slkinsey
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I am also looking for one to use as a table top for dining as well as prep...about 36X60. (I have a base with a smaller top that is okay for prep, but too small and crowded for dining. Any sources for something this large? I am guessing that end-grain would not be important (or maybe even possible) for something this large. Suggestions?
I wandered around in the link that Sandra provided, and found this.
Are those something like what you're after?
It's not end grain, though.
If you poke around the John Boos web site, you will see that they sell big chunks of end grain butcher block for use in countertops (look on this page for "End Grain Island Tops"). You could join together two 36" x 32" pieces for a total of 36" x 64". This is not cheap stuff, though. One 36" x 32" piece will set you back 653 bucks.
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Interestingly, black truffles seem to do much better in their various preserved forms.
Yea... I've noticed that too. I tend to only use black truffles if I am going to use one of the various processed forms (oil, paste, whatever).
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Welcome to eGullet, Michael. Glad to see you here.
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Maybe I'll try Sam's version as a compromise between the traditionalists and the avant-guarde. It appears that it would also free up some overn space and time, which is another key consideration.
Lemme know if you want the details. I can PM or post to recipeGullet.
Let me see if I can sell it to the masses.
They bought it... Anyway, details, on the board or by PM are much appreciated.
Take a look here.
It's a lot harder to describe than it is to do. Everything can be done advance ecxept for roasting the breasts, whisking some butter into the sauce and reheating everything prior to service.
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For example, do you, like I do, get something like 50 spam e-mails a day promising a larger penis through various technologies that sound stupid and have not been proven? And do you not, like I do, dismiss these ads exactly on the basis of "sounds stupid and no one's proven it yet"? Because, unless you have an unusually large penis to begin with, it would seem that if you really believed these ads you wouldn't hesitate to drop $19.95 in order to have a larger penis instantaneously and with no side-effects. But I don't hear you going around saying, "I'm just saying that it is wrong to assume that the FastSize product is a priori bullshit just because it sounds stupid and no one's proven it yet."
As it so happens, there's a little song that sums up my exact position on this kind of spam.
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So perhaps FG simply doesn't like truffle oil?
Hmmm... maybe so. Although, if true, he concealed it admirably when I served him grits mixed with truffle carpaccio and truffle oil alongside some double cut pork chops a few weeks ago.
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People may be confusing the terms "washing machine" (normally the term used for clothes washer) with the machine that washes your dishes. There is no way a washing machine gets as hot as the dishwasher.
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The one nifty perk, IMO, is the minibowl. But, having not used it, I tend to wonder if that is conveniant, or a pain in the butt.
It is a significant perk in my experience. I tend to use the minibowl as often as I use the main bowl, if not more often. Nothing beats it in making a practically foolproof thick mayonnaise.
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The truffle oil is harmless in this dish . . .
What does this mean?
I assumed it was a reference to the fact that too much truffle oil can really taste nasty.
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Turkey Two Ways
This is a great dish for Thanksgiving because it is relatively simple to prepare and most of it can be done ahead of time, yet it seems very fancy and labor intensive. No need to let anyone in on the secret!
It may seem complicated at first, but not when you think about it. Fundamentally, you are only cooking a turkey, cooking dressing and making gravy. These are all things you would be doing anyway!
The dark meat is braised and can be cooked a day ahead of time. Much easier.
The breasts can be roasted to temperature a la minute, poached or cooked sous vide. Much easier.
The dressing is cooked, which you would have done anyway. Plus, you can make the dressing a day ahead of time. Easier.
The gravy is made much the same way you would make any other gravy, only without bothering with a roux. Equal.
- 1 14 - 18 pound turkey
- 1 Bottle port
- 1 Bottle dry red wine
- 2 Large carrots
- 5 Ribs celery
- 2 Medium yellow onions
- 1 Bouquet garni
- 1 Head Savoy cabbage (optional)
- 1 Jar "Black Truffle Carpaccio" (optional)
- 1 Foie gras (optional)
- 1 lb Butter
Debone the Turkey -- 1-2 Days Before
- Using a sharp knife, remove the legs and wings from the turkey. Remove the skin and reserve. Cut the meat from the bones in large pieces. Reserve the bones. Cut all other large pieces of dark meat from the turkey and place with the leg meat. Cut out the large tendons from the drumstick meat and reserve with the bones, skin and other trim. Trim all other big pieces of dark meat from the carcass and add these to the dark meat.
