Breakfast Sausage

BREAKFAST SAUSAGE:

Yield: approx 26 # bulk sausage forcemeat

Meats
22 # pork butt
3 # fat back, trimmed of skin
seasonings
6 oz salt
1 oz. freshly ground black pepper
1 oz. freshly ground white pepper
1 oz fresh finely chopped sage
4 T. chile flakes, ground in the spice grinder
1/4 oz. nutmeg
1/4 oz ground thyme ( fresh or dry)
1/4 oz. ginger
2 T. ground coriander
3 oz dextrose
1 pint very cold water (slurry with the spices.)
binders
1.5 cup. soy protein powder
2 pint cold water. ( mix with soy protein in robot coupe)

procedures
1-Grind all meats and fat on a 3/8 plate
Over a large SS (Stainless Steel) mixing bowl on ice

2 -add the seasoning and water only!
3 -mix vigorously by hand or Hobart mixing bowl.until protein mesh is established
It should have a sticky consistency.
4- Add soy protein/cold water slurry after the protein mesh has formed,mix until well absorbed.

5- Taste for seasoning by cooking a small amount in a sauté pan over low heat.
6-Pack into hog casings.
7- Make 6” links or ropes
8-let rest 24 hours in cooler uncovered.
(this will tighten the casing and shape the sausage further)
9-Cook over low heat until an internal temperature of 155° F.
Note : If a browned exterior is desired, brown at the end of the cooking process as opposed to the beginning of the cooking process.

Italian Sausage

ITALIAN SAUSAGE:
Everything must be chilled !

yield: 25 lbs. bulk forcemeat

ingredients

meats and fat:
16 lbs. untrimmed boneless pork butt cut into 2’ strips
4 lbs. fatback cut into 2’ strips
5 lbs. beef chuck ( lean) cut into 2’ strips

seasonings:
1 oz. powdered dextrose
1 oz. medium ground black pepper
7 oz. salt
1 oz. cracked fennel seed and lightly toasted
4 T. red pepper flakes
1 Tbs of freshly ground black pepper
5 1/2 oz. Pecorino Romano, or Parmesan finely grated
12 garlic cloves, minced
1 c. parsley, chopped
1 c. chilled water (Mixed with the spices)

binders:
1.5 c. soy protein concentrate* or milk powder (optional)
4 c. chilled red wine (Mixed with the soy protein concentrate in the robot-coupe)
* The soy protein concentrate improves the juiciness of the finished product.

Procedures

1-Grind all meats and fat on a ¼” plate
Over a large SS mixing bowl on ice

2 -add the seasoning and water only!
3 -mix vigorously by hand or Hobart mixing bowl.until protein mesh is established
It should have a sticky consistency.
4- Add soy protein/red wine slurry after the protein mesh has formed,mix until well absorbed.

5- Taste for seasoning by cooking a small amount in a sauté pan over low heat.
6-Pack into hog casings.
7- Make 6” links or ropes
8-let rest 24 hours in cooler uncovered. ( this will tighten the casing and shape the sausage further)
9-Cook over low heat until an internal temperature of 155° F.

Note : If a browned exterior is desired, brown at the end of the cooking process as opposed to the beginning of the cooking process.

Summer Sausage

Smoked Mettwurst
German summer sausage


Yield 10 # bulk forcemeat

Ingredients:
Meats and fat
5 # boneless fatty pork butts
3 # beef chuck
2 # veal meat

Seasoning:
2 tsp Prague #1
5 TBS salt
2 TBS ground nutmeg
1 TBS grd White pepper
1/2 TBS grd allspice
4 TBS powdered dextrose
1 tsp grd celery seeds
1 tsp grd marjoram
½ tsp grd caraway seeds
1 tsp grd coriander
2 tsp whole mustard seeds
1 pint ice cube


Method:

1-grind all meats thru ½ ‘ grinder plate with the ice cubes
over an iced SS bowl
2-add all seasoning and mix thouroughly until elastic
3-regrind again thru a 3/16 plate
4-stuff into beef middles casings in about 18” long sticks
Prick casings
5_tie ends and hang carefully on smoke sticks
6-let air dry for 24 h in the sausage room
7 smoke for about 6 hours at 120 degrees
8- remove from smoke house and dip in hot water to plump the casing
9 _ cool at room temp for a few hours
Then chill overnight.


