Marczyk Fine Foods

Not Your Average Party

It’s Sunday, and Marczyk Fine Foods has closed its doors for the night. The fresh produce is sleeping soundly in its case, and I’m gathering my things- I’ve got a party to DJ. No, not a house party; tonight it’s a Marczyk party, and the guests are already streaming in. Representatives from the front end, deli, and even Marczyk Fine Wines are arriving in ones and twos to occupy the kitchen for our annual pie rolling party.  

You see, Marczyk’s pies are something of an oddity in today’s world of frozen, pre-made pastries- everything is hand-made with love from scratch (as Paul Marczyk puts it, “you cut more corners at home,”) and with the holidays right around the corner, well, making hundreds of these bad boys is no simple feat.

The bakery gals have been at it all day cranking out our world-class pie dough- made with Plugra butter, Niman Ranch leaf lard, and King Arthur flour- and the cavalry has arrived to help roll it all out.   Fueled by a steady stream of Al Green, Black Keys, and Richard Cheese (provided by yours truly,) and armed with a wide array of rolling pins, the dozen or so smiling Marczyk staff you know and trust set to work rolling out hundreds of perfect pie crusts.

We all took a certain pride in knowing that in a few days, these crusts would be transformed into crazy-awesome apple, delectable pecan, and wicked pumpkin pies that will grace the Thanksgiving tables of Denverites city-wide.   Needless to say, the crew made short work of the Herculean task before us. In three short hours, over six hundred dough balls were well on their ways to becoming the best deserts in Denver.

Grinning and covered in flour, we gathered our brooms and dustpans and began returning the kitchen to its former, spotless splendor.  

And the band played on…

Whit’s Picks – 10.11.2011

Whitney is the merchandising guru at Marczyk’s. She touches practically all the Marczyk products, so has lots of time to consider how to use them. Here is her November pick, with recipe! Enjoy.

Picks of the Month:  Kabocha Squash and Niman Ranch Chipotle and Cheddar Sausages

Here in Colorado, the cold weather has arrived!  Our Denver trees are dusted with snow, and the market is abundant with local squash of seemingly endless varieties.  While I tend to like pretty much any kind of squash, I have to admit that Kabocha is my all-time favorite.  If you’ve never tried Kabocha squash, you are really in for a treat.  Also known as the Japanese Pumpkin, the Kabocha is more intense, sweet, and vibrant-colored than regular pumpkins.  The skin of this squash is edible when cooked, but since this soup is pureed it is best to remove it and use for making pumpkin stock.  I used “Sunshine Kabocha” for this recipe (the bright orange-skinned variety) but green Kabocha would work just as well.

Marczyk Fine Foods squash

What you’ll love about this soup is the wonderful flavor contrasts of spicy and sweet.  If you remove the seeds from the chipotles before adding to the soup, you will get a milder, smoky heat.  If you want some sinus-clearing spice, there’s no need to remove the seeds.  It might just be the tastiest cold medicine you’ve ever sipped!  The addition of Yukon gold potatoes gives the soup a more creamy texture and thick body.

This soup also has my new favorite sausage from Niman Ranch, the uncured chipotle cheddar flavor.  There are so many reasons why Niman Ranch is one of our favorite suppliers here at Marczyk’s - from their humanely raised “never-ever” meats (as in, never ever treated with hormones or antibiotics) to their environmentally sustainable farming practices - but the best thing about their meats is really the taste.  These juicy and flavorful chipotle cheddar sausages have little pockets of melted cheese and the wonderful, smoky, spicy taste of chipotle.

Spicy Chipotle-Kabocha Soup
serves 8

1 large Kabocha Squash (about 5 pounds whole, any color)
1 large yellow onion, halved and sliced
3 T butter
1/4 cup white wine
4 cloves garlic, minced
about 3 (1/4 of a can) Chipotles in adobo sauce, seeds removed and chopped
2 cups Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
6 cups of vegetable stock

Salt, to taste

4 Niman Ranch Chipotle Cheddar Sausages, sliced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Prep the squash:  halve the Kabocha and scrape out the pulp and seeds.  Fill a large, shallow pan with about 2 inches of water.  Place squash halves cut-side down in the pan and place in the oven.  Roast until squash is very soft, about 30 minutes.

In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt butter.  Add onions and cook until golden-brown and caramelized, about 10 minutes.  Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Deglaze pan with wine and add chipotles and potatoes.  Add stock and bring mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to allow the soup to simmer.

Once squash is cool enough to handle, peel away the skin, scraping any stubborn bits off with a spoon.  Stir the Kabocha flesh into the soup and continue to simmer, covered, until potatoes are completely soft and the liquid thickens, about 30 minutes.  Using an immersion blender (or a blender or food processor), puree soup until smooth.  Season with salt.  Add sliced sausages and cook another 8 minutes, or until sausage is nice and hot.  Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Pig Roast 2011. Gettin’ Piggy with It!

