Lamb Martini

Last weekend, I was back in Virginia visiting my parents. We went to the Yorktown Farmers Market on the river in Yorktown, Viriginia. I quickly saw what I wanted:

“Smoked Dandoodle” — what’s that? I’m familiar with the array of country dishes, from panhaus to cracklins, but I’d never heard of dandoodle. More suprising, neither had my country-raised mom. I was intrigued.

I went up the the vendor, and his eyes lit up as he responded “I’m glad you asked.” From one of his coolers, he pulled out this:

Yep, that’s a hog large intestine, also know as chitlin or, more formally, chitterling. It’s stuffed with pork sausage and then smoked in the same smokehouse that the Slades have been using for decades.

Doing some research on the internet, I could only find references to it in Smithfield county and the surrounding area in Virginia and North Carolina. Slade Farm is close by in Surry.

I found two variations, both being a stuffed and smoked large intestine. The first variation was what I found, the stuffing being pork. The other variation was with a stuffing consisting of a 1:4 mixture of pork fat and small intestine, seasoned with salt and red pepper.

As for the cooking method, I just sliced it in 1/4″ slices and pan fried it. It has a fine texture, like that of a cured salumi rather than a course ground fresh sausage. The smoking gives a very nice flavor, without being stale or overpowering. It was great on biscuits.

The most common usage I found was to cook it with greens and cornbread dumplings with greens. I think it would also work well as the meat for a simple kale and pasta dish.

One name, many variations. As it is with many cocktails, the El Presidente has two main families of variations, quite a bit of variation within those families. One family is French-Italian, and basically a Manhattan with rum. The other family is a Sour, and basically a Daquiri plus. But the theme running throughout is orange.

I’ll start with the only recipe that has a definite attribution:

Esquire Drinks (Wondrich, 2002)
1.5 oz light rum
0.5 oz orange curacao
0.75 oz dry vermouth
dash grenadine

Wondrich attributes this to Eddie Woelke of Havana’s Jockey Club, invented in honor of Gerardo Machado, cattle rustler who became the 5th president of Cuba 1925, and lost power in 1933. This recipe is attributed to bartender George Stadelman at Club El Chico in New York (attribution is from 1949 Equire Handbook for Hosts). No specific date is given, but it it has to have been sometime during Machado’s reign. It’s also possible that this comes from a more generic Presidente recipe, and that only this specific variation was named to honor Machado.

The 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book doesn’t list a Presidente, but it does list this:

President Cocktial
1 glass Bacardi rum (2 oz)
Juice 1/4 Orange
2 dashes grenadine

No vermouth, but the orange juice would act both to give an orange flavor (although a juice rather than oil flavor) and as a moderating agent.

Angostura Recipes, 1934

El Presidente Cocktail
1.5 oz light rum
0.75 oz curacao
0.75 oz sweet vermouth
Stirred, with maraschino cherry (only one stirred or with m.c.)

Slightly different proportions, sweet vs. dry vermouth, and no grenadine. However, the maraschino cherry and the bit of liquid with it would lend some red fruit flavor. The sweetness in the vermouth would also offset the loss of the sweetness from the grenadine. (Why Angostura chose a toreador as the illustration for the cocktail, I’ll never know.)

While all of the others have rum, this one contains Kentucky whisky, which we know of know as bourbon. Today, Brown Forman is the distributor for Appleton Estates rum, but in 1934 they had only “domestic” spirits. So this is basically a wet Manhattan with curacao instead of bitters (which are similar flavors).