Note : this is considered a “summer sausage” of the uncooked variety so we are using only frozen pork to manufacture this product and avoid contamination with trichinae

Cajun Andouille Sausage

Cajun Andouille Sausage
Cured and Smoked

Yield : 10 lbs of bulk forcemeat
(2 days preparation)

Ingredients:

10 Lbs boneless pork butts ( 25% fat contents) or 8 lbs lean pork butts and 2 lbs fat back
8 tbs salt
2 tbs dry thyme
1 cup fresh garlic ,finely chopped
½ cup cracked black peppercorn
2 tbs cayenne pepper
2 cups iced water ( for spice slurry)
1 tsp Prague #1

Procedures

Ist day:
1 - grind pork butt and fat on a ¼ “ plate over iced SS mixing bowl
2 - add spice slurry and mix well until elastic.
3 - stuff into beef middles or beef rounds
4 - air dry overnight in sausage curing room on smoke sticks

Next day :
5 - smoke for 4 hours until internal temp of 152.
6 - rinse , then let rest( bloom) at room temp for 2 hours
7 - chill overnight before use

Corned Beef Making! Yum!

I made Corned Beef Brisket and Pastrami (they have to brine for a few days before they're ready for further cooking)

Corned Beef and Pastrami

Yield: 2 whole beef briskets

2 whole briskets, trimmed of some of the excess fat (approx 75%)
Then cut in halves ( chef will demo)

BRINE:
2 gal. Water
21 oz. Salt
4 oz Prague #1 powder
7 oz. dextrose
8 ea cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs pickling spice
1-½ Tbs . whole black peppercorns

RUB:
4 oz. Freshly ground black pepper – medium grind
3 oz. Freshly ground coriander – medium grind
3 t. powdered thyme
3 t. quatre epices

- Puree garlic in several cups of water using a blender.
- Add remaining brine ingredients and mix until well incorporated.
- Inject briskets to 10-15 % weight. Vacuum tumble, 55 minutes, 18 psi, high speed.
- After tumbling, place in remaining brine and cure 3-4 days in cooler.

After 3 to 4 days

- Wash excess brine off briskets.
-Rub with the mixture:
- Place briskets on a rack and smoke for 5 hours, smoker temperature 170-190 F

Until internal temp reach 152

Smoker setting :pork butts (specifics to follow)

--------------------------------

Corned beef:
Yield 2 full brisket.

Use the same brine recipe and the same curing time.

Place all 4 briskets in a large stock pot and cover with cold water.
Add 1 cup of pickling spice
1 lbs large cut carrots
½ head of large cut celery
2 large onion cut in large dice.
1 head of garlic cut in half
Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer.
It should cook approx 2 hours or until the meat is tender.

Let cool in the cooking liquid overnight.

I Love Pork

I had fun making sausages today. Sausage making is simpler than I thought. And requires a lot more FAT than I thought. Fat makes sausages really good though! Pork Fat rules!

It was just really tiring because we did a huge production of various sausages from pork we freshly butchered out of whole hogs! That was A LOT of fun!

It was too busy I didn't get to take pictures of the sausage production (not to mention my hands were buried mixing 30 lbs of ground meat, too messy to pick up my camera to take pictures)


Some basic recipes from Chef Pierre Chechi to follow

Back to School, Post Internship

Some of the things that I look forward too back when I was young(er) were the scent of my new books, the smooth feel of fresh sheets of paper and the sharp edge of my new pencils...

Now that I'm a little old(er) and going back to school, I get excited with the thought of being able to play with the rest of my toys. I left most of my tools in Chicago when I flew to San Francisco for my internship. All I brought with me are the essentials: knives.

Going back to school also allows me to spend more time with a few of my favorite things.

I really need to catch up on reading
(most of Melissa's books before she ships them to her new location)

8AM Chez Panisse Intern Schedule

8:00 AM CUSTARDS AND COOKIES

- If custards are on the menu, gather ramekins and hotel pans for custards, put aside ramekins for 2nd custard bake. Taste and Adjust custard as needed. Consult with Chef or Cook

- Custards should be in the oven by 8:10-8:15 for first bake

- Set timer for 55 minutes; check when timer goes off (with chef/cook if necessary) and reset timer appropriately.

