Chef Ben Ford wins Cochon 555 competition

On Sunday, five Los Angeles chefs -- Chad Colby of Mozza; Ben Ford of Ford's Filling Station; Neal Fraser and Travis Lorton of the Strand House, Grace & BLT; Jason Neroni of Superba Snack Bar; and Micah Wexler of Mezze -- gathered at the House of Blues for a nose-to-tail cook-off using five heritage pig breeds. 

Ford won the Cochon 555 competition with favorites such as  his belly Benedict with a soft poached egg, Fresno chile and bacon hollandaise; a head cheese hero of pig's liver pate, pickled vegetables, charred scallion-lemon aioli and crispy pigs ears; a chile verde taco with smoked pigs ear and micro cilantro;  chilled pork loin with tomato sauce, red onion and sea salt; and pork tartare paired with quail egg, walnut oil and confit shallot.

Other menu highlights included the campagnola banh mi with black garlic and black kimchi from Neroni;  Fraser's roasted loin and rack with fava beans, morel mushrooms and corn veloute; pig tail pasta and house-made charcuterie from Colby (last year's winner); and Wexler's pork leg tagine.

In addition to guests pigging out on pork-centric dishes, wineries including Robert Kacher, Elk Cove Vineyards, K Vintners, Sokol Blosser, Scholium Project,Turley, Mattiasson, Simi and Buty poured tastings throughout the evening. L.A. artisanal butchers Lindy & Grundy also gave a live pig butchering demo.

On June 17, the winning chefs from the 10-city tasting tour will gather in Aspen, Colo., to participate in the grand cochon competition as part of the 30th annual Food & Wine Classic.

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Photo: Ben Ford Credit: Hugh Galdones Photography

Cochon 555 returns to L.A.; chefs announced

Cochon 555 -- the contest in which five chefs compete against each other in a whole-pig cook-off -- will return to Los Angeles on May 6. The five chefs create a nose-to-tail menu featuring five heritage breed pigs, served with wines from five winemakers. Judges and guests vote on the best preparations. This year's chefs are: Chad Colby of Mozza; Ben Ford of Ford's Filling Station; Neal Fraser and Travis Lorton of the Strand House, Grace & BLT; Jason Neroni of Superba Snack Bar; and Micah Wexler of Mezze. The event takes place at the House of Blues in Los Angeles. Tickets start at $125 per person, available at www.cochon555.com.

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A pig and beer dinner benefits cancer research

It was pouring rain that was nearing snow in the mountains, and “the city folk” who’d driven up to ReRide Ranch still wanted to go see the pig, joked rancher Lefty Ayers. They insisted, even though his house was plenty warm, with an elk pot roast in the iron pot in the fireplace.

But trudge out to see the pig the guests did. It was, after all, a female Berkshire-Hampshire pig that would go to slaughter the next morning and become part of every one of the many dishes chefs Bruce Kalman and Gavin Mills would make that week to raise money for a cause many chefs had grown fond of: Alex’s Lemonade Stand, which raises funds for childhood cancer research.

Kalman, of Urbano Pizza Bar in downtown Los Angeles, and Mills, executive chef at Wood + Vine in Hollywood, got their pig on Thursday and went to work for a dinner for about 75 people Sunday at Urbano. The event was named “Pig & Beer,” with beers for each course chosen by Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune, known as the Beer Chicks. It started out with a “Pig-Tail Hour” and ended with chocolate-covered smoked porter bacon with truffle salt.

In between, the dishes included porchetta that cooked five hours in Urbano’s pizza oven; ravioli with red stripes of pig blood pasta and stuffed with ricotta, bacon and greens; “Gavin’s luscious pig cheeks”; a pork roulade stuffed with dates; pizzas with Brussels sprouts, bacon and Parmesan cream; shaved vegetable salad with slices of crispy pig’s ears and Meyer lemon. Dessert included an apple bacon upside down cake with bourbon whipped cream. Mills, who buys a half pig a week from ReRide, is known for his charcuterie and made spleen pâté, head cheese and country pâté.

The staff at Urbano donated its time, and the products were donated too; tickets were $50, and 100% of the proceeds went to Alex’s Lemonade Stand. A couple of hours before the guests arrived, Kalman directed the staff to get wood burning in the ovens. A little later, the charcuterie was sliced, herbs were pulled from stems, sauces heated.

