Preparing the pork and beef….

At my request (from others too), Sylvie sends along her preparation tips from our dinner (see “Every kitchen needs one…” below).

Pork: score the fat, generously salt & pepper, sprinkle thyme leaves all over. Mash fresh garlic, salt, pepper & thyme into a paste. Insert here and there in the roast. 400F for 15 minutes, then 325 to 300 F until it’s done – well done and tender. Baste occasionally with accumulated fat and some lemon juice and/or white wine. Not too much lemon juice as it can burn. Lower oven more if needed. Better long and slow than hot and fast. 

Brisket: sear both sides in a hot skillet. Remove brisket. Add EVOO and several onions, thickly sliced, sautee for a few minutes. Lower heat. Add meat back on top of onions along with a handful of chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned), a few juniper berries, salt, pepper, thyme, several bay leaves, a good amount of chopped garlic, and a bottle of red wine. Simmer until done – 7 or 8 hours. Turn brisket occasionally (and carefully) if liquid does not fully cover it.

Lovely meat to cook! 

By the way – I added the rendered pork fat to the fat jar by the stove – should be full now.

Incidentally, I roasted the vegetables not in butter but extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).

And as long as we’re revising and correcting the record, Wooz points out that I neglected to mention an outstanding appetizer:  “Local Beet Salad with Mache & Pea Shoots from the Garden, Violas, Toasted Hazelnuts, Citrus Olive Oil & Blackberry Balsamic”.  Absolutely delicious!  I’ve never had a beet salad that good!  Don’t know why I didn’t get a picture but I was, after all, pretty busy eating.