What's the Pull of Pork?

UPDATE: Due to complications, yesterday's post needs a revision. I have had to cancel my GMAT exam, and therefore will be sleeping at 8 a.m. on January 15. However, I still have plenty of pasta salad left in the fridge. So, with that out of the way, on with the show...

VINCENT: Want some bacon?
JULES: No man, I don't eat pork.
VINCENT: Are you Jewish?
JULES: Nah, I ain't Jewish, I just don't dig on swine, that's all.
VINCENT: Why not?
JULES: Pigs are filthy animals. I don't eat filthy animals.
VINCENT: Bacon tastes gooood. Pork chops taste gooood.
JULES: Hey, sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I'd never know 'cause I wouldn't eat the filthy ...

Well, let's just say the rest gets kind of... curse-like. But it seems like the chefs of the world side with John Travolta's Vincent from "Pulp Fiction." The sacred cow is over. It seems now, in the foodie world, the sacred pig is the only way to go.

I may not be as experienced as some great chefs out there -- hell, I've never even been to culinary school, and a portion of my cooking skills have been learned off the TV. But the fact is that I do not understand the culinary pig-worship that some chefs have. I have even seen two chefs on television proudly display their pig tattoos. That's how much they love this animal.

I admit that I have not been kosher all my life, and I have eaten pork. As a kid, I would eat bacon and sausage. According to my mother, I had ham once at a first communion -- although, since I don't remember this, I believe it must have been an extremely traumatic experience that I have blocked from my memory. But no matter what, I can personally say that I never really cared for pig products. For non-kosher people, they may claim that I never ate GOOD pork. But the fact of the matter is that it's not for me.

But, a chef may say to me, you can use all the parts of the pig! The ears, the hooves, the belly, everything can be prepared and eaten! Somehow, eating a pig's foot doesn't appeal to me as much as it might to some other people. I know it's a food tradition in the South, but... ew. Would you seriously want to eat some animal's feet?

I don't know if it's because of my strong Jewish upbringing or whether it's a taste preference that I don't dig on swine. Wilbur the pig may be an obsession in the American culinary tradition, but I for one do not abide by it. The only thing I really liked about bacon was the smoky flavor, but I could live without the grease and the usually limp texture of it.

The truth is that there are so many great meats out there to use, and a lot of them are kosher. Bison is growing in popularity, and you still have lamb, which is so flavorful that if it's wrong I may not want to be right. And dry aged beef is rising in the kosher world, which makes me a very happy camper. And, trust me, once you've had lamb bacon, you would never go back to the pork variety, anyway.

It's up to us, as kosher Jews, to show the world that just because we don't have pork doesn't mean we can't make food taste just as good as the porky ones. After all, where they have pork, we have delicious vegetables and meats. And there's nothing wrong with that.

For those who do like bacon, I make a to-die-for corn chowder which has soy bacon in it. You wouldn't know the difference -- and I'm pretty confident that those crazy pork enthusiasts out that probably wouldn't, either.

CORN CHOWDER

3 teaspoons pareve chicken bouillon with 3 cups water
2 cans corn
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup oil
1 large onion
5 celery stalks
5 cloves garlic
1/2 cup flour
3 cups heavy cream, soy milk or Mocha Mix
2-3 strips soy bacon or ¼ cup baco bits (optional)
1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper or black pepper (optional)
1 cup diced potatoes, cut to 1/2 inch dice (optional)

In a small pot, boil the water, bouillon and corn. Allow to simmer. Meanwhile, chop the celery, onion and garlic.

In a large soup pot, melt the butter and oil down and sauté the onion, celery and garlic. Add the flour and stir constantly until it’s just golden brown. This is called a roux (see Quick Tip 1).

Once golden brown, add a small amount of the hot liquid and corn from the small pot and stir. Continue doing this until all the hot liquid is added. Add the heavy cream or Mocha mix and stir. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until thick.

If adding artificial bacon and/or pepper, add after 10 minutes. Ten minutes before serving, add potatoes if desired. Make sure they can be pierced with a fork before serving.

Quick Tip 1: Your roux must be handled very carefully, as it can easily burn and ruin your meal fast. If you are making one, be sure to keep an eye on it at all times. If you burn it, throw it away and start again.

Quick Tip 2: The butter-oil combo in the roux is one I use in order to reduce fat. However, it’s not required and you can use all butter.