Katz's Kitchen

Holiday Georging

2009-12-31T10:12:00.000-08:00

Holidays mean one thing. Food. I don’t mean holidays like Christmas and Hanukkah where you get together with long lost family over copious amounts of alcohol and over cooked green beans. I mean holidays from work, time off where you can do absolutely nothing and be all the better for it. This year’s holidays translated to ten days of cooking, seeing friends and family, and eating. I was lucky this year, getting two Christmas meals… not bad for a Jew (Thanks Steph and the Strakas). Given the lazy nature of my week off, and my otherwise busy schedule, I have not posted here in a while. To come is a little summary of a few meals from Katz’s kitchen, the ones where I took pictures anyways.

Family dinner

Pickled brisket in veal jus

Caraway spaetlze

Squash and turnip mash

Apple butter

Brussel sprouts in a butter sauce

Coleslaw

Dinner at Devin and Nichole's new farmhouse

Charcuterie, cheese, pickles.

Thai curry and pierogis

Wine tasting

Nate, Sam, Lorn and Aliza came over to taste a pretty varied selection of wines. We hit the charcuterie, cheese and pickles like there was no tomorrow.

Charcuterie: duck prociuto, guanciale, sopresatta, pink pepper corn saussison sec, duck saussison sec, sage and roasted garlic genoa, gravlax hiramasa, smoked mackerel, smoked mackerel roe, rillettes, whipped lardo

Cheese: Niagara Gold, Cloth bound PEI cheddar, goats brie, Roaring Forties, Amsterdam Gouda, Brie de Meaux, Le Station de Compton

Pickles: olives, green means fennel, cauliflower, pearl onions, fiddle heads, ramps, garlic, artichoke, chive flowers, spruce tips

Preserved Fruit: sugar plums, german plums, cherries, all from Ontario

Wines:

Baron-Fuente Grand Millesime, Champagne, 1996

Legends Reserve Chardonnay, Niagara, 2003

Weingut Max Fern Richter Riesling, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, 1992

Sebastopol Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, 2001

Ridge Three Valleys Zinfandel, Sonoma, 2007

Rocca delle Macie, Chianti Classico. 2006

Ferraton Pere et Fils La Matiniere, Crozes-Hermitage, 2006

Chateau Suau Sauternes, 2005

Malivoire Gewurztrminer Ice wine, 2008

Peach Preserves

2009-09-01T22:18:00.000-07:00

Peaches are in season right now so it is time to take full advantage. I found a nice basket at the St Lawrence market of PF 17 variety. The gent at the stand says that they always pick them a few days early, so that they do not bruise during shipping. All were quite firm but ripened nicely after 2 days on the counter. They were not the most flavourful, but where very sweet and juicy. Id love to be able to pick them ripe right off the tree, but who has time for that these days? I was asking about heirloom varieties but they don’t produce many that are commercially available because they don’t ship well or store well. There are a few available but it typically takes 20-30 years to get a cultivar to market. They are also very susceptible to pests so keep in mind that peaches are sprayed heavily.

I went to the herbalist and found bergamont leaves and elder flowers for the batches of jam. This round was an experiment in technique and flavour. I made two batches, one of each flavour and then cooked one of each with pectin and one without. I blanched and peeled the peaches, then cut them into large segments for a chunky end result.

The bergamont was very bitter, so I steeped the leaves in simple syrup and added that to my peaches as they cooked out. I did the same with the elder flower. Once they were softened on a very low simmer, I drained off the liquid. Some I blitzed about 10% of the fruit back in and some I did not. When adding the pectin, I mixed it in with the sugar so that it did not clump, and blitzed it in with the pureed fruit. Once the pectin is added, you have the bring it to a hard boil until it reached the gelling point, where the bubbles get large and the jam coats the back of a spoon. The batches without pectin had 50% sugar by weight, whereas the pectin batches had about 25% sugar, so they were more tart but still set up. At the end of the day I ended up with about 16 small jars of 4 very different jams. I also added lemon juice at the end to give a bit of brightness and acidity and a little salt to bring out the flavour.

The jars without pectin were quite loose with large chunks of fruit. The flesh was still a little firm so it made for a great spreadable jam. The pectin jars had more of a jelly texture, which held their shape when scooped. Next time around I will have a better idea of how to find the middle ground for the perfect jam, one which is firm enough to hold it’s shape but still be spreadable

Summer Preserves

2009-07-31T21:19:00.000-07:00

The corner fruit market at this time of year makes me very happy. Raspberries, strawberries, sugar plums, juicy peaches and golden apricots. All from Ontario and all in season right now. Now is the time to put up some preserves for later on, when nothing is growing here except the eyes on my potatoes.

Apricot Jam with early grey and lavender

I always liked getting large chunks of fruit in my jam. If you cook them just enough to set the pectin, they keep their bite and have great texture.
I started with my flavoring: simple syrup steeped with cinnamon, lavender and early grey tea. I wanted something floral and sweet to compliment the rich fruit, and bergamont and lavender flowers seemed a perfect match. By making a syrup first, I could control the level of spice without over doing the whole batch. It also makes it easer to strain off the solids so that you don’t have to pick them out later (which would be next to impossible with lavender flowers).

