Part 1

(Brining Chicken, Choosing your Salt & Balsamic Caramelized Red Onions)
 

Part 2

(Kickin’ Chicken Quesadilla)
 

Part 3

(Booze Infused Ice Cream w/ Chocolate Cured Bacon & Applewood Smoked Sea Salt)

Mouth By Southwest – April 16, 2013

The Republic | azcentral.com – April 2, 2013

East Valley Tribune.com – April 2, 2013

KMLE Country 107.9 – March 31, 2013

yelp! – March 29, 2013

Restaurant Live AZ – March 27, 2013

azfamily.com – March 26, 2013

Metromix Phoenix – March 25, 2013

CBS 5 AZ – March 23, 2013

Arizona Online News - March 22, 2013

Experience Arizona - March 22, 2013

Phoenix New Times – Chow Bella – March 21, 2013

Arizona Foothills Magazine - March 21, 2013

azcentral.com - March 20, 2013

Front Door News - March 13, 2013

Mouth By Southwest - March 6, 2013

go lb. salt to Host Tasting, Bacon Curing and Meat Aging Courses

go lb. salt Launches Salt Education Series In Gilbert This Spring

Gastronomy.

It’s a word not frequently used, though we think it should be!

The word itself first appeared in the title of a poem written by French attorney Joseph Berchoux in 1801. The original suffix root of the word (nomy) derives from the Greek word nomos, meaning ‘laws that govern’. Further definition of nomos would include ‘the sum of knowledge of a specific subject’.

The meaning of gastronomy would then include a person’s command of the totality of knowledge regarding the art and science of good food and eating. It’s much more than simply embellishing the ritual of eating, it also includes understanding of the various avenues of cooking and food production. Today’s gastronomist also has some knowledge regarding chemistry and physics, food history and culinary anthropology.

Short of investing in decades of education and hands on experience with only the finest gastronomists in the world, that task would seem almost impossible to achieve. But that doesn’t need to stop you from learning and becoming well versed in some of the basic arts of the gastronomist.

We’ve established our ‘chichten kemistry’ classes to help do just that. We’ll take specific subjects like bacon making, dry aging beef and the basics of salt use. We’ll explore them thoroughly while offering a completely hands on approach to the processes discussed.

Just as the name suggests, these classes are designed to make you think, to look at things differently and to ask about each seemingly insignificant element (like the ‘h’ in chemistry). Interested in checking them out? Course descriptions and tuition and enrollment requirements are all described below.

If you live in the greater Phoenix area, sign up for one today, elevate your culinary skills and experience the joys of being a gastronome!  Have questions?  Contact us!

Current Curriculum

BYO Beef – Course Tuition $110          Purchase Tickets:  http://byobeef.eventbrite.com/

This three session course will take you through both the theory and actual process of dry aging your own beef at home.  

Part 1/ Day 1 – Students will be provided their own Dry Aged Beef Kit (a $50 retail value) and will be required to bring to Part 1 of the class a 7-13 lb. subprimal (chuck, sirloin, standing rib, or strip loin) and a 9×13 Pyrex baking dish.  Students will learn about the process of dry aging, it’s effect on texture and flavor as well as the benefits of dry aging.  Various methods of dry aging will be discussed, including the sea salt assisted method used by David Burke’s Primehouse in Chicago.  Students will prep and place in cold storage their individual subprimal making use of the Dry Aging Kit to begin their own 28 day dry aging project.

Part 2/ Day 14 – Students will return to the classroom on Day 14 to observe and discuss the progress of their aging beef.

Part 3/ Day 28 – Students will return to the classroom on Day 28 to see the final effect of dry aging.  They will be shown how to trim, use and cook this delicious product and will enjoy a tasting sample of beef aged by the kitchen staff during the same 28 day period.  Students will need to bring a cooler to transport their aged beef home.

Supplies provided by go lb. salt – Dry Aged Beef Kit

Makin’ Bacon – Course Tuition $110          Purchase Tickets:  http://golbsaltmakinbacon.eventbrite.com/

This two session course will take you through the theory and actual process of curing your own bacon at home.

