Tale Tuesday: awesome ossabaw hams and "hams"

Today's Tuesday Tale brings some porky publicity to not one but four Smoking Goose partners and two new Smoking Goose meat treats. What ties all these tales together is a little tasty time travel.

ossabaw hogs
image by Conner Prairie

In collaboration with Conner Prairie—an interactive history park reenacting early nineteenth-century life on the Indiana prairies—Goose owner Chris Eley worked with livestock manager Kevyn Miller who raises Ossabaw pigs just as early Hoosier settlers did centuries ago. The breed’s history trots even further back than 1820s Indiana. These small pigs are descendants of wild boars in Spain, but farmers of yesterday and today prize them for their highly marbled, ruby red meat.

For the latest, limited release of awesome Ossabaw, Smoking Goose worked its meat magic on cuts from two different portions of this historic breed: hind-end hams and front-end shoulder "hams."

Chris & his team hand-rubbed the Ossabaw hams with sea salt, black pepper, and orange peel before they dry cured for six months. (Think of these kinda like an Indiana version of an Italian prosciutto or a Spanish jamon--sliced paper thin next to a piece of Indiana summer melon...hoosier heaven.) So far our Six Month Ossabaw Hams are available only at Black Sparrow in Lafayette and from small distributor in Illinois called EquusOaks Farms.

Smoking Goose's Paleta is inspired by the Spanish shoulder "ham" of the same name. These cuts got sea salt, black pepper, time, and love, just like the Ossabaw hams. But the Paleta is cut from the shoulder (rather than the hind end) of the Ossabaw and got even more time to hang. The combination of the incredibly well-marbled shoulders plus more than six months aging makes for a slice with potent porky goodness. (Sweet and rich and deliciously funky, it can take the spotlight next to simple sides like Spanish marcona almonds and aged sheep's milk cheeses.) Right now, the lucky folks with our Paleta on their menus include Ball and Biscuit in Indianapolis and The Legend in Irvington.

We're hiring! Retail & customer service staff AND meat packers

Smoking Goose is accepting applications for part-time positions staffing our public retail shop--the Dorman St. Meat Locker--and our local farmers market booths.

Our team is passionate about great food and good people. Sharing this passion means quickly learning about a wide selection of products, maintaining a great attitude, and effectively interacting with guests to provide exceptional front-line customer service.

Working behind the retail counter in our Dorman St. Meat Locker or at our farmers market booths doesn't mean holding a butcher's knife but rather engaging in great conversations about our products while efficiently and accurately filling orders and managing the cash register. Working shifts will be a combination of the following:

Dorman St. Meat Locker:
Thursday 3-7pm, Friday 1-8pm, Saturday 11am-6pm

Farmers Markets: Saturdays 7am-12pm
Possible additional hours may be requested


The Smoking Goose is also accepting applications for meat packing. This position includes portioning, packaging and labeling of products and requires attention to detail, an eye for consistency and quality, some heavy lifting, and the ability to work in a cold environment.  Experience is not required.  Training is provided.  All government holidays off and normal working hours are conducive to personal life. 

Applicants for either position should apply in person with Brittany at Smoking Goose: Monday--Friday, 8 am to 4 pm, 407 N. Dorman St. Indianapolis, IN 46202. No phone calls, emails, or social media inquiries please.

Tale Tuesday: Slow Pogue? No, Pogue's Run!

On the east side of Indianapolis, members of a local food coop believe no one can put dinner on the table all by himself. They say it takes a village to raise a child, but folks from the Indy Food Coop know it takes a village to raise a meal, too.

Over five years ago, volunteers of the coop began organizing a member-owned neighborhood grocery store. Their focus was on healthy, natural, local goods but also on the quickly developing "food desert" on the city's near east side. After two major grocery stores left the area, residents faced the tragic choice of traveling far for real food or sticking close to home for higher-priced but lower-nutrition foodstuffs. Thanks to thousands of volunteer hours, grants from near and far, and a driving hunger to keep Indy fed well, Pogue's Run Grocer opened its doors at the end of 2010.

