paul o' vendange

Thanks, GG. I had not seen this. May every day be the Feast Day of St. Jacques of Pepin. Let me join in the Chorus - I have a deep affection for the man, though I've never met him. La Technique was my bible as a young teen - I tore through it cover to cover and see even now the dog eared pages and food stains of work, encouraged by a master. Reading The Apprentice brought it further home. Many long years, Chef. Thanks. Paul

Perhaps it's a matter of semantics, but I couldn't disagree more. Value is all we have as consumers, which I measure as the right amount of money spent for the experience. I've gleefully dropped hundreds and pissed and moaned about $1.50 -the only thing I require is that I leave the table saying "it was worth it." Apparently, for Adam, it wasn't worth it. And I don't condemn him for the evaluation. Paul Edited to add: Adam, a belated congratulations on getting into Tisch, not an easy thing to do. I wish you many years of good work ahead.

Ludja - Initially, I used 2/3 grated horseradish to 1/3 bread crumbs, but found that I can probably push the flap even more, and have gone up to 100% horseradish and love it. The wash is a simple egg white wash for binding, pressing the fish after into a horseradish "dredge." Cheers! Paul

I, too, like to use it in crusts. The heating mutes a bit of the heat while preserving the wonderful flavor and piquancy. I make a horseradish crusted salmon, with a black pepper-cabernet sauce. Paul

Chris, just came back to the thread after being away. You bet, will send the spreadsheet when I get home. I actually have a ton of things I wrote while briefly a student at Heriot-Watt, and while working in the industry - including an exhaustive protocol for establishing the quality control regimen for a "real ale," cask-conditioning brewery. More than happy to share with any who want it. Paul P.S.: neglected to mention originally, with Chris fully on the dry hopping. With the exception of some of my dark ales, just about every one of my beers - bitters, IPA's, ESB's, at times even my robust porters and imperial stouts - gets a strong dry hopping regimen. If any want to know that routine as well, just let me know. Cheers, Paul

(Minor Sunday celebration - goodbye, Chicago) Gravlax with Red Onion Confiture, Buckwheat Blinis and Creme Fraiche Veuve Cliquot Vintage Reserve 1993 Braised "Poulet a l'Estragon" and some Chimay Grand Reserve Chilled orange mousse with a chocolate-espresso tuile Paul

