Mallet

I've tried out a few adaptations from the Alinea cookbook here .

Despite being Acadian, I can offer no help here, as Rappie pie is not native to my cultural region (North-East NB). Another mystery to me is Poutine rapée. I've never had one, but I tried to make them once and the potatoes completely dissolved and turned the entire stockpot into a disgusting gray good with suspended chunks of pork. As I'm writing this, it just occured to me that I could probably make these sous-vide (cogs turning...).

Is it ready yet?

Yeah, it's not uncommon for us to spear smelt in the 8-9 inch range although most are in the more usual 6-7 inch range. I selected some larger ones for that dish, although given the quantity of food we ate that night I should have picked smaller ones! The reason I usually pluck the legs as well is for maximum versatility (skinless confit would be tasty, but not complete). Also, I am a poor enough hunter that I almost never have to worry about running out of time to pluck That duck dish looks really good! Although you wouldn't know it from the snow outside, word has it spring is here. Is there anything worth pursuing these coming months, or do most people sit tight until fall?

I thought I would bump this thread up, since I've been musing about making mead myself these past few days. A friend and I made maple syrup this year, and after a few weeks of labour ended up with about 35L of the good stuff. I'd love for some help developing a maple mead recipe. I've barely every tasted mead (maybe 1-2, and I think those were sparkling), and certainly never made it (although I've been making beer with the help of cdh's course). I'm looking for a beverage that has a medium amount of body, and that will convey the aromatics/subtleties of our syrup. Upthread, it seems like brewing batches as small as 1 gallon is a viable proposition, which would be ideal as I don't want to sacrifice too much of the maple syrup .

Having previously gone the PID route, and been pretty satisfied with the results, I feel I should point out that it actually is no more expensive to purchase a good quality used immersion circulator if you are willing to lurk on eBay and labx for a while. I got mine for about $120, and it came in immaculate condition. Having had both systems, I do feel like I would have been better off waiting for the circulator in the first place. I certainly would have saved money that way

I'm guessing a whole marrowbone would be quite slow to come to temp, since the object to be cooked is insulated by a thick layer of bone. I would either thinly slice the bones (as they would be for osso bucco), or remove the marrow beforehand. Cooking marrow sous-vide is genius, though. Roughly speaking, I imagine cooking marrow sous-vide has much of the same advantages as cooking foie gras sous-vide.

I think this is a case where the phrase "technoemotional" cooking comes through as a more apt descriptor than "molecular gastronomy". The use of technology as a means to elicit new and familiar emotions is arguably the goal of this style of cuisine. Which emotions/sensations seek to be ellicited depends on the craftsman/artist, of course, and jokes may not be part of your current repertoire (at least not consciously). Like others who've already posted it's one of the aspects of hypermodern cooking I most enjoy the most because jokes often come from the unexpected, and the current array of modern techniques certainly provide that in spades. Mostly, though, I restrict myself to terrible menu puns...

Thanks for the info, I'll definitely look into it. With some of the leftovers from the game dinner, I'm attempting lesser scaup and long-tailed duck prosciutto (made with the legs). I don't think it will take more than a few days total, since the legs of wild ducks are laughably small. In the meanwhile, I thought I would add a link to this excellent blog: Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

Thanks, Magictofu. This year was my first with an Ontario license, and being a novice hunter in an unfamiliar area is definitely tough, especially when you're based in the city. Around here, almost all of the land is private and if you're shy like me you're not likely to show up at some random farmer's house and ask if you can run around his/her property with guns. I'm definitely learning as I go, and it helps to have friends to share in the adventure. Other than culinary curiosity, one of the reasons we're eating more unusual game items and traditionally less sought-after ducks (eg: long-tailed duck) is simply that we don't good spots for the primo game species or any clue about hunting deer, so it's a matter of taking what you come across. I'm glad we decided to try some of these things, though, because they are truly delicious and worth the cost/effort!