Named for the waterway that runs through the neighborhood, Pogue's Run stocks its shelves and deli counter with affordable, fresh, healthy foods and locally produced goods. While anyone can shop those aisles, members enjoy everyday discounts plus bulk ordering opportunities and special pricing on Member Appreciation Days.

Now folks can take home Smoking Goose meat treats from Pogue's Run Grocer, too! Look for our Kitchen Sink Sausage, Jowl Bacon, Tasso and more. And because we're always hungry (especially when we're grocery shopping), look for Smoking Goose proteins on the ever-changing ready-to-eat sandwiches from Pogue's Run deli (hello City Ham!).

Stolen: our beloved smoking trailer

Attention all agents!

Our beloved smoking trailer was taken last night from the parking lot at 407 N Dorman St.

REWARD for info leading to the recovery: a whole pig roast for you and 50 of your closest friends.

Call 317-924-4944 with tips and thank you for helping to spread the word!

Description:
Black beauty with flavorful wear and tear
Barrel smoker with firebox and two smoke stacks
Colts license plate frame
License plate #TR488HQA Exp: 4/2013
VIN# 5JTAU1012BA031813
Removed from the parking lot at 407 N Dorman St

New Menu! Smoking Goose plates at Flat12 Bierwerks

The meaty menu of plates we're serving up at Flat12 Bierwerks taproom is always changing. Check out this week's edition!

available Thursdays & Fridays 4-7pm and Saturdays 12-5pm
No reservations.

Smoked Sausage, spicy pickled cabbage, mustard, bun
Porchetta sandwich, salsa verde
Chicken salad sandwich
Potato soup with bacon and corn

* Don't believe everything you read on the internet: Since Smoking Goose is committed to serving only the best ingredients, some of the above menu items may change, but only ever for the better, promise. 

Tale Tuesday: Boca bites Goose

There may be lots of bus boys who dream of being chefs, but former busy boy and current chef-owner of Cincinatti's Boca David Falk realizes that even after culinary school, world traveling, and kitchen stints under the likes of Charlie Trotter, his goals are pretty much the same as they were back in his bus boy days.

Much of his Boca's success is tied to anticipating customers' needs, going above and beyond to ensure guests' superlative experience, and making sure staff and customers alike are having fun. Falk knows whether you're filling the plates or carrying the empty ones back to the kitchen, "you're creating mutual life experiences," he says.

From the front of the house to the back of the kitchen, Falk plans an evening at Boca the way a bus boy might through a party. (Granted, a serious bus boy who has traveled and cooked all over Italy...and opened his own award winning restaurant group that continues to carefully, thoughtfully expand.) Cooks plate raucously flavored dishes in simple, artful arrangements. Staff are excited about service but professional. Bar tenders pour quirky but inspired bottles. Falk tends to hire folks who enjoy throwing a party more than attending one, and their collective talents--from bus boys to top chefs--help everyone around the table feel like the guest of honor at this festa.

Boca's newest addition to their line up of fete fare showcases the same commitment to a delicious party for the palate. Their antipasto platter features Smoking Goose Saucisson Rouge, Lardo, and Salame Piccante right now, but the party's never over since the platter's contents will constantly rotate.

Ossabaw Brasolara: historically delicious

We went back 200 years to source the ingredients for our latest meatastic release.

In collaboration with Connor Prairie—an interactive history park reenacting early nineteenth-century life on the Indiana prairies—Goose owner Chris Eley worked with livestock manager Kevyn Miller who raises Ossabaw pigs just as early Hoosier settlers did centuries ago. The breed’s history trots even further back than 1820s Indiana. These small pigs are descendants of wild boars in Spain, but farmers of yesterday and today prize them for their highly marbled, ruby red meat.

