Viva La Cicca!

Monday morning, I was in Antica Macelleria Cecchini at 7:55 sharp with my knife roll in hand and ready to cut meat. Slowly, employees donning the signature red Dario Cecchini shirts and jackets trickled in. I was introduced to Samuel (Samu) and Jadava, two young butchers that would be teaching me this week and after a cup of mocha from the kitchen, we gathered around the meat case to receive orders from Dario. My Italian was non-existent so I didn’t pick up much of the instructions, however, I did notice that Dario uses his hands to punctuate his dialog and he loves to use the word "allora"  – meaning “so.” Jadava translated the day’s instructions to me as we filed out of the shop and headed to the laboratory – Dario’s meat cutting facility that lay on the outskirts of town. Jadava gave me a quick tour and then got to work. I watched as he and the other butchers began breaking down rounds (back leg of a cow) and after observing for an hour or so, I offered to give them a hand with what I thought was some simple, basic cutting. Jadava then told me,

No, non fino a domani.

No, not until tomorrow would I be able to cut. That’s like telling a six-year-old he can’t unwrap Christmas presents until December 26th.

A peak inside Dario's walk-in cooler.

While Jadava broke more rounds down, I eased over to the next room to watch Samu cut porterhouse steaks the old fashioned way – with the use of a meat cleaver. Dario is all about getting back to the traditional way of butchery and that means using as little modern machinery as possible. The “small” steaks Samu cut were a custom order for a butcher shop in Berlin, but he said,

Wait until you see the ‘Steak of Dario'.

T-Bone Steaks at Dario's.

Lots of beef loins are needed at Dario's.

I saw what he meant. Kim, Dario’s wife, invited me to the Officina Della Bistecca, the crown jewel of Dario’s three restaurants that evening. While I waited to be seated, I mixed and conversed with a few American couples. It felt good to hear a familiar tongue and to get a little break from Italian. We were seated upstairs near the grill – a perfect place to watch the show.

Before the dinner rush at Officina della Bistecca.

One evening's meat allotment.

Dario’s experience at Officina Della Bistecca is like no other - It consists of a six-course family-style meal entirely devoted to beef. It takes place directly above the butcher shop in dining hall heavily adorned with local Tuscan art. In the center lie two great grilles and a butcher’s block. This is where the magic happens. When at capacity, which is usually every night, the dining hall is capable of hosting 60 people.

The Dario experience went like this:

• The first course was the Sushi of Chianti - a very simple and plain beef tartare. It's not dressed up like those you might find in French or American cuisine. The absence of other ingredients allows you to really taste the meat.

• Next was the Carpaccio de Culo – the “ass of the cow” as Tommaso, the master of the dining hall explained.

Dario in the middle of his famous "presentation of the ribeyes"

• Then, mid-way through an incredibly thin and delicious slice of Carpaccio, the hall was suddenly drowned with the sounds of a horn - Dario was entering the room. With two massive rib-eyes held in his outstretched hands, he thanked everyone for joining him in his booming voice. Next, he introduced his staff and then at the top of his lungs, he presented La Costata alla Fiorentina. It gave me chills – I had watched Dario’s famous presentation on YouTube many times, but now it gave me goosebumps to get to hear it live. Then after shaking a few hands and kissing a few babies, Dario descended to the butcher shop once more.

• The rib-eye was followed by the Bistecca de Panzanese(Steak of Panzano), which is an invention of Dario's that comes from the top round or the heel, located adjacent to the bottom round.

• By this time, most of us were already bulging from consuming so much food, but we still had yet to try the Bistecca a la Fiorentina (the Porterhouse), which is the pride of the restaurant and the entire region for that matter.

• And of course, throughout the entire meal, we were showered with garlic bread, fresh vegetables, and amazing Tuscan beans.

So what’s the big deal? Anybody can sell a steak, but the “maestros” sell the sizzle. Dario sells the sizzle better than anyone else. He presents each steak, giving thanks to his crew and the animal for its sacrifice. You can see he is truly passionate about his work. He might throw a few lines of the great Tuscan poet Dante into his presentation as well, but he always ends his presentation the same –

Viva La Ciccia

…E chi

La Stropiccia!”

Roughly translated – long live the meat and he who creates it.

Lastly, He asks,

To beef or not to beef?

Believe me, I beefed hard!

It’s Crazy What Can Happen in a Year

Just a short year ago, I was staring down graduation from Texas Christian University. I had just told my family and friends I was turning down the job offers, turning down the new luxury car, and turning down financial security. I saw raised eyebrows and some crazy looks when I apprised them I was ditching it all and going to chase my passion – I was going to be a craft butcher.

A butcher?

Yes, a butcher. But not just any butcher, I explained, I wanted be like “the” butcher.

Of course, words failed me in describing “the” butcher so I turned to the videos - the same ones that inspired me to ditch the American dream.