- Place the dark meat in a refrigerator container or ziplock bag along with the red wine, the port, the vegetables and the bouquet garni (e.g., 4 parsley sprigs, 4 thyme sprigs and 1 rosemary sprig, tied together). Place in refrigerator and marinate 1-2 days.
- Using a sharp knife, remove the breasts from the carcass, each in one large piece. Refrigerate breast meat. Reserve all bones and skin with the rest.
Make the Turkey Stock -- 1-2 Days Before
- Make a simple "white" turkey stock. My method: Place the bones and trim in a large stock pot along with a little roughly chopped onion, carrot and celery. Fill the pot with water and slowly bring up to a bare simmer. Skim fat and scum. Leave on the stove overnight just below the simmer. The next day, strain out and discard the meat and vegetables. Reduce the turkey stock to around 2 quarts and refrigerate. It should be very gelatinous, like this:
http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/gallery_8505_0_1465.jpg
- I like to save the skimmed turkey fat for browning turkey meat, vegetables, etc.
Prepare The Dressing -- 1 Day Before
- Cook a batch of your favorite dressing in a baking dish and cool. Keep it simple. I prefer cornbread, sturdy white bread, the "Scarboro Fair herbs" (parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme), onion, stock and cream. This should be a fairly moist stuffing. Use some of the reserved turkey stock to moisten the dressing. Bind it with plenty of eggs.
Braise the Dark Meat -- 1 - 0 Days Before
- Strain the wine marinade and reserve.
- Separate the turkey leg pieces and the vegetables and pat them dry with paper towels. Set a large pot over medium heat. Flour each piece of turkey meat lightly and brown the turkey meat well in turkey fat or butter and set aside. Something like this:
http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/gallery_8505_0_48211.jpg
- Add the wine to deglaze and stir to release any browned bits.
- Add the vegetables, browned dark meat and bouquet garni to the pot, add turkey stock and barely simmer until meat is fork tender, about 2 hours. Skim any scum that rises during the first 30-40 minutes.
- Drain meat and vegetables, reserving liquid. Discard vegetables and bouquet garni. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve and set aside. When the turkey meat is cool enough, pull it into rough shreds by hand into a bowl. Mix with enough of the reserved liquid to moisten it and set aside.
- Simmer the remaining reserved liquid until it coats the back of a spoon and set aside. This will be the basis for your sauce.
Cook The Breasts -- 1.5 hours ro 45 minutes before service, depending on method used
- If Roasting: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a roasting pan over medium high heat and add butter. Season the breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. When butter is sizzling, sear the breasts about 5 minutes on each side. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast to 150 degrees F (around 45 minutes). Remove and let rest for 10 minutes covered with foil.
- If Poaching: Heat enough salted water in a large pot or roasting pan to cover the breasts to 155 degrees. Keep a thermometer in the water to monitor the temperature. Poach the breasts around 1 to 1.5 hours, until cooked through.
- If Cooking Sous Vide: Bag with butter, herbs and salt. Cook at 61C for 1 - 1.5 hours (consult nathanm's timing charts depending on thickness). Serve immediately. This is the best option.
Reheat The Dressing And The Shredded Dark Meat -- 30 minutes before service
- 30 minutes prior to service, moisten the stuffing with broth and reheat still covered, in a 350 - 400 F oven. You can do this in a separate oven from the breasts, or together in the same oven if you only have one.
- While the sauce and dressing coming up to temperature and the breasts are roasting, reheat the dark meat using the method of your choice. (I do it in a small saucepan on the back of the stove, but you can just as easily do it in the microwave.)
Prepare the Sauce -- 15 minutes before service
- Bring the wine/port reduction up to a simmer on the stove. Mount with copious amounts of butter and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the saucepan to a corner of the stove to keep warm. (You may want to refer to Jack's excellent eGCI course on Non Stock-Based Sauces for background.)
Plate The Course -- A La Minute
- Slice the breasts across the grain into medium-thick slices.
To do one plate:
- Using a ring mold (or large tomato can open at both ends) in the center of the plate, layer shredded dark meat, then cornbread dressing, then a few slices of breast meat.
- Remove the mold and spoon some sauce around.
- Serve!
- Once everything is hot and ready to go, you can plate everything fairly quickly -- especially if you have help. Warm plates (just throw them in the oven for a few minutes) can make a big difference.
Tweaks and Upgrades
- Add black truffle carpaccio to the sauce, along with a touch of sherry.
- Finely shred Savoy cabbage and soften in butter. Add to the shredded dark meat base.
- Add foie gras to the Savoy cabbage/dark meat base.