I would agree on the all grain argument. Syrups are wort that have been mashed for a middle-of-the-road mix of long and short chain sugars; resulting in middle of the road fermentation profiles. Additionally, many syrups contain things other than pure barley malt, to save money. Check out your syrup's content. Secondly, typically when starting out, as most here have said, the culprit for a less than "crisp" beer is a high final gravity - a good deal of residual sugars in the beer due to a less than voracious ferment on the part of your yeast. Go with OKbrewer's comments, use wyeast or white labs, do a good starter and, if you can afford it, buy an oxygenation system, which consists of a stainless airstone, filter and tubing to hook up to those mini-O2 supplies. I bought mine, I think it was, for $25. Prior to their anaerobic phase (fermentation), yeast require oxygen to respire, and to multiply. Each cell will typically produce up to 4 "daughter cells," and so on, up to the capacity dictated by the O2 content of your wort. With a poor O2 content, you will only get so much growth, and a limited number of cells will have to do yeoman's service on your wort - typically petering out and dying before the job is done. With oxygenation, and the proper amount of yeast, you will experience not only a more robust fermentation but a quicker one. Mine takes about 3 days to reach final gravity, and I brew strong beers (6%-8% a.b.v., some higher). Anyone, if you would like a spreadsheet listing wort volumes, starting gravities, and optimal yeast counts at various starting gravities (in terms of Wyest smack packs or white labs vials), let me know by PM and I will send you the spreadsheet I've developed (free - not a sales pitch). Finally, my advice would differ somewhat from what the others have said. I would consider using pellets over whole hops. Hop bittering potential is housed in two essential acids in hops - alpha acids principally (humulone, co-humulone and ad-humulone), and to an almost negligible extent, oxidized beta acids. These acids are extremely volatile. Whole hops, especially those reserved for home brewers (commercial brewers typically get the lion's share of the "good," meaning freshest product), have a good deal of surface area exposed to air - and each month they sit in your homebrew supplier's store, they lose a considerable portion of the alpha acids to the air. To take an example from your Sierra Nevada, which I believe uses Perle, Nugget and the now ubiquitous Cascade Hop. Cascade stores poorly. Whole Cascade hops as "5.9% alpha acid" will only truly be 4.24% a.a. after 6 months at 40F, in your refrigerator, if they are not in some sort of oxygen barrier or inert bag. If they are in an inert atmosphere, they will fare better, 5%, but you get the point. Pellets are made by essentially milling whole hops and then pressing them into pellets. The pelletizing process is harsh, which many use to justify using whole hops. But once made, the surface area exposed to are is negligible compared with whole hops, and they will not degrade nearly as fast. Now, if you have a filter and you are simply straining your wort into your fermentor, you will need whole hops as they act as a natural filter bed. If you use pellets, you can create a whirlpool - stir the whole wort for 5 minutes, creating a vigorous whirlpool. Cover, and let settle for at least 1/2 hour. Siphon off the side and you should obtain a brilliantly clear wort. Carbonation is a function of pressure and temperature, to obtain the actual amount of C02 in solution. Typical amounts for ales range from very low for "real," cask ales, to 2.5 volumes +/- for bottled ale, slightly less for draft beer, say 2.3 (or whatever your taste is). Lagers are typically higher. I maintain 2.5 volumes, as I counterpressure bottle fill all my products. To obtain 2.5 volumes, at 40F, you would need to set your pressure gauge to 12.3 PSI. Either leave this in the fridge for several days, or, as I do, place your tank on the counter, hook up your system, and rock your keg back and forth. First, you should do what you can to bleed air from the keg; I waste a lot of CO2 by filling and then bleeding the tank innumerable times, as air ruins beer. (the only effective way to prevent air intake is to counterpressure rack - beyond most homebrewers). But if you still have yeast in your beer (you will unless you've filtered it), the still-living yeast will help to respire the residual oxygen. You will hear, as you agitate, the gas seeping in from your tank - a good thing - and then will stop as the pressure in your keg equalizes with the pressure in your tank. When it stops, continuing rocking, and so forth, until rocking further results in no more CO2 going into your keg. At that point, presuming your keg is still at 40F (it won't be), you have 2.5 volumes of CO2. I typically put the keg back in the fridge for a few hours, and repeat. (By the way - the tank goes on the counter so that the regulator assembly is higher than your keg gas intake - although pressure out from the CO2 tank should prevent any beer backup, putting the gas tank higher ensures no beer backs up into your tank regulator as you agitate). Finally, at serving, unless you've got a dedicated tap system (as in a bar), I would think serving at 7-10 psi would be high - Bernouli's principle, your 1/4" beer line, at 7-10psi, will cause the beer to rock out the gate and you end up with a glass of foam. When I don't have my beer hooked up to a tap, but rather just a 3/16-1/4" line and plastic tap-spout, I back the pressure off to 2-3psi to serve, and then back up to 12.3 or so to maintain. Force carbonation is not complicated, but it is probably a thread unto itself. PM me if you want further info. To recap, in my opinion: - You will only get so far using syrup, as the mash profile is out of your hands. - Use pellets, not whole hops, to have a better chance of using hops closer in actual bittering performance to the listed alpha acid percentage. - Force carbonate at 40F, 12.3 psi for 2.5 volumes CO2. Higher temps will mean less carbonation; lower PSI will as well. There are pressure/temp charts available to find the carbonation level you would like. Any questions, feel free to PM me. Paul Formerly, Goose Island Beer Company

In theatre school, Trinity Rep Conservatory, 1989. Living on a 25 lb wheel of cheddar cheese - from May of 1987. From the Trinity Rep warehouse. Monotony broken up with cereal, doused with instant coffee, when I could afford it. My cat came bouncing in merrily every morning, expecting something different from "le Fromage Stank." I used to say to her, "when I do well, you'll do well...when I do bad, well, ..." Thus ran about a month or so of my life. Paul

Brine brine brine brine Brine brine brine brine Brine! Wonderful brine! (sung to the tune of Monty Python's "Spam, wonderful Spam!" Paul

