You did? Excellent! That is good news. Thank you for supporting everyone involved, we all put in a lot of time and effort. Especially Owen and his publishing company, A Press for Change. This is his first publication and only needs to sell another 4 or 5 hundred copies to break even!
However, if you haven’t purchased your copy yet? Shame on you! Show your support for Biggles, Meathenge and Owen by buying 2 copies right now! The holidays are upon us and you could always use a few items to give as gifts.
I believe the Buy Now buttons below are linked to Paypal. If you aren’t savy with the paypal, please contact Owen at A Press for Change directly and make arrangements some other way.
You go, make Biggles proud.
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Hey Everbody! Just wanted to take a moment out and take a breather and talk about a few things. The conversation has come up a few times over the years and I can understand why. I’d just like to set the record straight, lay it down as it were. I am not, nor have I ever been on the payroll of the Fatted Calf (I’d be honored if I was, that’s for sure). Not only that, I’ve never made one dime in any shape or form from any food related job or item. I’m just overly enthusiastic and really enjoy what I’m doing here and in my kitchen. While I do buy and get cool food related products given to me, only the best make to Meathenge directly. I’m just a dumb hillbilly with a meat riddled mind having fun from time to time, nothing more. That being said, when the Fatted Calf’s newsletter rolled in yesterday, and I (and Abram) saw the Hoffman Farm Quail stuffed with Black Truffle Sausage, it was love at first imginary bite. I’d love to say I’ll get a few quails, but I dunno. I’m still chewing down my meat from last weekend!
The holidays are afoot and FC’s menu shows it, please read on to Kim O’Neill’s Fatted Calf Newsletter.

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This last Saturday was absolutely amazing, meat surprises all morning, all afternoon. Late last week the Fatted Calf newsletter rolled in and there was a new sausage listed, Organic Beef Hot Links. The damned secret/unknown meat left me dreaming for two days about what it was like. Was it creamy like a standard hot link? Or would it be a fine grind sausage? Would I be firing up the smoker, or would the grill be the way to go. I’d just have to wait for Saturday morning to find out.

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Actual Fatted Calf Porchetta Roast shown.
This week’s special is the Porchetta (porketta) style pork loin roast with fennel, garlic, lemon and rosemary. We’ve been down this road a few times and if you haven’t reserved yourself one, you’re a fool or you don’t live close enough to deal. The Porchetta is still one of my all time favorites, a must try. But that’s not what I want to draw your attention to. Nope, it’s the Organic Beef Hot Links! YEAH !!! I ain’t seen these listed before, no sir or ma’am. Just last week I was in our local grocery store eyeing the commodity grade hot links, thinking how nice it would be to nestle that link in a good bun and slather it with some mustards. I passed, thinking I had plenty of goodies waiting for me at home. I left with a hole in my heart, a hot link hole. But guess who pulls us up and out of our cold wintery dump?!? YEAH !!! Fatted Calf stands up and delivers us an organic beef hot link. I’m reserving myself a package right now, no screwing around. I’m also a big fan of the rabbit boudin, so creamy. I don’t think Americans eat enough rabbit and goat, not nearly enough. Do your part and give the beasts a try. Remember, if you don’t buy and eat the animals, the ranchers won’t raise them and if they don’t raise them, they’ll go extinct. Or something to that tune. So, support animal’s futures and eat them and smile knowing you’re doing your part for the planet.
Don’t forget to reserve your meat today. They’ve also got some fancy Holiday Specials Available December 17 & 24, MmMmMmm.
Please continue on to read Kim O’Neill’s Fatted Calf Newsletter and read about all the goodies I didn’t mention, there’s a lot going on this week, read closely.

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See the image above? This is all that’s left of my summer. It’s cold and we’re in the middle of an absolute downpour. While I believe some people enjoy the seasons with the rattle of autumn leaves on the sidewalk and the brisk air that invades your nasal cavity, I’m not convinced, yet. Yeah, yeah I know. We don’t have real winter here (no snow). But I don’t like being caged in the house. I like my doors and windows open 24/7. I enjoy meandering through the garden wearing my cutoffs & t-shirt. And I’ve promptly been removed of the solace of firing up the pit and grilling some tasty treats. At least I have my memories of summer and I have Fatted Calf to give me hope of a brighter (warmer) season.
They’ve got a good lineup this week filled with savory goodness. One of which being the Duck Sausage, I’ll be getting another package of those. Luckily the crepinettes this week have red wine soaked figs and hazelnuts, yumbo. To finish it up, nothing pulls me from my funk like a nice salumi product of some kind. I usually get the Petit Sec Aux Herbs for breakfast at the market, it’s a little herby meat stick.
I can hardly wait for Saturday morning! YAY !!! See, I’m feeling better already. And as a parting thought I can hardly wait to see what Meat Technology Taylor & Toponia & Friends brought back from Paris last week. It won’t show up at this coming weekend’s market, but soon. I’ll just have to chew on a hunk of Pate Maison until it hits.
If you’d like to reserve your goodies please use their Order Form. Ya’ll take care and hope to see you at the market, rain or shine.
Please continue on to read Kim O’Neill’s Fatted Calf Newsletter, The Original.