How to Make Old Kentucky Famed Drinks, from Brown Forman Distillery, 1934
Presidente
1.5 oz whisky
1 oz dry vermouth
2 dashes orange curacao

In the Joy of Mixology, Regan gives a recipe adapted from 1949 Old Mr. Boston:

2 oz light rum
0.5 oz lime juice
0.5 oz pineapple juice
dash grenadine

Quite different: rum-based, but with enough lime to categorize it as a Sour, and more precisely as a Daquiri variation. The pineapple acts as the moderator, and the grenadine of the original. None of the other recipes have lime, even though it’s commonly paired with rum. How could the recipes be so different? Looking in my copy of Mr Boston 1963, we get the answers:

El Presidente Cocktail No. 1
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp pineapple juice
1 tsp grenadine
1.5 oz rum

El Presidente Cocktail No. 2
0.75 oz dry vermouth
1.5 oz rum
dash bitters

No. 1 is the base for the one in JoM, although with updated proportions, and No.2 the more traditional recipe. No. 2 is the only one of the lot to have betters instead of curacao, but one guess that orange bitters were used in practice.

So, naturally, since there are so many recipes, I’ll formulate my own. There are a few things I wanted to showcase here: Stirrings Blood Orange Bitters, homemade maraschino cherries, and homemade grenadine. I just got the Stirrings last week, from Kegworks via eBay. The cherry season in Oregon just ended, but I’ve been making wonderful maraschinos with Maraska for the past few weeks. The grenadine I made last weekend (post coming soon). So the recipe:

El Presidente (var. 1)
1.5 oz Myer’s light rum
0.5 oz Stirrings Blood Orange bitters
0.75 oz dry vermouth
1 tsp grenadine
homemade marschino cherry

Stirrings Blood Orange bitters are much less bitter than a traditional orange bitter, and they contain sugar (umm…), so more than a dash is required. I perceive them as even less bitter than Campari. Since there’s no acidifying agent, it’s not possible to get the taste of the grenadine to appear without making the drink sweet (particularly with the Stirrings). The rum isn’t as strong a flavor as gin or rye in similar drinks, so it doesn’t really give the drink the backbone that it should. I’d really like this as a not-too-sweet cordial, particularly with the cherry treat at the end.

Date: August 2, 2007

Ingredients: Boodles gin, Lillet Blanc, Monopolowa vodka

Notes: Aha! A martini I like! The Lillet and vodka moderate the gin, but I’d like it better less dry with more Lillet, to bring the citrus/spice flavors up to par with the juniper. With the proportions in VSFC, I couldn’t really pick them out against the gin.

With the recent cinematic version of Casino Royale, many more people have heard about this one. Haigh says that it was created by Ian Fleming’s favorite bartender. If you’ve only seen the movie (I’m reading the book now), the recipe doesn’t really make any sense– why not just order a drink, instead of making one up on the spot. I finally saw an explanation in a blog post comment: in the book, it’s a British spy against a French villain working for the Soviets, so gin + Lillet + vodka makes a great metaphorical cocktail. I imagine that Fleming may have made such a request of the bartender, and the Vesper was what he came up with.

Other Vesper links:

• The Art of Drink

Lillet Blanc is amazing. I don’t like vermouth very much, so Lillet is a great substitute moderating agent. Here I tried it in a Manhattan with some Wiser’s Special Reserve Canadian whisky I picked up when touring Vancouver Island, and a homemade maraschino cherry. Fantastic.

I first heard of this drink soon after I learned there are, in fact, cocktails that are not served from plastic tubs stored in the refrigerator. Ted Haigh was pimping promoting VSFC in an NPR story. He described how, long before being able to legally consume one, he read about a glorious cocktail named the Corpse Reviver #2 in a recipe book. He described what a wondrous taste it had. And boy does it.

Of the five ingredients, two are relatively uncommon: Lillet Blanc and pastis. Lillet is commonly used in place of vermouth as a moderating agent in recipes, and I’m not that big a fan of vermouth, so paying $18 for a bottle of something I thought I might want to immediately pitch was a bit of a turn off. The only other common cocktail (there are a few others) that uses it is the “James Bond” Vesper Martini. In the US, pastis (legally) means Pernod, which not everyone has around, particularly since it’s expensive the buy a 750mL bottle of something you use by the dash.