Dario Cecchini is described as, "...a personality, a celebrity, and a butcher extraordinaire.  A theatrical host, a show-stopper, and an artist."To me, he is the rock star in the butchery game. He is an 8th generation butcher and his family's shop has been open for more than 250 years in the small town of Panzano, Italy. 

Dario manning the counter of his butcher shop.

Dario embodies everything I want to do:

• Educate,
• Satiate,
• and Entertain.

He is the reason I picked up the cleaver.

Tonight, as I write this post, I have freshly arrived in Panzano, in the Tuscany region of Italy. The small ancient town sits atop a good sized hill, surrounded by vineyards and olive trees on the rolling hills as far as the eye can see. I am setting at a small bedroom window overlooking Antica Macelleria Cecchini. I am watching "the” butcher welcome guests with a warm smile and open arms. Here, the meat is plentiful and the wine flows profusely.

Dario taking a quick look down the street that runs directly in front of his shop.

Tomorrow morning it will be my honor to stage with my idol for a week.

Again, words escape me.

I am truly blessed.

We have an AMAZING God!

Dinner with Dario.

The Kitchen at Camont and the Art of Charcuterie

Leg 2 of my Culinary Journey is down and it was a crazy, busy week. I am still on the road, but I wanted to give everyone a short recap of the week. Don't worry, I will revisit this subject in depth when I have a bit more free time.

Renzo Girabaldi, one of my butchering idols, was quoted saying,

"If you want to learn to surf, you go to California. If you want to learn charcuterie, you go to France."

Thus, I made the journey to France for a week long advanced charcuterie class with the culinary master, Kate Hill. Kate is an expat, who has called the Southern French countryside her home for the past thirty years. In the culinary world, she has done it all - a professional cook, a published author, a teacher and a consultant. At one point, Kate even bought a French barge where she hosted magnificent dinner parties abundant with fabulous foods and the best of wines.

Kate Hill working on a pâté en croute.

For this particular charcuterie class, Kate teamed up the Chapolard family and long-time friend, Dominic Chapolard, who runs a local organic pork and charcuterie farm. To further enhance the educational value of the course, Kate enlisted the help of Dr. Michele Pfannenstiel, the guru of food safety and HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points).

Ok, I realize I probably lost you there.

Essentially, HACCP is a systematic preventative approach to ensure your food is contamination free of physical, chemical, or microbiological hazards. And in the charcuterie game, where you dry and cure meat anywhere from a month to a couple of years, HACCP procedures are pretty important. If you don't follow every step with extreme caution and care, you might end up with a ham full of harmful pathogens instead of a scrumptious Noix de Jambon.

The class was small and exclusive with only two fellow students, Ben and Tyllan. Ben is a good ol' mate and third generation butcher from Australia.  He recently took over his father's butcher shop, The Beef Joint. Ben signed up for the class so he could incorporate a charcuterie program into his offerings and market delicious cured meats to the people Down Under.

Tyllan is on the other side of the business, selling acorn-fed pork.  His company, Walden Hill, is feeding New England top-notch pork infused with incredibly flavorful fat that comes from hand-picked acorns. The three of us made for one hell-of-a butchering trio and I was extremely blessed to be among this group.

My charcuterie class with master butcher, Dominique Chapolard.

Our accommodations and classrooms were stuff dreams are made of. Most of the work took place on the Chapolard's farm or at Kate's residence, The Kitchen-at-Camont. In our downtime, Ben,Tyllan, and I were housed at the Château de Mazelières a French castle built in the 17th century. It boasted a Lebanese Cyprus tree, brought back by Crusaders from their travels in the Middle East. We chided Kate we would have learned charcuterie in half the allotted time if our accommodations hadn't been so nice!

Grape vines at the Château Mazelières.

Château Mazelières

To start the course out, we began with an introduction to HACCP.  Luckily, this wasn't my first go-around with the tricky food safety beast -I actually became HACCP certified last summer down in Aggieland (College Station, Texas). At times, all this information is a tad overwhelming and confusing, but if you want to make great, and more importantly SAFE charcuterie, you need to know this stuff. Luckily, Dr. Pfannenstiel is the best in the HACCP business, and by the end of the week, I had a much better grasp on food safety.

HACCP class is in session!

On the second day,  we set out to visit the Chapolard farm.  Dominic, the eldest of the four Chapolard brothers, is a former headmaster turned head butcher.  He prides himself in growing organic non-GMO grains to exclusively feed his entire pork operation.

Pigs at the Chapolard farm.

Dominic gave us a short tour of their charcuterie production facility and when the truck with the freshly slaughtered pork carcasses arrived, Dominic showed us how he broke down the pork side best suited for his charcuterie needs.  He ended the day by teaching us how to make blood sausage.

Charcuterie aging in the attic of the Chapolard home.

