TASTEmakers
PIGSTOCK
Last week’s column on the Pig Roast event at The Cook’s sparked a few e-mails of protest. I guess not everyone is a pig roast fan. Amidst the e-mails against having a Pig Roast I heard from JT Hoagland telling me about Pigstock TC 2011, a second annual event that is all about hogs.
Now in its second year, Pigstock, hosted by Cherry Capital Foods of Traverse City, is a fourday event that starts Sunday October 16 and features an array of events from learning how to slaughter a hog to touring local wineries to how to cook whole animals along with a wine dinner.
“This event is about creating a new industry here in Northern Michigan,” said Hoagland. “My goal in continuing with this is to raise the awareness of issues like charcuterie Ideally, we’ll foster a charcuterie industry with several businesses, not just one, in Northern Michigan. This, in turn can enhance the local ag-economy.”
Pigstock will offer several classes featuring organ cooking and seam butchery (taught by Christoph and Isabel Wiesner, from Austria), as well as Charcuterie with Chef Brian Polcyn who wrote the award-winning book on the topic.
Participants are coming from all over and space does remain for some activities and classes. Chef Myles Anton will host a special Mangalitsa themed dinner on Tuesday night (these are hogs, bred for their fat, not a lean pig). Pigstock will wrap up on Wednesday night with Five-course wine and charcuterie dinner presented by Chef Brian Polcyn. For tickets and additional information check out pigstocktc.blogspot.com --Rick Coates
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BOTTOMSup
PIG PORTER
It seems like everything is “going to the pigs” around here. Pig roasts, now this week is Pigstock TC 2011 (see Tastemakers) and how much more pig do we really need? How about Pig Beer?
Yes, leave it to the inventive brew team at Right Brain Brewery to come up with this one. Last month they brewed Mangalitsa Pig Porter, a beer that actually has pig in it. The brewing process included four cold-smoked Mangalitsa pig heads—brains removed,—and bags of bones in each batch of porter.
The beer was a big hit at the 30th annual Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver, where more than 500 breweries presented their brews to over 50,000 participants. The GABF is also a beer competition and the Right Brain Brewery Mangalitsa Pig Porter took home the Gold Medal in the Experimental Beer Category.
Okay so, it is very experimental but is it drinkable. Participants at the GABF thought so voting it was one of the top five beers at the Festival. It’s a virtual pig roast in a pint with a smoky, bacon fl avor and is remarkably very drinkable.
Produced in limited quantities this brew will not last long. It is available only at the brewery.
Speaking of Right Brain Brewery they have outgrown their Warehouse District location and are planning a move (still within the Traverse City limits) near Sixteenth and Cass soon. They are not able to keep up with production at their current location and need to double the size of their production to keep up with demand. No word if they plan to brew a second batch of the Pig Porter so try it while it lasts. --Rick Coates
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