I cooked out the apricots, cut in half, with a little sugar to release some of the juices. Once softened I took out about 10% of the apricots, added some sugar mixed with about a tablespoon of pectin, and blitzed to make sure it was fully dissolved. Bring that mix up to a boil and pour it over the cooked fruit. This is when you check your final seasoning by adding sugar and lemon. If you want you can do the old jelling test where you pour some jam onto a frozen plate to see if it stays put when you drag a finger through it. You get a sense of whether it will set because the bubbles get really big and slow from the resistance of the setting liquid. I put the halved fruit in jars and covered with the liquid. Steam process in the pressure cooker for 5 mins and cool. Blam, apricot jam.

Burbank plums in white wine

The plums were already very sweet and delicate, so the syrup I made was dry and I did not cook them out at all. The syrup is pretty simple: white wine, sugar, honey, water, ginger, cinnamon and sage from the garden. Bring the lot up to a boil and cook off the alcohol. I cooled the mix and strained it when it was steeped enough to taste the spice. Fill the jars with fruit, pour over the cold syrup and steam process for 2 mins. I have found with my setup that this is just enough time to seal the jars without cooking the fruit too much.

Ontario cherries in red wine

My chef has a mulled cherry on the menu at the moment with schezuan peppers and long pepper. I like the spice but prefer a little sweeter flavour so instead of long pepper I added a Tonka bean (which gives a vanilla and almond background note). Basically bring up equal parts of red wine, sugar and water with basil stems, schezuan pepper, Tonka, allspice, cinnamon and clove. Once you cook off the booze, add your cherries (which were amazingly sweet to begin with) and cook really slowly until the flavours have permeated and the fruit is soft. Make sure to cover them with parchment (or a plate in my case) to keep them submerged. Jar and steam process for 5 mins.

I can’t wait to pop the seal in the dead of winter to get a little tasted of the summer. The cherries would make a great pie filling, ice cream base or garnish for cheese. The plums and syrup are going to be great on a simple sponge cake with the syrup poured over top. The apricots…Im going to have for breakfast tomorrow on toast.

Dry Age

2009-05-09T12:12:00.000-07:00

My buddy Jon brought me a prime rib the other day. I wanted to age it a little, just enough to develop some flavour. The problem (well not really a problem at all) was that I forgot about it. I forgot for about 6 weeks. It was in a fridge on a baking rack long enough to dry out, a lot.

There was easily lost 50 percent of its weight . By the time I trimmed off all the dry outside, there were four thin steaks left to hit the table. The aging process broke down the cells to the point where it was melt in your mouth, more than any other beef I have ever had. The marbling became more pronounced as the water evaporated out of the cells. Without ageing, this cut would be more suited to a roast than it would steaks, but it was amazing to see how the meat tenderized over time. The loss of weight was huge and the wait was long, but it was definitely worth it.

Dinner of a home aged prime rib steak, puréed sweet potatoes and pickled celery.

The Herbalist

2009-05-09T12:08:00.000-07:00

There is a great herbalist down the street from my place on the Danforth. You feel like you are in an ancient Chinese medicine shop with worn hardwood floors and large glass jars with mysterious substances. Luckily for me, the labels were all in English but the herbs were mostly still a mystery.

I came in for tonka beans, and found so much more. The tonka bean has a very intensely rich aroma of vanilla and almonds, much like a mix the artificial extracts of both. Robert, the keep at the shop was telling me about how it came to be banned. The bean contains an anti coagulant, or blood thinner. Allegedly it was a Navajo woman who kept drinking the tea of the beans, against the warnings of others. She eventually died from over consumption, and in order to protect people from further abuse the FDA banned the bean. Luckily they are still available in Canada and many other countries.

As we are talking, Robert kept brining out jars and baggies. Some dusty and grayed with time, others fresh and ripe with aromatic scents. Instead of French lavender, he gave me some from Bulgaria, which is twice as fragrant, if not as pretty looking. Roberts was telling me, as we rambled on about herbs around the world, that his Bulgarian herb hunters found something mysterious recently. A red berry they had not yet encountered. They took it the local blind man who lives in the forest for help. He took the berry, smelled it, and asked if it was red. It was red juniper. This berry is not quite as fragrant as its well known cousin but does have a deep purple hue and tastes very mild. I also bought some organic juniper as well for the same region.

Wormwood and thuja are principal ingredients in Absinth. I was looking to make some more for the flavour than any attempt to see green fairies. He explained that it is the terpene thujone, which has a similar structure to THC that give absinthe its hallucinogenic properties. The actually concentrations of thujone in commercially available absinth is actually very low, and one feels the effects of the high proof alcohol long before the hallucinogenic effects of the herbs. The bows of of the coniferous tree he gave me were beautifully dried and smelled like a pine forest. I will probably need to find some essential oil of star anis or fennel to make the drink taste better than ‘tree’.