Note: Creme caramels bake for less time than the creme brulee custards. If serving panna cotta, use the first part of the morning when you would normally be baking custards to carefully cut the pannas and cover them with plastic individually

- Check with cafe assistant as to which cookies are on the day’s menu. Count cookies left over from day before prior to production
- Re-crisp them in oven for 5 minutes. Put away once cooled

- Cut and place all cookies and half sheets, place prepped sheets back into freezer until custards are out of the oven

- Once custards are out, cool them place on perforated sheets
- Creme caramels should be carefully cut while warm then placed in walk-in (the cutting should be done only by cooks or interns that has previously been trained to do this)

- Caramels and Chocolate custards remain at room temperature; all other custards should go to the walk-in

Begin baking cookies. Place cookies in airtight containers once cooled 


9:30-11:00 AM

- Get Prep list from cafe assistant and/or assist with knife work for tarts or condiments for cafe

-Set-up all condiments for cafe (fruits, dates, etc, chocolate sauce, cookie tray, custard tray, chopped peel, nuts etc)

11:15-11:30 AM
- Help set-up dessert display for cafe

- Check display/tasting with Chef - THIS IS MY FAVORITE PART! TASTING EVERYTHING ON A PLATE! We play with the plating and see how everything taste and look together and make adjustments as necessary... and the best part is... I get to do this EVERYDAY!!! YUM!



11:45 AM
- Prep additional fruits and nuts if needed

- Begin 2nd Custard Bake

- Get list of afternoon projects from the Chef


12:15 - 12:30
- LUNCH BREAK

- 12:30 PM Onwards

- Afternoon Projects

1:15 PM (Wed, Thurs) 1:45 (Mon, Tues, Fri, Sat)

- Clean and organize station, relolcat station, take out trash and recycling, sweep


3:50 PM
- Finish and put-away all projects

- Clean and Organize Station

- Fill out ‘you have’ list for the following day (projects completed today for tomorrow)

Unforgettable Flavors

There were a lot of flavors that I encountered for the first time at Chez Panisse and I will truely never forget them:

Fraise des bois or wild strawberries from the woods - tiny white strawberries! They're so sweet and creamy! I only used to read about them.

Mulberries - I’ve never seen them before. They burst like little pieces of jam in your mouth. So intense!
Noyao - Apricot Pits, one of my projects in the afternoon was to crack the pits and get the core in it. I had no idea what it was for, until I was instructed to steep them in the ice cream base! It's a whole new dimension of nuttiness!

Honey and Moscato - one of my favorite combos!

Creme Fraiche - I can’t believe how good creme fraiche ice cream is. I can never have enough of it!

Mayer Lemons - the best lemons I’ve ever tasted. Tart yet has a round finish in the mouth.
Lemon Verbena - Citrusy and spicy! I usually encounter them in desserts. I can't forget that day when they roasted a whole fillet of halibut on branches of lemon verbena! Delicious!

Fresh Figs - I’ve only seen dried figs until my internship at Chez Panisse. They’re the sweetest things.

Olive Oil - they probably use the best and most flavorful olive oil I’ve ever tasted! So fresh and fruity!

Pork - It was grilled and seasoned with only salt and pepper but it was really good. The meat was sweet and tender!

Green Rhubarb - I only knew of red rhubarb. The green ones tasted like green apples!
Matsumoto Peaches - they’re perfect! no bruises. Deep in color and the flavor was just so intensely peachy. I guess it does make a difference when they're picked at their perfect ripeness. I remember a peach picking field trip being organized, but unfortunately, I was on the schedule to work. I got to eat some though!
Bing Cherries - the darkest, they’re almost black but the most intense. I’ve never enjoyed fresh cherries as much as I enjoyed Bings! These bowls contained hand picked perfect cherries!
Sta. Rosa Plums - I can almost taste them from the way they smell. They’re almost perfumy!

