budrichard

I always love Posts that refute every single item mentioned in a previous Post that are from such a small 'boutique' operation to be so insignificant pertaining to the topic under discussion. Perhaps, xxchef would like to raise an animal for ianeccleston to practice his newly learned skills. Oops, I forgot, xxchef is NOT in the Chicago area and therfore his information is just about useless to the original Post. If xxchef can not raise a hog for ianeccleston, then I suggest that the suggestions that I Posted still stand and are useful because that is how almost 100% of the hog raising, transportation to market, slaughter are done in this country. Perhaps ianeccleston can pick up the hog from xxchef and transport it himself to market, I think not. The growers have specialized equipment and know how to transport these animals but I assume that xxchef is volunteering to do the transportation himself! I have seen a few of these 'boutique' and I think really think the word 'boutique' conveys a certain homey feel so I will change that to 'Mom & Pop' operation which really is a better description. These 'Mom & Pop' operations frequently fly below the radar of the regulators and frequently are actually unsafe and actually inhumane in thier overall treatment of the animals. USDA Regulations are there to assure safety of the food supply as much as assure humane treatment of the animals. BTW a quick Google will yield the USDA definition of the term 'natural' which can actually mean anything as long as the grower defines the term. The original Poster is faced with a choice. He can use the information I supplied and find a grower that will yield a safe and reasonably sane product, or he can go on a search for a somwewhat mythical grower such as xxchef who may or may not exist in this area. I really don't care at this juncture but I will offer one last comment, a processor that has a waiting time of months doesn't offer me much comfort that they will be ready on the day the animal is brought to them for slaughter. I have purchased many whole pigs from suckling to market weight, purchased them at 4H County Fair auctions and have a lot of experience. I don't deal with 'Mom & Pop operations as on the whole I find them not as safe, reliable and the final product is not up to the standards set by a good market operation.-Dick

I don't understand what you mean by "the knife isn't Japanese". We are not talking about using a knife to slice in a traditional Japanese sashimi/sushi cut but a Western slice of thin cold smoked salmon other wise known as lox to many. I didn't think we were discussing slicing hot smoked salmon either. I routinely cure farm raised Norwegion salmon and slice with the Wusthof I mentioned. The blade is quite flexible(giving birth to the Trade Name 'Flexibel') and thin(less a tenth of an inch thick) and not very tall(about 0.6inches) and is available with or without kullens. This is a very specialized tool and is just right for the job. One certainly can get the job done using any number of knives and techniques but I doubt any are as elegant and yield the same final results. A takobiki is a very long specialized tool which I believe it blunted so one doesn't run another person through. I have not seen one used on an octopus but i have seen one like it used to take apart a 400#+ fresh bluefin. It makes a nice long deep cut until one reaches the spine of the fish and then you roll out the blocks(four if you look at a tuna cross section) for smaller cuts that eventually work their way down to your plate as either sashimi or sushi.-Dick

You need to clarify in your mind what naturally raised means to you. Does it mean organic and not kept in feeder pens, or non-organic, not kept in feeder pens or whatever? Most operations are set up to provide a market hog at about 160#'s and any deviation costs the grower money which will be passed on to you. The hog will have to have antibiotics when young and I don't know how you get can around that if you include no antibiotics in your definition of natural. I would concentrate more on finding a processor unless your class will tell you how to kill, gut and clean a live and kicking hog. A good processor will know the operations in the area and can arrange to obtain the hog for you or put you in touch with the grower. The grower is then responsible for deliveing the animal to the processor. I would be wary of any grower who tells you they can process on site. When you pick up your pig if it is just killed and gutted, be sure you are prepared to handle over a 100 #'s of fresh killed hog with all the dripping and what not that goes with the animal as well as provide the proper temperature control until processed. Me, if its not a suckling pig of less than 30 #'s, I just wait for a sale at Sam's Club or where ever they don't have unadulterated pig for sale and purchase. I've butchered whole hogs before and its not a task one takes lightly. Good luck!-Dick

We live in SE Wisconsin about 40 miles from downtown Milwaukee and 70 miles from Chicago downtown. I find that invariably the Milwaukee Asian restaurants substitute less expensive ingrediants and are not as good as a Chicago counterpart. So for anything Asian from Sushi to Dim Sum, we head to Chicago. Now I realize that dosen't help you but it may cushion the expectations you may have.-Dick

Knife flexibilty is much more important than sharpness. I use a Wusthof 4543/32cm Lachsmesser 'Flexibel', salmon slicer with kullens(scalloped edge). The knife is thin and flexible allowing your hand to remain above the fillet while the blade bends and stays parallel to the working surface/fish. Slices do not adhere. A stiff blade such as a yanagi is not flexible and you must hold your hand very close to the working surface/fish and you can get interference. I never use any of my yanagi's to slice cured salmon for lox.-Dick