I wanted to find Sasparilla because it is an ingredient in a wicked dry rub we make at work. Last week we got in a suckling pig, and all the parts not used for the new dish were brined, rubbed and cooked off in the most epic staff meal of all times. I looked over to see the chef roasting loins of skewers over the open flame of the flat top. The ribs were glazed, the pork was pulled. There was even biscuits, coleslaw. Sasparilla was in that dry rub and it was delicious. The vine It is an ingredient in root beer, coming from South and Central America. It can be very bitter, so pharmacists used to distill the useful chemicals out and mix it with sugar. This is the humble beginning of medical tonics like Pepsi and 7-UP… thus root beer was born.

The last of my herbaceous purchases was some nigella seed. It has many names such as black cumin, onion seed, black sesame and nutmeg flower. This can be misleading, as they are actually from the nigella sativa flower. Ground is makes a great additive to flour when making naan or flatbreads. It is typically part of the Indian panch phoron five spice mix (also containing fenugreek, cumin, black mustard and fennel seed in equal parts).

I’m really glad I decided to stop by the herbalist shop. I see it almost every days, and yet haven’t made it in. Although they have more products of medical purposes, their culinary repertoire was quite impressive. I will never again go without marshmallow root, whole nutmegs from Jamaica, jujube dates or wolfberries again.

Pickle Party (Peter Piper Picks a Peck of Pickled Livers)

2009-03-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

Forget Charcuterie Sundays, Pickle parties are where it's at. Dre, Eric, James, Matt and I got together at Dre's to put up some preserves this weekend. Although there isn't much in season yet, we got in two boxes of produce to preserve for months to come. After the initial prep, we got to mixing up our own batches. Some of us has specific things the wanted to do, some we shared like the cauliflower.

I tried:
black tea water chestnuts
pommagranite molasses and shao hsing pecans
a sweet daikon pickle
black radishes
white wine and tarragon cauliflower
apple and cider celery

In the mix there was some pickled quail eggs, baby fennel, roasted peppers and a few more. There were a lot of interesting flavour combinations that I can't quite remeber them all.

We easily filled cases of jars (36) and could have happily done more. We even had some beets that we didn't have time to get to. In between beers and chatting we even put up okra and chard stems.

Everything is shelved at Dre's for a few weeks until they mature, then we will open them up and let you know how it all turns out.

Who needs pants when you have beer?

Sourdough

2009-02-22T10:02:00.001-08:00

A sourdough that finally worked. It has been a slow process of trail and error to get decent sour dough out of my oven. I have been researching and experimenting for weeks on end and finally found something that works.

I have had a starter for weeks now, based on some old grapes that I had laying around. I fermented them to get alcohol, the fed it with flour and water for a while. To get it going add about a cup of flour and water everyday for 3 days until bubbles form. Basically the wild yeast for the grapes, or air if you choose not to use fruit, consumes the sugars in the yeast and create carbon dioxide as a byproduct. It is actually a symbiotic relationship between the lactobacilli (the sour flavour) and the yeast. You could use all kinds of fruits, or omit them all together. I have some candied kumquats that are the base of my next starter. The natural acidity and the sweetness of the sugar will be really nice.

Flour has a variety of yeasts and bacteria. The amylase enzyme breaks down starch into monosaccharides like glucose and fructose that the yeast can consume. The lactobacteria then feeds on the metabolic products of the yeast. As long as you feed it with a little flour and water every few days, the starter can last for years. Once it is bubbling, you can keep it in the fridge to slow its growth.

As usual, I did some research and found a bunch of different recipes for a nice loaf. Many are overly complicated and are far too specific with ingredients. I mixed and matched until I found something that works. You can eyeball most aspects of the starter dough. For example, after a few days a clear liquid call hooch will form on the surface of the started. If the starter is dry, mix it back in, if it is too wet, pour it off. Simple. It should be gooey but feel fairly thick when stirred. As long as it is bubbling, the yeast is alive.

Different flours have different types of yeast on them. My starter has bread flour, all purpose, and whole wheat in it. This was mainly because I wasn’t sure what kind would work well. I find bread flour works well in the recipe, but play around and see what works for you. Rye, spelt, unbleached AP or even corn would work. I’d lilke to try red fife as well. It all depends on what you want in your final product. I find that the type of flour in the starter is not as important as what you use in your final recipe. The starter is just a vehicle for the natural yeast.

My first attempt, see December 08, was far too sour. I though the starter was off, but actually my ratios of starter to flour was far too high (2:3). I also missed a crucial step, making the sponge. This bread is a three days process.

Day 1. Take your starter, and mix in about a cup of flour. This is called the sponge. Let this proof for a day. Make sure to keep some of your starter for another time. Just add more flour and water and it will stay alive and propagate in the fridge.

