Before you ask what the hell are you looking at and then you think you know, let me fill you in. That is most certainly not a clever plug-in for photoshop to make your digital image look like an Polaroid picture. That my good people is a good ol’ polaroid picture. I was without a digital camera last night and absolutely needed to get a fast picture of dinner. I was quite lucky and had a half dozen prints left in my Polaroid 680 SLR camera.
It was kinda fun attaching the old beast to a tripod for the this and the next shot. I even grabbed my 500 watt UV balanced photo flood for these shots, ya gotta have light for photography ya know.
Okay, why bother with all this? Holy fnorking pigmeat Batman, this bacon was fricken amazing. This, of course, is Fatted Calf’s Rind On Bacon. Why is it different from the last time? Why bother with yet another damned Bacon post?

2 reasons right off the top. One of which being the wonderful rich and deep smoking this batch received. While the cure seemed a little less sweet than the last, this one had a more pronounced smoke flavor. Just in case you don’t know, I’m a huge fan of that fancy rich and deep smoky love. The second reason is just LOOK. Check out the fricken shape and size of that bacon. That’s not a little city cut of metrosexual bacon, that right there friends is a huge ass rustic cut of bacon that only allows 2 slices in the pan at once! This, is why, I absolutely needed something to take a snapshot with for you today.
Just when you thought you had it all, I have one more little juicy treat. As a semi-general rule, I don’t cook the crap out of my bacon. But this time I took the last 2 pieces a little farther than I normally do. The heat came up just a tad and got things jumpin’. If you look, you can tell when the bacon is browning and getting crisper by the second, this is what I did. Then pulled and patted dry with a paper towel. I used to use a cloth one, but Mama put a quick stop to that. If you cook Rind On bacon this far it turns the rind in to cracklins, hard & snappy cracklins. So, now not only do we have a good smoky piece of bacon, but each bite has this insane smashing sound as it works around your teefs. SMASH, CRUNCH, KERPOW !!! I had chewy bacon, I had crunchy bacon and I had explosionny bacon in my mouth all at once. Man, just when you think you’ve done it all with bacon. Bacon is most certainly a multifacited meat.
I feel like a used tube of toothpaste. Time for a smoke.
This week’s Fatted Calf menu has the Porchetta pork roast back. It’s better than you remember, just buy one please. You certainly won’t regret it, that’s for sure. And if you have anything that you absolutely must have, please visit their web site and order it ahead of time. Remember, don’t wash it, it’s ready to enter your oven or smoker or grill.
One last thing before my mind shuts off, they’ve got Boudin Noir this week. This prized sausage only shows up once in a while and if you’re a fan, preorder right now. Please continue on to the Fatted Calf Newsletter that I didn’t write. This one sets the records straight as to when and where Fatted Calf’s store is opening, cool eh?
Biggles

Phone/Fax (510)653-4327
Have you heard?
Rumors run rampant through the world of food. No sooner has a chef been canned or a patron spurned than the nnews spreads out in tiny shockwaves. A secret is slipped over pre-dinner drinks and before dessert is dropped atthe table cell phones are buzzing and keyboards are tap-tapping.
The Fatted Calf has not gone unscathed through the rumor mill. This week we have a myth to dispel and a confession to make. We certainly will be at both the Berkeley and Ferry Building Farmer’s Markets this weekend and most every weekend. But now we must fess up. We are planning to open a shop in autumn of 2007 at the new Oxbow Market in Napa. I saw more than one face turn pouty when I admitted to this one. Take heart. Life as you know it will still mean meaty goods each week at the market, maybe even more meaty goods. And when wine country beckons you, you will have a place to gather provisions no matter what day of the week.
Still need some consoling? Rumor has it that Porchetta is back. Rich and nutty Heritage Duroc pork seasoned with fennel, lemon, garlic, rosemary and sea salt tops this week’s menu. Those duck crepinettes with buttery picholine olives that you’ve heard so much about have also made the list. Go forth and spread the good word!
Saturday, September 9
Special
Porchetta Heritage Berkshire Bone In Pork Loin Roasts with Rosemary, Fennel,
Garlic & Lemon
Sausage
Duck Crepinettes with Picholine Olives
Boudin Noir
Savory Pork and Greens
Calabrese
Merguez
Fennel
Toulouse
Mexican Style Chorizo
Breakfast Sausage
Pâtés, Confits & Terrines
Pâté Maison
Guinea Hen Terrine
Rabbit Pâté
Duck Liver Mousse
Duck Confit
Rabbit Rillettes
Duck Rillettes
Salumi
Fegatelli
Petit Sec Aux Herbes
Mortadella
Salami Cotto
Umbrian Salami
Other Meaty Goods
Bacon
Rind On Bacon
Beef Jerky