The whole pig: More butchery lessons at Huntington Meats

In a continuing series of meat-cutting lessons, Jar restaurant chef-owner Suzanne Tracht has teamed with Huntington Meats at the Original Farmer's Market on 3rd Street. The next is Sunday, March 4, and features pork, with butchers John Escobedo and Robert Ore leading an "up close and personal" breakdown of a whole pig. 

Tracht will present menu demonstrations and talk about how to best use different cuts of pork. Topics for discussion are: breaking down a whole pig into primal cuts; pork quality; what to ask your butcher about pork; and recipes and preparation guidelines. Try samples from Tracht’s dishes, including crisp pork belly with kumquat, watercress and fingerling potatoes; braised pork shank with Maui pineapple and star anise; tender pork ribs with apple cider, Szechuan peppercorn and coriander; tamarind and sweet onion salad; and grilled char siu pork chop. 

The two-hour class starts at 6 p.m. Upcoming classes are: lamb on March 25 and beef cuts for spring on April 22. Class price is $125 per per person. Reservations may be made by calling Huntington Meats. 

6333 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, (323) 938-5383.

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Super Bowl: Basement Tavern, City Tavern, Rush Street & more

Basement Tavern: Sports fans can enjoy happy hour specials all night long at the Basement Tavern at the Victorian on Super Bowl Sunday. There will be $3 beers, $5 well drinks, $5 house red and white wines by the glass, and 50% off all bottles of wine and champagne. Hot dogs, hamburgers and other dishes will be complimentary with a two-drink minimum. Feeling indulgent? The tavern is also offering a Bottle and Bacon package: For $1,000, guests will receive a bottle of whiskey and bourbon and bacon-wrapped hot dogs for 10-20 friends. 2640 Main St., Santa Monica, (310) 392-4956.

City Tavern: This "new American tavern" is offering all-day happy hour in honor of the Super Bowl.  Spectators can sip on $10 craft beer growlers while munching on Super Bowl meatballs and pigs in a blanket made with Spanish chorizo. If you are going with a group, reserve your own table tap booth where you can pour your own beer throughout the game. 9739 Culver Blvd., Culver City, (310) 838-9739, www.citytavernculvercity.com.

Pink Taco: The Century City taco joint has 11 LED TVs and one jumbo projection screen for your Super Bowl viewing pleasure. The restaurant is serving crispy carnita tacos with salsa fresca and chipotle mayo, adobado chicken mini tortas, mini churros and more, all for less than $6 (or pick four for $22). 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 789-1000, www.pinktaco.com.

Rock & Reilly's: Located on the Sunset Strip, this pub boasts more than 45 Irish whiskeys and 14 antique framed flat-screen TVs as well as a 120-inch projection screen. It will be serving Super Bowl favorites with an Irish twist including whiskey bingo wings, Irish nachos (made with potatoes, peppered bacon and Irish cheddar), wee burgers and corned beef sliders. If you are not a beer drinker, the bar will have its signature Irish whiskey flights available. 8911 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 360-1400, www.rnrpub.com.

Rush Street: This high-end sports bar is serving up gourmet snacks on Super Bowl Sunday. Diners will be able to try dishes such as warm pretzels with beer cheese fondue, avocado fries, lobster and shrimp egg rolls, and a trio of hummus. For those with a bigger appetite, the gastropub will be serving pizzas, like caramelized onion, fig, pancetta and goat cheese, along with burgers, sandwiches and salads. It will also have an extensive drink menu including team-themed specialty cocktails. 9546 Washington Blvd., Culver City, (310) 837-9546 www.rushstreetculvercity.com.

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Photo: Jeremy Back, assistant general manager of City Tavern. Credit: Gary Friedman/ Los Angeles Times

McDonald's McRib sandwich is back

The McRib pork sandwich returns to McDonald's menu again this year. The health-conscious are appalled (it has 500 calories, 26 grams of fat and 980 milligrams of sodium, according to a Reuters story), but McRib fans are ecstatic. It seems the barbecue-sauce-smeared boneless pork patty molded into the shape of ribs just can't stay away — remember the 2005 "McRib Farewell Tour"?  