Part 1/ Day 1 – Students will be provided ONE pound of Tenderbelly heritage Berkshire pork belly and ONE 4 ounce package of Rub Yer Belly organic bacon cure (total retail value $20).  Students will learn about the process of curing bacon, including developing and adjusting flavor profiles, various methods of curing and simply spending time talking about the goodness of homemade bacon!  Students will prep and place in cold storage their personal bacon using their Rub Yer Belly cure to begin their own 14 day bacon curing project.

Part 2/ Day 14 – Students will return to the classroom on Day 14 to see the final effect of curing on the pork belly.  The final process of smoking or oven finishing will be discussed with oven finishing being demonstrated.  Students will enjoy a sample of bacon cured by the kitchen in the same way and during the same curing period.  Students will need to bring a cooler to transport their cured but not finished bacon home.

Supplies provided by go lb. salt – 1 lb. pork belly & 4 oz. Rub Yer Belly cure

Cooking with Saltware – Course Tuition $110          Purchase Tickets:  http://saltware.eventbrite.com/

This single session course will take you through the theory and actual process of cooking on the Himalayan salt block.

Have you ever seen those big Himalayan salt blocks that look like cutting boards or salt licks?  Well they’re neither!  They are for cooking on!  During this course, you’ll learn about the physics and chemistry of cooking on Saltware, watching demonstrations of various foods being prepared and sampling the results.  Best of all, you’ll take home a 6″x8″ Saltware (a $40 retail value) of your own so the fun can continue once the class is over!

Supplies provided by go lb. salt – ONE 6″ x 8″ Saltware salt block

The Joy of Black Truffle Salt (yes, it really is THAT good!) – Course Tuition $50          

Purchase Tickets:  http://joyoftrufflesalt.eventbrite.com/

This single session course will take you through the various types of truffles, the science behind the phenomenal flavor components of truffles, their growth & harvest as well as their culinary uses.

Truffles aren’t for everyone, but for those who know a good thing… well this is it! Experience the profound impact that just a pinch of the most unique salt in the world can have on some of the simplest and most mundane foods.  Then go home and serve them to your family and friends using the your own Black Truffle Salt (a $20 retail value) along with the secrets you’ve just learned!

Supplies provided by go lb. salt – 2 oz. Premium Black Truffle Salt

Sea Salt – Tasting & Pairing Basics – Course Tuition $45          Purchase Tickets:  http://golbsalt.eventbrite.com/

This single session course will acquaint you with the most overlooked and misunderstood element in the kitchen – salt. Learning both theory and practice when it comes to using salt in food preparation and why the idea that salt is salt is salt is so wrong!

You’ve seen those ‘fancy salt’s’ on TV, cruise ships, even some of the nice white linen restaurants in your own backyard.  Learn what those salts and every other artisanal sea salt is about while sampling some of the more common salts on various foods. You’ll also learn about mineral content and composition, how those affect the flavor profile and why some salts are better paired with certain foods than others.  Best of all, you’ll take home a half pound sample pack of unrefined sea salts (a $21.50 retail value) to start your own salt cellar at home!

Supplies provided by go lb. salt – ONE Foodie Fun Sample Pack

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Purchase our all-natural and organic bacon cure.

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Rub cure on belly and place in ziplock bags.

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Place in refrigerator for 10 days, turning once a day.

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Remove from ziplock bag, pat dry and return to refrigerator for one more day to allow pellicle to form.

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Remove from refrigerator and finish in oven at 200° F until internal temperature reaches 150° F.

(Bacon can be finished similarly in a smoker if available.)

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Place back in refrigerator to cool, then slice as desired.

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Cook slices in the oven at 350° F for 20 minutes in a cookie sheet on a cooling rack.

=

DONE!

From here you are on your own, but we recommend something classic & tasty like this!

Enjoy!

(for further assistance, you can check out our DIY Best Homemade Bacon video)

Artisan.

That word is now bandied about the culinary world with the frequency of personal pronouns used at the beginning of sentences between long lost friends catching up on life events. Unfortunately, by definition, the word does not speak to the skill or the end result, only the methods employed.

For example most would agree that Antonio Stradivarius was an artisan. The skill required and the end result of each of his handcrafted works stand as an enduring testament to his work as an “artisan.” On the other hand, the recent Domino’s Pizza commercials making use of the word “artisan” to invoke a sense of quality is absurd and makes any discerning linguist rail against the incomplete definition of the word.