Day 2. Make the dough. I found a good recipe that works is
125g sponge
500g flour
2 tbs salt
¼ cup sugar
1c water

Mix the dry ingredients, then mix them in with the wet ingredients adding more flour or water as necessary to get a smooth dough. Knead 10 mins.
Proof 1 day.

Day 3. The proofed dough will be really light and airy now. Punch it down or knead it to break up the large bubbles. Shape your dough into logs, buns or whatever shape you like. I threw mind into a spring form pan for an even round shape.
Proof for a few more hours until it has doubled again.

Preheat the oven to 475F. I like to put a sheet pan in the bottom of the oven at this point. Put your bread onto a stone or tray (or in my case just put the spring form pan in the oven. Throw a cup of water on the bottom sheet pan to create some steam and immediately close the door. Bake for 15 mins. Lower the temp to 450 and bake another 15 mins, rotating half way for even browning. You will know it is ready when golden brown, has a hollow sound when tapped, or an internal temp of 210F.

The wild yeast produces a really even crumb with very fine bubbles, unlike commercial yeast, which gives large uneven air pockets. The crust should be bubbly and firm.

Don’t forget to feed your starter and stay 3 days ahead.

Duck Pho

2009-02-03T19:09:00.000-08:00

The Vietmanese Pho noodle soup is super simple, and great way for me to use up the bones from 17lbs worth of duck. It is traditionally made with beef, and has all kinds of goodies like tendons, tripe and beef balls. Not balls made of ground beef…beef balls.

I roasted the bones, toasted some star anis, and charred some onions and ginger.
I deglazed the roasting pans with water and cooked them out over the stove to scrape up all the little bits of caramelized goodness from the duck. Add some mirepoix, about 6L of water and simmer for 1.5h, or until its rich flavour profile has developed. I like to leave the salt out until the end so that it doesn’t get over seasoned as it reduces.

For a clear broth, do not stir at all. Instead, removed the impurities and fat by skimming often. You can even keep the skimmed off fat and add it to the other rendered fat. Just strain the skimmed liquid though cheesecloth and season with salt and fish sauce (nuoc mam ie. Cock sauce).

Fish sauce is made from fermented anchovies, salt and sugar. They ferment the fish in barrels and strain off the liquid collected at the bottom and pour it back on top. This process is repeated for six months. Salting condiments was a way of stretching salt back in the day, when salt was not readily available and very expensive. The fist culture to do this was the Chinese, who fermented soy beans and used the past to season their dishes. This is the origins of miso paste. Fish does not have a fishy taste when dissolved in the soup and adds a very rich full flavour.

Once the soup is seasoned, remove the bones and mirepoix, strain through cheesecloth and store. Again the fat can be scraped off when it solidifies in the fridge. Now the fun part: once the meat is cool enough to handle, but still hot, pick through it carefully. There will be lots of meat on the neck, wings and back. If you are patient enough you can even pick out the meat between the ribs. All together I got about 1L of meat, 1cup of skin (for cracklin’) and 4L of Pho soup base.

I stored the duck scraps in the soup so that it does not dry out as it cools. Make sure to season the meat before serving as the boiled meat may be slightly lacking in the flavour department.

Serve the Pho with:
Duck meat
Rice noodles
Green onion
Mung bean sprouts
Thai basil
Chili oil

Cured Duck Tenders

2009-02-03T19:05:00.000-08:00

The tenders of foul are the small muscle under the breast. They are a bit more tender than the breasts because they are used less, although this is not really a problem form domesticated foul because almost always their wings are clipped. I used the leftover citrus cure from the confit legs to cure the tenders. Because they are so small, I only cured them for one day, then hung them to dry like the prociutto.

Duck Breast ‘Prociutto’

2009-02-03T18:56:00.000-08:00

Clean the breasts of any silverskin and excess fat. I took the tenders and rubbed with the citrus cure from the confit. They should cure very quickly, and made a great little snack.

The cure consists of:
Salt
Juniper, dehydrated and ground
Arbol Chili, powdered
Fennel seeds, toasted and ground
Cloves, toasted and ground
Coriander, toasted and ground

I used coarse salt, and mixed all ingredients until uniform. Dry the breasts, and pack them tightly with the salt mixture. Make sure they are covered all over by a thick layer of salt. As the meat cures, water will be released from the cells and absorb into the salt mixture. If there is not enough salt, they will not cure evenly or thoroughly. Leave them to cure for 48 hours (less if your breasts are smaller than my knockers jugs). At this point, wash off the excess salt, wrap in cheese cloth and hang in the fridge for about a week. Keeping checking them (I know I will, it’s easy to get impatient) until the feel firm all the way through. If you are really unsure, cut one at the thickest part. The meat should be uniform in colour and texture. If it is still raw on the inside, leave to hang for a few more days. The cold, dry air in the fridge will help remove the moisture quickly, and the cold will help inhibit bacterial growth. Once they are cures, they will keep for a while. Either keep them wrapped in cheesecloth in the fridge or plastic wrap them in the freezer.