Credit where credit is due: Although my recipe deviates from his in several meaningful ways, the concept of braising/shredding the dark meat and cooking the breasts separately was inspired by a recipe employing this division by Eric Ripert that appeared in the New York Times Magazine.
Keywords: Main Dish, Intermediate, Turkey, Dinner
( RG746 )
- 1 14 - 18 pound turkey
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Turkey Two Ways
This is a great dish for Thanksgiving because it is relatively simple to prepare and most of it can be done ahead of time, yet it seems very fancy and labor intensive. No need to let anyone in on the secret!
It may seem complicated at first, but not when you think about it. Fundamentally, you are only cooking a turkey, cooking dressing and making gravy. These are all things you would be doing anyway!
The dark meat is braised and can be cooked a day ahead of time. Much easier.
The breasts can be roasted to temperature a la minute, poached or cooked sous vide. Much easier.
The dressing is cooked, which you would have done anyway. Plus, you can make the dressing a day ahead of time. Easier.
The gravy is made much the same way you would make any other gravy, only without bothering with a roux. Equal.
- 1 14 - 18 pound turkey
- 1 Bottle port
- 1 Bottle dry red wine
- 2 Large carrots
- 5 Ribs celery
- 2 Medium yellow onions
- 1 Bouquet garni
- 1 Head Savoy cabbage (optional)
- 1 Jar "Black Truffle Carpaccio" (optional)
- 1 Foie gras (optional)
- 1 lb Butter
Debone the Turkey -- 1-2 Days Before
- Using a sharp knife, remove the legs and wings from the turkey. Remove the skin and reserve. Cut the meat from the bones in large pieces. Reserve the bones. Cut all other large pieces of dark meat from the turkey and place with the leg meat. Cut out the large tendons from the drumstick meat and reserve with the bones, skin and other trim. Trim all other big pieces of dark meat from the carcass and add these to the dark meat.
- Place the dark meat in a refrigerator container or ziplock bag along with the red wine, the port, the vegetables and the bouquet garni (e.g., 4 parsley sprigs, 4 thyme sprigs and 1 rosemary sprig, tied together). Place in refrigerator and marinate 1-2 days.
- Using a sharp knife, remove the breasts from the carcass, each in one large piece. Refrigerate breast meat. Reserve all bones and skin with the rest.
Make the Turkey Stock -- 1-2 Days Before
- Make a simple "white" turkey stock. My method: Place the bones and trim in a large stock pot along with a little roughly chopped onion, carrot and celery. Fill the pot with water and slowly bring up to a bare simmer. Skim fat and scum. Leave on the stove overnight just below the simmer. The next day, strain out and discard the meat and vegetables. Reduce the turkey stock to around 2 quarts and refrigerate. It should be very gelatinous, like this:
http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/gallery_8505_0_1465.jpg
- I like to save the skimmed turkey fat for browning turkey meat, vegetables, etc.
Prepare The Dressing -- 1 Day Before
- Cook a batch of your favorite dressing in a baking dish and cool. Keep it simple. I prefer cornbread, sturdy white bread, the "Scarboro Fair herbs" (parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme), onion, stock and cream. This should be a fairly moist stuffing. Use some of the reserved turkey stock to moisten the dressing. Bind it with plenty of eggs.
Braise the Dark Meat -- 1 - 0 Days Before
- Strain the wine marinade and reserve.
- Separate the turkey leg pieces and the vegetables and pat them dry with paper towels. Set a large pot over medium heat. Flour each piece of turkey meat lightly and brown the turkey meat well in turkey fat or butter and set aside. Something like this:
http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/gallery_8505_0_48211.jpg
- Add the wine to deglaze and stir to release any browned bits.
- Add the vegetables, browned dark meat and bouquet garni to the pot, add turkey stock and barely simmer until meat is fork tender, about 2 hours. Skim any scum that rises during the first 30-40 minutes.
- Drain meat and vegetables, reserving liquid. Discard vegetables and bouquet garni. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve and set aside. When the turkey meat is cool enough, pull it into rough shreds by hand into a bowl. Mix with enough of the reserved liquid to moisten it and set aside.
- Simmer the remaining reserved liquid until it coats the back of a spoon and set aside. This will be the basis for your sauce.
Cook The Breasts -- 1.5 hours ro 45 minutes before service, depending on method used
- If Roasting: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a roasting pan over medium high heat and add butter. Season the breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. When butter is sizzling, sear the breasts about 5 minutes on each side. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast to 150 degrees F (around 45 minutes). Remove and let rest for 10 minutes covered with foil.
