This week Joe is joined by Chris Eley, founder and head of Goose the Market and Smoking Goose. This one-two punch of butcher shop and cured meat company is turning out food under the tagline of "Old World Craft, New World Flavor", taking ancient techniques of butchery and preservation and combining them with Midwest flavors. Chris shares his personal journey to owning a wildly successful market and meat company as well as the detail and care he puts into all of his products.
We begin with an introduction to Chris and his background, from his high school years working at a mom-and-pop restaurant through culinary school and into his professional career around the globe. He describes his time working for major meat packers in Chicago, and his eventual homecoming to Indianapolis where he founded Goose the Market. Goose the Market is an old-world style market where Chris has created a down-to-earth atmosphere for his customers to order their favorite cuts of meat, sandwiches and local Indiana produce. Chris describes what he wanted to accomplish with Smoking Goose and takes care to explain all of the process and patience he applies to his products. We learn about his thoughts on flavor profiles, how every sausage and salami differs in flavor and texture, his attention to detail in creating pleasant inconsistency and what he enjoys the most about this line of work.