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SALT PIG

SALT PIG

By: Elinor Hutton & Lukas Volger
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Summary

Lukas and Ellie really hate washing greens. We may be two professional cookbook writers, but when the aprons come off, we eat quesadillas for dinner more often than we might like to admit. Real home cooking is improvisational, intimate, surprising, creative, sometimes mundane, sometimes memorable, and always best when debriefed with a pal. Topics include: dried mushrooms and where to use them, making stock out of arguable trash, the joy of broccoli pancakes, what not to bring to a dinner party, how we really clean our cast iron pans (even when people say not to), gauging the lifelessness of one’s sourdough starter, and a seemingly neverending discussion on how to pronounce fricassee. Join us as we get together to break down the flops, the good enoughs, and the pleasures and hilarity of home kitchen life.

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Elinor Hutton has been a writer, ghostwriter, editor, and publishing and culinary consultant since 2010. She’s worked on more than 25 books to date, including four New York Times bestsellers, most recently as the co-author of Gisele Bündchen’s Nourish. She’s also judged the James Beard awards twice, ran the test kitchen for a meal-kit company, and has worked in book packaging and design.

www.elinorhutton.com


Lukas Volger is the author of six cookbooks, including Start Simple and Bowl, and has collaborated on numerous other cookbooks, including two New York Times bestsellers. Previously, he co-founded the award-winning queer food journal Jarry, and created a line of premium, fresh, and locally made veggie burgers called Made by Lukas. He lives in Brooklyn. www.lukasvolger.com


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Episodes
  • Is Costco Worth It?

    Is Costco Worth It?
    May 19 2026

    Welcome to SALT PIG! There comes a time every year when we wonder: is paying for a membership at Costco worth it? Especially given the spectacle of the almost-fistfights in the parking lot, the morality of buying the world’s most giant chicken breasts, the longest lines, the tallest soft serves, the lifetime supply of Zyrtec that might expire before you can take it all, the physical grappling to fit it all in your freezer when you get home…it is truly savage. But then, after the food is all ziplock-portioned and decanted and the millions of boxes are tied up and dragged to recycling, there is a deep contentment, knowing that you might never, ever, EVER need to go shopping again. Is this just the price one pays to wild-out at one of the few clubs middle-aged people still go to?

    Discussed in this episode:

    • Ellie’s Old-Fashioned Rice Gratin
    • Can the Golden Age of Costco Last? from The New Yorker
    • The olive oil we both buy: Terra Delyssa organic extra virgin olive oil
    • Lukas’ favorite Costco treat: Whisps

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    47 mins
  • Homegrown Food Highs & Lows

    Homegrown Food Highs & Lows
    May 12 2026

    Welcome to SALT PIG! This week, we are pushing back against the enshittification of Big Food and talking about what veggies are growing on Lukas’ roof and in Ellie’s backyard. Turns out homegrown food has a wide range of highs and lows: mistakenly planting the proliferative yet dull-as-rocks banana pepper, the verdant joy of clipping your own herbs and lettuces, the diverse findings of chili pepper experiments, and the horrifying, nightmare-inducing girth of a lost cucumber from 2012. Plus, can a ferment get too fermented, or is Ellie just a ninny?

    Discussed in this episode:

    • Pale in Comparison: What to Know about US Butter (via Radio New Zealand)
    • The Enshittification of Big Food (via Mike Lee)
    • Lukas’ fermented hot sauce
    • Lukas’ soupy orzo

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    44 mins
  • Outside Food

    Outside Food
    May 5 2026

    Welcome to SALT PIG! This week we are talking about eating food outside of home: from the beach to the park, from a car trip to just about every social interaction during COVID. Lukas extolls the virtues of slab sandwiches wrapped in parchment and individual half-pint containers. Ellie makes orzo salad with giardiniera-brine dressing. And we dissect the difference in appeal between a communal trough and a curated sharable spread. (Do you want to share long noodles with anyone??) Plus, hear the genesis story of Lukas’ love affair with oatmeal and one way to get extremely crispy salmon skin.

    Discussed in this episode:

    • Goodbye Caputo’s…I guess we’ll be making our lard bread at home now.
    • Ellie’s Marinated Beans
    • Lukas’ Spicy Marinated Butternut Squash
    • Lukas’ Beach Linguine
    • Snacks For Dinner

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    33 mins
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