- If Poaching: Heat enough salted water in a large pot or roasting pan to cover the breasts to 155 degrees. Keep a thermometer in the water to monitor the temperature. Poach the breasts around 1 to 1.5 hours, until cooked through.
- If Cooking Sous Vide: Bag with butter, herbs and salt. Cook at 61C for 1 - 1.5 hours (consult nathanm's timing charts depending on thickness). Serve immediately. This is the best option.
Reheat The Dressing And The Shredded Dark Meat -- 30 minutes before service
- 30 minutes prior to service, moisten the stuffing with broth and reheat still covered, in a 350 - 400 F oven. You can do this in a separate oven from the breasts, or together in the same oven if you only have one.
- While the sauce and dressing coming up to temperature and the breasts are roasting, reheat the dark meat using the method of your choice. (I do it in a small saucepan on the back of the stove, but you can just as easily do it in the microwave.)
Prepare the Sauce -- 15 minutes before service
- Bring the wine/port reduction up to a simmer on the stove. Mount with copious amounts of butter and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the saucepan to a corner of the stove to keep warm. (You may want to refer to Jack's excellent eGCI course on Non Stock-Based Sauces for background.)
Plate The Course -- A La Minute
- Slice the breasts across the grain into medium-thick slices.
To do one plate:
- Using a ring mold (or large tomato can open at both ends) in the center of the plate, layer shredded dark meat, then cornbread dressing, then a few slices of breast meat.
- Remove the mold and spoon some sauce around.
- Serve!
- Once everything is hot and ready to go, you can plate everything fairly quickly -- especially if you have help. Warm plates (just throw them in the oven for a few minutes) can make a big difference.
Tweaks and Upgrades
- Add black truffle carpaccio to the sauce, along with a touch of sherry.
- Finely shred Savoy cabbage and soften in butter. Add to the shredded dark meat base.
- Add foie gras to the Savoy cabbage/dark meat base.
Credit where credit is due: Although my recipe deviates from his in several meaningful ways, the concept of braising/shredding the dark meat and cooking the breasts separately was inspired by a recipe employing this division by Eric Ripert that appeared in the New York Times Magazine.
Keywords: Main Dish, Intermediate, Turkey, Dinner
( RG746 )
- 1 14 - 18 pound turkey
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Clearly the bigger question here is being overlooked, is the wine clip compatable with biodynamic wine? or does it cause them both to burst into flames?
Actually... I hear that, if you run biodynamic wine through a Wine Clip under a crystal pyramid while there is strong sunspot activity, you get cold fusion! I read it in an article published on the prestigious Internet, so it must be true!
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...just because "science" can't figure something out yet doesn't mean it's not real.
But it does mean that the effect may not be happening for the reason people suppose it is happening.
Take this hypothetical example: suppose we have a person who has chronic tension headaches. That person decides to become a Zen Buddhist and begins meditating. Lo and behold, after a while his headaches start go away! Does this mean that Zen and Buddah are curing his headaches? No, of course not. What it means is that he has learned to relax the muscles and systems that were triggering the headaches, and that the meditation put him in the psychological state that enabled him to achieve that relaxation. In fact, he could have achieved the same thing via biofeedback or other meditation methods entirely unrelated to the philosophies of Zen Buddhism, which philosophies were only coincidentally related to the cessation of the headaches.
To make another example closer to the sumbect: suppose we have a farmer who takes extreme steps in caring for his land and cultivating his crops. Part of the philosophical outlook to which he subscribes, the outlook which motivates his activities vis a vis the land and crops, involves doing things like fermenting dung in cow horns, placing his just-picked crops in a pyramid-shaped warehouse and making sure that all of his fruit grows facing North. Lo and behold, after a year or two of this philosophy, his crops taste much better! Does this mean that the cow horn and the pyramid and the North orientation is responsible? Or might it be the hundred other things he is doing differently? Most likely, the latter. But, here we have a situation, much like the situation bescribed above with Zen meditation, where there is already a philosophical system in place that provides a structure which tends to lead to certain results. Why fix what isn't broken? It really doesn't matter whether the cown horn thing is so much mumbo-jumbo if the entire package produces results. It's only a negative if the mumbo-jumbo prevents farmers who might otherwise employ the same level of care and attention, and the techniques which actually are important and effectice, from employing that level of care and those techniques.
