wonderful magical animal

October 14, 2010 1:47 PM

Rob Levitt of Mado in Chicago butchering a pig. 19 more videos submitted by chefs and butchers to Protein University, a project that aims to "create an online resource populated with a family tree of butchery techniques from whole animal breakdowns to sausage making from across the globe".

From the founder of Cochon 555, a travelling contest that has chefs prepare 5 dishes from 5 different breeds of heritage pigs. The Portland competition resulted in some arrests and some good quotes from the police report.

posted by AceRock (15 comments total)

This is awesome!
posted by TwelveTwo at 2:02 PM on October 14, 2010

Given the Simpsons joke, I'm not sure Protein University would have been my first choice of name. Or maybe it's deliberate, a little tongue-in-cheek humor for the nose-to-tail crowd?
posted by jocelmeow at 2:10 PM on October 14, 2010

and some good quotes from the police report.

To be fair, that really is the only reason anyone could possibly want to go to Magic Gardens.
posted by dersins at 2:14 PM on October 14, 2010

Thanks, AceRock. I don't butcher my own pigs yet, but appreciate the link to PU.
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:18 PM on October 14, 2010

When I grow up, I'm going to Bovine University!
posted by d1rge at 3:01 PM on October 14, 2010 [2 favorites]

Cochon 555 previously on MetaFilter.
posted by mkb at 3:59 PM on October 14, 2010

Thanks for this. I've been slowly getting into meat curing and sausage making over the last year. One fun thing about Japan is that every locality is so desperate for cash that local/heritage brands are starting to get a lot of attention. It's not just beef here, and the wide variety of pork (Tokyo kuro-buta, Chiba imo-buta, just to name the two I have the most opportunity to drool over) are absolutely delicious. A good friend is also a hunter, and hopefully during this coming hunting season, I might be able to tag along on a boar hunt or two, and have a chance to watch/participate in butchering a boar. Either it'll make me a vegetarian, or I'll learn a hell of a lot.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:41 PM on October 14, 2010

And yet this post doesn't have the flurry of people in it like the Jamie Oliver/pink goo as meat food.

Why no outrage about the wasted bits that could be turned into pink goo?
posted by rough ashlar at 6:56 PM on October 14, 2010

Sweet! I'd love to have a carcass in front of me to learn on... or just even enough time to go to butchering/abattoir school.

Does anyone have resources for real-life butchering school?

/I'd make more money doing that than "Science!"
posted by porpoise at 8:25 PM on October 14, 2010

Because the 'wasted bits' can be turned into something pretty damn tasty without venturing into the pink goo/is it really food or not valley of outrage filter.

I might not be a fan of andouilletes (sp?) but somewhere out there, someone loves them some sausage made of chopped intestines, stuffed in intestine.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:58 PM on October 14, 2010

someone loves them some sausage made of chopped intestines, stuffed in intestine

His name is Xzibit, and the prudent man will not remind him of his experiences as a gourmand while he is occupied with repairing one's automobile.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 9:15 PM on October 14, 2010 [2 favorites]

porpoise, here is what you missed out on in undergrad/graduate school: it's called meat science. Had you majored differently, you could even have been on the meat competition team.

If you have a land-grant university nearby, or a veterinary or agricultural school with extension programs, some of them offer courses or workshops or programs that address butchering and dressing. Certainly they'd be able to point you in the direction of appropriate resources if they didn't offer anything like that. I think there are some starting points on the AMSA website as well.
posted by Uniformitarianism Now! at 9:18 PM on October 14, 2010

Dear internet videographers:

STOP MOVING THE CAMERA. Stillness = good. You are not Lars Von Trier.

Other than that, great video.
posted by incessant at 9:21 PM on October 14, 2010

Why no outrage about the wasted bits that could be turned into pink goo?

Because the 'wasted bits' can be turned into something pretty damn tasty without venturing into the pink goo/is it really food or not valley of outrage filter.

I've got a translated Cambodian recipe somewhere around here for pig assholes in chili sauce. It's a stir-fry. Also has green beans and mindblowingly hot yellow chilies in it, if I remember correctly.

It's a nice simple recipe, and I love the idea. Use every bit of the pig. I really truly love that idea, and would dearly like to cook and eat in accord with it.

But in practice, the few times I've made it, I've always failed to jump the first hurdle.

I just can't get the asshole flavor out of the assholes. Or rather.. it's not the flavor.. it's more the smell. The scent. That ineffable aroma of bum.

Anyway, I just tracked down the recipe. You can get the pork bung from Khmer/Chinese/Vietnamese butchers. Or you could just save your own from those butchery lessons.

Stirfried Snake Beans with Chilli Sauce
ឆា​សណ្ដែកកួរទឹកម្ទេស
Chhaa Sondaik Kooar Teuk Mtayh

1 cup Snake Beans, cut short
1/2 cup Pork Bung (Rectum)
1/4 cup Salted Daikon, cut into fine threads
2 Yellow Sky Pointing Chillies, minced
2 Tblspn Chilli Sauce (eg Sriracha)
1 Tblspn Fish Sauce or Soy Sauce
1 Tblspn Water
2-3 Tblspn Oil for Stir frying

1. Wash the pork bung thoroughly in alternating changes of salted and vinegared water until no “bum” smell remains. Do a final rinse in fresh water. Cut into bite sized pieces. Blanch the pieces in hot water until just cooked. Re-blanch in a change of water if you notice a fecal smell while blanching.

2. Pour oil into wok and heat until hot. Add the bung, pickled radish, snake beans and stir fry together. Add the water and stir fry, tossing, for a moment.

3. Add chili sauce and fish sauce. Stir fry together. Add the yellow chillies and stir fry to combine. Remove to a serving dish and serve.

And bon appetit to you all.
posted by Ahab at 11:32 PM on October 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

When I grow up, I'm going to Bovine University!

Your mom goes to Protein University.
posted by electroboy at 6:54 AM on October 15, 2010