White Trash Truffle Risotto and The Real McCoy
Posted By Michelle on March 26, 2009
Everyone has an addiction of some shape or form. Whether it’s single malt scotch or rum raisin ice cream, collecting Beany Babies or heroin, we all have one. Hopefully, not the heroin one.
The lucky few have free addictions, like Twitter Heads and Facebook Freaks, which we are in no way either. (Yeah, right.)
The Sherpas? We go for the glory. Truffles.
Not the chocolate truffle, but the real deal. The musky, pungent, black and white beauties found in very specific corners of the world. Retail value is normally around $120 per pound, but that’s for the low-end shake. Top notch, premium grown truffles will set you back anywhere between $400-$1400 per pound. Sometimes even $160K large. So, when we got an email asking if we would be interested in attending the first annual National Truffle Festival and be guest judges for the Truffle Risotto competition, well we couldn’t hit respond fast enough.
While at the festival we spoke with Betty Garland of Garland Truffles, a North Carolina black Perigord truffle farmer, a.k.a Black Diamonds. We thought we were passionate about truffles? Please. Betty’s husband; Franklin, has spent over 25 years cultivating the North American truffle through a series of trial and error due to the super secrecy European truffle farmers abide. They ain’t given up the centuries-old secrets. But Franklin did it and he is now considered the leader of the USA truffle industry.
With a decadently expensive habit, like truffles, one must become very resourceful. But there are more affordable truffle options, like truffle oil. There’s a ton of places to buy truffle oil, nowadays. The best is Roland, in our opinion. It usually retails between $12-$14 per bottle. Not bad when you consider the alternative.
If you have never tried truffles before, we highly recommend it. The flavor is indescribable and you either love it or you hate it. Just be careful, people have lost fortunes before.
Stone Ground Cheese Grits with Poached Egg and Black Truffle
(a.k.a White Trash Truffle Risotto)
Serves 5
1 quart heavy cream
2 cups stoneground grits
5 cups chicken stock
1 cup Pecorino Romano Cheese, grated, plus more for shaving, if desired
1 tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
5 large eggs
2 tablespoons black truffle oil
For the grits:
Bring the heavy cream to a boil on the stovetop. Stir in the grits and simmer, until thick, about 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of the chicken stock and simmer again, stirring frequently until they thicken again, about another 5 minutes. Add two more cups of the stock and stir well. Remove from the heat and add the Pecorino Romano, salt, pepper, and 1 more cup of stock, stir well, and hold for serving.
For the eggs:
Fill a shallow frying pan with water and bring it to a boil. Add the white wine vinegar and lower the heat to where the pan is no longer boiling (2-3 on an electric stove). Add the eggs individually and cook for 2 minutes for a soft egg, 3 minutes for a firmer egg.
Plate the grits, top each pile of grits with an egg, top with shaved pecorino romano, (if desired) and pour a few drops of the truffle oil over each plate to finish.
Stumble it!
The funny thing about truffle oil is it contains no truffles. None. No truffle dust, no bits, truffles and truffle oil have never even been in the same room together. Truffle oil is olive oil enhanced with the chemical dithiapentane. This chemical tricks the brain by causing a psychic recreation of the aromatic molecules that make the flavor of white truffles so heady and evanescent. It makes your brain think it’s getting ready for big flavor. But, truffle oil does add a heady luxury to all kinds of things. I use it with eggs and potatoes a lot! Because like you said, the real thing has a real cost in busks to consider! Have fun judging. You will be fantastic! GREG
We’ve already come and gone from the festival! The competition was awesome!
Hmmm, I’ve read and always believed that truffles are infused with large batches of olive or grape seed oil to make Truffle oil? In no way does a truffle actually produce oil but it’s very strong aroma and taste permit evenly through oil.
I will have to investigate this, LA Greg.
I love grits and I love truffles. Thank for this GREAT idea.
Your quite welcome, Last Bite.
an entire fucking quart of heavy cream? there must be another way…
regardless - you put that in front of me and i want seconds. because i am insane and have no discipline.
truffles - i love them dearly. i use the not so close second ‘truffle oil’ all the time.
Claudia: of course there are other ways, but ya know, you can fry a potato in Crisco, or you can fry it in duck fat…. It’s still a fried potato, right?
Talk about going back to bed after eating this. Looks great. I must say after the truffle fest I find it very hard to use truffle oil now. That event spoiled me way too much.
Nice.
I can’t decide if I should stay ignorant and keep downing truffle oil.. or splurge for the real thing
It’s those evil people who work in marketing departments. They are paid to make us think there are truffles in truffle oil.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/16/dining/16truf.html
Good information, Greg. But now, the question comes down to - use the doctored stuff, or go without even the simulation of truffles. It’s ponderous, I tell you.
I love truffles and my wallet hates me. Thankfully I have only been able to find them on a few occasions and never in this town.
[...] found ourselves in Asheville just this past March. Originally, we had set out for a festival celebrating Truffles but little did we know it would become a lesson in local pride, sustainable products, and regional [...]
Keep up the hard work keeping the environment clean, I am right here with ya man! To a greener 2010!!