Highland Hill Farms - Smoked Wild Boar Bacon

A while back I realized, thanks to the Berkeley Farmers Market, that one of the regulars at my cafe was moonlighting as a rancher. Okay, not so much moonlighting as doing as a profession. Knowing that generally only the best edibles are usually sold at the BFM, my wife and I got curious and decided to give them a try. This was several months back and I must say, it is a treat to finally meet a rancher who cares this much about the quality of the meats he produces. We splurge once a month and buy ourselves a small portion of meat that lasts us through the month, all the while reveling in the shear purity of the product Ted (the regular) produces.

Now, I had talked to Ted a few days ago and he told me that he was going to have bacon at the Saturday BFM, so naturally my wife and I got excited. We love the bacon that Ted makes, so juicy and not overly seasoned. When we got to the market, we were informed by the girl working the stand that some kind of mix up happened and the bacon wasn't ready. We were a little heartbroken. We had been looking forward to that bacon and felt a little let down. I decided to go and tell Ted, who was sitting in the back of the tent, that we would see him at the next farmers market and looked forward to getting our bacon then. After telling Ted exactly that, he informs me that there was a mix up with his butcher, but he had brought me a surprise as consolation for the 'hurt feelings' he thought I would have over not getting bacon.

He went over to one of his coolers and pulls out a small package and hands it to me. "I brought this for you. It's from my own stash." he tells me. I am elated. Not only am I getting some of the best bacon I have ever known, but it is from the personal stash of the rancher himself! WOOT! We buy the bacon and bring it home. Unfortunately for us, my wife and I both had to work that day, so we zipped right off to work without getting a chance to try the deliciousness that had come home with us.

The next day Ted comes into the cafe and asks me how the bacon was. I tell him that we hadn't had a chance to try it yet, but look forward to it. Here is where the bomb shell hits. [It must be noted at this point in the tale that I had been telling my wife earlier in the day that I wished we could try some of the wild boar that Ted has once in a rare while. I had always wanted to try it, and thought this was probably one of the best chances I was going to get.] "You're gonna love it. That bacon was from the last wild boar I had. It is phenomenal!" !!!OMG!!! was honestly the first things that ran through my mind. I slapped on the stupidest happiest grin I could manage without breaking my face and thanked him heartily. This man had brought to me an opportunity that I had been craving.

Now we come to the point in this story where I prepared every last piece of that juicy delicious bacon, gobbled it all up and slathered the bacon grease all over my naked body...right? No.

We did in fact make a few pieces this evening. It was cut a quarter inch thick. The meat was a deep rich red, and smelled of honey and clove when it was baking (I bake my bacon, crisps up nicely and you can control the cooking process so much more easily). The flavor was dark and, quite frankly, meaty. Not the shitty grocery stop pork chop cardboard kind of meaty. More like the, "Holy Shit! I now realize why my ancient ancestors hunted meat in the first place!" kind of meaty. The best part however was the fat. Generally the fat on bacon can be tough and chewy but still quite edible. The fat on the wild boar bacon was however creamy and pliant, almost the consistency of taffy. At one point, after having just swallowed a tasty morsel of fatty bacon, I turned to my wife and remarked "This is the kind of food that makes me feel more connected to my roots, to who I really am and where I came from." Personally I think that sums up the whole experience rather nicely.

Later

Deschutes Brewery - Once A Decade Ale

I was attracted to this ale on the basis of its Jubel-ale label. I tend to like winter ales because of their spicy nature, but I was a little apprehensive because of the type that this one was. Being a bock style made me a little more apprehensive, but I decided to take the plunge anyways.

I poured it into my favorite pint glass and the strong aroma hit me right away. Malty and deep, silky but powerful. There was a slight twinge that I felt when I put my nose to the glass, I suspect that was part of the 10% ABV though. The nose was dominated by the oak that the ale was aged in. Apart from that I could detect caramel, sweetened ginger, and smoky fall leaves.

The first few sips were a little to cold to judge, but as the ale cooled I sensed it bloom. The flavors of salted cashews, walnut oil, and strangely avocado came forward. The dominant notes were followed by caramel and warm ginger bread; lightly peppery and sweet. I must say it was, in the end though, a somewhat lackluster experience. I am not really all that surprised however, my love/hate relationship with bocks continues.

Short, sweet, and uncomplicated. Meh.

2.8 out of 5 pints

Later

Deschutes Brewery - Once A Decade Ale