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I was perusing Nick’s Hot Sauce Blog yesterday, looking at all the spicy things. I thought to myself, “Dang, I’ll bet I could make my own Hot Sauce.” It sounded easy enough and I knew where to get the peppers, the game was on.

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Why do I go out of my way to buy natural/free range/organic chickens? Two reasons, flavor and how they’re raised. You will not find a quality bird like this in some large chained grocery store, nope. Look at the fat placement and that firm lean breast. Those breasts have seen exercise and good food. Nothing does it for me like a good firm breast. The leg and thigh portions are quite large and healthy. See the lower portion of the leg? The skin is lean and clean of bruises. Go now to the wings, down there. They’re a good size when matched to the proportion of the rest of the beast, it was able to stretch, this is a good thing. Stand back and let the symmetry envelope you, this is an excellent example of how your chickens should look. This chicken will render you any type of preparation you could possibly think of in the grandest of rich chickenny flavors. So, when you’re out searching for a better bird, look at it. Ponder the silhouette, look for even fat placement, search for bruises or broken legs, make sure the wings are topnotch and you’ll be rewarded for your efforts.
Wanna see what it looked like after roasting?

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I can hardly wait, the largest gravy celebration day of the year is coming up and I am SO ready. I have my turkey reserved, I have my Fatted Calf stuffed duck ordered and I pulled out my gravy boats and gravy warmers! Cold gravy is no good, so we have a crock pot for the table. This is where the Gravy Well resides and we always have warm gravy from the start of the meal right up to desert time. Gravy counts most for meals, dinners and get-togethers. No gravy? No love. Speaking of love, Fatted Calf has brought to us the Porchetta style pork roast. If you haven’t had one, you haven’t had a pork loin roast before, nope. Sorry, you haven’t. This is your chance to get one and you’ll need to reserve it if you would like to pick it up this coming Saturday. They’re just too popular now to expect to buy one at the stall anymore. OoOh, look they’re running heavy on the Pates, Confits & Terrines. If you have any gathering to attend this weekend, grab yourself a Pate Maison and a little Pork Rillettes. You will always be greeted with kind words and warm hearts when you arrive with pork, or duck. QUACK !!! Another nice appetizer would be something under the Salumi heading. I like the Petit Sec Aux Herbies for breakfast on a bright Saturday morning, always a winner. And if your roast isn’t large enough for 9 gallons of gravy, get some Duck Demi to embiggen the richness of your sauce. No matter what you come away with this weekend, it’ll surely delight you and your friends. Please continue on to read Kim O’Neill’s widely read Fatted Calf Newsletter that has a detailed list of the items available for Saturday’s Farmer Market in Berkeley.
Cheers!
PS – Remember, you have until November 18th (tomorrow) to place your special Thanksgiving Holiday meal from Fatted Calf. Please use their Thanksgiving Holiday Order Form to let them know what you’ll need.

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I put a lot of thought in to preparing this roast (45 minutes in the recliner) and how I was going to present it to you. That all went out the window just now as I realized what I’ve been doing. I’ve been roasting fowl and beast so I could reclaim the best possible gravy I could muster. How can I include butter and savory herbs to give me that slow roasted leavening in the bottom of the pan? Sure I like the black & brown crusty bits, but what if I slowed the oven down a bit and just caramelized everything? Would the onion, garlic, rosemary and butter all come together as friends? Yes, yes they would. Would I care that the beef wouldn’t have a dark crust? No, no I wouldn’t. Would you like to come play? Let’s all take a journey now to Meathenge Labs where meat and gravy meet as old friends, comon.

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Usually I steer clear of holiday meal posting mostly because I’m too busy and there’s a glut of holiday recipes out there already. What could I possibly add that would be worth reading? Nothing.
However, there’s one bit of information I’d like to impart to all you fair weather home cooks around this time of year. If you can’t cook or don’t do it often, you sure as hell shouldn’t be cooking that special meal for friends and family this year. Stay out of the kitchen and let someone who knows what they’re doing prepare the meal. Gee, I wonder who would be good at that? mMMmm, could it be? FATTED CALF? Yeah. Turns out they have a special holiday meal available this year, no kidding. How does a Whole Liberty Farm Duck seasoned and stuffed with sage sausage, apple and cornbread sound to you? I know what I doing in the kitchen and can prepare a holiday meal for 14 with one hand and I’m considering having them do it for me. Yup, in fact when I get done with this post I’m going to order me up a duck. QUACK !!! Please use their Fatted Calf Holiday Order Form. If your order comes to $100.00 or more, you get delivery.
Okay, that’s then and this is now. This coming Saturday at the market they’ll be open for business. Please continue on to read Kim O’Neill’s Fatted Calf Newsletter. She’s filled it with fancy prose and this week’s badass menu. GO !!!

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Pretty

Please give a big round of applause for Chilebrown’s premier BBQ Joint review here on Meathenge. I’ve never been and it’s nice to see some pictures of the food, gives me motivation to go have a look myself.