Saucisson curing in the Chapolard facilites.

Over the next few days, each piece of our Chapolard pig was slowly transformed into some form of traditional French charcuterie:

• Saucisson (sausage)
• Saucisse séche (dry sausage)
• Noix de Jambon (small, boneless cold-smoked hams)
• Ventrèche (rolled pork belly)
• and Coppa (neck muscle from the Boston Butt)

Dominique showing us caul fat.

A Fricandeaux - a ball of pate meat wrapped in caul fat.

After the larger pieces had been made and laid to cure, we took the remaining odds and ends and turn them into pâté and rillettes.

I made one amazing Texas pâté, if I might say so myself!

It took me a little bit longer to complete my pate, but I'm sure you can see why.

Final product turned out pretty decent - I recognize that shape!

We even went as far as to render down pork lard. That's what I like about charcuterie - it puts the entire animal to use.

Later in the week, we visited the Laverdac Market where the Chapolard family sells all their production. Their pork and by-products are highly regarded and sought after in the area so they sold out quickly.

Fresh Mushrooms at the market.

Some sort of delicious egg and ham mixture set in jelly that we procured at the Laverdac Market.

My week with Kate Hill and her French Charcuterie class was an incredible week that I wish didn't have to end. I made some incredible new friends, learned to make incredible cured meats, and packed an incredible amount of HACCP knowledge into my brain! We ended the week with a typical champagne toast and requisite group pictures.

Dining al fresco

Getting my pictures in

So with my second goal accomplished and to officially close this chapter of my culinary adventure, I got Kate to autograph my topper.

God is good.

Next stop, Panzano Italy!

Keeping It Under My Hat

Last week marked one year since a TCU professor in an entrepreneurship class changed my life. That, plus a tiny tap from a sledgehammer wielded by the Big Guy upstairs is what finally got my attention and toppled my corporate career before it ever had a chance to start. Then and there, I determined to trade my Brooks Bros suit for a butcher’s apron and I promised myself I was going to be the best butcher I could be.

Not to sound haughty or arrogant, but if a guy is going to dream, he better dream big, right?

To be the best would mean I had to go back to square one to learn the craft. It meant tracking down the foremost butchers in the world and learning directly from them. Not only did I need to learn the lost art of butchery but also I needed to understand nose to tail philosophies, sustainable and humane practices, as well as the ubiquitous knife skills for primal and sub-primal cuts.

To keep myself focused and on track, I decided to keep my goals close to me. I wanted to look at them every day, especially on days when things weren’t going so well. I decided to list my goals and to keep them under my hat. Literally, inside my old Stetson, I have written:

• Brooklyn, New York( This represents Fleisher's Butcher School and the first leg of my journey)

• Gascony, France(The 2nd leg of my journey to study charcuterie with the masterful, Kate Hill)

• Panzano, Italy(An apprenticeship with 8th generation butcher, Dario Cechini - the rock star among butchers)

• Lima, Peru(An apprenticeship with Renzo Garibaldi – the Meat Prophet of Peru)

• Patagonia(To learn the art of outdoor, Argentinian cooking from one of the world’s great chefs, Francis Mallmann)

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Then at the very center of the crown, I added an appropriate scripture for my journey:

It is written, “ Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word from the mouth of God.

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Perfect, don’t you think?

Endnote: I'm not certain if any or all of these masters will even take me on as an apprentice, but I'm going to give it a shot knowing God has everything under control. I've trusted Him this far and I know He's not going to leave me hanging out on a limb.  My work is to be patient and trust in His timing.

I am so blessed to be able to follow my dreams, none of which would be possible without the loving support of my family, so please follow along here at rawrepublicmeats.com or through my Instagram or Facebook sites.

I don’t speak a word of French or Italian so I’m sure this might be interesting at best!

Photo credit: Mitchell Franz Photo

Let Them Eat Cake

Have you ever wondered how you get incredibly great tasting beef? Of course, the breed of the cattle and their diet is very important when it comes to taste, but how that animal was cared for throughout its life also plays a huge role. For instance, every steer contains a large amount of the glycogen (sugars) in its body. Once slaughtered, these vital glycogen molecules turn into lactic acid and cause the carcass to go into rigor mortis – thus tenderizing the meat and giving it great flavor. If a steer is stressed or injured prior to slaughter, the glycogen molecules are used up in extra activity. The absence of the lactic acid in the carcass causes an absence of tender and flavorful meat.

A great rancher once told me his cattle should have a comfortable and humane life, with only one rough day at the end. He said if he practiced good land stewardship and humane husbandry, his cattle would reward him with a quality harvest.

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This same rancher showed me first hand what good husbandry looks like:

• Long and odd hours no matter the weather
• No days off - that includes holidays
• A great love and passion for animals

As you can see, ranching isn't a side job or hobby for this man. It's a lifestyle - his way of life. Every ounce of energy, sweat, and blood in this rancher's body is devoted to his herd. Even though his pastures are well suited for grazing with grass aplenty, he hand delivers cattle cake every Sunday just to make their lives all the sweeter.