I was seduced by these flavors. Hopefully I'll get to go back and work in California. In the summer too!

The Fruit Book

It was an unpaid internship but what I learned was priceless. They sent me a signed copy of Chez Panisse Fruits book though as a present, signed by Alice Waters and the chef team too. It’s now one of my treasured books.
I've always been curious about figs since I've never really had fresh ones before. At the peak of the season, a butch of them were delivered and we used them for fruit display. Now I understand the artist's inspiration for the book cover. The figs are beautiful! And they were really good too!

Hopping On The Other Side

When I finish my tasks early, I get to hop on the other side of the kitchen, where they butcher whole animals for roasting or braising the next day. Butchering is pretty fun. I learned a lot about animal anatomy and which parts works best for specific cooking methods!

Chez Panisse gets their animals whole. They get the chicken with head and feet on! They make really good stocks and sauces!
Some parts are turned into Proscuitto and Pancetta. The Prosciutto Shed is another one of my favorite spots in the restaurant. It just smells so good!

PM Projects

Most of the dessert production I do is for Lunch (AM) service at the Chez Panisse Cafe upstairs. In the afternoon though, I help out with some projects from juicing citruses, making cookies and candies and pitting cherries... A lot of dark and delicious bings!

Some of the PM projects I got to work with are:

Cherry Pitting (for roasting, for pies and other desserts)

Cookie Making (rolled cookies from puff pastry, butter cookies, chocolate wafer cookies, ginger snaps, biscotti, ossi de morti, marzipans and other bonbons, langues de chat, tuiles, Pain d’amandes)

Fruit Slicing as condiments for dinner desserts

Dessert Sauce Making (Chocolate Sauces for downstairs and upstairs desserts, Glazes, Syrups,

Puree, Caramel Sauces, Chocolate Frosting)

Fruit Puree (It can be very time consuming especially when we have to produce gallons and gallons of it)

Chocolate Truffles (Pierre Herme’s and Alice Meidrich’s)

Custard Making (for Ice Cream bases and Custards)


Ice Cream Spinning (this was something I was allowed to do after a couple weeks of training. the cream must be spun to perfect consistency without turning into butter). For the longest time, I've been curious why the little room where we spin the ice cream is called Otto's room. Later I realized that Otto was the ice cream machine... and it ran down before the end of my internship. It was one of my favorite machines too so I was a little sad when I came in one day and there's a new modern ice cream machine. I got attached to old school Otto.

Prepare kits for cakes and biscuits and cobblers for next day’s bake

More fruit prep (including breaking noyao or apricot pits for ice cream flavorings, they are very intense, like charry-almond but there’s a dimension to it)

Quick Puff Dough making - the chefs usually do this themselves. It’s the quickest puff dough production I’ve ever seen but I must say it’s really good.

Typical Family Meal at Chez Panisse is Not Very Typical

Typical family meal is not very typical. I’ve worked and staged at other restaurants and so far, Chez Panisse fed me the best family meal I’ve ever had. I don’t blame other people for volunteering to work at Chez to get a taste of their family meal.

Soup: Tomato Bisque

Salad: Baby Arugula with Pine Nuts and Yogurt Vinaigrette

Fish: Baked Halibut on Lemon Verbena

Meat: Sautéed Duck Breasts with Peanut Sauce

Dessert: Chocolate Pave Cake with Cognac Cream, Fresh Fruits

Ice Cream/Sorbet: Mayber Lemon Sorbet, Vanilla Bean, Honey Muscat, Mulberry

Beverage: Sparkling or Still bottled water from Italy, Fresh ground and brewed coffee, (on
somedays, we even have wine).

On some better days, the cooks will even bring some of their prepared dishes from home or something extra cooked from their station. Emily, one of the friends I’ve made there would make cinnamon sugar rolls from left over pizza dough. They’re awesome too!

Typical Day at Chez Panisse

My typical day would consist of doing Cafe work in the morning. (See 8am Intern Position Schedule). I try to finish as fast as I can because even if projects are targeted to begin in the afternoon, it will be great to have a head start before lunch. That way, my custards, which take about 50 minutes or so to bake are already in the oven while we’re doing the tasters and eating lunch.