Jimmy and Mr Pig

10 Years of Pig Roasts at Marczyk Fine Foods!

It’s not every day a neighborhood grocery can pull 2 big-ass roasters onto a city street and just start cooking a whole pig!

Over the years Marczyk’s has been known for bringing the Uptown neighborhood of Denver together over a plate of great food.

This year we served about 400 people on a beautiful autumn day.

Jeff Prah, Jimmy the Butcher, and Paul Marczyk cooked the pig to perfection, sitting with it overnight as delicious roasting pork smells pulled residents out of their slumber. Thank you to Niman Ranch, who has supplied us with America’s Best Tasting Pork for all these years.

Turkey FAQ’s: Colorado heritage turkeys

Where do you get your heritage birds?

Marczyk Fine Foods gets heritage birds from Dallas Gilbert in Bennett, CO, about an hour east of Denver. Dallas raises Blue Slates, a turkey that was almost extinct 10 years ago. They live in giant pens out on the plains, with open air canvas tents to keep them out of the rain. They are fed an all vegetarian diet. They are about 6 months when they are processed. Marczyk Fine Foods is the only Colorado retail outlet for these birds.

Do I need to cook the Heritage turkeys differently?

Yes. Heritage turkeys are leaner and smaller than broad-breasted whites, so cook them fast at higher temperatures. Heritage turkeys should be cooked at 425-450 degrees F until the internal temperature reaches 140-150 degrees F. Butter or oil can be added under the breast skin to add flavor and moisture during roasting. We have also had great success with confiting the legs and roasting the breast, which of course requires taking them apart.
You won’t need to cover the breast with foil to keep it from drying out while the rest of the bird cooks. The smaller breasts on the heritage birds create a better balance between the dark meat and white meat, which means roasting a bird to perfection is much easier since white meat cooks more quickly than the dark meat.

Are turkeys all that Dallas raises?

No, he brings us heritage chickens now, and will provide us with Christmas geese. Dallas runs a co-op, and supplies Colorado individuals and chefs with duck, goose, duck eggs, chicken and turkey sausages, livers, and other poultry products.

And here’s a crazy thing: Dallas uses donkeys to guard the turkeys from coyotes! Here they are:

For more images of the farm go to our photo fun page.

Turkey FAQ’s: all bird, no bull.

What’s the difference between Marczyk’s turkeys and conventional?
Annually, the U.S. produces 220 million conventional turkeys that are raised in dark and cramped conditions within high density confinement barns.  They are bred for large breasts and often grow so large in as little as 2 months that their legs buckle under the pressure of their own weight.  They are continuously fed a diet that has an added antibiotic designed to promote “health” within the flocks.  No growth hormones are allowed in the use of poultry production per USDA regulation; however, these added antibiotics can mimic the growth hormone function.  After slaughter, these turkeys are typically injected with water and sodium phosphates to provide flavor and enhance tenderness. Marczyk’s birds are none of the above.
Do they really taste differently?
We say the truth is in the taste, and these birds are no exception. You’ll find Marczyk’s all-natural free range broad breasted whites from Willie Bird to have a big turkey taste. If you want to go one step further, you can brine the bird in a salt and sugar water mixture.
The heritage birds have a rich, deep turkey flavor. We say they are the closest taste to a wild bird that you will find.
Do I need to cook the Heritage turkeys differently?
Yes. Heritage turkeys are leaner and smaller than broad-breasted whites, so cook them fast at higher temperatures. Heritage turkeys should be cooked at 425-450 degrees F until the internal temperature reaches 140-150 degrees F. Butter or oil can be added under the breast skin to add flavor and moisture during roasting. We have also had great success with confiting the legs and roasting the breast, which of course requires taking them apart.
You won’t need to cover the breast with foil to keep it from drying out while the rest of the bird cooks. The smaller breasts on the heritage birds create a better balance between the dark meat and white meat, which means roasting a bird to perfection is much easier since white meat cooks more quickly than the dark meat.
What do those terms on the turkey label really mean?
Here’s a guide from Bon Appetit 2006:
Free-range: A turkey with access to the outside. According to Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma, many free range birds do not take advantage of their outside opportunities. So does it really make a difference? We feel the general protocol of raising a free range bird vs. a confinement bird goes far beyond whether they step outside or not. The fact they have a chance says a lot about how that bird is being treated. You can see our Willie Birds out under the oaks at the website.
Fresh
Technically, a turkey that’s never been kept below 26°F. Most Thanksgiving birds are processed in September and October but are still labeled fresh in November.
Frozen
A bird that’s stored below 0°F.
Natural
A bird that contains no artificial ingredients or added color and is minimally processed. Amazingly, this doesn’t mean it hasn’t been treated with antibiotics.
Organic
A turkey that has been certified by a USDA-accredited agency. The term organic ensures that the bird was raised on organic feed, was free-range, and wasn’t treated with any antibiotics.
What if I don’t want turkey?
Marczyk’s offers a wide range of other birds: Pheasant, Quail, Duck, and Goose are all available by pre-order. Call 303 894-9499.