Today, I offer you the opportunity to become familiar with the true sense of what the word means in a most practical way. I don’t usually gush over baked goods or chocolate, but like all of us here, I will wax poetic about great food regardless of when one might enjoy it. So, it seems I’m going to turn over a new leaf here.

I was recently introduced to the father / daughter artisans pictured above and I’m…VERY impressed. Karl (Karl’s Quality Bakery) is in his late, late 20′s and still goes in every day at 3:30 am to bake for the day. His fresh, handmade pastries include puff and croissant that are as consistent day after day as the ticking of the second hand on your clock. He speaks French & German and offers up one of the most typically old world European bakery stylings (including cookies) that I’ve seen in quite some time. His Kaiser rolls have such a crisp, thin, buttery crust that it’s hard to eat just one.

But don’t stop at the rolls and pastries, he also does pies and Quiche as well as muffins and just about anything else you might expect. I’ve been dropping in for almost three weeks and haven’t had a single thing that I didn’t REALLY like. And, if that’s not enough, like many of the other single establishment owners we love, he is just about the most gracious person you will find. The smile on his face says it all, and that’s why we call him Mr. Beautiful.

Right next door, (and almost identical in set up to La Dolce Vita in Mesa) is Karl’s daughter Christine Boerner – The Baker’s Daughter and the ONLY Swiss (and Austrian) trained chocolatier that is running a stand alone business in Phoenix (the other three work at hotels in the valley). We sampled some of her cocoa chips and talked percentages and flavor profiles for a bit the other day and what a joy to FINALLY find AWESOME chocolate locally. While there are other chocolatiers in the valley, they aren’t Swiss trained – it is a standard worth measuring by! And not for nothing, she serves your shots or double shots of espresso with Perrier and a truffle – you gotta love the Austrian influence.

When I was at The Baker’s Daughter the other day, Christine had just finalized an order with The Heard Museum for an upcoming artist commemoration. Her work is exquisite and her attention to detail unwavering. She fusses almost daily over the fact that as hard as she tries she can’t find any help capable of consistently crafting chocolate of the right consistency. It’s a family affair, so maybe she’ll be able to work one of her sisters into the chocolatiers’ mold, but for now, there’s no concern that the good swiss chocolate will stop flowing with a taste and texture that would impress Jacques Torres. That’s why some call her the Doctor of Chocolate. (for the record, we concur with this honorary title)

If you ever find yourself in need of some seriously good chocolates to cheer someone up, mend a few fences (maybe you really messed up with your significant other), or impress someone new, Christine’s your new go-to-girl! But like any good establishment there’s more than one drum to play…don’t get all OCD on the chocolate. It’s INCREDIBLE by itself and she crafts close to 30 different truffles on a regular basis (her current offering shows a total of 46) including a Wasabi Lime Truffle – but she makes OUTSTANDING cakes too.

Oh, and don’t forget to take note of the large jar (like 6 gallons large) of Kirsch soaked cherries in the corner. She tells me they have to come out at exactly the right time, and when they are gone, they’re gone. I can’t wait to watch an upcoming and unsuspecting dinner crowd fawn over her ridiculously decadent Black Forest cake made from scratch by her deft hand with only Swiss chocolate and those little Kirsch soaked beauties.

I took home the two dozen truffles you see pictured at right and regretted eating each and everyone of them because with each bite it meant I was coming closer to the end of the box. Thankfully there are plenty more where that came from! And, don’t forget to asked about her gluten-free chocolate options too. In the meantime, I wanted to put these guys on your radar if you haven’t already heard of them. They really deserve the extra traffic and I’m hoping we can bring it to them!

If you don’t live in Phoenix, that’s ok too! They gladly ship anywhere in the U.S. 

If you want to see what other Phoenix locals are saying about these and other great artisan’s establishments, you can keep an eye on things here:  

PHXfoodnerd.com – The Bakers Daughter

If you want to check them out in person, you can find them at the physical and internet addresses below.

Karl’s Quality Bakery / The Baker’s Daughter
8847 N. 7th Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85021
602-997-7849

thebakersdaughter.net

January 20^th.

It may not mean much to you, but it’s a big deal for us.  It’s go lb. salt’s second anniversary! You can get a recap of our first year if you need a refresher, but this post is all about our second successful year… together!

