Pino’s time warp, old ladies lean out of windows to speak with their friends on the stoop and guys sit on fold-out chairs smoking cigars. But, as I said, the area is tiny, the size of a small suburban lawn, the faded corner of a loudly colored giant jigsaw puzzle. Or in this case, the Soho mall: Kim Kardashian’s new place is nearby, as is the Apple Store, Michael Kors, Top Shop, etc.
At Pino’s they’re constantly carving, trimming, and boning all sorts of meats, from half a lamb hanging on a hook, to calves liver and sweetbreads. The bucket of trimmings is carried to the back and turned into all sorts of sausage, from winy rabbit to hot dogs to variations of classic Italian.
And there’s the perfect old-world touch: a sawdust-coated floor, the smell of fresh meat, long (formerly white) butchers jackets, all in a small space. It’s a far cry from the hipster Brooklyn butcher with his tattoos, jars of in-house mustards and pickles, twittering, and so on.
But that’s why we love cheesemakers and butchers and good restaurants: to argue about which is best.
(NOTE: we used our handy dandy sous vide machine for this one. It cuts on pots and mess and makes a helluva nice pork belly, though this cut would taste good boiled in dishwater. Pork belly can be roasted straight or braised, chilled, and sautéed. Either way it’s delicious. If you’re going to braise it, remove the skin before or after. Be sure to keep it, as you can roast the skin on a rack for great cracklings. It’s a good idea to cure the belly at least overnight. We used Thai fish sauce. Salt, pepper, maybe some crushed spice like coriander, is also great. You need a Thai or special spice place to find palm sugar and dried prawns. Substitute brown sugar and if necessary omit the prawns. Thai chiles are thin, about 1 inch long.)
Pork Belly w/ Chili Jam and Butternut Squash Puree
Serves 4-6
1 recipe Chili Jam (see below)
1/2 cup Thai fish sauce
2 pounds pork belly, skin removed, scored
1 quart chicken stock
1 cup white wine
½ head garlic, unpeeled, crushed
½ onion, unpeeled
2 carrots, peeled
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 large butternut squash
2-3 tablespoons palm sugar (or brown sugar)
1 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns, ground
2 bunches watercress
juice 1 lemon
olive oil
salt and pepper
- For the pork belly: rub 2 tablespoons of the chili jam over both sides of the belly and coat well with half the fish sauce. Cover and refrigerate for a day or so.
- Preheat oven to 300. Remove and place in a pot with the stock, wine, garlic, onion, carrot and coriander. Bring to a boil, cover and place in oven for 4-5 hours until tender. Check under the top once in a while to see that it’s not boiling. If so, turn down temp. a bit.
- Remove from oven, let cool in liquid, then lift it dry off, cover and refrigerate till chilled.
- Meanwhile, cube the squash, add it to a pan and cover with cold water. Boil till soft and puree in blender or food processer. You may need to add a bit of the cooking liquid to get the blades going. It should be on the thin side anyway. Season well with salt, pepper, and the palm (or brown) sugar. Keep warm.
- Dress the cress with lemon juice and olive oil and season.
- To serve, remove the pork from the refrigerator and slice in even portions, about 2 inch cubes. Heat a few tablespoons olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the pork and sauté on both sides till crisp and browned. Serve on plates with the squash, cress, and pork. Season each piece with kosher or sea salt and the Szechuan pepper.
Chili Jam (from David Thompson’s Thai Street Food)
2 cups onion, sliced thinly
1 cup garlic, peeled, sliced thinly
2 slices ginger, ¼ inch, peeled
10 dried Thai chiles deseeded (see note)
¼ cup dried prawns (see note)
2-3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons palm or brown sugar
oil for frying
- Soak the chiles and shrimp in separate bowls for about 15 minutes to soften. Remove and dry well.
- Meanwhile, heat about 4 inches of oil in a large pot to 350 on a thermometer.
- Line a sheet pan with paper towels and have it near the pot. Fry the onions, garlic, ginger, and chilies separately, removing each item to the prepared pan to drain.
- Add the above to a mini food processor. (If you don’t have one, I’m pretty sure a blender or food processor would work.), add 3-4 tablespoons of the cooking oil and the shrimp and puree to a paste. Season with the fish sauce and sugar and pulse again.
- Reserve the jam covered in fridge. It’ll keep for quite a while and makes for a good condiment or last minute addition to stir-fries.