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They bought it -- but I'm not buying truffles for 25. Maybe a little truffle oil for the favored few, if there's any change left over after the FedEx in the foie gras.
Actually, all you need to do is buy a jar of "black truffle carpaccio" (looks like this). This is large truffle trimmings in truffle juice and oil. Probably the cheapest bang-for-the-buck you can get, truffle-wise. You can probably get a jar of it for less than $25. In fact, Citarella sells it for 20 bucks (see here). One jar, or maybe two, should be more than enough for 25 people (remember, you're only using a tiny bit). My experience has been that people who had never tasted truffles before were completely blown away by it in this dish.
I can't wait to plate it with the stuffing and the little translucent disc of canned cranberry sauce that has also been requested. Is that the kind of thing they do at Mist?Hee... that could be kind of funny. Or, if you wanted to do something related but a little fancier, you could make bergerka's "cranberry sauce with port wine and figs," which I understand is always a hit (although I've never had it at my Thanksgiving dinner, as I avoid sweet things with savory). I'll see if I can get her to put the recipe in the system.
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We don't really use sponges too often. Better to use rags that are used for one kitchen session and then washed. Of course, if I had a dishwashing machine like FG, I would absolutely put my sponges in there every time I did a load of dishes.
The fact of the matter is -- and I have read this from too many reliable sources to doubt it -- that kitchen sinks are incredibly dirty, and most sponges are little more than effective bateria distribution mechanisms. In fact, there is ample evidence that, from a bateriological standpoint, the kitchens of people who frequently wipe down counters and other surfaces with a sponge are significantly less clean than the kitchens of people who are less active in that regard.
One of the most striking things I ever read in re to kitchen cleanliness was a scientist who said something along the lines of, "if an alien were to come down to your home and base his behavior on the presence and concentration of ecoli and other "fecal" bacteria, he would go to the bathroom in your kitchen sink and wash lettuce in your toilet." This is why I always scrub out the kitchen sink with Bar Keeper's Friend, spray it with Clorox Clean Up (or a homemade bleach solution) and let it sit for 5-10 minutes before washing/soaking any food in the sink I plan to eat raw.
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what's with this part of your menu? chicks don't get cigars? men don't merit chocolate? Is it still 1952 in your house?Cigars for the menChocolates for the women & children
And let us not forget that the children are being shafted on the nicotine as well.
My own personal experience suggests a reason: The one time bergerka joined some of the menfolk for a cigar, she promptly went upstairs and tossed her cookies. A terrible waste of a large number of calories to which I had devoted a lot of time.
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Your first example isn't analogous.
But have you actually tried the second? I'm as certain as I can be, without having done it myself, that you're right about what happens. I suppose the cellular structure allows fat out, but then locks up in the heat before fat can flow back in?Yea... I didn't make that up. I have actually heard people whose expertise I respect say it. I think that the mechanism by which fat is rendered out of meat is stronger than the mechanism by which fat is absorbed back into meat. And, if you cook somehing in a liquid bath for several hours, you are going to render out pretty much all the fat in whatever it is you're cooking.
I would actually be interested to see data on just how much fat is absorbed into a piece of meat cooked submerged in fat. My guess is that it's not very much, especially when compared to vegetables (and especially starches).
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Confit is not fatty. This is because the confit process renders out almost all of the fat. I would be willing to bet that a confit duck leg is leaner than a roasted duck leg, and probably leaner than a roasted chicken leg.
I would have said that a confitted (if I may indeed say that) duck leg was no fattier than its raw counterpart, but I would not have claimed less fatty. Admittedly, I haven't done any sort of analysis.
How does your explanation stack up against the principle of diffusion?
Is there more fat in bacon when it's raw or after it's been cooked? Would you imagine that there would be more fat in a piece of bacon that had been slowly cooked for 3 hours sumberged in bacon fat, or one that was roasted until cooked through in the oven? How about a raw piece of bacon versus the confited bacon?
I think it is simply a matter that a confited duck leg is more thoroughly rendered. In particular, the fat in and under the skin is more thoroughly rendered.
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There ya go. No meat. No fat. Slow simmering, certainly, but I don't think that defines a confit.
What say y'all?
I agree. That ain't no confit.
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So you tell me. Is it: "Artichokes Poached in Olive Oil and Butter"? "Revisionist Barigoule"? Or "Confit of Artichokes"?
Can there be any question? It's Artichokes Poached in Olive Oil and Butter.
Now... that might not sell as many portions as Confit of Artichokes.
