Beer + sausage = awesome

I took a trip back to Oakland a few months back, and while I was there I swung by the Fatted Calf's new store in San Francisco. First of all, what an awesome shop. If you get the chance, go. Second, they have started making really great beer links, using their favorite craft beers. On my flight back to Austin, I thought about all the great breweries starting up in Texas and decided I had to import this idea.

So, without further ado, I'm proud to announce our Craft Beer Link of the Month. Each month, we will be making a sausage and a mustard featuring beer from the best breweries in Texas. The first six breweries we will be collaborating with are Jester King, Real Ale, Live Oak, Thirsty Planet, Southern Star, and Hops & Grain. On Saturday March 5th, we're taking our grill and heading to Thirsty Planet to kick things off. Come on out and get a Buckethead IPA Link with Thirsty Goat Mustard and enjoy some beer. We'll also be featuring the Buckethead Link all month at the HOPE Farmers Market.

Oh man, it's been a while...

This is the part of the post where I apologize for taking so long off from writing and explain that things are really hectic around here. Broken record, I know, I know.

So here's a quick update on what we've been up to.

In November, the Austin City Council took action to allow cooking at Farmers Markets. Since then, we've been grilling a variety of our sausages at the HOPE Farmers Market on Sundays. Austin Chronicle food writer Mick Vann stopped by one weekend and had one of our Mortadella Hot Dogs. He said it was the best Hot Dog he'd ever had. No kidding! If you haven't been out to HOPE yet, you're missing a hell of a good time. We're grilling the hot dogs, currywurst and more every week, there are complimentary cocktails, I repeat COMPLIMENTARY COCKTAILS, from Austin Personal Bartenders and a bunch of awesome farmers and vendors.

Photo by John Anderson. Courtesy of the Austin Chronicle.

In other news, that bearded fellow in the picture is Bryan Butler. Bryan has been Austin's neighborhood butcher for the last decade, first at Fresh Plus Grocery and for the last six years at Wheatsville Coop. Late last year he left Wheatsville and joined Salt & Time. I can't tell you how excited I am that Bryan is now part of Salt & Time. Needless to say, Bryan brings with him a ton of experience and shares the same passion that inspired me to start Salt & Time. Please join me in welcoming Bryan.

I have some other things to tell you about, but I think I should save them for another post... Stay tuned.

Happy Birthday Buddy Holly!

New website, etc...

Its been a busy and exciting couple of weeks here at Salt & Time. We introduced a bunch of new products, including our 512 Pecan Porter brined Bacon, our Wild Pig Prosciutto and our smoked Pimento Chile Sauce. The Prosciutto was here and gone before we could blink, and won't be back for a few months, but the bacon and chile sauce will be regular features from here on out.

We've also received some fantastic press coverage in Edible Austin and the Austin Chronicle.

Last but not least, we've finally gotten a proper website up! It was designed by Miss Natalie and we really like it. We will be updating it with what we're bringing to the market each week, so check it regularly, and hit refresh to make sure you see the most up to date list of products.

Now that this blog no longer has to serve as the de facto website for Salt & Time, it will be going on a bit of a hiatus and will return at some point as an outlet for me to share my thoughts on... well just about anything that I feel like, I guess.

Until we meet again, Ben

With all due respect to Eddie Cochran, we have the cure for the summertime blues

August is a tough month to grow vegetables in Texas. It’s hot and dry and generally inhospitable for veggies and the people who tend them. With barren gardens and slim pickings at the farmers markets, this can be a problem for locavores. Hopefully, you’ve been pickling, jamming and otherwise preserving the bounty from what has been a great spring and summer of fruits and veggies. If, however, your cupboard is bare, Salt & Time has you covered. We’re sitting on a big stockpile of pickles and jam. We will continue to have our Pickled Fennel, Pickled Beets and Fig & Balsamic Jam and we will be rolling out new pickles to help beat the heat every Sunday in August at the HOPE Farmers Market.

