Moscow Food Co-op Producer Profile

by Nathaniel Orion Cousins, from the February 2006 newsletter

Greetings and salutations from your new meat columnist! This column is new to the newsletter, just as the meat department is new to the Co-op. Each month, I will be writing about a featured cut or type of meat. I'll share my own experiences with the selected product, as well as the occasional anecdote from many years of cooking experience. The last 16 years, I have mostly spent employed as a cook, but Mom got me started on scrambled eggs and "cheese on bread in the oven" when I was only five. She still likes to brag about the time I made a lemon meringue pie from scratch. By myself, at the age of 8.

This month, I have a real treat for you from our meat department. We are carrying an entire line of pork products from a company called Beeler's Naturally Pure Pork, a fifth-generation family operation out of Brunsville, Iowa. They have grown now to the point where they utilize an entire network of high integrity family farmers to raise their pigs. The pigs are raised in controlled indoor environments for sanitary purposes. Their barns are naturally ventilated with fresh air, and they are allowed plenty of natural sunlight. Beeler's doesn't allow the use of antibiotics, growth promotants, or injections of any kind, including vaccines and vermifuges. Their growers must rely on their own husbandry skills instead of modern mass production shortcuts to produce their quality pork.

How good is Beeler's pork? I brought home a pair of their bone-in pork chops, thinking of a seasonally romantic dinner. Planning for Valentine’s Day? Avoid the rushes at restaurants and spend an evening at home with your sweetie over a delectable pair of chops! I made up a huckleberry teriyaki marinade, soaked the chops for about an hour, and broiled them for about five minutes on each side. While the chops were in the oven, I cooked up a quick potato side dish, and some frozen corn and peas. Voila, an easy dinner for two.

The chops had an excellent flavor, and their texture was unlike any pork I have eaten. The best description I can come up with for the meat is "healthy." It was not excessively tender, but where another pork chop might be tough, these were simply firm. I have always thought that "commercial" pork is produced so tender as a result of the animals getting no exercise. I also think they are bred for a lack of normal connective tissue. The Beeler's chops had an inherent vitality, and were by far the best-tasting pork I have ever eaten.

I hope that those of you reading take an opportunity to check out our new meat department. Adam Stone, the department manager, takes pride in knowing where our meats come from, and how they are produced. The meat we are selling is about as ethically sound as eating meat can be, short of growing it yourself. The meat is some of the best quality I have seen in my years of experience as a cook, both at work and at home. I think local omnivores are fortunate to have a store that sells such a high-quality product. I hope those of you so inclined get the chance to stop by and give Beeler's pork a try, as well as our other fine offerings in the meat dept.

Recipe:
Huckleberry-Teriyaki Pork Chops   2 servings
This recipe is for (2) 1/2-inch thick pork chops, 6-8 oz. each

In a medium bowl combine the following:
1/4 cup huckleberry vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. dried ginger or 1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced

Whisk together well, until the sugar crystals dissolve. Place the pork chops in suitable container, then pour the marinade over them. Place the marinating chops in the refrigerator, and let them marinate for 1-4 hours. When ready to cook, take the chops out of the marinade and grill or broil them for about 5 minutes on each side.

Nathaniel Cousins was raised on the Palouse. Several years of living in Eugene, Seattle and Portland have proven to him there is no finer place to live than our rolling Palouse hills..

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