RYAN HARDY S HOLIDAY CHARCUTERIE

Transcription

1 MOVERS AND SHAKERS by LAUREL MILLER RYAN HARDY S HOLIDAY CHARCUTERIE Sausage gets a bad rap in the United States. While our culture has a dignified, if brief, history with cured pork products in the South, charcuterie has historically been the provenance of our European brethren. A heavily industrialized livestock industry has traditionally meant that our cured and processed meats are assembled from a mélange of less-than-quality scraps and variety cuts best left unmentioned. Times have changed, however. With so many American chefs, cooks and food artisans traveling and interning overseas, the quality of domestic, artisanal charcuterie has come to rival much of what can be found in France, Italy and other sausage-centric places like Latin America. The classic definition of charcuterie refers to the preparation of meat products usually pork that may involve salting (dry curing), poaching, brining, baking or smoking. With our melting pot culture, American-made and -sourced charcuterie runs the gamut from rustic, hazelnut-fattened pork prosciutto to Asian-inflected poached-seafood sausages; Moroccan-style lamb merguez, rabbit confit, cedar planksmoked wild salmon, to duck foie gras terrines. Today s emphasis on sustainable fisheries management and humanely raised, heritage (nonindustrial and often endangered) breed livestock from family farms mean there s more reason than ever to get turned on to the delicious and winter-specific tradition of charcuterie. Enter Ryan Hardy, executive chef of Aspen s The Little Nell Hotel, food artisan, and part-parttime farmer. The vivacious and articulate Hardy, 32, grew up in Lexington, Kentucky a state that s no slouch in the cured meat sweepstakes. His great aunt had a tobacco farm, and from an early age Hardy was exposed to local food traditions, big family meals, raising livestock and gardening. We had a large garden when I was growing up, Hardy says. Everything for our meals came out of there, and it wasn t until I was an adult that I realized not everyone ate that way. Although he always wanted to cook for a living, these formative experiences in Kentucky didn t really sink in until after he graduated from college. Hardy s passion Right: Ryan Hardy in his curing room at The Little Nell. 26 winter 2008 edibleaspen

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3 All of Rendezvous yield goes to supply The Little Nell s three restaurants, including its showcase dining room, Montagna. The Rocky Mountain Artisan menu is influenced by Hardy s travels throughout Italy and France, but his main source of pride is his curing room, which houses more than 500 jars of preserves and no fewer than eight types of charcuterie. for farming and culinary artisanship were sparked by a gig working at a seasonal restaurant on Martha s Vineyard in We were surrounded by farms. I learned how to slaughter and butcher livestock, milk goats, harvest and forage produce for the restaurant, Hardy says. That s when I started really connecting with farmers, and that s what s driving me in my personal and professional life now. This drive is what led him to purchase a 15-acre sustainable farm in Crawford, located southwest of Paonia, in April 2007, with business partner Michael Waters. They named the 1870 farmstead Rendezvous Farm, and immediately began cultivating all manner of produce and tree crops, and raising sheep, cage-free chickens, and heritage pigs fattened on foraged apples. All of Rendezvous yield goes to supply The Little Nell s three restaurants, including its showcase dining room, Montagna. The Rocky Mountain Artisan menu is influenced by Hardy s travels throughout Italy and France, but his main source of pride is his curing room, which houses more than 500 jars of preserves and no fewer than eight types of charcuterie. Historically, charcuterie was developed around the holidays, to coincide with farming schedules and slaughter, which always occurred after the first frost, which is usually in mid-october (this still holds true in Italy, and some other countries), says Hardy. Crops couldn t be raised in winter, so summer was a time to put up preserves, and late 28 winter 2008 edibleaspen

4 fall was a time to cure meat. Things like fresh sausages don t keep very long, so they were consumed on feast days held in November, while cured meats lasted throughout the season. We live in one of the wealthiest nations in the world, where we can get whatever we want, whenever. The chef perspective is, I ll call my purveyor and they ll provide what I want, regardless of season. That s not the way nature grows, and in season, things ripen all at once. We ll get 300 pounds of apricots at one time, and we ll need to figure out what to do with them on the menu, and preserve the rest. But that s the way this business should be, he says. Fresh produce from Rendezvous is transformed into brandied cherries, limoncello, rosemarycello, peach and vanilla bean, quince, and mulberry preserves; pickled okra, green beans, and lemon cucumbers; ORGANIC CHICKEN LIVER PATÉ Recipe by Executive Chef Ryan Hardy, The Little Nell Makes two terrines; serves 30 for cocktail servings, 18 for plated servings 8 shallots, sliced 3 cloves garlic, minced 3 sprigs thyme 3 bay leaves 7 ounces bourbon 7 ounces port 7 ounces Madeira, reduced with thyme and bay leaves until syrupy (approximately 2 tablespoons) 2 pounds, 3 ounces organic chicken livers, soaked in milk overnight, then rinsed well in cold water and dried on a towel 2 pounds unsalted butter, cut in to cubes 8 large eggs, preferably cage-free or purchased fresh from a local farmer 2 tablespoons curing salt (optional, otherwise use 2 additional tablespoons of kosher salt) 2 teaspoons kosher salt Remove and discard thyme and bay leaves and combine the remaining above ingredients in a shallow pan. Leave pan in a warm place until temperature hits 95 to 100 degrees. Let sit for 30 to 45 minutes, until butter is melted. Puree ingredients in blender and pass through fine mesh strainer. Line a paté mold with plastic wrap and pour in the puree. Photographs: Michael Brands Place paté mold in water bath and bake at 275 to 300 degrees until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour. Serve with homemade or good-quality preserves, or grainy or Dijon mustard, cornichons and country-style bread. Above: Organic chicken liver paté served at Montagna. Opposite: A selection of Hardy s relishes, sauces and preserves. edibleaspen.com winter

5 pepper relishes, and tomato sauce. Buttery prosciutto, lamb, fennel, and grappa sausage, chicken liver paté, chorizo, Hungarian-style elk sausage and molasses-cured ham all are sourced from Rendezvous animals or local game. Hardy s other point of pride are his cheeses something he is particularly obsessed with. We use goat s milk from a neighboring farmer, as well as cow s milk from rancher Ralph Sheldon in Crawford. I learned the process from a master brewer friend who is an avid cheesemaker, but there s so much more to it than coagulating milk and aging it. Current seasonal offerings include a bright, creamy chèvre and Maroon Bells, an aged cow s milk pyramid with bloomy white rind. Hardy encourages everyone to create their own charcuterie, sourced from local ingredients, if possible. A chicken liver paté, is so easy anyone can do it, he says. The same with preserves. In terms of seasonality, think ahead as much as you can, putting up the foods you want to eat for the winter, and purchasing local. My long term goal is to feed this community. I love being a chef, cooking, farming, but I want to change the paradigm of ingredients all being the same, or brought in out of season. The more we support local farmers, the more good eats for all of us. o Laurel Miller is a food travel columnist for The Oakland Tribune/BANG Newspapers and GreenLight magazine, as well as a freelance contributor to publications such as Gourmet, Outside, Saveur, Dining Out Guides, and Laurel also owns The Sustainable Kitchen, an independent contract culinary business offering writing services, cooking classes and farm tours. 30 winter 2008 edibleaspen