Thanks, Peter! Everything was indeed cooked at home, over a 3-day period (from Friday night up until the dinner on Sunday). Normally I would have given myself more time but I had to pick up 2 pigs from the abattoir on Wednesday, and spent that day prepping them for the freezer (only on eGullet can you say that with a straight face). Thankfully one of my friends volunteered to help out with the game dinner over the weekend. It's been an eventful week, food-wise. As far as the meats go: in Ontario almost everything I served can be shot with a general small-game license (porcupine, squirrel, red-winged blackbird but also groundhogs, american crow, brown-headed cowbirds, starlings, house sparrows amongst others). For certain species, like european starling and house sparrow, there isn't even a limit or season! I think this is due to a combination of abundance and low hunting pressure. Ducks require a migratory bird stamp (federal), since the regulation of those species is coordinated at the international level. Some of the game, like the ruffed grouse and deer, was "salvaged". A year or two ago I would have completely balked at the thought of roadkill but as it turns out it's actually pretty common in rural Ontario (especially grouse). It helps to have adventurous friends: I served this to 6 other people, everyone partook. For this particular meal, I relied on the generosity of friends. The bass and two of the splake came from a friend's father and the deer, lesser scaup, morning dove, and northern pintail was donated by another friend.

Here are some pictures from the Game Dinner, Mark II. Stuffed mallard neck with squirrel, mourning dove, red-winged blackbird, and pork fat. I am a squirrel convert. Rideau fish From left: largemouth bass, small reproductive adult, monster spawning male, and winter splake. With olive/caper spread. The variety in color and taste of the splake was really cool. Winter splake was the clear favourite to my mind, tasting like trout. The large spawning male was not very good, but palatable with the spread. Pintail pastrami cured Northern pintail, coleslaw, bagel toast This was many people's favourite dish. Porcupine From left, corned porcupine ragout, butter-poached beets, seared porcupine. garnished with pickled blueberries. Really heady and intense. The porcupine was delicious, not unlike very rich beef. Grouse "leftovers" From left: blue grouse, beet salad, ruffed grouse. Served cold The two grouse species were quite different. The ruffed grouse was mild like chicken, the blue grouse was gamier. The rightmost breasts are from long-tailed duck, and the leftmost breasts are from lesser scaup. The darkness of the long tailed duck meat was extraordinary! Both are diving ducks. Diver and onions From left: wine-poached plum, caramelized onion, diving duck breast. This played up the liver-y qualities of the diving ducks (esp. long tailed duck) well. Deer From bottom to top: honeydew melon, deer rump, cucumber, soy pudding, lime sugar, macro cilantro. Really tasty, but there was too much soy pudding for my taste, making the dish quite salty. There was a definite progession of flavours: first the almost overpowering saltiness of the gellied soy sauce, which gave way to the freshness of the cucumber and melon, with the lime sugar and cilantro finishing off the bite. Cucumber, mango I didn't get a picture of the finished dish, but this was topped with clove salt, coriander salt, candied lemon zest, fresh ginger, juniper berry, and saffron Really complex and flavourful Apple, horseradish Celery juice, and apple cider encased in a horseradish butter shell. This was the dish I was most nervous about execution-wise, because I didn't have either the spherical molds or the cocoa butter powder called for in recipe to make the shells. I decided to gamble with ice-cube trays and melted butter: success! Blackberry, smoke Blackberry in a cigar-infused cream, with smoked salt and mint. It was interesting, but could have been better. I think I sabotaged the dish by using a relatively cheap cigar and thawed berries. Sour cherry sorbet I love finishing a long meal with sorbet. The wine pairings were all good, but unremarkable. For sure the most elaborate meal I've made to date. I was definitely inspired by having so many different species to work with, and the novelty of both the meats and the dishes were exciting. I was told that I made mallard/apple crepes were made later on in the evening, but I have no pictures or recollection of this whatsoever.

I'm having a hard time imagining what the final product will look like, as I've never encountered a preparation which is cooked first, then cured and hung. Have you ever done something like this before? You can always slice a piece off.

A variety of ingredients tossed in some sort of sauce, not normally hot?

Maybe I'm still misreading the material posted in this thread, but is this really true? All of the posted info so far implies that eating blood spots can be ok, and that there is plenty of leeway. The problem with blood spots seem to stem strictly from potential fertilization, so a source of cage-free eggs with no roosters present (I believe most larger scale operations already fit the bill) should be acceptable to the local agency and for your personal consumption as well.

