budrichard

So that's what the crew was eating!-Dick

"But my favorite dish of all is a bagel with cream cheese, smoked salmon (nova), red onion and capers" Do they serve that in Downtown Manhattan? -Dick

Besides caper berries in brine, capers are available brine cured and salt cured. The salt cured large capers are the best but are becoming hard to find. The little ones sold are not worth purchasing. Brine cured have a different flavor. They go best sauted with a fish such as sole/flounder/orange roughy etc. Scatter on pizza, in sauces, where ever you need a burst of salt and flavor. Always rinse the salt cured capers before using.-Dick

Sushi in most places is no different than eating at McDonalds. The fish is frozen, non-descript and 99% of the time prepared by non-Japanese with no classical training. In short, its worthless. One has to search out classically trained Chef's that use fresh fish. There certainly is a difference between sushi grade fish and non-sushi grade fish whether fresh or frozen. Typically sushi grade, if frozen, is held at much lower temperatures than regular frozen fish in very expensive ultra low temperature freezers. With the right contacts in Japan or the Islands, one can get fresh sushi grade fish but it won't show up at any Chinese buffet. Browne Trading will ship fresh sushi grade fish with blue fin being available in the summer months. That is where i usually obtain my fish for sushi/sashimi. Purchasing sushi grade fish at your local fish monger can be like playing with dynamite, you just don't know what you will get.-Dick

Way back, AOL and Compuserve were competing companies that were marketing dial up information access. These companies tightly controlled all usage and tried to charge a fortune for limited services. Along came the Internet that allowed individuals control and the rest is history. Now YouTube is doing the same thing in many areas, cooking and food preperation being one of them. I saw a Japanese chef demonstrate how to cut up an entire yellowtail tuna. That's something you won't find on the Food Network. Instead of boring media talent on the Food Network, I now go to YouTube.-Dick

"The only other "raw" soy sauce I know of is Ohsawa's Nama Shoyu (nama means raw). Apparently this stuff is made with clear spring water and aged for four years in cedar barrels in some secret mountain. lol. I think it was the top soy sauce for Cook's Illustrated, but apparently Chris Kimball during the taste test didn't care for it much" Purchased a quart of the Ohsawa Nama Shoyu and tasted against the other vat brewed shoyu we have. Since we don't have any of the shoyu whose picture i posted, my comparison against that shoyu is from memory only. Anyway, a very nice shoyu. My conclusion is that these vat brewed shoyu's are like fine wines. Each is different with subtleties I'm not sure I can detect. But US brewed Kikkoman is good also, so, the final judgement is up to the taster.-Dick

"Near the bottom of the ratings were two Viking models costing $4,000." Consumer Reports does many things well and some things not so well. If you want information about a Viking, I suggest you talk to someone that has one or better yet actually use one. Since the cost of the Viking is beyond the scope of this thread there is not much more to say.-Dick

One of your blogs looks like you have 'Point' by Raynaud?-Dick

With less fat surrounding the meat, this roast is not as forgiving as a rib roast to over cooking. Be sure to cook for rare and let rest to achieve the correct temperature. If done correctly, it can be a very good roast, if not, it can end up as anu overcooked hunk of meat, suitable for BBQ sauce.-Dick

"I will be spending $1,000 or less on the stove." At that price point just about any good gas stove will suffice.-Dick

"I was replying to the original post that suggested going to a hardware store and buying a hacksaw blade for this use. I've never seen a food grade hacksaw blade at a hardware store, have you?" That's why i purchased a Wusthof!-Dick

While I can't find a company site, this link has some information http://cgi.ebay.com/AUTHENTIC-JAPANESE-SUS...1QQcmdZViewItem Your knife is SS and it does not say a laminate which is one of the manufacturing techniques and usually results in an easy to sharpen blade, A fully forged knife is on the high end but not of SS. They are very expensive. -Dick

I have a copy and have used it to make some great dishes. Martin is a crazy man with a mission, which is what one needs to be truly a genius!-Dick

After a number of trials I found that it takes a lot of schmaltz to produce chopped liver with suitable mouth feel to rival the best from New York's Deli's. I would make a batch and it would never be just right. As I added more and more schmaltz, I got to a perfect product univerally admired upon tasters. Save your chicken skin!-Dick

