Porkmafia Joins Analogue for Pork-filled Dinner
After snagging the “King of BBQ” title at last year’s Cochon Heritage celebration, Chef Alfred Nogueira quelled any lingering doubts over his ability to manipulate pork, andouille sausage or biscuits. His Cajun cooking became de rigueur of any visit to the cocktail bar Analogue, though the reasonably priced, bitter-centric drinks from owners Robby Haynes and Henry Prendergast maintain a personality all their own.
Next Wednesday, the Analogue team welcomes BBQ pitmaster Phil Wingo of Porkmafia, a syndicate of smoked meat-obsessed caterers, cooks, and competitors who teach classes, judge competitions, and consult on restaurant openings. The five-course dinner revolves solely around the Hungarian Mangalitsa pig (affectionately, the “Kobe beef of pork”), a cherished breed that “if raised properly with care can produce meat with beautiful inner muscular marbling and higher fat content,” says Nogueira.
The pair’s history is equally steeped in pork. They first met at the Cochon BBQ, explains Nogueira, but it was the “life-changing” invitation to a boucherie in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, that solidified their friendship. Wingo has ties to Chicago too: he often uses heritage breed livestock from Kim Snyder of Faith’s Farm in Bonfield, about 65 miles south of the city. Her compensatory offer of a whole hog led Wingo to call the Analogue chef.
“He asked if I had any interest in cooking up some of the cuts with him, and then it turned into this event,” says Nogueira.
The menu features smoked pork shoulder gumbo with boudin beignets and glazed ham. To drink, Haynes and Prendergast dust off the frozen daiquiri machine for a New Orleans classic, the Ramos Gin Fizz, and an apricot-laden Zombie. A Vieux Carré, appropriately altered with the bitter Hungarian plum liqueur Unicum, will make a proper nightcap.
Drinks ($9-11, plus Analogue’s standard menu) and gratuity are excluded from the $55 dinner ticket, available here.
Mangalitsa Pork Dinner
February 3, 7 p.m.
Analogue
2523 N. Milwaukee Ave.; (773) 904-8567
