Chicago Meat Collective

Gizzard Rillettes, Protein, Protein Deficiency and Why We Respect Protein

November 8, 2019 By Janine Farzin Leave a Comment

Gizzard Rillettes served on romaine leaves with fermented pickle

Amino acids are the building blocks to protein. We need all of them, together, to build and restore our body. Many people aren’t getting enough. Deficiency shows up in so many familiar ways, like swelling or insomnia. Gizzard Rillettes are a great source of protein. (Along with a host of vitamins and minerals, and cholesterol to boot.)

Plus, a slow and low braise gives plenty of time to break down this tough organ into the tender goodness it should be. Gizzard Rillettes are easy, delicious, and put so much love back into this humble organ. I hope that you try them this fall, and that you love them as much as I do!

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Interconnectedness and Gratitude: Simple Carnitas with Heart

September 1, 2019 By Janine Farzin 3 Comments

Platter of Carnitas with Heart and a plate of butterleaf lettuce tacos with Carnitas

This past spring, I bought a half pig from a local farm. My friend McCullough helped me break it down into cuts for my family. Since then, we’ve eaten our way through the chest freezer and only a single heart remained from that little pig. In gratitude to all that made this possible, I made Carnitas with Heart as the last dish from that slaughter.

For weeks I had been wondering, ‘What could I do with that last heart?’ Heart needs to be prepared rare, or slow and low. I didn’t want to go rare with the pork heart, so knew I needed to go slow and low to break down all the connective tissue. Yet, I wanted to add a bit more to the meal. So I picked another one of our favorite pork dishes, added the heart, and prepared it all together. It worked well….

Pâté en Croûte with ground liver and pork in a brioche dough

March 14, 2019 By Janine Farzin 1 Comment

Pate en Croute served with mustard, cornichons and clementines

What if you could cook your meat in it’s own little oven?! In medieval times, meat was prepared with nuts and dried fruit, protected with a crust and placed directly into the hearth. Eventually, the dough was improved for consumption. And today, Pâté en Croûte is having a revival.

Thanks to McCullough at the Chicago Meat Collective for teaching me how to make this last October. It’s a bit of a labor of love, but I’ve been having so much fun with it! An intricate recipe leaves plenty of room for innovation. I’m eventually going to have to return her specialty hinged terrine pan though…

The specific details are all down below, but this week we’ll walk through an overview of the recipe itself. …