Slice very thinly and enjoy. They fat will become very creamy, and the flesh a very smooth texture. If you didn’t over season the mix, you will get sweet notes of the spices and a slight gamey flavour from the meat. If you find that the predominant taste is salt, soak in ice water for a few hours and then hang to dry again. This can happen if you cure them for too long. I really like this preparation with toast at brunch, or with fresh stone fruit.

Rendered Duck Fat/Sous Vide Fingerling Potato/Cracklin'

2009-02-03T18:39:00.000-08:00

Cube the skin and fat. I like to do this in a very low oven so that the heat hits it from all around. I put the fat in a pot in a 250F oven for a while. You can do this on a stove top on very low heat, but be sure to stir it often, it has a tendency to stick to the bottom and can burn very easily. If it does burn, throw it out and start again as the liquid fat will pick up the burnt flavour. As the fat renders out, the skin and remnant meat will shrivel.

What do with the leftover soft skin and unrendered fat. Well cracklin’ of course. Just heat the liquid fat (or oil of you don’t have enough) to 350F and deep fry until the skin puffs up and becomes golden brown, usually about when the bubbles stop forming. Drain onto paper towel, sprinkle with a little salt, and enjoy the artery clogging goodness.

Another great use of duck fat is for frying. It has a very high smoking point, and gives a wonderful flavour.

I used the magical number of 83C (181F) to perfectly cook fingerling potatoes. Sous vide cooking seems complicated and difficult without a vacuum packing machine and immersion circulator, but it’s not. I just sealed the scrubbed potatoes in a large ziplock bag with some duck fat and salt. Suck out as much air as possible and place in a shallow pot and cover with water. I used a digital scale with a max temp to control the temperature of the water, using a smaller pot to keep the bag submerged. When the water came up to 83C, I turned down the heat to maintain a steady temp. It’s normal for the temperature to fluctuate by a few degrees with this method, but it worked perfectly. After about an hour, the potatoes were cooked evenly all the way through, took in the flavour of the fat, and still had a firm, but not undercooked bite.

Slice them on a bias and fry them in a very hot pan with the rendered duck fat. Make sure there is plenty of fat for them to shallow fry in. Throw in a fresh sprig of thyme, or any herb for that matter and base them with the flavoured fat. Season with a little salt and pepper and enjoy your perfectly cooked, golden brown seared potatoes.

Duck Confit

2009-02-03T18:25:00.000-08:00

This is a classic preparation for duck. They legs are a working muscle and not very tender when cooked other than very slowly at low heat. This method tenderizes the meat to the point of falling off the bone. The fat keeps the meat moist. This is the best method for taking less noble cut and turning it into a royal dish.
After moving the leg and thigh piece I deboned the thigh bone. This makes it a little easier to eat, and wont make a huge difference when you sear the skin in finishing.

I used a citrus rub to cure, or marinade overnight.
CURE:
Salt
Zest of 3 limes
2 lemons
2 blood oranges

After it has cured, melt down the rendered fat, and place in a shallow pan in a single layer. Cover completely with the fat. Now is a good time to season the duck. You could used a stick of cinnamon and a few cloves for a winter spiced dish. A head of garlic halved is also a great way to season the meat by infusing the fat it is cooking in.

Cook for about 2 hours at 190F or until tender but not fall-off-the-bone. The litmus test is to poke it with a skewer. If it slides easily, its done.

Store in the fridge, completely submerged in fat. They will keep like this for up to three months.

To serve, reheat the container in a bain marie, or in the oven. By softening the fat, you can avoid ripping the very soft meat which will cling to the solidified fat.

Scrape off the excess fat, and place in a pan. Reheat on low heat. This will render out the fat in the skin and crisp it up. Duck confit is traditionally served as a first course on greens, but I got impatient and ate is like a drumstick right out of the pan. Bah, greens!

Beak to Tail Eating

2009-02-03T18:13:00.000-08:00

Muscovy Duck

I just got my hands on a whole lots of duck, two to be precise. When I ordered them, I knew that it was a good price per pound, but I didn’t know how big they would be.

The two beasts were 17lbs total, along with a 2lb bag of duck fat. Needless to say my backpack was a little heavy coming home from work today.

My excitement was so much that I stayed in to cook, canceling one get together and missing a birthday entirely. It’s only a problem with it interferes with my life, right, right?

This evening was a great exploration into nose to tail eating. Fergus Henderson explores this concept in his book The Whole Best: Nose to Tail Eating but the idea is nothing new. Many cultures take advantage of the whole animal, most notably for me, the Chinese. On a recent trip to China, in a rural town somewhere in the mountains of Hunan province, our hot pot was being prepared. As I stood my the entrance to the kitchen, a tiled room with children running wild, the freshly slaughtered chicken was being prepared. It took about 5 minutes of hand waving and gesturing while I repeated “mei yu” (no want) and pointed wildly to my feet, head and stomach. Little did I realize at the time, that these were the best parts. The woman/proprietor/chef/owner/waitress looked at me as if I was crazy. Waste not, want not.