When I get back, I can get the custards to begin cooling and free up the oven early for the dinner shift. In the afternoon, I work on fruit projects. There’s a tip and a trick to preparing each one so it really helped me that I’ve read their fruit book (Chez Panisse Fruits) too. I’ll end the day by cleaning up my station or moving to another station when I decide to stay in the afternoon (where I get another set of tasters from the dinner menu), take the garbage and recycling items out. When there’s not a lot to do and I can take off early, I go up to the bar for a shot of espresso or a glass of rose.

Chez Panisse provides us with office supplies too. It was the only restaurant I’ve worked at where I find sharpies and pens and note pads lying around. There’s an assigned locker for interns too. They are very generous. In return, it just expected that we consume what we’re given in moderation.

They also hold Chez Shopping every so often where we can buy some of their dry goods and ingredients at a discount.

Interning at Chez Panisse

The internship proper was a lot of fun! It was great to be working at Chez Panisse during Summer where fruits and vegetables are at they’re peak of perfect ripeness. It was the busiest time of the year too. I learned so much!

My internship was a very enriching experience. The readings that I did, the knowledge exchanged with Chez Panisse staff, the principles on which the restaurant operates, their firm advocacy for sustainability and delicious revolution... became a good education for me, more than just teaching me how to become a better cook, the experience taught me how to become a better person.

Stagerie

I moved to the Bay Area in Spring. I wanted to do all of 6 months internship at Chez Panisse but unfortunately, they have interns lined up for the next 9 months and they can no longer accommodate me. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise anyhow because I found another 3 month internship in the area where I learned so much too.

Staging at Chez Panisse was the first on my agenda so I prepared for it. I came early so I can get my tools and and be ready to go. I arrived nearly in my whites with my hair pulled back. It was
a busy day.

My tasks were:
1-Bake the Custards
2-Cut and Bake-off cookies
3-Slice or Chop food condiments
4-Help the Cafe Cook for other projects
5-Juice 5 Gal Bucket of Mayer Lemons and Pit 18 lbs of Cherries in the afternoon

It didn’t seem like a lot but the challenge was finding my way around, making sure I was grabbing and using the right containers and doing the right thing. Space was a huge constraint too. It was a very small kitchen. At some point, I had to put a tray on top of a garbage bin so I can set up my workstation.

I had a great time and learned so much just from staging. I just have to pick up on speed that hopefully with more familiarity, I will be able to improve on it. I worked for Aqua since April while waiting for my turn to work at Chez Panisse in June.

Oh and I had the best family meal I ever had! Oven roasted Salmon, Rocket Salad, Roasted Beet Soup, Pasta and Sardines and Honey Ice Cream. We made our own coffee on french press pots and had sparkling water the whole day.

At the end of our shift, we were offered to get a drink from the bar too!

Logistical Issue

The other issue that I encountered was logistics. I’m an international student with a very limited budget. How will I survive living in the Bay Area with an unpaid internship? I raised this issue with Chef Mia and she said she’ll see what she can do.

The management turned her down when she asked if I can get an allowance even just for transportation. A lot of people are willing to work for them for free so, it'll be difficult to get a compensation for working there. I asked for 2 weeks before finally deciding to take the job. I was looking for a distant cousin or a friend who lives in the area that maybe I can stay with them and offer housekeeping services or cooking services while I’m there. No luck

One weekend, a friend of mine I haven’t seen in 5 years flew to Chicago for a surprise visit. It was so great to see her. We caught up with each other’s stories. I told her about my career shift and my internship opportunity in the Bay Area and she was so excited for me. I told her though that I won’t be able to take the internship at Chez Panisse because I didn’t have a place to stay.

And then she said, ‘what are you talking about? I live in Oakland!’ That was an answered prayer. She offered me her place for free. She lives in Lake Merrit which was only a 15 minute BART ride to Berkeley. I called Chez Panisse immediately and notified them that I’ll be coming in the summer. It’s like a dream come true!

Getting The Internship

After I sent my resume, I got a call from their pastry chef Mia Ponce. I was looking for a culinary internship but they only had an opening in pastry. Their pastry however was more than just baking... they celebrate fruits! Mia was open to hiring a non pastry major as long as
I’m willing to try and learn from them.