This rancher is Mike Fuston of Turkey, Texas.

Where is that you ask?

Good question.

texas-state-highway-map

Turkey is a small town way up North in the Panhandle of Texas. I had never heard of it. To be honest, I'd never been to the Texas Panhandle. I was misled to believe that region of Texas was a vast and dusty, wasteland filled with wind turbines and tumbleweeds.

Not that appealing right?

Well, I can confirm that it is full of those two things, but it is no wasteland. I learned this myself when I was invited by my longtime friend, Lynita, to head up and check out a cattle operation she and her boyfriend, Mike, run.

I had only been in the meat industry for a few months working the floor at a slaughterhouse, but when Lynita mentioned Mike's pureblood Wagyu herd, I knew I had to see it and learn more. Since 2009, exportation of Waygu beef and genetics from Japan has been outlawed, leaving only a few pureblood herds outside of the small island nation. Most Wagyu here in the United States have been crossbred with domestic breeds to bring down the cost and provide a taste more similar to domestic beef.

Oh, and that restaurant that is selling you “Kobe beef?”

More like 'faux-be' beef.

Don't believe me? See what Forbes has to say on the subject.

So you see why I was so psyched to go see this operation?

I met up with Mike on the tail-end of his evening cattle patrol. We got acquainted while tending to his prized Herefords in the barn that sat on a small hill just beyond the house.

Mike readying supper for his girls

The barn was something to see. Countless show banners hung from the dusty rafters, each signifying a grand-champion from livestock shows in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.

Champion show banners hang from the barn rafters

Now let me digress just a bit here. Texas ranchers are pretty damn serious about their cattle breeds. They tend to stick with them, much like a college graduate and his favorite football team.

Truth be told, it is probably deeper than that.

Well, Mike's family has been raising Herefords for decades. They are dyed-in-the-wool Hereford guys, but what really makes Mike's choice of Hereford ironic is that Lynita's family is known for their decades-long, award-winning Angus…

How those two make their relationship work, I don't know!

Now back to my story.

After every animal had been tended to, we headed into one of the only restaurants in town to grab some grub for ourselves. Now the population of Turkey is just over 400, so Galvan's Restaurant was the place to be on Friday night. After dining on some Tex-Mexchiladas we wandered back to the house where Lynita, uncorked a bottle of wine and we all settled in for the evening.

...or so I thought.

Around 11:30, Mike rose from his old, worn recliner, which, by-the-way, Lynita hates, and went to bale hay.

Yep, bale hay.

In the middle of the night.

On a Friday.

Since the party was mid-way through our second bottle of wine, we opted to stay in and let Mike go it alone. I have no idea what time he returned, but I do know Mike was the first to rise the next morning. There he was at 6am checking on one of his herds.

Around mid-morning, Mike swung back by the house to pick up us slackers. After a short truck ride, we arrived at the tract of land where the pureblood Wagyu grazed. I was surprised how tame Mike's herd was. This level of calmness is only achieved with time and the best TLC.

Mike said initially he faced some difficulty adapting this foreign breed to the Texas climate. To combat this, he began crossbreeding some of his pureblooded Wagyu with Angus cattle, a more adaptable breed of cattle suited to Texas heat.

If you have had Wagyu at a restaurant, chances are that it was, in fact, some domestic crossbred Wagyu.

Finally from there, we went to check on his Herefords at other locations. Mike cares for these animals in such a way that most of his cattle he knows by name. He can back that up with a short biography on each one too.

As we left, he made sure all was in order and we headed back to the house where I experienced my first Turkey Texas Throwdown. Mike brought out some pureblood Wagyu ribeyes, Lynita invited over some puckish neighbors, uncorked more wine and we feasted.

Pureblood Wagyu rib-eyes

Final Thoughts: I had a great time that weekend experiencing an entirely different kind of cattle operation. Mike runs an amazingly, humane outfit where each animal is truly cared for and cared about. As a craft butcher, I am in search of only the finest meats available. This was the kind of operation that produces such meat. The tender care and stress-free life provided by Mike will be evident in the final product - a meat with a sensational taste.

What impressed me about Mike, is he makes sure each steer has a comfortable life with only one rough day at the end – and that's the way it should be. Until then, they eat cake on Sundays.

A BIG THANK YOU goes out to Lynita and Mike for letting me visit their slice of paradise in Turkey, Texas. It was a wonderful weekend that I won’t soon forget.

Lynita and I watching Mike check his herds

Another BIG THANK YOU goes out to my good friend, Mamie, for sharing Mike and Lynita. She was also a huge help to me when I first launched my blog. I don't know what I would have done without her wit and creativity.