Between Cochon 555 and the whole slew of meat-centric events, not to mention the delightful porkiness of NYC menus in general, it was already shaping up to be a promising season for pig lovers. Now comes word that several local producers are amping up their charcuterie offerings.
Brooklyn Cured has just added a hickory-smoked bacon cured with sea salt and brown sugar, plus (in time for the Super Bowl) buffalo-chicken sausage and a whole-grain beer mustard. Meanwhile, New Jersey’s Mosefund Mangalitsa tells Grub Street they’ve rolled out new products, too, including an Italian sausage, a breakfast sausage, Canadian bacon, and beer bratwurst. Both producers sell at Boerum Hill’s Foodshed market on Sundays, and Brooklyn Cured is also at the Brooklyn Flea on Saturdays. Plus, if you’re keen on acorn-fed Ibérico ham but not on the high price, Mercat has launched an “Ibérico for the Masses” program, where the restaurant’s lomo, shoulder, and classic jamón Ibérico cuts are selling at cost, for $3 an ounce. And for the super adventurous, a tipster sent word that Ornella Trattoria in Astoria recently began offering sanguinaccio, the pig’s-blood pudding popular around Lent. You’ll have to ask for it, as it’s not officially on the menu yet.