This idea is nothing new to restaurants either. In order to keep food costs down, and to avoid wasting, ever scrap is used somewhere. Beef scraps are made into stews, vegetable trimmings are turned into stocks. Not only does this save foods, it creates profits from potential losses.

Nothing went to wasted today in my kitchen as one of my favourite proteins was transformed into deliciousness for weeks to come. They are native to south America, but these ones were bred and slaughtered in Ontario. The live birds have a musky smell, possibly to origin of the name musk. The meat is more like that of veal than chicken and doesn’t get a greasy texture when cooked like other types of duck. Despite the large fat reserves in the skin, the meat is very lean. They have a great deal of fat, which was perfect for my purposes. If only they had left innards, I’m sure I could have found something to do with the liver (fois-fois gras is made from force feeding is done with ducks in Canada as opposed to goose in France).

Of the two birds and 2lbs of fat, I made:
A lot of rendered fat
Duck breast Pruiciuto (and one flavoured with a juniper cure
Duck confit
Duck Pho, Vietnamese noodle soup.

Veal Stock

2009-02-03T17:16:00.000-08:00

Hmmmm, gelatinous, thick, tasty veal stock.

Simmered overnight. Forget the spices, this stock tastes like veal because it contains only veal and water. I seasoned it at the end with a little salt.

Ellas Meat Market

2009-01-13T22:16:00.000-08:00

I did a pretty sweet stage today. My neighbourhood butcher, Ella’s Meats let me come in for a few hours to brush up on my knife skills. It’s a cute little shop, Greek run and super friendly. The owner Theodor and his son George (their English names of course) were really helpful and great teachers.

I cleaned a bunch of pork shoulder, getting down the smooth motion of the breaking knife. It took a few tries but once you get the feel of it it’s pretty easy. The trick for removing the fat cap is to cut just under the fat into the meat a little. You can feel how the knife cuts more easily through the meat than the more dense fat. They do mostly beef and lamb, but a big order came in so pork was on the block.

Next I did a bunch of veal bellies. After removing the fat cables, you have to pull out the thin lining of the abdominal cavity. It can easily be done with your hands, and doesn’t really benefit from the knife unless it sticks. The joy of using your hands is that there is no wasted meat. There is also a small chain that needs to be removed and cleaned.

When you flip it over you can remove the skin and cut out the skirt steak. It’s a great cut that benefits form a few hours of marinating. Cut against the grain is really tender. The ribs are then removed, working along the bones and cartilage to keep as much meat on the belly as possible. Once the ribs are removed you can cut them up and clean them up. All that scrap meat from in-between the ribs is used as trim, ground and sold. Noting here is wasted, not even the heads (and especially not the sweetbreads).

Next was young lamb, that I learnt how to split them down the spine with a clever and portion into nice long chops. I got to take home the bottom end of the ribs, the part that is cut off form the chop but still attached to the belly. I brined that for a few hours then threw it the oven with some rosemary, salt and pepper. The skin crisped right up and made a great late night snack.

The finale was being able to break down a veal front. It’s not as hard as it looks but it is pretty heavy to maneuver around the board. Just follow the bones I was told. George took the right side, and I took the left. We worked together at the same stages to break it down. Silverskin is generally a good indicator of where each muscle group ends. The hardest part is knowing where to cut though the meat to get the different cuts, but that comes with time. First we loosened up the spine at the fifth vertebrae and removed the neck cut. Removing the spine is the trickiest because the vertebrae are oddly shaped and the meat is hard to liberate. One at a time we cut the vertebrae and removed the entire rib along with it.

Once you flip it, you can remove the nerve which is thick and chewy. We were constantly cleaning up fat, sinew and arteries as you go to save time. The brisket from the now rib-free belly is removed after cutting thought the middle of the rib case laterally. Once that was off, follow the shoulder blade on both sides. Once loose, you can leverage it off the edge of the table and pull it off with your hands. The more you can pull the meat off the bone, the cleaner the cut and the less wasted meat.

Just as we got to the shank, arguably the most challenging part, I had to leave for class. I didn’t want to go just as it was getting so exciting, but school was calling.

I’ve just started butchery class as part of my apprentice, which should be interesting. The large cuts that we break down will be frozen and then used the next week in our catering class. The joy of working at the butcher is that you really get to practice the skills you are using. It’s one thing to learn about the muscles theoretically, or even doing the cutting, but you can’t really learn the skill unless you practice, practice, practice.

I was concentrating, and pretty bloody so I only took a few snaps on my phone.

I can’t wait to go back and learn more.