Last year the McRib returned to McDonald's nationally for the first time in 16 years, and the company's sales rose 4.8% in November.  

This year it's available at all McDonald's locations through Nov. 14. Read Twitter reactions to the McRib at Money & Co. 

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Pork Watch: Iberico Fresco, Jowciale, LaFrieda burger blend

Undeterred by having seen "Contagion" (Spoiler alert: It's the suckling pig that did Gwyneth Paltrow in!), I recently tried a thick slice of seared pork loin cooked just the way I like my filet mignon -- rare, rare, rare. And it almost tasted like beef -- rich and juicy and just as, if not more, flavorful than filet mignon -- and it was rare (did I mention I like my meat rare?). It was fresh pork from Iberico de bellota pigs, the famous black-footed, acorn-fed swine from Spain. 

Importer Jose Ignacio Martinez-Valero of Lighthouse Trade this year started bringing in the fresh meat -- not the cured jamon Iberico with which you might be more familiar -- from a cooperative in southeast Spain under the label Iberico Fresco. "It's the other red meat," Martinez-Valero likes to say. "It's the Kobe of pork."    

Because of USDA regulations, he says, only certain cuts are imported, but there are several: the loin and end loin; tenderloin; sirloin tip; shoulder loin; and shoulder skirt. Still waiting for the back fat and the belly. All the meat comes from 100% Iberico pigs (Spanish law allows for cross-bred pigs that are 50% Iberico to be sold as Iberico), raised humanely and sustainably in the oak forests of the Los Pedroches Valley (a designation of origin). 

It most certainly will be showing up on restaurant menus in L.A. and is thus far available at the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills.  

In more pork-product news ...

Follow the Butchers

I’ve recently started following L.A.’s artisanal butcher shops on Twitter, a brilliant use of the social media for the home cook.

If I open my Twitter account, between tweets on the developing Syria crisis, José Andres’ travels in Spain, Scrivener and iA Writer updates, and our own Food section's tweets, McCall’s Meat & Fish Co. notes they've got in “Wild Black Grouper, Skate Wing, Black Cod, Salmon, Tuna, Scallops, Halibut, Black Bass, Branzino, Clams, Mussels." Not to mention Berkshire pork and fresh calves’ liver. I read the post and my mind instantly switches over to planning the weekend's menu. 

Amelia Posada and Erika Nakamura, the two women behind Lindy & Grundy Meats have used social media to churn up a frenzy of anticipation for their new Fairfax Avenue butcher shop. Via Twitter, they might report that the butcher case is now stocked with “beef & bacon grind, rack of lamb, lamb loin chops, pork chops, fresh chickens, bone marrow, sirloin tip steaks, london broil, rancher steaks” or “fresh Mexican chorizo and have just made a batch of espresso chili with marrow.”

Then comes a flash from Grindhaus, the little sausage shop that could, trumpeting “Spicy Beef w/Garlic, Bratwurst, Kielbasa, Pork w/Grn Chilis, Spicy Italian, Wild Boar, Chkn Chorizo."

By the time I get to the farmers market, I’ve already got a main course in mind and can build my shopping around it. Sweet.

To note: Both butcher shops and sausage shop are open Sundays.

McCall’s Meat & Fish Co., 2117 Hillhurst Avenue, Los Angeles; (323) 667-0674; www.mccallsmeatandfish.com. Twitter handle @mccallsmandf 

Lindy & Grundy, 801 N. Fairfax Avenue (at Waring), Los Angeles; (323) 951-0804; www.lindyandgrundy.com. Twitter handle @LindyGrundy

Grindhaus, 5634 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; (610) 906-2677; www.GrindhausLA.com. Twitter handle @GrindhausLA.

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Photo: Butchers Amelia Posada, left, and Erika Nakamura of "Lindy & Grundy's" on Fairfax Avenue. Credit: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times

Ready for summer's pies: Woolly pig leaf lard

Yesterday I was browsing through my Twitter feed at warp speed when the words "Mangalitsa" and "lard" brought me to a screeching halt. Evan Kleiman (@evankleiman), host of KCRW's "Good Food," had tweeted or re-tweeted that McCall’s Meat & Fish Co. on Hillhurst Avenue in Los Feliz is now selling Mangalitsa leaf lard.

