The shear grace and beauty with which Tom Mylan breaks down half a hog is something to behold.

We’re not afraid to tackle the big questions here at The Butcher. Just such a question has recently arisen over what exactly is Pulled Pork? There are two sides that have been taken in this debate, and the arguments are below. We’ll be appealing to some higher powers for a definitive answer, but in the meantime please feel free to consider, contemplate and weigh in.

Pulled Pork is BBQ. End of Story
Occasionally at The Butcher, we come across folks who are grossly misinformed about meat and its provenance. We found ourselves in just such a position this past weekend when we were confronted by an individual who made the specious claim that (to paraphrase) “pulled pork need not be barbecued, it simply must be pork that is pulled from any cut of the pig prepared in any cooking manner.” To wit, went this argument, “pulled pork” is not a cooking technique involved in barbecuing a pig, but instead is a method of preparing any pork cut.

Our bile was up at this suggestion as it is our contention that “pulled pork” is barbecue—end of story. And yes, there are any number of pretenders to the “pulled pork” genre and Paula Deen will happily tell you how to make pulled pork in a slow cooker. But this is no more accurate than calling sparkling wine from the Finger Lakes region of New York, Champagne. All sparkling wine is not Champagne just because it has bubbles, and all pork that is pulled is not pulled pork strictly because it’s been pulled. Sabe? Then there are people who will just call any old artificially carbonated white white champagne (they’ll even drink the stuff). But don’t get us started on Sandra Lee.

Pulled Pork is NOT Necessarily BBQ
I sense that over the course of this debate, I have somehow become positioned as a dilettante of barbecue. Admittedly, I am no expert in this arena, but as one who certainly appreciates the tender juicy goodness of slowly cooked pig, I feel that I am entitled to assert my humble opinion. It’s true that in some circles in the South Eastern United States, pulled pork is synonymous with barbecue. I just don’t think the story ends there.

I’d also like to state that the act of pulling or shredding pork (or any other meat) is dependent upon the cut of the meat as well as the cooking technique employed. Obviously, grilled pork chops don’t lend themselves to being pulled. Besides, why would one want to violate a perfect package of meaty goodness? But, I digress…

After a fair amount of contemplation,I have realized that the root of this contention lies plainly in the semantics of the term barbecue. The term itself can be used in a variety of ways: as a noun to refer to the meat, the cooking apparatus itself, or to a party that includes such food or such preparation methods. The term can also be used as an adjective to refer to foods cooked by this method, or as a verb for the act of cooking food in this manner. With all the flexibility of usage, it’s no surprise that this type of debate crops up from time to time.

Bottom line: It is completely reasonable to say that pulled pork is barbecue. Moreover, it is reasonable to say that pulled pork does not have to be barbecue. It is pork that is pulled apart prior to being served. There are many traditions around the world that employ the technique of slow cooking various cuts of meat by braising, or by traditional or convection baking, or by utilizing a slow cooker whereby the meat is pulled apart before it is served. I shudder to think of the reaction by any persons of Caribbean or Mexican heritage if referred to as “pretenders” of deliciously and authentically prepared dishes such as Pork Carnitas, or Ropa Vieja.

So there you have it readers. Let us know what you think in the comments.

It’s one of those spring Friday afternoons when the grill out back is calling our name and our thoughts have begun drifting towards burgers, cooked rare with a nice char on the outside. And a couple of burger videos have stoked our appetites over the past couple days.

Eater has taken a decidedly futuristic approach to the burger with a creation from Dave Arnold, the Technical Director of the French Culinary Institute. The process involved to make the burger seems a bit closer to the process involved in manufacturing pharmaceuticals—”he fills a patty with a veal stock gelatin that liquifies when cooked”—but the end result makes us long for 2019. If you have the skills to be a recreational meth cooker, you might be ready to take a stab at this recipe.

Dave Arnold’s Burger Of The Future from Eater NY on Vimeo.

And some crazy French kids at the Supinfocom Arles (think MIT in France) have created Hambuster, a 6-minute, 3D video for their graduation project that imagines a world in which we don’t eat the burgers, the burgers eat us. Only the French could come up with such a sad, dystopian view of burger consumption.

Hambuster from Hambuster Team on Vimeo.

Fire up the grill—it’s Friday.

CADE (Part 2): The Good Slaughter: A Proud Meat Cutter Shares His Processing Floor from SkeeterNYC on Vimeo.

 
The piece that Food Curated has done about Upstate New York butcher, Larry Althiser, is probably the best piece of meat journalism we’ve ever seen. Althiser has been a butcher for more than thirty years and Food Curated made the trip to his newly-opened slaughterhouse in an open-minded effort to really understand and appreciate what it means when a steak lands on a plate in front of you.