Starting on Aug 1^st, we will have Bread & Butter Pickles made with Johnson Backyard Garden Organic Cucumbers & Hinkelhatz Peppers and Springdale Farm Garlic and Onions. Also in the pickle hopper are Dill Spears, Okra, Jalapeno Peppers and more. We have several new meat products this month as well, starting with Mangalitsa Pork Rilletes. Mangalitsa is an incredibly flavorful heritage breed of pig that is being raised in Texas by Revival Meats. One of the great things about getting outside of the industrial food box is that there is an amazing world of flavor out there to experience. Most people would probably be surprised to realize that all pork doesn’t taste the same. Just like heirloom vegetable varieties, heritage breeds have unique flavors and textures that can’t be found wrapped in plastic at the supermarket. We are very excited to work with Revival Meats and other farmers that raise heritage breeds, and rest assured, these rilletes are just the beginning!

Coming later in August, we will be introducing our first fresh bacon, brined in 512 Brewery’s Pecan Porter and smoked over Pecan wood and our first Prosciutto, made from Countryside Farms wild pig! We’ll keep you updated on the Bacon and Prosciuttos progress as we get closer to their arrival. Stay tuned!

Market Days

Come see us tomorrow (Sunday) at the HOPE Farmers Market from 10-2. We'll have Sopressata, Genoa, Chorizo, Lonzino, Brianza, Tuscano and Peperoni Salumi as well as Hot Dogs, Fig & Balsamic Jam, Pickled Watermelon Radishes, Pickled Fennel, Pickled Beets and Pickled Squash. We're looking forward to being regular participants in the HOPE Market and have some new products on the way in the coming weeks! If you haven't been to HOPE yet, it's a very cool market with some great vendors. Come check it out!

HOPE Farmer's Market, this Sunday!

Here's a rundown of what we'll have available this Sunday at the HOPE Farmers Market (10am-1pm). You can pre-order items by emailing orders@saltandtime.com. Please provide a phone number we can reach you at in your email. See you on Sunday!

4th of July Special!

Hot Dogs – aka Frankfurters aka Weiners aka YUM! Naturally Dolce Farms 100% grassfed beef and Richardson Farms pork $12/pound

Salumi (all Salumi made with Richardson Farms pork unless otherwise noted)

Genoa – red wine, pepper, garlic. $28/pound

Sopressata – white wine, chile, garlic. $28/pound

Chorizo – smoked pimenton, chili. $30/pound

Lomo - whole cured pork loin with chile and cumin $32/pound

Lonzino – whole cured pork loin with fennel, juniper and nutmeg $32/pound

Pancetta – whole cured pork belly with pepper & juniper $20/pound

Snack Sticks $3.50 Each

Genoa – red wine, pepper, garlic

Tuscano – fennel and pepper

Peperone – Naturally Dolce Farms Red Wattle pork with paprika and allspice

Pickles, relishes, etc (8 oz containers)

Pickled Fennel – Fruitfull Hill Farm fennel with thyme and lemon peel $7

Pickled Beets – Fruitfull Hill Farms beets, onions $6

Sweet Pickled Green Tomatoes – Springdale Farm Green tomatoes in a sweet and tangy brine $6

Kenny’s Pickled Squash – Finca Pura Vida squash, Chef Kenny Gray’s secret recipe $7

Pickled Watermelon Radishes – Fruitfull Hill Farm watermelon radishes, Tecolote Farm French sorrel $6

Grilled Eggplant in Olive Oil – Grilled Finca Pura Vida eggplant with chili peppers $6

Peperonata – Johnson’s Backyard peppers, capers, Texas Olive Ranch olive oil $7

Poached Peaches in Rose Syrup – Lightsey Orchards peaches $6

Grilled Peaches in Basil and Mint Syrup – Lightsey Orchard peaches $6

Fig & Balsamic Jam – home grown figs, balsamic vinegar, peppercorn $7