Every Tom, Dick and Harry is cashing in on the Wagyu gravy train whether or not the beef even approaches the Japanese Grading Standard. So if you don't have a grade for your Wagyu, then you can treat it as ordinary beef or what we have found is the best way to treat A5 Kobe and how it's done at some bars in Japan, is too cut into cubes and briefly grill each side which brings out the great flavor while not over cooking the beef and still leaving it rare to raw. It can be good as sashimi but we have found that we enjoy it best briefly seared as described. A variety of dipping sauces can also be enjoyed. I have seen a lot of Wagyu beef lately that does not even look as good as USDA Prime sold in grocery stores. A5 Kobe will look almost white due to the fat content and a good grade of Wagyu should have a lot of marbling.- Dick

Update. The SV 2009 Celebration Ale has been quite a hit at our house. Best if two people split a 24oz bottle, its very strong and hoppy! Probably the best I have had since Ballatine's aged in the wood!-Dick

I pick up the odd bottle of Rose Champagne or Sparkling Wine. The surcharge for adding red wine to the cuvee is just too much to bear for casual drinking. For New Years I opened a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Rose. Dry would be an understatement, drier than Taittinger Blanc de Blanc of which we have had many vintages and drier than some Ultra Bruts. Since I don't have much experience with this wine, i wonder if any other tasters have noticed how dry and austere this wine is? Maybe the dosage got missed?-Dick

Some where in USDA literature is a section on how to determine if fish is fresh. The conclusion is that your nose is the best determiner of freshness. This also applies for other products. Your pork(I don't know exactly what the term 'baby' implies because I don't believe it exists in USDA standards which would give cause why you would continue using your source), was contaminated either thorgh a cleaning agent, which is more and more common as Hazards Analysis Standards has caused far better cleaning of processing stations and equipment but sometimes leaves a cleaning residue, or spoilage as evidenced by an ammonia smell. The third cause could be contamination during processing from intestinal waste or feces. This usually doesn't have an ammonia aspect. I suspect spoiled meat. In any event if it smells bad or off, take it back and don't use. Pork, whether suckling or 200# should smell fresh and clean. 'Boar Taint' comes from early in the 20th century when both female and boars were slaughtered and brought to market. It still persists as a term even though Boars are not brought to market any more for whole cuts.-Dick

I have had a pair of the Wusthof for about 6 years or so. I also shoot and process wild game from doves to wild turkeys. Doves can be done by hand but get a big Gobbler or Canada goose and then even Wusthof will not do the job, only a cleaver! Ducks and some wild pheasant can be very tough at the joints and I don't think the average shears sold for the home consumer can do the job. The Wusthof are superb performers and there is nothing better on the matket, they crunch through the average chicken like cardboard.-Dick

Goes to show how good on-line advice can be! You have an emulsion and burnt fat. The roasting temperature was too high for rendering. If I want duck/goose/chicken fat, I skin and using a large saute pan, SLOWLY render the fat at low temperature until I am left with liquid and crunchy skin. I use NO water. You do have to move the pieces at first to keep them from sticking until you get some fat actually rendered but its well worth it.-Dick

Sturgeon caviar is a limited resource both wild and farmed raised. As the wild stocks are depleted, farming has become profitable and other lessor caviars caviars such as paddlefish become valuable. As with any product where demand exceeds supply and profits are high, quality and origin become suspect with lower priced products. If i want sturgeon, I order Sterling Farms, a well controlled product. But even Sterling, a USA product has increased 2 fold at least in the last 5 years. This year as last year we will be having a good quality fresh salmon caviar. Some will be about #30/# and some is special from Japan in a light shoyu at $70/#. Anything else on the market is simply too expensive or too suspect as to quality and origin.-Dick

Funny thing, we live in Wisconsin and have been going to Carlos since they opened. We had lunch last Monday, Prix Fixie $42.50 and the whole party(10) judged it one of the best ever at Carlos. Our one soujourn to Sanford's was miserable, food and interaction. Carlos also has no corkage on Monday's and now Friday. At Sanford, they spouted some Wisconsin statute about not allowing diners to bring in beverages which is nonsense. The sweetbreads at Sanford's were tough and had been frozen. Nothing was memorable. BTW lunch continues until XMAS at Carlos.-Dick

