Meet Chef Paul Osher! Chef Paul is the Chef/Owner of Bean and Thyme. He makes fabulous food on Saturdays at the Farmers Market!
Following him around this week was a lot of fun! He has a great sense of humor and (as always) we learned a lot from him. On his demo menu was Chorizo over Sopes, topped with a fried egg and a side of pickled asparagus!
This is the Chorizo with the egg. It looks good, doesn’t it? :-)
First, we learned to make chorizo! My husband was so excited when I told him we learned how to do this. We can’t wait to try it ourselves. Chef Paul is a very good teacher, so hopefully I’ll remember everything he did. He showed us how to cut a pork shoulder into small pieces, utilizing every last bit of the meat and fat to make the best chorizo possible.
Once it was cut, it had to be chilled. Cold meat goes through the grinder better. Chef Paul had a great trick! He used dry ice to make sure everything was solid in a short amount of time.
You wouldn’t do this at home, but it works for a quick demo!
Next Chef Paul made the spice mix! This handsome young man is Malcolm. Remember his face, he will be a great chef someday. :-)
Malcolm served as Sous Chef for Paul and did a great job!
First they prepping the chile peppers to go into the blender (you could use your food processor at home.)
Some participants helped chop chiles while Chef Paul started his pickled asparagus and told us stories about making hot dogs! He was so funny! I want to try the pickled asparagus at home too! He made it all seem so easy!
When the meat was nearly frozen, it was time to put it through the grinder! Chef Paul’s tip? Make sure everything, including the grinder parts are very cold!!
Everyone helps in this demo!
After the meat was ground, Chef Paul added chiles and spices to the chorizo.
Chef Paul browned the chorizo while Malcolm warmed the Sopes! Yep, that’s my reflection in the oven behind them. My amateur photography skills are showing! Hahaha!
Next Chef Paul showed us the green chicken eggs he’d gotten from a farmer earlier at the Market! Hard to see the green tint in this picture, but they were beautiful!
Chef Paul lightly sautéed some greens before he fried the eggs.
The kitchen smelled so good! Between the chorizo, fresh veggies and warm Sopes, we were all ready to eat!
Chef Paul began the eggs and Malcolm started plating!
Gorgeous, right? The spicy chorizo, warm fresh egg, sautéed greens and the rich, toasty flavor of the sopes came together in a perfect bite!
After our wonderful breakfast, Malcolm was kind enough to share some brownies he’d made himself earlier in the day.
Our morning was fantastic! I’m very excited to try Chorizo and maybe even Italian Sausage at home. The pickled asparagus too! It sounds weird, but it was delicious! Our thanks to Chef Paul for his time and thanks to The Gourmandise School for hosting another great event!
I like how Chef Paul includes lots of participants in his demo. Truly collaborative (which is one hallmark of a truly great leader). I also loved your picture step-by-step! I know first-hand how time consuming those can be to put together – so I genuinely appreciate seeing them. :) [Though they require more time and effort, they do help posts come alive.]