Ellas Meat Market Ltd
674 Pape Avenue
Toronto, ON M4K 3S5
(416) 461-1211

Ox tail

2009-01-13T21:21:00.000-08:00

Oxtail is probably the cheapest cut of beef around. It is from the ox, or castrated bull. You can buy it cup up into bone segments, or whole as I did. It’s pretty easy to cut up as the tail there is really soft connective tissue between each piece, much like the spine. It is really gelatinous, so the final sauce is really thick and has a great full mouth feel. They cook it sous vide at work, but it really benefits from a good old fashion braise. I used a bottle of wine and cocoa powder. Keep an eye on it as it braises. I used a really shallow dish, uncovered in the oven. As the water evaporates, the tops of the mean will brown from caramelization. Every few hours mix up the pot and the brown bits will darken up your final product. Do this several times. Once it is cooked thoroughly, the meat will flake off the bone and the connective tissue at the tops of each bone will melt apart.

Cool the meat and pick it off the bone.

I took the braising liquid, added finely chopped mirepoix and a bottle of stout. Reduce for a while. Strain. There is not a lot of fat, but make sure to skim it off or let the liquid sit in the fridge where the fat will separate and you can scrape it off the top.

Just reheat with some of the sauce and enjoy over rice. I sure did (for four days).

So rich, so creamy, so good.

Strawberries

2009-01-13T21:15:00.001-08:00

There once was a fruit stand vendor
Who’s fruit and veg had great grandeur
I just had to ask
For strawberries en mass
And it’s $1.99 price tag gave much splendor

Ok so I’m not a poet. I know it. All it took was a little time to clean off the barely rotten parts. My freezer is now full of strawberry gold.

Fresh smoothies have been a really great start to my days.

Smoothee

1 cup frozen strawberries
1 frozen banana
3 tbs cactus fruit syrup (I bought a case on my last trip to make jam, but when the pectin didn’t set, I reduced it down and made a sweet syrup our of them)
1 cup soy milk

Blend, enjoy.

Stay tuned for more when I figure out what to do with the rest of them.

Testina

2008-12-25T11:10:00.000-08:00

Best bacon ever.

While doing a stage at Perigee, I was given a knife, and given the go ahead to go to town on a fresh pigs head. This was a first, and a great learning opportunity. With a little time, guidance and intuition I made it through. I had picked apart pigs heads before for headcheese at C5, but the meat was always fall off the bone and easy to pick thorough. The muscle structure, cooked or raw, is still the same.

This head came in from Cumbraes, fresh and in great condition, with lots of unexpected mean from the neck flaps. My sis was in town so I did the first half, and handed over the reigns for her to learn as well. The concept is pretty simple, skin the head with as much meat attacked as possible and roll it up for a long slow braise. The hair has to be burned off, deep into the follicles. It is easiest to use a torch and wipe out the roots with a rag. Remove the ears, as they are only cartilage and skin, and not so pleasant to eat even when soft. The skinning process is simple in concept, just follow the bone closely and try to keep the meat on the skin. There are a few hidden gems, like the temples and under the jaw. If you miss something, you can always add it in later, as it is all going to be rolled up in a tea towel anyways. Once skinned, half it down the center of the face, and lay each piece flat.

Even out the meat but cutting down the jowls or any other large pieces of meat to even out the fat content trough out. Liberally salt the inside, and I used nutmeg as traditional seasoning. Roll tightly in a towel, tying the ends. I also used a butcher knot to make sure the shape is even. Allow the cure in the fridge overnight. You could also brine the meat to remove some of the swiney flavour, but I enjoy that aspect of pork flavour.

I prepared the pockhng liquid with mirepoix and traditional spices.
10 carrots
3 onions
5 celery stalks
3 cloves garlic
cinnamon
allspice
black pepper corns
bay leaves
juniper berries
star anis
salt to taste

Make sure the liquid is properly seasoned before adding the pork (cross contamination and all that). Add enough water just to cover, and bring to just under a gentle simmer. I left it on over night, then pressed them under a sheet pan and heavy weight for another day. This ensured a nice even shape.

The testina has a really mellow flavour thought. The fat became really creamy and smooth, with the same amount of seasoning and flavour as the meat. To make a really nice bacon, cut thin strips from frozen and make between two sheet pans until crisp. Alternatively fresh thin slices on toast are great any time of day (especially after home from the bar). For breakfast I enjoy a nice thick tranche seared on both sides, crispy on the outside and creamy soft on the inside. I have a freezer full of the stuff, so I will be enjoying it for a long while.

Oops

2008-12-17T07:20:00.000-08:00

So it turns out that if you want a really nice dense banana bread, it's not a good idea to add pastry flour with extra leavening agents. This was the aftermath of a slightly over fluffy loaf. It was still pretty delicious.

This is what happens when I have too much time on my hands

2008-12-16T17:19:00.000-08:00

This recipe creates a really rich, dense banana bread almost like you could buy at a cafeteria. It’s got the perfect texture of commercially available by-the-slice loaves, with a more subtle and refined taste.

I had way to many rotten bananas, so I portioned them out before freezing them into solid chunks of black, over ripened sweetness.

I hit a few glitches along the way, mostly due to my laziness of not wanting to leave the apt and venture into the cold of the night.