Yes, that’s right, we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you. We want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the support you’ve given thus far and we look forward to many more years to come. We hope each and every one of you will be able to say, “I remember when…”

So what have we done in the past year?

We started 2012 with this blog. Yeah, we know, like there weren’t enough food blogs in the world already. But, we tried to do something a bit different. We kept the blog focused strictly on what we know and do. On January 2^nd we unveiled the blog with one simple promise… The truth, the WHOLE truth and nothing but the truth!

During the course of the past year we’ve written more than 120 posts. If you have a subject you’d like to see discussed, send us a note, we’d be happy to consider it!

In late January we released our Dressing Up!™ vinaigrette salad dressing blends. These are the only all natural and organic (not to mention COMPLETELY chemical-free) salad dressing mixes on the market. Along with the release of our Dressing Up!™ line, we also added tamper evident shrink banding to all of our packaging. Not to worry, we kept with our earth friendly approach. The shrink banding is a corn-based plastic and decomposes even faster than the paper. Go ahead, put it in your compost bin.

The end of January brought two more notable notes – we began using Twitter @_go_lb_salt_ and we had the opportunity to experience Chef Traina and Liberty Market’s homage to the Gilbert Farmer’s Market for their “Double Market” Community Dinner. Both of those presented some of our offerings in a new public venue.

In February we unveiled plans for Dutchman’s Truffiere and it’s crowd-funded debut. We were also invited to take part in the first ever Ignite Food. Ignite is a fast paced program allowing five minutes to each participant and the format is fixed. You get twenty power point slides that advance one every fifteen seconds. Our selected topic? Salt related of course! In just five short minutes we made clear that ‘Salt is salt is salt… is sooooo wrong!’ As a result, March was a blur as we prepared for those two events.

However, in the midst of it all, we had the opportunity to lend an assist to one of the other Ignite Food participants and great go lb. salt supporter – Mr. Zach Garcia. With those efforts we began work on a new product line that we finally released in September.

In July we released three new sea salts and their corresponding pack – The Gourmand. This brought our complement of salts to a total of seventeen. Seven unsmoked, five smoked, and five aromatics including our Black Truffle Salt. We also acquired some video studio lighting and background materials so that we can integrate brief video tasting notes into our web store. Look for those this coming year!

At the beginning of August we released our lemon·AID rim·licks™ for both lemonade and iced tea beverages. On August 20^th we provided our response to J & D’s new Sriracha Popcorn by posting a video recipe for making your own BACON Sriracha Popcorn without the chemical laden bacon salt those boys have become popular for.

Our simple seasonings™ Original BBQ Blend was released the end of August and met with rave reviews!  We have three more variations we are still working on. Look for Spicy BBQ and Mesquite BBQ to make their appearance in the near future with a Jerk Seasoning somewhere on the horizon.

On August 31^st, go lb. salt became an officially recognized trademark with the United States Patent & Trademark Office. Other trademarks are also in the works.

On International Bacon Day (September 1^st), thanks to the product testing assistance of Zach, we officially released our new line of Rub Yer Belly™ bacon cures. When we finished crafting the six different cures, we knew we had something special. Imagine having the option to make Chocolate, Coffee, Sweet & Spicy, BBQ, Savory Herb or Original flavored bacon when you wanted. With our Rub Yer Belly™ bacon cures literally anyone can make their own bacon at home and without a smoker. Best of all, with the small exception of the sodium nitrite to prevent botulism, they are entirely natural and organic, no chemicals and no additives of any kind.

If you want to learn more about the bacon making you can find a video on our YouTube channel that now has more than 150,000 views as of late December. It helps that we have the second most popular video on the interweb related to dry aging beef with more than 100,000 views as of November 2012. After adding four more videos to the channel, we’ve expanded our “Cooking with Saltware™” series and we now have a total of 22 videos with many more on the drawing board.

October saw us finally embrace Pinterest. It is our hope that this will be an easy way for you to share us with your friends!

On November 16^th with our patent application completed, we released our new patent pending face and skin scrubs under the Pore Essentials™ line. These new scrubs are unique in the health and beauty industry! The are more than 90% organic in composition, gluten-free and contain absolutely no chemicals, additives, preservatives or stabilizers of any kind. Best of all, you select your own carrier to blend with the dry sugar and salt blend we’ve put together. The only complaint we’ve had from all of our product testers and customers is that you can’t get your tongue far enough out of your mouth to lick your face! That’s why we say, ‘feed your skin organic food!’

