Sam's Butcher Shop (Round 3)

322 N. Main Street
Moscow, PA 18444
(570) 842-7392
Website

As you may already know, I frequent an online meat delivery service (samsbutchershop.com) based out of Northeastern PA and every once in a while, Sam the butcher hooks me up with some new products to try out.

This holiday season, he's got whole smoked ducks, smoked hams (bone-in), smoked salmon, smoked kielbasa rings, smoked breakfast sausage links and rendered duck fat by the pound. I received my package neatly wrapped just in time for my post-Thanksgiving turkey hangover blues.

The extra bonus was seeing the duck fat right on top, a nice surprise to get the unpacking started. Since the duck was number one coming out of the box, it was to be my first victim on my smoked meat journey last week.

Weighing in at just under 3 lbs. after its smoking, this beautiful bird was ready for some serious slicing and pulling. At this size, the meat could probably feed 3-4 people as a main course, but for me, it fed just 2 of us for one meal. I shouldn't have to explain my oversize appetite by now...

Slicing into the breast was like slicing through butter. Just look at the color and the tender meat encased in the glossy layer of fat just beneath the golden skin. A perfectly smoked specimen.

I couldn't help my craving for Peking duck when I began the breakdown and so I proceeded with my plans for a high heat dry fry on the pulled meat and I'd glaze it with my homemade orange-soy-ginger sauce. (I know it's not "Peking" in the traditional sense, but for my purposes, it works.)

After hitting the wok with some grapeseed oil for a bit of crisping up, I added my mixture of fresh squeezed orange juice (& microplaned peel), soy sauce, mirin, sugar, sriracha and hoisin to coat and let it caramelize on the shredded duck for a few minutes before serving over rice and stir-fried veggies.

It was incredible. The texture of the duck held up through my secondary cooking process and its flavor was an amazing blend of smoky, sweet and spicy with the most delicious bits of crisped ends for added complexity.

Second out of the box was the smoked ham, and this was another thing of beauty right off the bat.

It had the perfectly smoked finish, with the deep pink interior and the penetrating outer glaze. It smelled so good, I couldn't wait to try it and was eating every other slice while preparing for my grilled ham & cheese sandwiches.

It was smooth, silky and melted like butter in my mouth; sweet and salty with a smack of smoke.

It was incredible on white bread with yellow Cooper Sharp melting through the layers. One of my more simple indulgences.

With most of the leftover meat, I had planned on making split pea & ham soup (jumping off of Ina Garten's recipe) so I chopped it up into smaller, spoon size pieces. I used the bone to flavor my stock while the dry peas simmered for about 60 minutes, pulled it out and then added the ham to warm up in the soup for another 20 minutes.

I recommend letting the soup cool for at least an hour and then warming up again, the flavors improve ten-fold if you give it the extra time. The ham is crucial to a split pea soup recipe in my mind and Sam's ham is some of the best I've had. Even after my soup was full of ham, I still had a pile left and decided to make ham salad for my lunches.

I minced it up (just over 2 cups) and mixed it with 2 chopped hard boiled eggs; 3 diced celery stalks; 1/4 of a sweet onion, minced; 1 tsp. chopped fresh parsley; 2-3 heaping tbsp. mayo; 1 tbsp. dijon; 1 tbsp. sweet relish; 1 tsp. hoagie spread; and salt & pepper.

Crisp, delicious and refreshing. Well, as refreshing as ham can be. The ham is well worth it, considering I made 3 very diverse meals that lasted me nearly a whole week! And when I ran out, I decided to have breakfast for dinner with Sam's b-fast sausages.

They were like smoked mini kielbasas with some early morning flavor. I sliced them in half lengthwise and got a good sear in some butter and served them over crispy hash browns and topped with cheesy scramble. What a delight.

Breakfast for dinner is too often forgotten, so my parting advice is do it more than you should and you will be happier for it. And hit Sam's Butcher Shop up for all of your BFD needs.

House

110 South Jackson St.
Media, PA 19063
(610) 566-2505
Website

In continuing my quest for the best sandwiches in Delco and beyond, I stumbled upon House in downtown Media and gave it a try.

It's a corner spot – a quaint and well cared for little tudor-style joint for the architecture enthusiasts out there.

The decor is straight out of Pinterest and appealed more to my *a hem* feminine side. If that even exists...

But all of that aside, it was time to try the Frenchie. Did I say feminine?

This one features smoked ham, double creme brie, caramelized onions, honey-dijon aioli and is served on a crusty baguette.

They also threw some mixed greens in there for a smack of crisp freshness. The ham was meltingly tender and masculinely thick. There were no chewy bits, every time I sunk my teeth into that pink meat, it cut right through without hesitation. Not to mention the generous portion of Brie that came along with it, all cut with some tangy-sweet, whole seed mustard spread. It's a well balanced, flavorful & generous portion of fancy ingredients for a meager $6.50.

Next item was the Southwestern Panini with house roasted turkey, roasted peppers, cheddar, bacon and chipotle remoulade.

Here was another stack of thick-cut meat with similar tenderness. The turkey looked like it was going to be too much and too dry, but when I took my first bite, I was surprised by the rich balance of ingredients. The turkey was anything but dry and the chipotle kick kept my mouth watering for more.

It was cooked just so all ingredients could meld together - nothing was left in the cold here.

Probably the highlight of my meal was the blue cheese and bacon potato salad. It doesn't get any better than this. Between the thoroughly mixed hints of blue cheese, the hearty pieces of bacon and the vinegar tang of the mustard, I was in flavor explosion heaven.

Another perfectly balanced flavor explosion.

Between the architecture, decor and all of the menu items I chose to sample, House certainly knows how to strike the right harmony in everything they present to their customer. Go see for yourself.

Euphoria Cafe

1001 N.2nd Street #23
Philadelphia, PA 19123
(215) 238-9209

You may remember the past post about café Euphoria, but I didn’t. So I decided to try it again, for the tenth time.

Yes, it's in the dreaded Piazza, yes it's kind of weird, but damn, they make a great cheap sandwich pocket to go.

At $3.50 to $4.50 a piece, you can afford to order a couple and see what you like best.

Look at the beautiful lattice-like markings. Like an Eggo pocket, made just for you.

Luckily it was between breakfast and lunch (though I believe they serve everything all day), so I was able to start with a sausage, egg, and cheese. This is what hot pockets are intended to replicate. So delicious. And convenient.

Not wanting the sausage to feel left out, I also went for a bacon, egg, and cheese. Again, everything you would expect, in a beautiful, crispy, golden puck sized vessel. I will admit, they were somewhat dry in there. But this is nothing that ordering a little smear of ketchup or (and) mayo won't fix next time.

The ham and cheese was something I had not tried, but it about fit the bill for a late breakfast as well. Ham, cheese, iceberg, mayo, mustard. Simplicity, and execution. I could have used the cheese on the outside perimeter of the fillings, as to facilitate more melting, but it was a minor complaint.

If you want to go for a cheap coffee-and-snack-type date in Northern Liberties, you could do worse than choose to come here. Also, try the bulgogi, if you're visiting later in the day.