flapjack willy

here is the thing with veal shanks; the hind shank is the prefered one versus the foreshank. hindshank has a higher meat to bone ratio and is larger in diameter. all this said, there is really only one or at best two good cuts out of the whole shank, a good cut defined as something that has at least as much meat as it has bone. the calf muscle on the veal leg is similar to ours in that it has a pronounced taper to it as you cut up or down from the center, you progressively get more bone and less meat in each cut. how thick the osso's are will also determine how many good cuts one gets per shank. one last thing if you are buying it from a market where it is overwrapped ask the clerk to remove it and show you the underside. typically a market will put the best face up, hiding just how much of the underside is bone. yes it has become every more popular hanec the price rise, sort of what has happened to chicken wings, flank steak, flat irons, etc

here is my simple advice based on first hand experience. do not do it unless you fully understand that you must be there all the time the store is open. think about it this way; it's a big stew pot with the following ingredients: late night hours, liquor, food, cash money and attractive members of the opposite sex. when one stirs all of this together there is a good chance that something or someone is going to something they should'nt with your resources.

i have been selling CAB beef for sixteen years at the wholesale level. I have a lot to say, but not enough time right now. I will hold forth when I have a moment, but I do want to weigh in and dispell some of the above info. CAB is a very good product. It is the only premium beef product that is graded by federal graders, this is important because the other premium programs can produce all the "angus" cattle they want or need to market. We tell a joke about it; "hey johnny, go out back and brand somemore angus, we got a big order." The program was started by the American Angus Association to protect and promote their breed. When the US government broardened the acceptibility criteria for Choice back in the seventies which lessened the overall quality of the Chocie grade the AAA farmers were angry. They did and do pay more for their bull sperm and their breed stock and wanted a decent return for their product. Hence, the beginning of the CAB program. More later

as well as not over mixing is to let the batter rest for ten or so minutes to let the chemical leavening ingredients go to work

What we really need to talk about when we are talking about pork and the wonderful pork fat is pigs. Unfortunately, the pork industry took it upon themselves about twenty years ago to "lean up" the typical domestic pig. They say it was driven by customer demand, but I feel it was driven by the fact that for the most part they can sell lean alot easier that they can sell fat. All that said and done the hog one typically eats today is so lean it is hard to eat. Smithfield has taken it one misguided step furhter and sells a product called Lean Generation! One can not make sausage that is properly laced with the all important fat if it aint there! Leave it to the ever resourceful minds of ex-hippiest solve this problem. About twenty five years ago a guy named Bill Nima had the bright idea to raise animals the way god intended them to be raised, you know outside in the fresh air, eating things they might find naturally around them. Niman Ranch, twenty five years later produces an excellent product, includeing pork, lamb and beef. It is exspensive but worth it. The pork is excellent. The loin eye is marbled. the animal actually has back fat!! A sholder from Nian or any other "natural" producer is going to have the fat that you are looking for. I am in the wholesale meat industry an sell NIman meats. The quailty is there. You can find it retail at any Wholefoods market, EarthFare market and other natural type retailers. If not you can buy it from them direct, but you will pay

From my experience, the pork butt or shoulder is just about perfect for sausage. It is about a 70-30 ratio and is loaded with flavor. Sausage without lots of fat will be dry and mealy. When I make duck sausage i throw in duck breats; fat and all. The first time I made it, I thought -gross way too much fat but they turned out perfect.