budrichard

Whether you use commercial chickens or free range, simply bone out the whole chicken, use the carcass for stock and the rest for your preperations. I have done this for decades. I purchase my free range chickens from a local farmer(this requires money up front and freezer space as he raises in batches) and while certainly more costly than the commercial chicken, they are as good as it gets but todays commercial processors do a good job in providing a low cost (when on sale) whole chicken whose only problem is the water content. 'Smart' chickens are just too expensive for what you get. WE do use a very good commercial product (Swanson salt free chicken stock) when we run short.-Dick

A very good Post containing a lot of very good information. I have always processed my own venison and for processing reasons(no power equipment), space in the freezer and now CWD reccamandations (do not cut bone) I have always and continue to bone out my venison while hanging whole. I agree wth every point you make especially about the saddle and practise this methodology when processing lamb also. I much prefer a tenderloin seperate from a strip rather than the two cuts attached by a bone requiring different cooking for either but the meat industry has sold the Porterhouse as the 'top' cut for the restaurant industry and most follow suit.-Dick

I usually seperate the roe from the muscle. The roe is them poached in butter and then briefly fried with a Wondra coating. Roe if fried under high heat can burst from a steam bubble formation within the roe.-Dick

"Hey Dick: So which sites have more knowledgeable individuals on the internet ??? " There are a number of Chef Forums on the Internet. A Google search on 'Chef Forum' would yield a list that you can puruse.-Dick

"If it so loved, where is it on egullet?" It may suprise you to know that first, eGullet is not THE most popular eSite with knowledgeable individuals on the Internet and second, most of the individuals using tripe as food, DO NOT have Internet access and indeed probably do not have electricity.-Dick BTW, a simple search across all eGullet Forums, yields many pages of Posts containing the word 'tripe'. EOT for me!

" probably hated allot more than it is loved." I would debate that statement which probably the result of a very narrow expereince of cusines and cultures around the world. The honeycomb tripe you are familiar with is not the only type of tripe. Commonaly known as 'Bible Tripe' because of its resemblance to pages in a book, it is commonly used in Chinese cuisine such as Black Bean Sauce with Tripe and Vietnamese Pho and is totally different than honeycomb tripe, being much finer and tender. I have had tripe in many preperations including the afore mentioned Menudo. It is very delicious and its stigma comes about because of its function in the animal.-Dick

I wouldn't call these liquids stock. Some cooking liquids are just that, liquids, that offer no further use. In your case I can't invisage using these liquids further.-Dick

I use a heavy duty hand sqeezer made by NorPro http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Stainless-Steel-Citrus-Juice-Press/dp/B0002IBOAK/ref=sr_1_3?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1343517079&sr=1-3&keywords=lime+squeezer I believe and sold for around $25.. Works great!-Dick

RELAX! Your fridge and freezer section will easily go 12 hours. If your interior light is working the fridge will cycle on when its ready. 43F is NO problem.-Dick

It's known as a 'Free Market' in Econ 101 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_market If you don't like the price, you don't purchase. If you don't purchase and the price is above the producers actual cost, then the theory is, if enough people don't purchase the seller will be forced to reduce the price. Seems to work for the most part.-Dick

That particular blade is a design effort, purely to attract buyers. With the current resurgence of Custom Knife collecting, many designs surface with no application other than distancing the design from the pack. Ken Onion makes some very nice knives, some of which may or may not be practical, I own none of his knives.-Dick

Since the demise of the Edward Don Retail Outlet, there has not been a Retail Store serving that need , all the rest simply cater to housewives and as suggested on-line is where to purchase. Some Wholesale Restaurant Supply houses do let you in with an appointment such as Yamasho or will deal with you over the phone such as Edward Don but there is no place that you can walk in and browse.-Dick

"I don't understand why Iwatani don't export their goods yet! " Because they are not UL approved. Underwriter's Labs test virtually all electrcial equipment sold in the USA for insurance purposes both the manufacturer and user, no UL cert, no Insurance. 100v product run at 110v will result in shorter lifetime but probablt no safety hazard but its the UL testing that proves no safety hazard.-Dick

EACH rice is different and the particular method of cooking and even the time of year, age of the rice can affect how much water to add. There is NO universal addition to a cup of rice. You simply have to learn for EACH particular set of rice/cooking method what works for the rice you want.-Dick

There is no substutute for Steen's and since thi s Thread was started distribution has increased to where I don't have to mailorder in Wisconsin anymore. On another note, I have made Emeril's r sworcestershire sauce and it is not that good and not worth the time and effort shen there is a great product on the market!-Dick