During the day Downtown Martinez is a fast and furious little town. There are a lot of people doing business with the Court House, numerous antique shops and other small businesses. As soon as the sun sets the town becomes a ghost town. There is a bright spot at 601 Main St. It is BULLDOG BBQ. It’s owner/propietor Chad Reichold is a Martinez native. He opened Bulldog in 2003 and has brought some real barbeque to the downtown area. Chad uses an “Ole Hickory” smoker made in Cape Girardeau Mo. This smoker if fueled with apple, almond and local fruit tree wood. It produces the smoky flavor that I crave.

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Oddly enough, this is far more intricate than just a standard roast chicken with a pan sauce and brown rice. I should do a post about it, but figured I’ve done so many damned roast chicken recipes you’re probably bored with them. We’ll see, maybe in the future, eh?
When today’s Fatted Calf Newsletter rolled in, it took me by surprise. Well, okay I wasn’t surprised, just cornfused. Google didn’t help either, what exacly is this Brasato al midolo? Simply put, it’s, it’s … well here’s a quote. “We remove the bone from a beef shank and replace it with the bone’s marrow, fresh rosemary and black pepper to create the pot roast of your dreams.”
I’ll wait a few moments while you read that again. Dang, that’s some serious meat perfection right there. Kim was even nice enough to weave in a recipe for handling this little bundle of joy, so there’s no excuse for not reserving one right now. I think I’m going to have to just to SEE what it looks like, I’m really interested.
Uh, I’ve got a really nasty headache coming on. I’ll ramble for a bit, but I think I’m going to be a bit short today, hey.
Oh, dear oh dear LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK !!! Uh, I see Rabbit Boudin under the sausage heading. I’d like 6 tons, please. I’ve never had any, but I will soon, probably lunch on Saturday. OH man, looky here. There’s Saucisson a l’ail fume’, that must be the newish salami that JLee was talking about, I’m wondering about that. Why? Cause I have no idea what it is, that’s why. How do you find out? Buy and eat, that’s how. This, I can do.
Ya’ll take care and see you Saturday morning bright and early at the Berkeley Farmer Market.
Biggles
Please click through to read Kim O’Neill’s fab newsletter that she writes each and every week for your enjoyment.

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When the Fatted Calf Newsletter rolled in today (sign up at their web site), I knew exactly what image I was going to use. The 5.5 hour smoked pork ribs I did this last Saturday. They were glazed with my home made BBQ sauce, rich & savory and tangy and wonderful. All done with the supervision of mesquite & hickory. And well, there they are. Perfect for these cool october evenings, don’t you think?
Well, I thought I was okay, then I found my heart in my throat as I read this week’s special; A Pork Loin on the bone stuffed with with erbette, garlic and lemon. If you have any sense left, you’ll want to place your order right now. Don’t hesitate, cause you’ll lose if you don’t. These stuffed pork loins are one of FC’s special wonders. Many have tried and failed to recreate them, the Meat Fu is too strong in this boy.
On the Crepinette side of life we have Guinea Hen with Prunes and Cipollini Onions, I’ll bet they even look great.
All that aside, there’s a fresh new sausage here that needs attention. It’s the Basque sausage, it looks cute and smells even better. Mama said it smelled of garden fresh vegetables and fruits, very bright. I mentioned, “Of course, it’s sausage.” I got hit. What gives this sausage is rosey color and warm flavor is the Piment d’ Espelette (Basque chile pepper). That’s some pretty fancy ingredient usin’ there, yup. The entire package ties together very well, this is a Desination Sausage.
So look, you’ve got some great reasons to get your lazy butt out of bed this coming Saturday morning and visit the Berkeley Farmer Market, get out there!
Please continue reading Kim O’Neill’s Fatted Calf Newsletter. Did you know she’s a published author in 7×7 Magazine? Yup, she pulled it off and done did very well. Congratulations Kim!

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Our first ‘maters of the season. The starts were gifted to us by Chilebrown. He knows about such matters, as ‘maters. The weather this growing season has been quite cool, so they just didn’t take well. Even so, it was fun to pick these yesterday. I used my Nikon D70 with an old manual focus PK-13 extension tube and the AF-D 60mm f2.8 micro lens, a real close-up package.

Hey, just wanted to stop by and let ya know the crepinettes from last week were one of the best ever. They were of the pork variety and loaded full of greens and pine nuts. I wish I’d purchased another package. Okay, yeah well this week they’re stuffed with chanterelle mushrooms, oh man. And I know darned well there’s more goodies in there as well, they never disapoint. Hey, look there’s greens in the sausage that the quail is stuffed with. I wonder if that resembles last week’s crepinettes? If they’re anything close, jump on it. The little quails are perfectly matched for an early Saturday supper. OoOoo, lookie! The Guinea Hen Terrine is back! YAY ! Wonnerful. Sweet guinea hen meat is such a treat, especially with habanero salsa! And on your way out of the line, don’t forget to grab a portion of Mortadella, creamy best ever. All in all it’s a good week to be alive. Seeya on Saturday at the Berkeley Farmer Market!
Now, please read on to the real Fatted Calf Newsletter written by Kim O’Neill …
ps – If you’d like to reserve your order for Saturday, either for Berkeley or the SF Ferry Plaza market, please use this FORM.

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