You won’t find Chef Marion Ohlinger donning a toque blanche and playing top 40 music at his dinners.
Instead, the Morgantown chef is more likely to be seen in a black chef’s coat with a red skull and crossbones on the chest. Punk rock music plays in the background. Stories about travel and culture and Appalachia are being exchanged.
“I was born with terminal wanderlust and quickly realized cooking jobs were everywhere, and especially at great places like ski resorts and beaches, they often came with room and board,” the Letart, West Virginia native said.
“If you can cook, you can hop a plane to anywhere and find a job. Club Med opened my eyes to the possibilities of the culinary arts being something cool to take seriously. I spent the next decade cooking my way around the world.”
Those travels have included walking across Europe, taking a tiny fishing boat across the Andaman Sea, bouncing between Thailand, Malaysia, and Myanmar, butchering a grizzly bear in Alaska, and backpacking from the top of The Andes down to the Amazon rainforest in Peru.
He brought those experiences with him back to Morgantown where he has operated a few restaurants with different focuses over the years and currently runs Hill & Hollow, Free-Range Kitchen. His goal with this concept – as the others before it – is to showcase something different.
“We don’t do what’s popular. We follow our muse and do what we want without ever thinking ‘Will this sell? Will people like this?’ What I ask myself is ‘Is this Appalachian?” he said. “Aside from a few obvious indigenous ingredients, such as ramps and wild game, I’ve always resisted making judgement calls, no matter how many decades I’ve studied our cuisine.”
Known for his take on modern Appalachian cuisine and its relation with other cultures, Ohlinger always serves food he considers “real.” His personal definition includes the following:
1) It was already here for millennia and was adapted first by Native Americans and then by immigrants
2) It was brought here from whatever Old Country your ancestors came from and kept alive through tradition; or
3) it was brought on by want, need, or necessity.
“We do food we know is real, not what your television tells you is cool to like this week,” Ohlinger said. “When I think about a universal Appalachian traditional dish, your family ham is the first thing that comes to mind. Although this is not nearly as common as it was a generation ago, making your own ham for Easter or spring feasting was a source of pride. Every family had their own procedure, and it was passed down through the generations, and each generation made their own variations.”
His ham recipe is less about the particulars and more about the tradition itself. It’s about the resilience, patience and pride of making the family ham. That’s what makes it important – in addition to being tasty. Ohlinger learned from his grandparents how to butcher and cure meats, and he is continuing the tradition by involving his children in butchering and processing.
“I hope a hundred years from now my great-grandchildren are still making ham that continues to evolve,” he said. “ The key is to keep making it.”
Chef Ohlinger’s Ham:
Ingredients:
- One pig
- Salt Brine
- Seasonings
Directions:
Butcher a fat hog, the fatter the better. Separate out the rear quarters, and hang them to bleed out and set for three days.
Submerge them in heavy salt brine and leave for a month in a cool place, changing the brine weekly. Then hang them again for a week to dry.
Put them on racks and rub them down with salt, brown sugar, and your family’s choice of seasoning. I like to use ground cedar berries and black pepper. Let them seep for a few weeks.
Smoke the hams using your preferred wood mixture for anywhere from 12 hours to two-three days depending on their size and your preference. I like a mixture of hickory, cherry, and applewood, and to smoke for at least 24 hours.
Hang in a cool, dry, place safe from critters until ready to use, checking occasionally and wiping off any mold with white vinegar. Ham can be cold-smoked again in Spring if desired, then soaked and roasted.
Of course, then you can make ham hocks and beans with the leftovers, with last year’s pickled ramps and some crusty cornbread. But that’s another story…