I ran out of maple syrup midway, so I subbed in molasses. The nutty thick texture fits in well with the style of cake. I am lactarted, so I used soymilk instead of buttermilk, although I’m sure cream would be an equally luxuriant replacement. I also added some pastry flour (about 200g of the 495g unbleached white flour).. I’m hoping this will give it a little more lightness due to its inclusion of leavening agents. Finally, I ran out of brown sugar so I finished with white. I’m not at the point with my baking to be able to eyeball and guess amounts of ingredients just yet. Thankfully my trusty kitchen scale (a worthwhile $100 investment) didn’t let the different ingredients throw it for a loop. 212g of sugar brown or while or both is still 212g of sugar. Another good reason to measure by weight instead of volume.

As usual, I sifted all the dry ingredients and mixed them well before adding in the wet. The eggs were beaten in with the syrup and molasses. The idea is to mix the batter as little as possible so that it doesn’t develop much gluten and get chewy. Oh, and given the time of year, I thought it ‘festive’ to brighten up the flavour with some freshly ground nutmeg and cinnamon. Fuck ‘festive’, it’s a classic flavour combination, tried tested and true. I also added a little extra salt to bring out the savoriness amongst all these insanely sweet ingredients. And don’t even think about adding nuts or shitty plastic tasting commercial chocolate chips. The banana lends a smooth rich texture and tropical sweetness that would just get buried under melting, oozing chunks of rich dark chocolate or the crisp crunch of earthy walnuts…actually that sounds pretty good.

So fold in the wet, then added the soy milk/vanilla mix. Then fold in the bananas, which I left pretty much whole so you get nice soft chunks in each bite. I forgot about the melted butter, which turned out well cause it reminded me to grease up my pans and then I just folded the remainder in.

A few bananas on the top, and some sugar to get them caramelized while they bake.

Flour 495g
Baking powder ¾ tsp
Baking soda ¾ tsp
Salt 1.5 tsp
Sugar 212g
Butter 195g
Maple syrup 125g
Eggs 3
Over ripe (black) Bananas 315g
Buttermilk 150ml
Vanilla extract 1.5 tsp

350F, one hour.

Done

Sourdough

2008-12-15T20:11:00.000-08:00

I made two loaves today. Well actually it was one, but I was really hungry and didn’t want to wait for it to proof. I tore off a little loaf and cooked it off while the rest of it was rising. There were three proofing sessions of one hour each. A little excessive I think but it was actually needed in my not-so-warm apartment.

I have had the started for almost a week. 1 tbs whole wheat flour and 1 tbs of filtered water every day. As soon as it starts bubbling you know that yeast from the air has started feasting on the sugars and turning them into carbon dioxide.

The loaf wasn’t very sour, but it sure beats commercial yeast for flavour. The started was whole wheat, but I added white bread flour so the ¾ c starter gave it nice colour while still maintaining the light consistency of white.

Andre from work was telling be about the Thuet way. They allow grape and apple juice to ferment into alcohol and use that as the base to catch wild yeast. Sounds like it would have great depth and complexity. I have some plum jam that went off, so I’m going to ferment it and try to use that as the base. We’ll see how it goes.

Breakfast is going to be good with fresh bread and the leftovers of the quince butter from a few weeks ago.

Ach it’s Biltong Mahn! Number Two

2008-12-15T19:06:00.000-08:00

The first batch turned out well. Slightly tacky in the middle and crisp and dry out the outside. It needed some more salt and some spice (I used only coriander and back pepper) so here goes round two. A true South African ‘delicacy’. I grew up on Biltong, going down to Baxter’s on a Sunday after hockey to pick up a piece along with usual favorites from my parents past, Peppermint Crisp and marshmallow fish. The biltong was the best part, lean strips of beef or ostrich with slight specks of coriander crusted into it’s side. Chewy but soft, rich tasting and slightly sweet. The dry cured fat cap is the best part, a thin strip sticking to each slice

I went over to Blackstone, a great organic butcher, and got a great deal on a part of the round called ‘le poire’ by the French Canadians. It’s the small pear shaped piece on the inside of the round, right next to the hind leg bone. You can feel how much more tender it is than the outside round adjacent. I cut it into 1.5cm strips with the grain and set out marinating.

I got the recipe from a family friend (thanks Jeff). All eyeballed and approximated measurements, I decided to codify it so that I can improve it each time I make it.

Dry rub (this will make some leftover, so you don’t have to make it again)

Coriander whole 8 tbs coarse ground, use it generously
Coarse salt 9 tbs
Black pepper 2 tsp
Baking soda 2 tsp
Cider vinegar 1 c
Brown sugar 3 tbs
Allspice 2 tsp
Chili powder 2tsp
Nutmeg 2tsp
Paprika 3 tsp
Meat 2.5 lb

The dry rubs needs to be generously applied, then left for a little while. I stacked them and covered them with cider vin. There is some effervescence when it reacts with the baking soda (supposedly helps to preserve it).
Im going to let that sit for a day, then flip and rotate the meat and leave it for another day. Then off the dry in the smoker (the best storage space I have in my appt). I keep a fan on it for good circulation and to deter the growth of mould.