I have the Wusthof saw and it works ok for large game animals, cuts are not that precise as it is a hand saw. Since we now have CWD among the deer, we don't saw anymore but bone out. This actually results in a nicer product using hand methods. The Wusthof saw is a once cut on the backward stroke if I remember correctly with fairly agressive teeth. I don't know of another suppplier of meat hand saws as most is done using commercial band saws. Good luck!-Dick

It simply can't be done. If the fat content is high, you end up with a greasy puddle of meat, if low, ala ground round, its dry. I grind my own choice chuck roasts, removing most of the inter-musculature fat which results in about a 10% fat product by my estimation. Since I used large cuts, I can cook it rare and don't worry about the contamination that frequently occurs in a factory ground product. I also slip a nice Wisconsin pat of butter into the center of the burger(unsalted) before cooking and the result is perfect!-Dick

The secret to chopped liver like your Bubbe used to make is schmaltz. I save the skin from chickens that I cut up and when making chopped liver, render the skin and add the resulting schmaltz to the mix. The 'cracklings' left over can be used in a salad or eaten with hot sauce as a bonus.-Dick

A reputable fish monger will have what is fresh and what was frozen labeled. If not labeled simply assume it was previously frozen. Many times with experience you can tell at a glance whether previously frozen. If you have not lived on a coast and had the opportunity to catch or purchase truly fresh fish, then you have no standard to measure by. Much of the catch today in the Mid-West seems to come filleted because I assume its easier to tell how truly fresh a fish is when whole and it does save some weight on shipping. A supplier like Browne Trading that deals with high end restaurants sells truly fresh fish and its FedEx overnight. Shipping frozen fish or even fresh fish in large quantites is more cost effective that the usual private cook will want. So your local fish is cheaper because of less transportation charges and the market price is lower. Fish from Browne Trading will commmand a premium price because you must compete with restaurants and also pay high shipping costs. Purchasing good quality fresh was never easy and lately it has become more difficult not to mention the chemical adulteration becoming more and common to make the shelf life appear longer! Good luck!-Dick

Fresh water fish is usally not eaten without some sort of cure to avoid parasites. One supplier I know of cured his salmon by soaking in a vinegar solution for a time and then freezing. Saba as previously mentioned by Doc is cured in a vinegar brine also. It is true that most commercial sashimi grade fish is frozen but at very low temperatures in Super Freezers to prolong storage life and freshness in a valuable commodity. There are true Japanese Sushi Chefs that take great pride in serving unfrozen fish and knowing the location from which the fish came from. That's when you know you are in a true Sushi bar. If you plan on making your own Sushi at home you must find a supplier that supplies Sashimi Grade fish. Normal 'fresh' fish is NOT suitable for Sushi or Sashimi so unless you caught it yourself or if it didn't come as Sahimi Grade from a reputable supplier, cure or cook.-Dick

For truly fresh scallops, I don't wash them. I guess it likes oysters and clams, you lose a little of the essence by washing. The chemicals in wet pack scallops make the scallop absorb water which is what prevents the browning. soaking will not help.-Dick

My mistake, wrong label, here is the correct label: Does anyone know of a US source for this shoyu? Thanks-Dick

A few years ago sitting at a Japanese Sushi bar in the US, we ordered our regular Asahi 'Super Dry'. I remarked to my wife after tasting that "it tastes different'. As I read the label, brewed in Canada was plainly written. Any time you change the location of production of an agricultural product, the taste changes. Until just now we had been purchasing 'Super Dry' from Japan at Mitsuwa near Chicago but that has changed. You are correct that for the time being Hitachino is still from Japan.-Dick

Your scallops were 'Dry Pack' otherwise they never would have browned as your picture shows. Next time, do not rinse and dry however.-Dick

Chinois! Get a good one, not a cheap one. I would be cautious about non food grade cloth purchased to use as cheese cloth.-Dick

I obtained a bottle of aged in the wood Artisan shoyu but was never able to get another in the US. An excellent product. We did a blind tasting using Japanese Kikkoman, US made Kikkoman, Kikkoman with bonito extract and another high end Japanese shoyu. This shoyu won hands down. Used plain or in dipping sauces. I will try the Ohsawa's Nama Shoyu.-Dick