“It was just a handful of restaurants that were buying from us after the pandemic,” Karyn says. “We tried not to sell, actively sell [our pigs]. We were doing OK. We needed some time to grow some pigs, but after a bit we were like, ‘We need to sell.’ And we had contacted usual people, but yeah, everybody's just struggling.”
“They’re easy to keep,” Karyn says. “They like forging, they like hanging out in mud puddles, they don't need their coats trimmed like goats do, and they don't need a bunch of dewormer — all that stuff.”
What put Chubby Dog on the map — or plate, if you will — was Cochon555 2017 in Houston. The event pairs five local chefs with five pigs and five sommeliers as a celebration of heritage breed pigs.
It was chef Matt McCallister, then at FT33, who was the first to go whole hog, so to speak, after the Medders pitched him on their pigs. While he can’t be certain, since it was around six or seven years ago, he believes the first pig was a Mangalitsa.
“Obviously, they do a really good job raising their animals,” McCallister says. “Heritage breeds are always some of the best. I find that red Wattles, Mangalitsas — I like Berkshires, Old Spots, all of them — you just wind up getting a rich, more robust flavor. Obviously, when you take the time to raise them right, they have the opportunity to be able to develop that flavor as well.
“Their pigs are amazing, just beautiful. A lot of times the hams have a lot of good marbling in the intramuscular fat, which you don’t always see ... pigs. It’s really good stuff.”
“On top of probably everything, they're just really awesome people. They're very kind, very understanding, they always ask for feedback, they're always open to suggestions, they're always trying something new. It just kind of fit in with our philosophy and the way that I look at food and the way we cook and everything like that.”
It’s affection and recognition that the Medders are counting on to keep them going. They were making trips up to Dallas and its suburbs to deliver their product to restaurants and anyone else who wanted a whole or half hog — even just for tasting menu events.
“We felt like rock stars,” Karyn says.
“In order for there to be 'a next' for us,” he says, “everybody’s got to wear their mask.”
The Link LonkAugust 13, 2020 at 03:40AM
https://ift.tt/2XTaDtq
How an Important Dallas Pork Supplier to Restaurants Is Weathering the Pandemic - Our Community Now at Colorado
https://ift.tt/2RsHZwT
Pork
No comments:
Post a Comment