Fantastic! I’ve been lugging the same leaf lard home from Seattle’s U-District Farmers Market, where Heath Putnam Farms sells bacon and lard from Hungary’s Mangalitsa (MON-go-leet-sa), or woolly pig. The curly-headed beast is closely related to Europe’s wild boars and has a thick layer of particularly tasty fat, which, according to what I’ve read, is less saturated than that from many other breeds.

After rendering the fat, I used some in every pie crust I made all last summer. The snowy-white lard makes an ineffably flaky crust that has to be tasted to be believed. I’m just about out, so the fact that McCall’s is now selling the stuff is a wonderful thing.

Since the butcher shop is owned by a couple who are both chefs, I asked Nathan McCall and Karen Yoo how they would use the lard.  Nathan said Karen made a batch of biscuits to test the lard.  “They were excellent, easily the most moist and flaky biscuit I’ve eaten," he said. "I've also heard it makes an exceptional pie crust.”

On the savory side, he plans to try duck and pork confit, carnitas, even a quick-cured halibut confit. “I will definitely try utilizing it anywhere I would use duck fat, like beans, potatoes, braised cippolini, fries. The possibilities seem to be endless.” 

McCall’s Meat & Fish Co., 2117 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 667-0674; woolly pig leaf lard is $5 for a half-pound.

Heath Putnam Farms, (253) 833-7591; sells bacon and lard on Saturdays at Seattle’s U-District Farmers Market.

— S. Irene Virbila

Photo of woolly pig courtesy of Heath Putnam Farms

A few tasty tidbits on Sunday's Cochon 555 event

St. Vibiana’s has seen many makeovers, transforming from an ultraslick nightclub into a tween-friendly prom venue, or from an immaculate wedding chapel into a medieval masquerade ball in a matter of days. This Sunday, the Baroque-inspired cathedral will morph again, this time into a shrine of swine, as Brady Lowe and his traveling porkapalooza, Cochon 555, roll into downtown.

The inaugural Los Angeles event is a carnal gantlet for pork lovers, where five heritage pig farmers and five vintners are paired with five local chefs. Each chef is then challenged to create a snout-to-tail feast for 400 guests, who will serve as judges alongside a selected panel. The goal is to introduce patrons and chefs to new brands and breeds, showcasing some of the best pork each region has to offer.

Because of L.A.’s enthusiastic response and rapid sellout, Lowe felt he needed to up the ante.

Sunday's event will feature two butcher demos instead of one, an extra bar and an additional winery. There will be an additional 60 pounds of bacon from La Quercia, an extra kilo of caviar for the VIP room, and Chris Pollan from the Cheese Store of Silver Lake will be serving up his wares. In addition, this will be the first time a musical component has been added -- DJ Lord from Public Enemy and Egon from Stones Throw Records will spin as guests swirl into a swine-induced stupor.

Adding a sacrificial element, butchering demos will take place in front of the main altar. There will also be a freestyle butchering competition and the Bacon Hall of Fame, where exceptional producers of hormone- and antibiotic-free cured and smoked meat will be showcased. In the VIP area, Amelia Posada and Erika Nakamura of Lindy & Grundy will break down a Kume Kume pig, a small spotted Maori breed native to New Zealand.

Tender Belly Farms will be providing Hereford, Spotted Poland and Hampshire pork to be used by Ben Ford (Ben Ford's Filling Station), Tim Godell (Public Kitchen and Bar) and Chad Colby (Osteria Mozza), respectively. Octavio Becerra of Palate Food & Wine will be work with Berkshire from ReRide Ranch, and Joshua Whigham of the Bazaar will use the Red Wattle breed from Walnut Keep Farm & Vineyard.

Most chefs are tight-lipped about what they have in store for the competition, and are wary of any definitive speculation.

“It may come down to traditionalist versus modernist. If that’s the case, it could be Josh Whigham,” says Ford. “I will say this, though: Chad Colby is the only guy whose head cheese I’d eat.”

To get the full rundown on Cochon 555, plus a porcine photo gallery, read on. >>>

-- Krista Simmons

Follow me on Twitter @kristasimmons

Photo courtesy of Cochon 555