Meat me in Philly

The Italian Market in Philadelphia is the oldest working outdoor market in the US. At least thats what it says on the website. They got all kinds of stands fresh produce, seafood, cheese stores and most importantly, meat. They got great meat, no frills butchers who arent afraid to have a jug of bleach sitting on the cutting board to salumeria's toting ridiculous varieties of cured meats.





Its a crime what passes for Sausages at many super markets, I wont even touch the travesty that is Aidell's pre cooked sausage that people attempt to bring to my BBQs. This stuff is not only the real deal taste wise, but its cheap. $5 bucks of this stuff will calm the hunger of your drunkest most voracious BBQ guest. I like to sizzle these guys on a medium to low fire and wrap em up in buns and some roasted peppers. Leftover rule when making pasta the next day, just heat em up in the sauce.



The marbling in this porterhouse was insane.





Even when its freezing cold you can count on the Italian Market to offer great veggies and a cheap price. I think the burning Oil Drum gives it a great "Children of Men" post apocalyptic feel.



And then there is their seafood. I love going to other parts of the Country, hell, the world and trying out their local seafood. Even excellent West Coast mainstays like oysters and tuna get a unique twist in other waters. And the Atlantic is no different.



For some reason I had pork on the brain so I picked up a loin from one of the butchers. I didnt take any pictures inside the shop because I was too scared. These people had lots of knives, a room straight out the movie Saw and lots of bleach. They did cut my roast to order without hesitation. They also added the "belly" to the loin roast, so basically the roast is self basted in uncured bacon fat. They rolled it up and trussed it, and I walked out with a 5 pound roast for $19.





I soaked some figs in some port, simmered them then pureed it into a nice sauce but this pork needed no help in the flavor department. Juicy beyond expectations as seen by the trails left on the cutting board. Italian Market, mission accomplished.