Ingredients matter

[madbaker]

Icelandic Chicken is really, really good when you use an organic free-range chicken, sage leaves from the yard, and house-cured bacon.

Comments

[finickynarcane.livejournal.com]

Is it something I said or that I'm just boring in what I say?

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

None of the above, really. There's no drama involved.

[spiderdust.livejournal.com]

Do you have directions for curing bacon somewhere in your journal? I still have a lot of green bacon in the freezer that I'd like to cure (as well as two green hams).

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

Yup. (http://madbaker.livejournal.com/311165.html) All you have to do, though, is cold-smoke it.

[spiderdust.livejournal.com]

Hmm... gotta dig out the directions for cold smoking.

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

The book I've used more than any other is Charcuterie by Brian Polcyn.

[spiderdust.livejournal.com]

I've had that on my wishlist for a couple of years. Maybe I'll finally get it this year.

I do have Bruce Aidells's Complete Book of Pork, but I don't remember if there was any info about cold smoking in there or not. I'll look through it again.

[vittoriosa.livejournal.com]

Plus, if you think about it, medieval people *only* ate things that were free-range, organic, handmade... ;-)

I have often thought that the reason "period" food has been unfairly maligned is 'cause sometimes the people cooking don't use good ingredients to start with... Which is one reason I haven't felt the urge to do a big feast, since with smaller-scale stuff I can set my own budget and buy as much happy free-range hippie food as I want.

[ppfuf.livejournal.com]

I hope you wash the happy free-range hippies really carefully first.
I also think you're right about people not buying well for feasts. A problem that's only going to get worse as food gets more expensive, I fear.