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Interesting re the moon. Given the various effects that the moon has on the earth, it doesn't entirely surprise me that the moon might have an effect on crops. Perhaps it has to do with a full moon reflecting more light onto the earth?
Anyway... my take on agribusiness versus family vineyard versus mostly organic versus organic versus biodynamic is that each one represents a significant step up in the care that is required and taken in maintaining the crops -- not to mention that the practitioners are going to have different philosophies as to the amount and kind of care they invest in the land. Understanding that, it certainly doesn't strike me as unexpected that the crops produced with more care and attention turn out better -- nor that different farming practices lead to different results, regardless of whether or not one is deemed better than the other.
It is quite clear that biodynamic farming requires an great deal of care for and attention to the land and the crops, and it follows that practitioners of biodynamic farming have philosophies that incline them to devote more care and attention to the land and their crops compared to most non-biodynamic farmers. It seems that this care and attention are producing interesting results. The question, of course, is whether or not a similar level of care and attention, minus the cow horns, pyramid shaped fermenting rooms, North-South oriented aging rooms and so forth would result in a similar product. It strikes me that this is impossible to prove or disprove, but my strong suspicion is that it would.
As others have said -- and I agree -- one need not care whether the farmers are crystal worshipers, snake handlers, Raelians or even Republicans, so long as they make good wine.
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I keep seeing things called "confit" that contain neither meat nor fat. Just yesterday I was reading Gray Kunz's "Elements of Taste," and he has both a pickled lemon confit and a ginger confit. ... What gives? Is this another instance of a chef playing with a familiar term? Expanding its definition?
How are they prepared? I don't think it's entirely inappropriate to call something that has been cooked slowly completely submerged in fat a "confit" -- although it is stretching the definition when the ingredient is not meat (technically, it is stretching the definition when it is not meat cooked in its' own fat, but that's really splitting hairs).
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Has anyone tried Sally Schneider's "Revisionist Confit" from "A New Way to Cook?" She seasons the duck gams, then seals them tightly in a foil package (hm...aluminum cryovac?) and bakes them at 350 for two hours. She "guarantees a lean but tender confit."
I'd like to clear up one thing in re to confit: Confit is not fatty. This is because the confit process renders out almost all of the fat. I would be willing to bet that a confit duck leg is leaner than a roasted duck leg, and probably leaner than a roasted chicken leg.
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It's hard to ignore some of the astrology aspects of biodynamic farming, if you plant seeds a few days before a full moon they will germinate much faster than they would if you planted them a few days after a full moon. The things that are planted in sync with the moons cycle end up significantly stronger and often produce better fruit.
Oh? Is there any actual evidence that this is the case? I'm not asking this facetiously, I'm actually curious.
Biodynamic Winemaking
in Wine
Posted
I'm not quite sure how or in what sense it makes my suggestion -- or, rather, my question -- problematic. But I think it is likely that I just don't understand what you're getting at.
Were these vinyards, in fact, using a "similar level of care and attention" prior to adopting biodynamic methods? I find that hard to believe, as I have a difficult time picturing a more labor intensive method, or one more inherrently connected to the ground and the crops, than the biodynamic method.
Did these high-qualitiy wineries suddenly experience a huge jump in quality when they went over to biodynamic methods as opposed to the methods they had previously used? Or is it the case that the character of the wine changed slightly when the farming methods changed? If the latter is true, that makes perfect sense -- especially if the change was a relatively small one from organic to biodynamic. New cultivation, fertilization, growing and harvesting methods will necessarily impart differences in the end result. We know this is the case. Also, it is important to understand what the previous methods were and how they differed from biodynamic methods.
To extend this line of reasoning, it doesn't surprise me too much that there are observed, and even characteristic, differences between "regular" organic soil and biodynamic soil. The fact that the biodynamic method uses different and special compost (containing, among other things, ground quartz, yarrow flowers, chamomile flowers, stinging nettle plants, ground oak bark, dandelion, valerian flowers, horsehair and extra-fermented cow manure) should produce some unique and characteristic differences in and of itself. The question still remains -- and I think it is a very valid one -- whether or not someone could practice farming techniques identical to those used in biodynamic farming, but minus the new-age hokus pokus, and produce equivalent results.
I found it interesting in the Science report you cited (which may be found here in its entirety) that they state right up front that "mean crop yield was 21% lower [in the organic systems] over a period of 21 years." My guess as to the cause of the observed difference in biological activity and diversity between organic and biodynamic spoil is that the latter's compost, due to its specific and varied makeup as well as the extended fermentation, were already more active and diverse.