Fleischer-Handwerk

FH FLEISCHER-HANDWERK

FH is a German magazine specializing in production and sale of artisan meat and sausage products.  I am honored to be included in their May 2017 edition.

Meating Fellow Revolutionaries

This is the second of a three-part series… Catch up by reading Road Trippin’ Across Europe  and Manifesto Origins.

In the beginning, I was just an extra – tagging along with Kate and Dominique.

Man, I was damn lucky. What ended up happening in Copenhagen in the confines of Folkets Madhus on that late August weekend changed not only my life, but potentially butchers across the world.

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We journeyed into the industrial side of Copenhagen on Thursday afternoon. The streets were lined with soccer fields, communal gardens, and countless bicyclists. Nestled between a couple of old warehouses laid our destination: Folkets Madhus.

There we were met with open arms – Michael Museth introduced us to his team and gave us a quick tour around his impressive facility. Folkets Madhus is comprised of:

• a large commercial kitchen,
• a dining hall for catering events,
• a sausage preparation room,
• an incredible teaching kitchen,
• and office space available for rent to similar businesses.

Did I mention the Cold War-era bomb shelter out back? Or the organic garden on top of the bomb shelter?

The Cold War era bomb shelter behind Folkets Madhus.

That night, we had a traditional Danish meal of stegt flæsk med persillesovs  and got acquainted with Hendrik and the Viking contingent of the Butchers' Manifesto.  In case you are wondering what stegt flæsk med persillesovs is, it is fried slices of pork belly with a parsley sauce.

The next day, butchers slowly trickled through the front door. They came from various points in Europe and North America: butchers from Oregon, Canada, London, Amsterdam, Gascony, Poland, Germany, Denmark…. and of course Texas.

Michael welcoming those from close and afar.

Michael constantly made sure we felt comfortable and at home – he even showed us a pork shoulder without a purpose in cold storage.

In a room full of butchers, that pork shoulder didn’t have a chance!

I immediately broke out my knives and removed all the bones.  I scored the skin on the opposite side and Dominique took over from there.  He gave the shoulder some salt and pepper as well as a beer to braise in. Since Michael had casually talked about Texas barbecue earlier in the day – I felt it was a perfect time to break out my great-grandmother's recipe.

Some good Texas BBQ sauce coming to a boil.

While I prepared the sauce, Dominique took a pork tenderloin, covered it in mustard and placed it in the oven. Then he decided it was time for my final test under his supervision: Pâté de Campagne.

Taking the unused scraps and unwanted pieces of meat, along with potatoes, onions, and blanched liver, we made good use of Michael’s commercial kitchen. Two hours later, I had four beautiful terrines of pâté resting, waiting to be appreciated by my new meat friends and connoisseurs.

French pâtés ready to hit the oven.

Not to be outdone, the Danes got busy in the kitchen as well. Gustav, a Danish master butcher the same age as I, prepared Rullepølse – rolled pig belly with sage, tied, put into a mold and boiled.

Gustav going to work on the pork belly

Absolutely amazing flavor!

As the crowd gathered, I shook hands and got to know some of the guys. Who would have thought I would run into a familiar face, but there was John Ratliff, owner of Ends Meat in Brooklyn. I originally met John back in NYC when I was apprenticing at Fleishers. He had given us a tour of his shop where he produces a wide variety of Italian-style charcuterie. He and his shop were one of the driving forces that originally led me to France to learn charcuterie.

The meat world is so small!

John Ratliff of Ends Meat, Brooklyn, NY

That evening, all of the butchers gathered around the large table in Folkets Madhus to officially begin the summit. Michael told his inspirational story and his motivation for the gathering.  One by one, people stood and formally introduced themselves until it was time to “break bread.” After a few beers, Michael suggested we head to bed to rest up for the long day ahead of us. Slowly, the crowd of butchers drifted across the street to an indoor soccer pitch (field), crowded with yellow, single person tents.

It's not the Ritz, it's the Yellow Tents

to be continued...

The Butchers' Manifesto Origins

Hendrik Hasse, author of Crafted Meat.

This is the first of a three part series...

It all began in Germany with Hendrik Haase. Hendrik is a food activist, designer, and part owner of Kumpel & Keule, a nose-to-tail butcher shop in Berlin that is completely constructed from glass.

Kumpel & Keule, the German butcher shop made from glass.

Talk about transparency. You can literally see everything that happens in this butcher shop. They even have little glass windows in each production room so butchers can offer samples to onlooking crowds.

A glass door into one of the rooms at Kumpel & Keule allowing for the utmost transparency.

In case you were wondering, Tyson, Cargill, and other industrial meat companies don’t share the same "clear" philosophies when in comes to meat processing facilities.

Two years ago, Hendrik traveled the globe and collected information on the best and most progressive butcher shops he could find - from Dario Cecchini and Kate Hill all the way to Salt & Time in Austin, TX. His published findings are in his book, Crafted Meat, an all-important catalyst for the future.

Michael Museth, founder of The Butchers' Manifesto and Folkets Madhus.

Now jump to Michael Museth in Copenhagen, Denmark. Michael  was the visionary.  He had talked about creating an international meeting of butchers - a place to share wisdom and grow the craft. Late last year, he picked up a copy of Hendrik's book.  He was inspired by Hendrik's portrayal of these craftsmen in an artistic and heroic way. Michael scrutinized, that across the world, the time-honored craft of butchery was being gutted by large corporations making inferior  products on a massive scale. Michael saw a trend developing too.  Just as he longed for the homemade sausages he had grown up with as a child, consumers were starting to drift away from commercially processed, tasteless sausages and meats. He realized it would be up to him to unify the craft butchers of the world and save their age-old skills.

Michael started by sending emails.  He visited shops and spoke with butchers. Some called him crazy – even Hendrik himself didn’t believe Michael could pull off such a lofty goal of globally uniting butchers and their craft. However, after eight months, Michael had convinced twenty-five butchers to make their way to Copenhagen to discuss their plight, swap good stories and recipes and create change.

Radical.

(1st of 3 parts, continue reading)

For those interested in a meat revolution, you should read Hendrik Haase' book, Crafted Meat. It's available through Amazon.

Crafted Meat, by Hendrik Haase