Wisconsin cheeses rock! Hard to believe this small state is setting the standard for artisan cheeses, but they are: they are the only state to require certification for cheese making.  Europeans who moved here generations ago brought their craft, and the number of award-winning cheeses coming out of Wisconsin is amazing. Come try the ones we carry, like the Widmer’s Lagerkase brick cheese (Christopher’s fave) or even the cheese curds! Go to Marczyk’s website for a bread cheese recipe. Bread cheese does not melt when cooked, so you can grill it, heat it, and it holds its shape.

Butcher Fun!

Butcher and fun aren’t usually in the same sentence, but here at Marczyk’s they are! Marczyk butcher Jimmy Cross, aka Jimmy the Butcher, has been busy giving advice and showing off his skills. Last fall, The Museum of Contemporary Art hosted Art Meets Beast, a three day nose-to-tail event featuring butchering, then a feast of the beast. Jimmy did the cutting, and 10 of Denver’s top chefs did the cooking. Check out this fun video MCA put together!

This month, Jimmy is part of a beautiful new book from Williams Sonoma, The Cook and the Butcher, which features recipes and advice for preparing meat. It’s a beauty and would make a great gift.

Next month, an event called Couchon 555 is coming to Denver. Couchon 555 is a one-of-a-kind traveling culinary compition and tasting event - 5 chefs, 5 pigs, five winemakers - to promote sustainable farming of heritage breeds. Mike Anderson made a video for Jimmy’s entry, it is a riot so check it out!

The Pinot Posse was in Town!

Our friend Kendra, aka Swirl Girl  recently hit the Pinot Noir Saloon with the infamous Pinot Posse. She had great things to say about some of the pinots we carry.  August West Pinot was the runaway hit of the American Wine Society tasting. It’s big, and straight up delicious. $41.99.  Keep it in mind for Valentine’s Day!

Marczyk Fine Wine Friday Night Tastings

What fun to taste our wines of the month! Last week’s big hit: the Morse Code Shiraz. This Australian beauty is big, fruity and rich. Winter wine! For more wines of the month go to our website.  And for pictures of our free Friday Night Wine Tasting check out our wine facebook page.

MCA Buffalo Dinner

In November, Marczyk Fine Foods was part of the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Beast Roast.

First, Jimmy demonstrated how to break down 1/2 a buffalo (with color commentary by Pete Marczyk) to an enthralled audience.

Then Denver’s top chefs took their part of the beast and cooked in up for the next night’s feast. Solera, Barolo, Elways, TAG, El Diablo, Marczyk’s, and Lola all made killer food! If you missed it this year, there’s always next year!

Holiday FAQ’s

Christmas dinner!

What is dry-aging?  In the past, beef was slaughtered in a central area with good proximity to railway (like Denver or Chicago) and then it was shipped, whole and hanging, around the country to skilled butchers closer to the final point of sale.  Two technologies changed all this: Cryovacing (Cryovac is like Kleenex—a brand name for the process of removing all air from a plastic bag and sealing it) and refrigeration. Centralized slaughter became centralized meat packing.  Now beef is packed in plastic bags and boxed very soon after slaughter (2-4 days) then shipped in trucks and “aged” in the bag, aka “wet-aging”. In the dry-aging process, approximately 20-30% of water weight is lost as the meat hangs in a cold room.  The result of dry aging is a densely flavored (less water to dilute flavor) extremely beefy and tender piece of meat.  This is the meat you will only find at the very best of the very best steak houses and markets. Like Marczyk’s! We get all our Niman Ranch rib roasts in late November, and age them in our cold room. Then Jimmy the Butcher cuts them to your specs.

New Seasons, New Faces

You may have noticed a few things you haven’t seen lately in the produce department at Marczyk’s; fresh, Colorado-grown, organic brussels sprouts, on the stalk, sweet Italian peppers and the most beautiful apples you’ve ever seen - straight from the western slope.  

We’re excited this fall to be working with some of Colorado’s best farmers, carrying some of the tastiest produce in the world.  Berry Patch Farms in Brighton, Colorado is sending us peppers of all types, from green and yellow bells to sweet narellos and jalapenos.  Their cilantro is cut fresh every week and our customers have been loving BPF’s vine-ripe tomatoes for months now.  

Munson Farms in Boulder is responsible for most of the wide variety of pumpkins and squash you see in the store these days.  Bob Munson and his crew picked every one of these exotic breeds specifically for us.  After a summer full of their incredible corn, give a Munson gourd an hour in your oven and see if it doesn’t change your perspective on pumpkins.  Kevin bet me that I wouldn’t sell the 60lb Long of Naples squash on the front table, so take a look ’cause this baby will fill your freezer for the winter.  It’s the best 75 cents a pound you can spend!

Ela Family Farms continues to stock our tables with apples; from buttery, sweet goldens to tart and juicy johnathans and perfect, school-lunch galas.  You won’t find a bad apple in this bunch.  Look forward to apple cider, and check out their jams, butters and sauces in the grocery section.

Finally, Elaine Granata keeps us in stock on her specialty veggies like fairytale eggplant and baby-bell peppers.  From her Denver urban farms throughout Capitol Hill, Elaine delivers artisan produce directly to our shelves.  With leeks, summer squash and purple scallions on the shelves this week, it’s almost better than having your own garden.

Local fruits and veg aren’t the only specialties you’ll find around the produce cooler.  Our staff is fresh too!  

I’m Dave and I grew up picking berries and running rhubarb in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.  A year ago I was crunching numbers for the Man, but after a stint cooking in the Puget Sound, I couldn’t be happier here at Marczyk’s.  Dustin darkened doors around eastern Washington and Boise, Idaho before he showed up here and traded graphic for gastro artistry.  Angela is our newest add-on, she comes to us from Ohio and if you can get her to stop smiling, she might tell you about her favorite way to cook beet greens.  You just might find Marlena sneaking away from the check stand to lend a hand in the produce department, us newbies couldn’t do it without her. 

This week, watch for the most beautiful green bell peppers ever grown and take advantage of apple season while it lasts!  We’re stoked to be setting a new standard in our corner of the store, selling the best food that our corner of the world has to offer.

Good Eating!  

Dave

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.

All natural meat?

“We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons.” ~Alfred E. Newman

Pete was asked an interesting question the other day: “Why is your meat more expensive than so and so’s? They’re both all natural, right?”
WRONG. “All natural” on a label refers to the meat after it has been processed. Many retailers call their meats “antibiotic free” meaning that when tested, there are not residual antibiotics—it doesn’t mean that the animal was raised without their use. According to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, “natural” can be used on a label as long as a product does not “contain any artificial flavor or flavoring, coloring ingredient, chemical preservative or any other artificial or synthetic ingredient; and the product and its ingredients are not more than minimally processed (ground, for example).”  Under these guidelines,  CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation—the source of most meat in the USA) beef, pork and chicken can be labeled all natural. Under these guidelines, it includes animals that have received antibiotics and hormones to promote rapid growth. 
So what does Marczyk’s “all natural” mean? All our meats are raised without the use of antibiotics or hormones by family farmers within the Niman Ranch company.  None-Ever. They are naturally raised, outside, with room to roam. The chickens come from Boulder Natural Meats, raising chickens naturally since 1990. “We are concerned with husbandry and genetics, vegetarian feed and supporting family farms,” says Paul Marczyk. “but most of you don’t need a story… the proof is in the taste,” he says. Marczyk meats and chickens are antibiotic free, hormone free, and free range. If you ever wonder, come ask us at our Denver Store!