I made a soup version of Hodge Podge today, since I had some leftover vegetables and a lonely scrap on pancetta in the freezer. I simply boiled leeks, potatoes, carrots in a little water, then poured out some of the water and replaced it with cream, simmering for ~10min and adding some fried pancetta at then end. It felt more winter-y, which I suppose is appropriate.

But even then, blood spots seem to be ok according to the linked article unless they come from fertilized eggs (fertilized eggs from commercial operations are excepted, since their incidence is low). There is a specific caution against 'natural' or organic eggs, as these may result in high levels of fertilization (the onus seems to be on the customer to check). As far as my thoughts on the ethics of the situation goes, if a particular rule prevented me from using a more sustainable, humane product it would be the rule that gets thrown out, not the product! If the article above is true, fertilized eggs from commercial operations are OK because their incidence is very low. To a person not familiar with dietary restrictions, this seems a little odd because the problem doesn't seem to be with the product itself! A rule which encourages both wanton waste (I say wanton because the exact same product is ignored in one case but not the other) and a less humane production system should be amended.

Well, if El Taller can do it then how hard can it be? (meant to be read with a sarcastic tone) ← Actually, it looks pretty simple (link time index 18:30 ). Another idea might be to simply do the reverse of crispy skin: instead of frying the fillet skin down, perhaps frying it skin up without turning, until the fish was cooked and the skin was warmed but not cooked?

I thoroughly enjoyed my meal there as well. I've been trying to post a more detailed report with pictures, but I'm having imageGullet issues.

I can get fresh cod in Kingston (although it's uniformly awful), but I can't usually get a straight answer on provenance (other than, "from the box in came in"). Would this be from Iceland? Given the moraturium, I'm amazed cod is still so cheap.

I certainly never noticed that other cultures made analogues! Maybe I will experiment with salting various herbs from my garden this year. Next time you make a pâté, try a ratio of 2:1:1 for pork, chicken and beef: I think you'll like it.

Another year, another game dinner! Since I don't go hunting/fishing nearly as often as I'd like, and also not being terribly good at it, I find myself hoarding meat throughout the year and then blowing it all in one epic meal This year a friend of mine is contributing some game as well. So far, we have the following dishes planned: mallard necks I want to stuff the necks with squirrel meat, and inlay a morning dove strip: any ideas how to do this? I'd like to keep the skin in one piece if possible. splake For those of you who don't know (I didn't until recently), splake is a brook trout(aka speckled trout)/lake trout hybrid. I was going to SV these in butter, and serve a with a light caper-based sauce. pintail pastrami (only because I like alliterations). I'm using the duck pastrami recipe from Under Pressure. porcupine I'm adapting a recipe from Alinea, with pickled blueberries, beets, fennel, and burning cinnamon grouse roasted, then served with cold beet salad (from Marco Pierre White's Great British Feast) diving ducks we have both long-tailed duck (formerly known as oldsquaw) and lesser scaup. I haven't tasted the scaup yet, but the long-tailed duck is very 'livery' so I thought I would run with that and make "diver and onions" with figs, from Bouchon. deer another Alinea recipe (originally with wagyu), with honeydew melon, cucumber and soy pudding cucumber/mango Also from Alinea, this is a cucumber/mango leather roll-up. By this stage a light course with no meat might be appreciated. pheasant with cider vinegar, pomegranate, and apples. From Batali's Simple Italian Food apple with horseradish and celery juice, from Alinea. blackberry with tobacco cream, smoke. When I saw this on the Alinea @ home blog, I knew I had to make it. sour cherry sorbet. The dinner's not planned for a few weeks, any suggestions (especially for wine/beer pairings) are welcome!

Nice pâté upthread! We always make ours with a minimum of three meats (beef, chicken and pork), and ideally with some game thrown in as well (rabbit, duck, moose, deer, and grouse are all fine additions). In the versions that I've had, herbes salées are not used, but the meat is often simmered with savory.

Out of curiosity, how big was the hog?

Not really. I'm guessing that a big part of the perceived blandness comes from the lack of fermentation (I believe it's the only dry-cured sausage in the book without bactoferm or fermento). The proportions of pepper and garlic in the book are good for my tastes, and I wouldn't increase the amounts of either lest they overpower the pork.