I went thru an interview with Mia Ponce and then on a panel interview with her co-chef Mary Canales. I was really nervous. I thought they will ask me technical baking questions and fruit preparations of which I don’t have very extensive knowledge.

They asked questions like: What time do you get up for work? How do you prepare for work? Who are your favorite chefs? What cookbooks do you read? Have you read any of our books? Why are you interested in working for Chez Panisse? Are you aware that we don’t pay interns? Are you willing to work on pastry even if your background is culinary?

I answered every question in detail. It helped that I knew what my goals are. It helped me too that I’m a fanatic when it comes to chef, chef stories and cookbooks. I didn’t realize such habit will say a lot about ones dedication to food preparation.

After the interview, they offered me the job! I was relieved. Whew!

I had one more step to take though. I have to stage. I decided to head over to California and do my stage. This is my only shot at a job that I really want so it’ll be well worth it. I’ll make it well worth it.

Finding Chez Panisse

I decided that I want to work at a restaurant because I would like to own one someday. I decided I wanted to work in California so I can extend my knowledge on American produce. But where in California?

I follow chefs more than I follow hollywood stars. In fact, to me, they are my celebrities. I’m not a big fan of foodnetwork though. I respect them as much as I admire each of the tv chefs, but for my purposes, I would like to learn how to cook and how to run a kitchen, more than just to entertain.


I read up quite a bit about my favorite chefs and most of them have their roots of experience in California.

I’ve always admired Alice Waters. I’ve read up so much about her and I really look up to her for her principles in eating and cooking and sustainable sourcing. If ever I go back to my roots in the Philippines, this is one thing I’d like to take with me.

I decided that the best way to learn from someone I really look up to, is to work in her kitchen.
So, though I thought it was a long shot (since so many people are lining up to get a slot at Chez Panisse), I gave it a try. I thought to myself, if I don’t get it, at least I know that I tried.

Finding California

The most difficult step in finding an internship is not even step 1, it’s getting to step 1. I initially did not know where to go for my internship. I had to force myself to sit on it and literally write down my thoughts about it.

First and foremost, aside from having an internship as a requirement for my course, I don’t know what my other objectives are. All I know is I have to make the most out of it. But how do I do that? When I did not know yet what else I was doing it for. Writing it down was a tedious process. It was hard to begin.

I assessed my performance in culinary school and determined my challenges. I’m an international student so my concerns are quite unique compared to those of my classmates. I realized that I have 2 major obstacles to deal with: limited information on the US Food Service Industry and limited knowledge on products and produce.

The orientation from Career Services really helped. The sessions opened me to the vast number of opportunities in the industry, a lot of which, I never heard of. The course on product ID made me curious about what else is out there. A lot of the things that we use in the kitchen, I touched and tasted for the very first time. That makes it really difficult for me to work with them because I had no idea how they react to temperature, how they should be stored, what they go with well, what works and what does not.

Aside from being an international student, I’m a career changer as well. I gave up so much and invested time and money to make it to America, to Kendall College at that so I seriously have to make the most out of my internship.

I’ve decided that my goals would be:

1 - Read up more about the US food service industry and decide on where I really want to go. This didn’t end up becoming too difficult. I want to work in the kitchen. I want to work in a restaurant. So that narrows down my internship sites to Restaurants.

2 - Educate myself on American products and produce. This helped me determine the general area of my internship site: California

California however is huge. Where in California? I had to consider my logistical issues. Most if not all reputable restaurants in California do not pay interns, much less house them.

This is another big challenge, but I decided to worry about it later and prioritize finding an internship site and then figure out how I can work around my logistical issue. But somehow I had to work fast so I can switch plans in case my housing options (which are mainly staying with friends in the area and offering housekeeping and cooking services) does not work with the internship site that I’ve chosen.

Going Back To My Culinary Internships in 2006

a journey thru my culinary internships in california, 2006

I feel very foturnate to learn from the chefs of two great restaurants in the region

Aqua
252 California St., San Francisco, CA 94111
April - September 2006

Chez Panisse

1517 Shattuck Ave., Berkely CA 94709
June - September 2006