Update! After living in Wisconsin for many many years, I finally made it to Solly's yesterday. I don't rate restaurants, they are either acceptable or not. I also don't eat at large Chain Restaurants. We ordered two regular Solly's burgers with the fried onions and a large plate of fries. They have no diet beverage without caffeine. The burger bun was the same one you can purchase at Sam's Club in a package of 16 for about $2, in a word not outstanding at all. The patty was small($3.55 burger) and had no distinguishing quality, it could have been McDonalds. The reduced onions were interesting but were so sweet as to over power everything else. A great big dollop of salted butter completed the burger. I don't use salted butter in my cooking so maybe my palate needs to adjust but the butter was very salty. I am not at all adverse to butter on my burgers or steak sandwiches, long ago having learned at Rudi's in Menasha how to eat a proper Wisconsin burger. The fries were large crinkle cut institutional fries. So $15 for two burgers, fries and one soft drink. My opinion, not acceptable. Kopp's double cheeseburger ($5.45) is much better. Normally bring a friend and split one and then have some custard, Flavor of the Day. My buddy and I can each eat a whole Kopp's double cheeseburger after XC skiing at Lapham Peak. I guess I don't understand the mystique about Solly's but Kroll's in Green Bay, Chile John's in Beaver Dam and a few places I used to go in Madison have better burgers.-Dick

I've been purchasing fish for sushi/sashimi and doing my own preps for 30 years. I only purchase fish from a supplier that deals in sushi quality fish such as Browne Trading or locally Mitsuwa. The fish that has gone through these purveyors has been examined for parasites and if required as for salmon frozen. Most 'fresh' fish marketed is NOT suitable for raw consumption no matter what you do to it. The fish of some specices does not always have to frozen but it must be inspected. I was just at Mitsuwa where a 400#+ fresh bluefin was cut up and sold in a couple of hours. I purchased Akami, chu-toro and Toro cuts. I must say that the agreement was universal that it was ome of the best bluefin we have ever had including that from Browne Trading which I know is fresh. I have had tuna and other fish at Japanese sushi bars in the USA where the chefs know where each fish came from and are explicit as to what is fresh and frozen. These chefs, I would trust but the avreage person or purveyor, I would not trust. So far, no problems.-Dick

I have what might be considered a full set of Falk. After I purchased the Falk, I threw out/gave away almost every other pan I had. There simply was no comparison. Be aware the larger pieces are heavy. I would wait and save or see if a used piece becomes available somewhere. You can get a discount but that entails a large purchase.-Dick

40 years ago Gourmet was the only 'Game in Town' and continued that way for many years but it also was well written and a useful magazine. Sometime in the past Gourmet changed to a helter skelter sort of melange of not too interesting articles and reviews. Saveur came on the scene and shortly showed what a class publication was like. I will not miss Gourmet nor its sister publication 'Bon Appetit'. Someone gives us a sub to 'Bon Appetit' and i don't even open it. Saveur has also severly declined and will not be far behind Gourmet.-Dick

Not only was Keith entertaining but he was a very good Chef. I ordered a number of his books from the UK and they were well worth the cost and wait. I will miss him.-Dick

For what its worth, purchased a box of 'Black Box 2008 Monterey County Chardonnay'. My wife refuses to drink it and I am not far behind, so for cooking it is. Haven't listen to a wine review in 20 years so I should have known better. So much for Wines Spectator and other reviews!-Dick

Eat a Slyder at White Castle! That's how White Castle cooks their hamburgers.-Dick

Thank you for the translations. That is what it tastes like. It is very very good. The Hokkaido Fair at Mitsuwa is great for us in the States. Lots of food from Hokkaido and surrounding waters.-Dick

That about a 10# fish undressed so cutting through the backbone should not be too much of a problem for steaks. If you are skilled at filleting you could also fillet but with salmon, the ribs are not of much use for a stock so use a small spoon and scrape off the flesh left for salmon patties or something similar. The head, if you remove the gills, can be used in a braise or grilled. A whole poached salmon of course makes tremendous centerpiece for a gathering.-Dick

At the Hokkaido Fair at Mitsuwa in Chicago i purchase some excellent Ikura(salmon roe) at about twice the usual market price. I tasted some before purchase and it was very rich. The label is 'Ikura Syouyuzuke' and I can't find a translation for the 'syouyuzuke'. Can anyone help. Thanks for your reply.-Dick

I have cooked a number of Wagyu briskets and have also corned them. They are no different than any other brisket in terms of cooking. The result is somewhat better but if you have a good quality USDA Choice brisket with fat cap, the difference can be minimal. So its really up to you as you have essentially two options, slow simmer in water and spices or slow smoke in a smoker with rub. If not familiar with corning or smoking, then you really have only one option, slow simmer until tender.-Dick

Doves do not need to be dressed! Simply put your thumb below the breast bone holding the neck and wings with your other hand an pull hard. The breast with some skin and feathers will pull right off. Simply remove the skin with feathers and the dove is cleaned. Pound the cleaned breast with a meat pounder lightly so the breast flattens and remove the breast cartiledge as in spathcocking. This makes the breast flat and makes for uniform cooking. We then season and simply grill to your desired doneness. Good hunting!-Dick