"Bumping a really old thread, but has anything changed as to whats available to assist in learning basic knife techniques for J knives?" You might want to peruse a copy of 'Japanese Kitchen Knives' by Nozaki. I purchased a copy and felt its the best out there as it has pictures along with descriptions. Also, some very nice knives!-Dick

We don' even consider the grocery store products which I am told are mostly made in California and shiiped all over the country. But even if the rolls are not pre-made and the preparer is using the contaminated scrape product, the resukt is the same. The problem really resutls from the increased surface area of ground/scraped products that allows the incorpration of contamination. If any sushi Chef and Imuse the term loosley because most arecreally not classically trsined, is using a scrape or chopped product that he/ she did not make themselves then its a no- go for me. In Milwaukee thuer is a sushi chef inside Grash's grocery that prepares sushi/sashimi and he does a fine job but I woukd bet he uses a commercial scrape in his rolls. Best to grind your own meat, make your own scrape. We had sushi/sashimi last night of our own preperation. Sashimi grade yellowtail for sashimi and temaki salmon skin rolls. We made our own salmon skin from a filleted piece of salmon and roasted the skin in the oven. Works great.-Dick

Have you used one? I woukd be concerned about having to use a battery around a heat source and battery life. I much prefer an electric rotissierie abd a fold up unit is not what I want in a substantial product.These things often read and look great but in actual application, they fall far short of expectations.-Dick

My local processor will dry age before vacuum sealing and quick freezing. I don't believe either your processor is telling you the truth or you correctly understand what he is telling you. All beef is hung for a period of time before processing but this is NOT dry aging, I'm not aware of anyone selling properly dry aged beef frozen, its kept as a whole primal and cut as required from the aging primal. What is a "half calf"? To me thats veal and not beef. -Dick

Abrief word abiut pork sold in the USA. Much of tge Supermarket pork sold has been injected with a water/chemical soluvTion ostensibly to tatse better but its really to prolong shelf life and add water weight. That may account for different smells. I don't purchase any of this pork so I can't tell you. Pork will take on the flavour of what the animal is finished on but in the US that is rarely anything other than standard feed.-Dick

I would find another CSA. Anyone selling year olf freezer burnt product is nit someone I woukd deal with. I NEVER eat anything that smells like fish including fish as that smell results from decomposition. The reason it smells like fish can be varied and really nit worth ascertaining a root cause but shows a lacmk of undrestanding of food safety. According to a Fede ral site on fish and how to tell freshness, your nose is the best ind indicator of freshness. BTW What is a half calf dry sged beef? Never heard of such a thing? I purchase my meat fresh, whole, half or Primals and either cut myself or have a processor I know cut and package. -Dick .

I have been using Freezer type Zip Lock bags for years for all my curing including whole sides of salmon. Presently I have a half of a whole brisket (120 cut) curing in A 2 GAL FREEZER ZIP LOCK in a large Pyrex baking dish to catch any leakage. I have had absolutely no problems with using Zip Locks and the only potential problem might be any leaching of chemicals from the Zip Lock materail but since Zip Locks are designed for food, I have to assume this does not occur to where it amounts to much and I don't have the equipment to detect any leaching anyway. Use the Zip Lock for your Salmon, you actually require less salt/water as the Zip Lock keeps the fish in contact with the solution. Just put the bag in another container to catch any leakage and turn very few days.-Dick

I did in the interim purchase an 'uncured' ham at Whole Foods. Frankly it was about average for a 'City' ham and certainly not what i would purchase again. We have standardized on Nueske's for 'City' ham, cured or uncured. Now for Country Ham we are currently working on a 'Country' ham from Rice's. Sliced and vacuum packed as most offer these days, a little time simmering in water and then frying, a great taste.-Dick

I use the large size grain couscous which used to be called 'Israeli' but is now termed 'Mediterranean' I think. I don't know if its considered regular or instant but I like the larger size better on my palate.-Dick

Lats Fall I searched for Pasilla de Oaxaca but couldn't find any sources but did leave my email with two vendors. 'The Chile Guy' who i have ordered from before finally came through about a month ago and i ordered two pounds at about $60 plus shipping. another source shortly after responded also at a higher price. Whether they have any left, I don't know but this Post is about my using the chiles to make the various sauces and Mole's in Kennedy's book. I won't go into detail because if you have the book, you know that the sauces are much more involved than the normal mole sauce recipe you will find. Suffice it to say, that everything I have made so far has been excellent and everything you read about these unique chiles is correct. Think of a chipolte but far more refined in taste, nice smoke and very nice heat. It is hard to describe but one would think that a smoked dried chile is a smoked dried chile but it is not. My son even made a simple chile recipe and it was enhanced by the flavor of the Pasilla de Oaxaca chiles. Anyway I am happy with my chiles and Kennedy's book which I can now continue to peruse and try recipes.-Dick