Sunday, May 24, 2009 | Food, Recipes, Atlanta
SP Mad for mollusks

JCT Kitchen’s angry mussels

Photos/Tanai Anderson

By Ford Fry

Bacon! Hands down, it’s the most amazing part of the pig. Well, pork belly cured and smoked, to be more accurate.

Why so glorious? First and foremost, the “glory” comes from the flavorful fat that just makes everything better (and is heavenly alone). Now, looking at bacon in its entirety, the perfect “lardon” is a blend of taste and texture. To achieve this, slab bacon (unsliced) is the way to go. Half-inch by half-inch cubes, quickly browned on the outside, while protecting the natural juices of the bacon will make Grandma proud. Reserve the fat, and toss these guys with some petit butter lettuce, a couple of splashes of red wine vinegar, some gray salt, and you have achieved the ultimate salad.

In January of 2007, JCT opened it doors with a menu loaded with bacon. To this day, the menu is still loaded with bacon, but it is so much more refined as to which bacon is perfect for each dish. Alan Benton supplies us with one of our most unique bacon types. His bacon is heavily smoky, which we like to slice super thin to wrap fish, scallops, pork, or even Georgia figs or peaches. Our house-cured bacon is pretty much our “bacon of the moment”; our chefs get the opportunity to play a bit with the cure and even the type of wood used to smoke the bacon. This bacon typically finds its way into our mussel dish and our wood-grilled scallops with turnip gratin, where we grill it on our wood-burning grill. Though not quite the definition of bacon, braised and crisped pork belly is close enough to count. I love making tiny sliders of buttery, toasty brioche, stacked with intense pork belly, vanilla bean apple butter and whatever zippy pickled vegetable I can find.

At JCT, we have enjoyed continuous praise for our “angry” mussels with house-cured bacon and Serrano chiles. These mollusks wouldn’t be the same without our friend, the pig! The smokiness of the bacon melts together with the natural shellfish juices, and the knob of butter to completely coat the mussels as they open up and move on to their next life. Now to truly grab complete satisfaction from this dish, the “chemistry” remaining in the bottom of the bowl is just waiting to be sopped by a rustic chunk of wood-grilled country bread. Here, not only do you get the perfect blend of flavors, but you also get the bonus bacon treats, which have sunk to the bottom and complete the experience.

For those who have been inspired by my passion for the pig, I encourage you to sign up for a bacon-of-the-month club. What better monthly gift could anyone ask for? SP
Ford Fry is the executive chef of JCT Kitchen. 1198 Howell Mill Road. 404-355-2252. www.jctkitchen.com.

ANGRY MUSSELS WITH VIDALIA ONION, HOUSE-CURED BACON AND SERRANO CHILE

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:


Instructions:

Using a large skillet, render bacon until it begins to crisp (medium-high heat). Once almost crisp, turn the heat to high, and add the garlic, onion and Serrano chile. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, and add the cleaned mussels. Stir until they start to open. Deglaze with the wine, and cook until the wine is almost dry. Add the butter, and keep stirring until the butter is almost completely melted (emulsified) and take off of the heat. Season with kosher salt, and finish with freshly cut chives. Serve with thick rustic toast for sopping the broth.