It's that time of the year again.  National Restaurant Association (NRA) is in town for their annual grand four day showing.  As in years past, I miss the first day for the final spring tournament for frisbee.  As in years past, I attend sunburned.  So we begin with day two.

For those who are not familiar with the event, let's begin with a brief tour of the grounds-- I took this by running up to a balcony in one of the wings, then running around it:

Would you believe me if I said there weren't as many exhibitors or as much foot traffic this year?  Remember, that is just one of the open wings.

Wanderers can find every food product imaginable, the hardware to make it in, the hardware to clean it in, the drinks to serve it with, the plates to serve it on, outfits to serve it with, and even the gaudy wall crap to add to the dining experience.  I'm missing a few categories too.

Marc Samuelson and myself, sunburnt.In between the two wings, there is a grand foyer with water fountains, books, and a kiosk where the sunburnt can meet very important people.

In the past I've spent my time running the streets trying to sample as much as possible.  This year is different.  I'm going to spend as much time possible sitting, and not feeling like an old man.  Must attend as many culinary demos as possible. 

I may have forgotten to mention that aspect of the show.  After all, do you really think Marc would stop by just to shake hands?  He, along with a few others, have much more important things to do, like cook.

I only caught the second half of Marc's three different preparations or pork, but was able to stay for a butchering demo, and Chris Cosentino's porchetta di testa demo.  You may remember him as a top three finalist on The Next Iron Chef, two time contender on Iron Chef America, the offal guy, or that bad ass (Twitter followers may notice my overuse of that phrase when describing him) walking down the streets of San Francisco.

Deboned pig's head. Brain intact.The butchering was excellent.  There aren't many butchers left in the world who can be given an entire carcass and break it down perfectly to every cut.  Lucky for us, the head of the pig is just what Chris needs to prepare his Porchetta Di Testa-- his play on hoof and mouth.  After deboning the head; which is like ripping a Halloween mask off, leaving the snout intact; and trotters; he lays them out; stuffs the snout with the tongue so it has body and appears to be looking at the diner; seasons with garlic, salt, aleppo chili pepper, and rosemary; rolls; and cooks sous-vide for six hours.  Hence the BA remarks.

For the curious readers, I did get Chris to indulge the brain removal process, along with a few other anecdotes.  A wonderful stock could be made with the eyes and brain still in the skull, however they can be removed and used for more wondrous things.  At the restaurant, he poaches the brain and makes a mayonnaise out of it by using it as the binding protein (instead of egg yolks).  A hack saw is required to perforate the skull down the middle.  It's important not to go all the way through, or else bone chips will fall into the brain which is quite undesirable.  After the initial cut, the head can [kind of] easily be split open by hand or lever.

I have several more of these videos-- couldn't get the full hour.  A full demo of deboning a pig's head can be viewed at www.offalgood.com

After the cooking process, chill the product for a day, slice on a meat slicer, then drape on a plate with capers, radish, and arugula.  This two day dish makes for a good $14 appetizer at Incanto.

Porchetta Di Testa.

I'll set up a flickr page with the other pictures and post the remaining videos, so stay tuned!  Until then check out my new food processor and these awesome cupcakes.