Even for inveterate meat-eaters like ourselves, standing in front of the butcher’s case at the local store gives us pause. Knowing that an animal was raised and slaughtered humanely is a bit of comfort and informs the appreciation of the meal that we’re about to enjoy. So in a world of processed and packed food, this is the kind of story that really brings to light what food means, how it got to you and why you should appreciate it. And the passion and humility that Althiser displays—for doing his job well and humanely—is a credit to artisan butchers and slaughterhouses.

Food Curated also spent some time with Chris Harmon, the director of The Center for Agricultural Development and Entrepreneurship (CADE) and did a great piece about the support that CADE is giving to farmers in Upstate New York.

Definitely check out Food Curated’s site for the full story and let’s hope we see more meat journalism like this.

We have to take a bit of perverse pleasure in this story that broke last week: VegNews—apparently, the premiere print and online magazine for vegans—has been caught Photoshopping stock pictures of meat dishes and running them in their publications.

Obviously, this has caused outraged reactions in the vegan world, less because of the breach of editorial integrity mind you, but much more so because the vegans have realized that “the pictures we’ve been drooling over for years are actually of MEAT! Veg News has written tens (possibly hundreds) of articles extolling the virtues of a vegan lifestyle, while purchasing rock-bottom priced stock photos of MEAT, EGGS, DAIRY and other completely non-vegan things.”

A blogger going by the handle, Quarry Girl (with the tagline “Meat is Murder”), has done the hardcore research and tracked down a few years worth of examples of VegNews’ duplicity. She’s even committed to mailing back the VegNews Award she won. But really, what she must do is wallow in her shame and recognize that meat is good and try and she might, she’ll still drool over it.

•BBQ in Austin by “Old, blind bluesman with magical powers…” Just see 1:40 in above [BajillionHits.biz]

•Kitesurfing Steaks: Cargill is using kites to fly meat across oceans [FastCompany]

•Not a T-Bone: The Six-Legged Meat of the Future [WSJ]

•After ruining pizza, Domino’s now tries to ruin chicken [SlashFood]

•The world’s most famous butcher, Dario Cecchini, takes an east coast tour [Atlantic]

•Eater gets the scoop on Nathan Myhrvold’s new epic 2,400 page cook book [Eater]

•Bacon Week begins in Des Moines in advance of the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival [DMR]

•Sausage smuggling gets an odd twist from this nude burglar caught on tape [WLFI]

•Meat stuffed meat wrapped in meat—perfection [TwitPic]

• You’ve done everything else with your iPhone, now you can turn it into a meat thermometer [iGrill]
• The Japanese pose a new threat to butchers: robot ham de-boners [Switched]
• Meat and Xanax: both will have a calming effect on you [Globe and Mail]
• Bacon of the Month Club, Bacon Combo Packs, Bacon Coffee… you see where this is going [Bac'n]
• And finally, some food for thought: it is only through the consumption of meat that humans have achieved so much [NPR]

Wouldn’t life be even more awesome if you could eat your way up the creamy gorgonzola capped peaks of a Tri Tip, base-jump from the summit with a tortilla for a chute and make a splash in the savory juices of a gravy river? Then perhaps it’s time you took a lesson in nutritional geography from the fine folks at The National Cattleman’s Beef Association who proudly present “Powerful Beefscapes,” six breathtaking vistas made almost entirely of meat. In this magical “Land of Lean Beef” you can have your ground with a side of rocks and maybe a tree or two while relishing – according to the press release – “the qualities unique to beef: passion, protein and strength.” Think flavor country, but for your feedbag and here, the only thing being smoked is the whole goddamn landscape – if that’s your thing anyway. For in this vast terrain of beef, there’s more than enough room for grilled, pan-seared and roasted, too. So go on, loosen your belt and indulge your bottomless appetite with your newfound freedom from the scourges of fat. It’s the American Dream airbrushed and larger than life. Meat porn to make you suck back a line of spittle and gnash your teeth with anticipation. Evocative full color spreads awakening a hunger that no ordinary meal can ever hope to sate. Give me a coastline of rare steak and don’t even think of putting it on a plate. When I’m finished I’m going to swallow the sun for dessert then sink into my couch, the very picture of health. And if you’re still searching for more fodder to arouse your carnal-ivorous desires, contact the aptly named Meghan Pusey (mpusey@beef.org) for hi-res images (suitable for framing or wallpapering your den) and recipes so you can create small-scale replicas to enjoy in the privacy of your home. Just don’t get any on you. Some stains are impossible to get out. -Scott J Lachut

More beefy vistas and the Butcher speaks after the jump.

Some in the media industry see this as just another food industry fiasco. They might not be quite as susceptible to the dulcet tones of Matthew Mcconaughey’s voice as are the stocky well-fed women of middle America.