Omaha Steaks...The Madonna of the Food World

In my business I get a lot of tastes and samples in the mail. From Omaha Steaks I received a big sampler with at least 4 of several items they sell. I got hot dogs, burgers, steaks, stuffed potatoes, stuffed sole, pork chops and one of the worst knife sets I have ever seen in my life.

What a huge dissapointment.

They make the claim that their grain fed beef is superior in taste to grass fed, this may give you the idea that the steak is on par with Morton's, or Ruth's Chris. The beef tastes like grade z grocery store meat, it is almost without flavor. Their pork so lean that 3 seconds overcooking will give you sawdust, their prepared items completely bland.

They have a flavorless product line at souped up prices packaged all nice.

Every year I hear from folk who want mail order food as a gift item. I will keep looking because Omaha Steaks gets an F in flavor. They do get an A in marketing, they have great ads, brochures, website etc. I guess this makes them the Madonna of the food world.

Pork Confit John McCain

John McCain gets a confit because you just can't eat a confit when young. It needs age and fat to be worth anything at all. It's not good for you, but you might think it is until you keel over from a heart attack and need health care.

1 Pork leg or shoulder
The pork should be beaten, tortured if you will. The skin should be cut with a knife. The flesh pounded with a hammer. Once this is done you can set it aside.
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cum
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 to 6 pound pork shoulder or butt, bone in or out.

5 onions, sliced
30 garlic cloves, peeled
6 sprigs fresh thyme
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 gallons pork, goose, or duck fat.

Melted pork, goose, or duck fat Combine first 10 ingredients in large bowl rub over the pork and coat well. Cover and chill overnight.

Preheat oven to 275°F. Place onions, garlic, thyme sprigs, and rosemary sprig in large ovenproof pot. Pat pork dry with paper towels and place atop vegetables in pot. Pour enough melted fat over the pork to cover by a few inches Cover and place pork in oven. Roast until pork is tender, about 8 hour keeping pork covered in lard at all times.

Carefully remove pork and put on rack to drain any remaining juices. Leave for about an hour.

Put the pork in a large crock or bowl or bucket, packing tightly. Strain liquid in pot discard solids in strainer. Allow juices to settle at bottom of a container. Carefully pour enough fat from the pot over pork in bucket to cover by 2 inches. Cover and put pork in a cool place for at least 2 weeks and up to 6 months (keep pork covered with fat).

Let it sit there in your cold dark celler for a while.

The pork should be really old when you eat it. One of two things will happen. When you re-melt the fat and slice the pork into a skillet to warm you will either experience a delicous surprise or it will be putrified and rotten. Only time will tell.

Stuffed Pork

Stuffed Pork Loin.

1 2 lb pork loin rose cut (ask the butcher to do it for you)
1/2 cup pesto sauce
2 large apples
2 large onions
1/2 cup cooked rice
Salt and Pepper
olive oil
Splash of brandy or Cognac

Slice the peeled apple and onion thinly. Saute together in a saucepan with some olive oil until they both become creamy and carmelized. Deglaze pan with a touch of cognac and let cool. Stir in the rice.

Unroll the pork loin and salt both sides. Rub the interior with the pesto and then stuff, roll and tie. Rub a little freshly ground pepper on the outside of the roast and put in a shallow pan in a 350 over for about 45 minutes. rest and carve into slices. If the pork is not overcooked the roast will be moist and the inside literally creamy.

Delicous at brunch topped with a poached egg.