If you’ve been with us since that first week in January 2011, you’ve seen our product offering grow. Taste·ology™, Soak·ology™, sugar·licious™, pepper please!™, FACON™, rim·licks™, simple seasonings™, Dressing Up!™, Rub Yer Belly™ and Pore Essentials™ represent all of our offerings. The current customer favorite is clear. At the close of 2012 more than 85 pounds of Black Truffle Salt had passed through our booth.

While this year last year didn’t see as many new products as the year before, the diversity of new products was much greater. Really, did you expect to see bacon cures and skin scrubs – let alone in the same year? We didn’t either.

So, what’s in store for Year 3? Who knows, but it’s bound to be as much fun as the first two. A few more products will appear to round out our offering for sure. We’re also going to be working with other local folks to offer more salt education for those of you who are interested. In-home tasting parties are also in the works. As always, you have our deepest gratitude for the support you’ve given. Thanks for sticking with us… we can’t wait to see where this ride goes!

It’s one week into the new year, what do you have to say for yourself? Fell off the wagon already? It’s OK, pick yourself up and keep going.

The new year always brings resolutions. Most of them are broken within days, if not weeks. The primary problem with resolutions is that they require being resolute – purposeful, determined and unwavering.

Let’s be honest here. If we were truly resolute, we wouldn’t make the same resolutions year after year. Self-improvement would be just that, improvement. Sometimes we confuse self-improvement with self-awareness. However, self-awareness only requires honest observation while self-improvement requires us to act on the things we learn through self-awareness.

I’m aware that I need to eat. I’m aware that I like to eat. I’m aware that I’m a sucker for comfort foods. So, when looking for comfort foods, I go for simple, quick and tasty. What most of us aren’t aware of is the fact that comfort food doesn’t automatically mean food that’s bad for you. Comfort food doesn’t have to come from a box, bag or can. Raising awareness provides the basis for bringing the improvements we want so badly.

Consider the difference between blue box mac and cheese as opposed to one made from scratch at home from the roux up. If you choose made from scratch at home you can most certainly make it chemical-free, and if you are so inclined, gluten-free too. You most definitely don’t get those options from a blue box mac and cheese!

There are those who would argue that we as individual’s are not dogs such that we need to be plied with food. However, unlike dogs, we have the capacity to differentiate between the offerings placed before us. Not simply differentiate, but even discuss those differences.

We know the difference between “good” food and “bad” food. We also know that sometimes bad food tastes better than good food. But what most of us don’t know is that’s usually because of the way good food has been prepared. Without chemical additives, most bad food wouldn’t taste good. Candidly without proper preparation and seasoning most “good” food doesn’t taste nearly as good.

We believe strongly in the precept that if you make food taste better, you will eat better. So, start with the basics. Don’t jump into the deep end and go crazy vegan juice dieting, or consuming Jethro-sized bowls of leafy greens and veggies to lose the weight. If you aren’t used to such a healthy diet, nothing will drive you back to bad food more quickly.

Instead, take simple comfort foods and learn to make them at home. You need not become Julia Child or August Escoffier.  You also don’t need to worry about reducing fats (at least not immediately), start sensibly, start by taking the things out of your diet you were never meant to eat – chemicals, additives and preservatives, refined and processed foods (including refined salt, sugar and flour). Make healthier meals simply by using fresh ingredients even fresh cream and butter are good for you.  (And, would you please stop using table salt and kosher salt?  Thank you!)

Our potato leek soup recipe is just one example. Our poor man’s beef stroganoff is another.  (recipe coming soon)  It’s easy on the budget and it’s quick and easy to make. What more could you ask for? Oh, yeah…it tastes good too!! (Purposeful, determined, unwavering; remember, you’re not changing how the world eats, just how you eat.)  Looking for more ideas?

Next time you need to eat a meal in a hurry, be resolute – choose to make something simple and fresh like beef stroganoff instead of hitting the drive-thru for the Big Mac or the BK Double Stacker; or the potato leek soup instead of the Whopper or Quarter Pounder. You could even add some brussels sprouts to your diet and it wouldn’t kill you.

Your body will thank you and next year you won’t be making the same resolutions!