My apprehension about the Lillet was entirely misguided. It has a fantastic flavor, with a fresh and light taste of citrus and spice. I could drink this on it’s own, no problem. Very much worth it.

Getting the flavors right is a bit tricky– get them right and it’s the best thing you’ve ever had, get them wrong and it’s just another good cocktail. The recipe in VSFC is one part each gin (Broker’s, for this one) , Lillet, Cointreau, and lemon juice, and a drop (a drop, not a dash!) of pastis (Pernod here). The interplay of the juniper, citrus, spice, orange, lemon, and licorice is amazing. In this one, the Cointreau seemed to pop out the most, but the Lillet and Pernod seemed to pop most in the last couple.

The designated proportions make a drink that’s not tart enough for my palate, since the Lillet and Cointreau both add sweetness, and the acidity of the lemon may vary quite a bit. A “good” gin might be bad for this, since the smooth/mellow flavor will probably get lost. I think a strong juniper flavored gin would be best, like Gordon’s. A drop of Pernod seems to get lost, so I would put up to a 1/4 tsp get get it to come out (this, too, is tricky, since you just want the licorice flavor to rise, but not to dominate, so adding a bit at a time). A bit more lemon would give me a good tart flavor, but I may use citric acid powder to avoid adding too much lemon juice flavor and unbalance the other elements.

And finally the garnish: Oregon-grown Bing cherry soaked Maraska maraschino liqueur. Great over ice cream, too.

A few other posts about the CR#2:

• Gumbo Pages
• Married… with dinner
• cocktailnerd
• Sloshed!
• Pegu Blog

to Buy a Fat Pig, spake Mother Goose. I saw on TV tonight that PBS will be airing a special of a of the same name this Wednesday, August 1st. It’s described as visiting some of the smaller and more interesting markets around the country, rather than the typical ones that are usually visited by the fooderati. I can’t wait, but I’m going to have to tape it since the since it conflicts with volunteering at my own Moreland Farmers Market.

The Brewers Festival is one of the highlights of Portland summers. It’s still going on, but I did all my tasting Friday night, as I though I’d be out of town for the weekend. I also volunteered to pour on Thursday night (the calmest and most “serious” night). The oddest thing you have to endure about Thursday is that you haven’t actually been able to try the beer you’re pouring, since Oregon forbids servers to drink on the job. However, you do get to finish off any beer that’s still in the pitchers at the end of the night.

Of the 72 beers, I tried 22. Here’s a short list of what I liked and didn’t. After thinking though these, I saw that Jeff’s Hot Tips on Beervana were much different for some of the same beers here. So, you’ve just got to try them and make up your own mind.

In general, I like a lower alcohol (4-5%) beer with crisp flavors, particularly aromatic hops.

Liked:

• Hopworks Urban Brewery Portland OR Hopworks Organic IPA — There was a lot of buzz before the festival about this one, so I was probably biased. It was the first thing I tried, and was excellent. A nice lighter summer drink, well balanced, with a crisp and clean hop flavor shining though.
• Bison Brewing Berkeley CA Organic Chocolate Stout — I found this to be rich and chocolately (and Jeff found thin and astringent)
• Alameda Brewhouse Portland OR El Torero Organic IPA — a nice aromatic IPA
• Collaborator Portland OR Rawkin Bock — quite flavorful, not necessarily balanced, and not my style, but good.
• Deschutes Brewery Bend OR 19th Anniversary Golden Ale (Belgium Style Strong Golden Ale) — one of my favorite breweries, and an excellent balanced golden ale
• Fearless Brewing Co Estacada OR Fearless Scottish Ale (Scottish Export) - well balanced, malty, and tasty
• Max’s Fanno Creek Brew Pub Tigard OR Farmer’s Daughter (Belgian Saison Golden Strong Ale) — I poured near this one, and quite a few people didn’t like it. Saisons, like all Belgians, are a real anomaly in the beer flavor universe, but I found this to be an excellent example of the style. The brew pub opened just a few months ago, so I’m going to have to go try it out now.
• Ninkasi Brewing Co Eugene OR Believer (Double Red Ale) — a bitter full red ale, well balanced, but not my style
• North Coast Brewing Co Fort Bragg CA PranQster Belgian-Style Golden Ale — It’s hard to judge a beer this big, as is the Vertical Epic. These were huge, flavorful, and perhaps cloying, but they were properly brewed in the Belgian style.
• Stone Brewing Co Escondido CA Stone 07/07/07 Vertical Epic (Saison/Belgium Farmhouse ale) — see previous
• Amnesia Brewing Portland OR Dry Hopped Dusty Trail Pale Ale — a nice pale ale with a good fresh aromatic hop flavor. Note to brewers– including “dusty” in the name of your beer is a bad idea.

