Category Archives: Meat

Mighty Fine Monday Meatballs

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Meatballs so good you might want to make them every day of the week.

Shhhhhhh.

I made “Monday Meatballs” on a Sunday.

Hopefully, the Meatball Police don’t cite me for that infraction.

But honestly, these are so succulent, so ethereal, and with just the right kick of spiciness, that you’ll want to make them any day of the week.

The recipe is, of course, from “A16 Food + Wine” (Ten Speed Press) by Nate Appleman and Shelley Lindgren. I say, of course, because the Monday-night special of meatballs is now legendary at this popular San Francisco restaurant specializing in the flavors of Campania. A16 has featured the meatballs for years. It once tried to curtail the Monday tradition, only to be bombarded with pleas from unhappy diners to bring it back. So, the restaurant did.

Although I’ve dined at A16, I’ve never managed to be there on a Monday night for the meatballs. But making them at home is a cinch, and so worth the time and effort to do so.

In the book, Chef Appleman explains that classic Italian-American meatballs tend to be denser in texture because of the preponderance of meat. But in the old country, meatballs were a way to stretch the larder. So, they were traditionally made with more bread in the mix than is used nowadays. Doing this gives them a fluffier texture that makes biting into them such an unforgettable pleasure.

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Bolognese With Bite

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A meaty bolognese cooks up with some surprising ingredients.

Alas, I don’t think I’ll be boarding a plane to the UK anytime soon. Not with my pitiful bank account.

And alas, that means I won’t be dining anytime in the near future, either, at the acclaimed Fat Duck restaurant.

So I did the next best thing.

I made “New Style” Ragu alla Blogonese, a recipe published a year or so ago in Saveur magazine that was inspired by one in “In Search of Perfection” (Bloomsbury), the book by the Fat Duck’s award-winning chef, Heston Blumenthal.

A Brit cooking an old-school Italian dish?

You bet.

A Brit adding ketchup, fish sauce, and star anise to ragu?

Heck, yes.

Along with Worcestershire sauce, those ingredients heighten the meaty or umami taste of the dish. In fact, I even added a tad more fish sauce to up the ante.

I can’t say that this particular bolognese edged out my favorite one, Perbacco’s 5-Hour Pork Sugo. But it’s a definite contender. Unlike the Perbacco version that calls for ground pork, the Blementhal one uses boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1/4-inch dice. Whereas the Perbacco version cooks up into a cohesive, thick, rich sauce, the Blumenthal one has a texture more like chili, with distinct chunks of meat.

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Tasting Terroir In A Surprising Way

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Which rib-eye will be victorious?

Its flavor was straightforward. Perhaps a little mushroomy. Maybe a little gamey. And as I swallowed, the finish lingered moderately so.

Nope, it wasn’t a glass of Pinot Noir that I was tasting blindly.

It was a rib-eye steak, of all things.

It was a steak-off in the comfort of my own home, where I tasted four different rib-eye steaks from four different ranches, without knowing which one was which. If you’re used to just chewing without giving it much thought, tasting meat in this way is an eye-opening, palate-awakening experience. When you concentrate on texture (or body), flavors, and finish, just as you do with wine, you pick up a spectrum of nuances you might otherwise miss.

The box of meat.

Santa Rosa-based Oliver Ranch invites you to experience it for yourself. The company, which sources sustainably raised beef from across the country, has created a tasting pack of steaks, each from a different rancher. Choose from filet mignon, New York strip, top sirloin, or rib-eye packages. Prices start at $79.95.

Cook each steak the same way, then taste, jotting down notes with the handy tasting guide that comes with each kit. At the end, you can peek at the pamphlet to discover where the meat was raised, how it was aged, and what breed it is.

“It’s a way for people to enjoy the terroir and provenance of beef,” says Oliver Ranch founder, Carrie Oliver. “The breed, the growing area, the practices of the rancher and of the slaughterhouse — all those things can make a difference in taste and texture.”

Oliver created the kit in 2007, after noticing that when she tasted beef blindly with friends, they all had different opinions on what they liked best. The kits are now the most popular items the company sells.

“It’s not a hard sell,” she says. “I ask people, ‘You like wine tasting? How about trying a beef tasting then?’

“You should see their eyes light up. And it’s not just men.”

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Pigging Out at Ad Hoc

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Ad Hoc's mascot. (Photo courtesy of Ad Hoc)

Satisfy your porky appetite at Ad Hoc in Yountville on March 25, when the restaurant will be featuring whole roasted pigs cooked in a caja china.

Sealed inside a big roasting box, each young pig is cooked for hours underneath a big layer coals. The result is fork-tender flesh and skin so crisp it shatters.

The three-course “Wine & Swine” meal, served family-style, includes greens from the French Laundry’s garden, and dessert by French Laundry Pastry Chef Claire Clark. The price of the dinner is $65, including wines. For reservations, call (707) 944-2487.

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