Niman Ranch Dinner in Iowa

Pete and Paul Marczyk, and baker John Hinman, just got back from Iowa and the Niman Ranch Farmers Appeciation Dinner.

At Marczyk Fine Foods, we’ve worked with Niman since the very first day, through the ups and downs. Nine years ago they hosted 50 farmers, this year it was hundreds. To see this part of the meat industry grow like this is astounding, and good news for farmers and diners alike.  Here is a post from Tina Haupert, a fellow foodie who was there: 

Classic Heirloom Apple Pie
Chef John Himan, Marczyk Fine Foods, Denver, Colorado

Obviously, dessert was my favorite course. Chef John used a blend of Cortland and Mollies Delicious apples from Berry Patch Orchard with Niman leaf lard for the crust. The apple pie was served with a small piece of Prairie Breeze cheddar cheese on the side. Interesting, right? Apples + cheese? Love it!

The apple pie was very special because Chef John was faced with every possible challenge for making it. When he arrived in Des Moines on Thursday afternoon, the Marriott only had nine pie pans for him. No biggie, right? He found 61 more, no problem. But, the night before the event, the machine that rolls out the pie dough broke. So, Chef John (and some of the other chefs), rolled the dough by hand, which was very time-consuming. Then, if that wasn’t enough, as soon as the pies are ready for baking, the ovens at the Marriott stop working!!! (Personally, I would have lost my mind at this point.) Luckily, a nearby restaurant was able to cook the 70 apple pies for the event, but the poor chefs were up until nearly 3:00 in the morning baking them. Their hard work was definitely worth it. I totally wanted a second piece!

At the end of dinner, the chefs were thanked individually for their contributions to the meal. Enjoying all of the courses, I could tell that each of the chefs really cared about the food. It truly exemplified the connection between farm and table.

Read more from Tina here: http://carrotsncake.com/2010/09/niman-ranch-farmer-appreciation-dinner.html

Get the dish on the secret life of Pete Marczyk in this fine interview by Bill Husted of the Denver Post.

http://www.denverpost.com/entertainmentlastold/ci_14978179

Easy Recipes and Big Ass Cookware

Westword Newspaper has added a recipe section to their Cafe Society Blog, and we’re the recipe writers! Join Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane every week for an easy-to-follow recipe slideshow/video. Bacon candy, corn chowder, fried chicken, and what to do with all that zucchini.

Good, safe beef. No shit.

This post was written a few years ago, but unfortunately contaminated meat keeps being relevant to our world, so it a handy explanation of what is happening.

 This simple, folks. e.coli 0157, the deadly pathogen recently discovered in ground beef processed in Nebraska, comes from feces. Yup, feces. Eric Schlosser wrote about this in his seminal work: Fast Food Nation, only he didn’t use the word feces. So, how does meat get contaminated, and how do we know our meat is clean?

First, two ways meat gets infected: from feces in entrails which get cut by knives during high-speed processing, or second, from crap attached to the hide not fully cleaned before the animal is killed. Pretty disgusting stuff, especially in light of what we are led to believe when we see mass-produced-factory meat in nice-looking packaging with bucolic farm scenes in the pictures. Why is ground beef usually the suspect? And why aren’t people getting sick from fresh-ground beef? When beef is ground at the slaughterhouse, it can contain contributions from a large number of animals. Much of slaughterhouse grind comes from mechanically separated (i.e. muscle torn from bone by powerful hydraulic machines) meat and inevitably some undesirable bits can get into what we eat. (Ever really wonder why factory ground beef is recommended to be cooked to 165 F?) FYI, Paul and I feed rare beef from Marczyk’s to our sons; beef ground from whole muscle in small shops have a much less likely chance of containing contaminants for obvious reasons…we can see it, and we can smell it. Plus, it’s not mechanically separated in the first place. No bits and chunks thrown into a grinder. Remember “ground chuck?” that’s what we do here at Marczyk Fine Foods. We grind chuck. If you want, we’ll show them to you.

Here’s the deal: you have a choice. Why wouldn’t you buy hand-ground beef made from whole muscle right in front of you just like your parents and their parents did for years and years? Remember when a hamburger tasted good? You can have that now. Our Butcher’s Choice® ground beef is made at least twice a day; it sells for $3.79 a pound, and we’ll wrap it any way you like–including for freezing. No attitude, no b.s. (literally) and all from sources who NEVER use antibiotics or hormones in the production of their meat. You deserve it. Your kids deserve it. The animals deserve it.

Pete Marczyk