Back at Smoking Goose Chris and his team transformed six of these historically-raised hogs into our newest protein production: Ossabaw Brasolara. Along with a splash of crisp, organic Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, the Smoking Goose team spiked ground Ossabaw pork shoulder with sea salt, black pepper, garlic and orange zest before cradling whole, hand-trimmed Ossabaw coppa inside natural beef casings. Curing and dry aging for over eight weeks creates an intense and sweet slice laced with citrus and old world spice.


The extremely limited production of our hand-tended Ossabaw Brasolara means a lucky few can catch the delicious culmination of two eras in Indiana’s food history. (Time travel by taste? At the Smoking Goose, it’s our favorite way to go.)

At the moment, our Ossabaw Brasolara is available exclusively at Goose the Market and (soon) at Balena.

Tale Tuesday: Meat Blossoms at Bloomingfoods

There's never been low hanging fruit for Bloomingfoods. This Bloomington, Indiana, market and deli is creeping up on the big 4-0, and through each of those four decades, this member-owned co-op continually trimmed and trained its offerings to become the budding community center still blossoming today.

With a small, local loan and the sweat equity of 150 volunteers, Bloomingfoods first began stocking its shelves with local, sustainable, artisanal foodstuffs in 1975. It wasn't all peaches to get the initial business up and running, and it hasn't been easy as pie to build Bloomingfoods into the three storefronts that serve southern Indiana communities today. But through the seasons, co-op members and patrons rallied around their delicious mission for "healthy, high quality, sustainable and environmentally sound products at a fair price."

That's why Smoking Goose meat treats are a natural, tasty fit for Bloomingfoods' cases. Since we always start with all-natural meat from local farmers who raise their animals with the same care that Bloomingfoods upholds in its own mission, our sausages and smoked meats fulfill this co-op's goals deliciously. Look for our Duck, Pear and Port Sausage, Andouille, Mexican Chorizo, Tasso and more.

So to celebrate not just the local, artisanal products on Bloomingfoods' shelves but also the people that have helped the co-op grow sustainably, this Saturday, July 14, is Mad Cad Day. It's a customer appreciation celebration when everyone who shops at any of the three Bloomingfoods locations this Saturday gets at least 5% off their purchases.

But wait, there's more! In honor of the occasion and the people, our own dear Josh will be at Bloomingfoods passing out complimentary samples of our mighty meat treats on the afternoon of Mad Cad Day, July 14. Congrats, Bloomingfoods, and may your future continue to bud!

New menu: Smoking Gooose plates in the Flat12 Taproom

The meaty menu of plates we're serving up at Flat12 Bierwerks taproom is always changing. Check out this week's edition with a special menu Friday to go with Flat12's tapping of their latest seasonal, Merk-uh! A Celebratory Beer.

available Thursdays & Fridays 4-7pm and Saturdays 12-5pm
No reservations.

Thursday 4-7pm & Saturday 12-5pm Menu
Sausage, Spicy Mustard, Kohlrabi Slaw, Hoagie - 9
Salame Cotto, Provolone, Fennel, Quince Marmalade, Bun - 9
Smothered Pork Chop - 12

Friday 4-7pm Menu
served from our mobile Smoke Stack on the Flat12 patio!
Smoked Dry Rubbed Ribs 10
Smothered Pork Chop 12
Barbecued Beef Shoulder 10
All Friday Menu dishes served with braised mustard greens and potato salad

Tale Tuesday: Jack the Ploughman

For over 30 years, Union Jack Pub in Indy's Broad Ripple neighborhood has been serving up pints that satisfy more than the thirst of their guests old and new. Union Jack is a pub not just by definition but also by tradition. Proprietors Brenda Rising-Moore and Tom Campbell take to heart the longstanding role of the pub as a place to replenish a thirsty gullet and the community spirit.

With a reputation for brilliant beers and a satisfying menu that blends British standards with American classics, Union Jack recently added a new item to their tempting menu. Pull up a pint next to their new Ploughman's Platter, an ever-changing selection of Smoking Goose meat treats. Put down your plough and stop in now for a platter loaded with Smoking Goose City Ham, Capocollo, and Salame Cotto.