(Photo: Laurent Jung)

Because this area boasts a slew of custom meat purveyors par excellence.

Tallula/EatBar ex-toque Nathan Anda left the Arlington gastrohub last summer to develop his own charcuterie concept, which has since evolved into the Red Apron Butchery. Though he’s still scouting final locations for the shop–something Anda hopes is “weeks, not months away”–Anda already envisions a full-service facility replete with homemade sauces, gourmet foodstuffs and exotic proteins.

“It’ll be an experience, going in there,” Anda insists. He plans to specialize in “stuff that isn’t available everywhere,” tossing out pig ear terrines, cured lamb bellies, handmade lardo and trotters as potential impulse buys.

In the meantime, Anda’s current catalog (cured meats, homemade hot dogs) will be available for retail purchase at Planet Wine and officially debuts in Buzz‘s panini line. Anda is also firming up his relationships with various local farmers markets, estimating that he’ll make the rounds to the weekly Ballston, Penn Quarter and possibly one other open-air showplace beginning early next month.

Anda is also talking with fellow Neighborhood Restaurant Group chefs Anthony Chittum (Vermilion) and Frank Morales (Rustico) about weaving some of his wares into their menus.

“Hopefully, in the coming months, he’ll be using my pepperoni,” Anda said of the spicy sausage he’s developed for Morales’ gourmet pies. He also plans to make his products readily available to incoming Tallula chef Barry Koslow–though he suspects the charcuterie-savvy Koslow will not want for jaw-dropping snackables.

“With Barry coming in, it’s [Tallula] going to be awesome,” Anda predicts.

Meanwhile, Robert Wiedmaier’s new gourmet shop, The Butcher’s Block should be up and running shortly. Chef Chris Watson will oversee a gourmet retailer (along with the fledgling BRABO/BRABO Tasting Room) poised to offer fresh breads, wild game and a bevy of Belgian beers.

Down the road in Del Ray, Aussie butcher Stephen Gatward has developed a loyal following at Let’s Meat on the Avenue by serving up hard-to-find items (kangaroo meat, anyone?) as well as neighborhood necessities (smoked dog bones).

For those who enjoy a a dash of intrigue with their entrails, the mercurial Jamie Stachowski continues to peddle his cured goodies in the darnedest places (next delivery: tomorrow at noon).

And I would be terribly remiss if I didn’t give a nod to the gourmet links that spring from the mind of improbable sausage baron, Stanley Feder.

We’ve never had it so good.

–Warren Rojas

Photography by Hana Jung

Most folks tend to retire to tropical, sun-drenched locales. Lucky for us, Stanley Feder is more of a sub-freezing, meat processing plant type of guy.

A former CIA analyst with a Ph.D. in political science, Feder decided to indulge his love for artisan meats by launching Simply Sausage in 2005—a lifelong dream born from trekking across Europe.

The nascent meatpacker wound up befriending several of our area’s top toques, including Jonathan Krinn (the 2941 founder fondly remembers helping Feder fine-tune his flavors and wove Feder’s merguez and French country sausages into his cuisine) and Jose Andres (Feder makes Jaleo’s spicy and mild chorizos and traditional butifarra; last winter, Andres convinced Feder to visit with Catalunyan sausage-makers to better hone his craft).

“We are always happy to help connect Stanley with folks in Spain,” asserted an Andres’ spokeswoman. “He builds his skills and knowledge, and it allows us to offer our guests a better, more authentic product.”

Feder’s four-person team cranks out between 300 to 600 pounds of sausage per day, five days a week. Combine the labor-intensive recipes with Feder’s affinity for hard-to-find spices (Dutch caraway, Hungarian paprika, Indonesian white peppercorns), and you begin to see why his products have been so well received in such a short time.

“We are fanatical about quality,” Feder insisted.

That dedication comes through in the nearly dozen standard offerings and even more so in the half-dozen specialty links (think blue cheese-stuffed butifarra and cranberry and wine-stuffed venison). Core favorites include:

Traditional butifarra: salt-and-pepper-laced pork plumps and browns nicely
Spicy Italian: more about warmth than heat; great fennel notes
Spicy chorizo: cayenne and hot paprika fused into a marvelously zesty link
French country: big herb bouquet and pâté-like flavors
Nürnburger bratwurst: hefty links yield ample caraway in every bite

Feder said future projects include a buffalo sausage with chipotle and ancho peppers for Cibola Farms, as well as a spring asparagus-spiked butifarra.

Simply Sausage products are available for retail purchase at Arrowine in Arlington, Cecilia’s Fine Wine in McLean, Cibola Farms in Culpeper (also participate in a number of area farmers markets) and the Marshall IGA grocery in Marshall. To try a fully cooked version, visit the Crystal City Jaleo. To view the full Simply Sausage catalog, visit: www.simply-sausage.com.

(January 2008)

Ed Matthews
Chef/owner, One Block West

Faced with a near-vacant fridge and needing a quickie Mother’s Day breakfast one year, One Block West toque Ed Matthews whipped up the following pork-and-dairy pleaser to rave reviews. Although he said any swine will work, Matthews prefers Surry sausage (available from: www.virginiatraditions.com).

PREP TIME: 5 min.
COOK TIME: 20-25 min.
SERVES: 4

INGREDIENTS
4 ounces French bread (about 3 cups), in 3/4-inch dice
12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) heavy cream
6 ounces Surry sausage (3 sausages), quartered and diced
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of black pepper

PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 450 to 500 F.

Dice the French bread and place it in a small bowl.

Thoroughly mix the cream, eggs, salt and pepper. Pour the cream mixture over the bread, and mix well. Let bread stand while you dice the sausages.

In a small skillet, heat a tablespoon of butter over medium flame. Add the diced sausage, and cook until browned (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat, and add to the bread and developing custard mix. Mix well.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of butter over medium to high heat in a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, and wait for the sizzling to stop. Pour in the bread mix, and cook on the stovetop for a minute or two longer to set the bottom.

Bake in the oven until golden-brown on top and just set in the center, about 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool for a couple of minutes.

Slide out of the pan onto a cutting board, and cut into wedges. Serve immediately.

(September 2008)