Didn’t:

• Hazel Dell Brewpub Vancouver WA Red Zone (Pale Ale) — more of a red ale than a pale ale, too sweet and heavy
• Elysian Brewing Co Seattle WA Prometheus IPA - I found this to be strong and the flavors muddy, but Beervana Jeff was impressed by it
• Boundary Bay Brewery Bellingham WA Galena Single Hop Pale Ale — Galena is usually used as a bittering hop, so this didn’t have the bitter/aromatic balance that I like to see.
• Siletz Brewing Siletz OR Spruce Ale - “tree” is not a beer flavor. This was just gross.
• Flying Fish Brewing Co Cherry Hill NJ Bourbon Barrel Abbey Dubbel - Recipe: take one bottle of Duvel, and one bottle of cream soda, mix. Again, gross.
• Standing Stone Brewing Co Ashland OR Standing Stone Double IPA - too strong and too sweet
• Oregon Trail Brewery Corvallis OR Oregon Trail Wit - first wit I’ve had where the coriander really popped out, and I don’t like it. Tasted like the beer had been sprinkled with pepper before sipping.

I finally scanned and processed my 1933 Angostura Recipes booklet. I three versions, including HTML+JPGs, Word, and PDF. I’m planning to do some posts on the recipes soon (and the many racial stereotypical illustrations, as above), but for now I’ll just point out a few highlights:

• September Morn Cocktail (pg 10)
• Fish House Punch (pg 28)
• Old Virginia Mint Julep (pg 24)
• Planter’s Punch (pg 30)
• Doctor Cocktail (pg 14)

Ingredients: Barsol Acholado pisco, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, fresh-out-of-the-chicken egg white, Angostura

I’d tried making one of these before, but it just didn’t come out right. The consistency was a bit too thick for my taste. After talking with a friend who spoke of the wonders of Pisco in Chile, and the recent article in Imbibe on it, I thought I should try it again. This one was much better, and will definitely be added to my usual repertoire.

Barsol Acholado “blue label” was the only pisco my local liquor store had, and I was amazed that had that one. Acholado means blended, but in the sense that it’s a blend of various types of pisco, rather than the ATF meaning of diluted with neutral spirits. I also have a bottle of Edgefield Longshot unaged grape brandy that I’ll have to try the drink with.

I’d read that the secret is to really shake it. Shake it, shake it, shake it like a Polaroid picture. Two minutes of vigorous thrashing in the Boston shaker gave the drink an excellent texture, not to mention sore rotator cuffs the next day.

The Imbibe article mentions that the lemons used in Peru and Chile have a flavor closer to key lime than lemon. This probably explains why most recipes call for lemon and some call for lime. I’m definitely going to try this with a touch of shelf-stable key lime juice now, and then some fresh when they’re in season.

My bitters dashing skills aren’t great, so I ended up getting it not just all over the meringue, but also all over the Pink Squirrel recipe in The Joy of Mixology.

The egg used (laid by Lespie the Araucana, along with my first tomatoes of the season:

My farmers market had non-early tomatoes for the first time this week, so it’s BLT time. Along with some Asian cukes in yuzu vinegar and a Richmond Gimlet, this has to be the perfect summer meal.