I first learned to use the veal breast through Madeleine Kamman, in "Making of a Cook." Some state an arguable axiom, "all meat and no bones yields flavor and no body, all bones and no meat yields body and no flavor," but, personally, I have never found that to be strictly true. Using bones only, with only the barest of meat on the bone, I obtain a wonderfully rich, flavorful stock - aided by a prodigious amount of aromatics, of course, and a very long remouillage. Nevertheless, there is no denying that using the breast or meaty scraps yields more flavor. When I have used the breast, I would strip it down, grind it, and make a ravioli out of the meat that is there, in concert with other things. Additionally, as Kamman warns, there is a danger of so much body in a bones-only stock that viscosity can turn to a clinging mouthfeel - lips "stick together," and so some portion of the animal contribution to the stock should be made up of meat. I feel I avoid this effect by using tomatoes in good amounts, which to her is anathema but which helps to cut the "clinging effect" and, in my view, aids in clarification by the effect of the organic acids. I hold to no dogma. My veal stock leans towards the no roast method of Thomas Keller, as I use it so much as a base and appreciate the "clean" character resulting from the no roast method Keller advocates. I use a ton of stocks - duck, lamb, chicken (white and brown), quail, pheasant, fish, lobster, shrimp, just about any animal I use is also extracted into its own stock, with the exception of pork, which I find too sweet as an integral stock (although my veal stock contains a split pig's foot for its gelatin and touch of sweetness). If you use beef stock you are certainly not alone. Unless I'm mistaken, no less than Paul Bertolli and Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, for example, use it and do not, to my knowledge, use veal stock. They, too, use a combination of meat and bones in their stocks. Paul

Fifi, I find veal is neutrally flavored when compared with beef, so that its concentrated stock won't add a definitive, overriding character to whatever I use it for; rather, I find it adds a wonderful mouthfeel, and a mild, savory sweetness without screaming "beef." Its versatility as a carrier is its beauty - fruit reductions as much as mushroom, etc. Stuck for dollars, I find brown chicken stock is nearly as good, if not having as much depth of character - "length." Paul

Absolutely, breast is great. Loaded with gelatin, nicely trimmed with meat. I'd use it exclusively if I could afford it (on a commercial basis). Paul

I am afraid to admit I couldn't get past his personality, which, as a young lad normally rabid for cooking shows (usually, "best chefs of..." and Galloping, when Graham Kerr was actually galloping) tended to drive me batty. So, I never got into his shows nor did I ever acquire one of his books. I think I was too early addicted to French cooking, and almost single-mindedly wanted to learn everything I could about the culture, language and cuisine. My first "teacher" was Pepin at 11, followed by Escoffier, et al. Have I missed something here? Are his books enjoyable/informative? Paul

I use lobster butter more often, but for either I learned from James Peterson: break up the cooked shells with a wooden mallet, in a kitchen towel, until of manageable size for a mixer. Mix with oil until the oil is uniformly colored, about 1/2 hour. Heat in low oven for about an hour, add water to cover by couple of inches and chill. The oil will rise to the top, the shells will sink. Carefully decant off the oil (or use a separator in this step). Strain the oil through a fine mesh strainer to be sure and remove all impurities.

Well, thank you, but from the looks of your cuisine you didn't need any help. Any time, though. Paul

Did a duck extravagansa, as an experiment on muscovy v. pekin. The Pekin came from Wild Acres, out of Minnesota. The Muscovy, frozen, from Grimaud Farms. Made a duck liver crostini - applewood bacon, marsala, shallot, and a rough chop of capers, anchovies, garlic, and diced, MR duck liver. Excellent. Superlative. Thank you Paul Bertolli and Chez Panisse. (Thank you Mediterranean circle). Treated the breasts the same way - 24 hours ahead of time, s/p; 1 hour before searing, pulled and tempered. Fifteen minutes before searing, dusted with "poultry spice," quatre epice on speed. Both served with sweet potatoes "savonette," creamed corn (creamed with corn "milk" only), and an integral sauce of a cassis-duck stock, and fresh blackberries. Muscovy legs, braised with aromatics (onion, leek, carrot, shallot and garlic), tomatoes, garni, duck stock and balsamic, left to cool for a day and reheated. The jus reduced and served as a sauce. Pekin legs, confit. The braise was universally praised. The toe-to-toe winner on the seared breast was the Wild Acres Pekin. Most found the Muscovy "nice," but reminiscent of filet, not duck. I would agree. Underwhelmed on the muscovy flavor - surprisingly, I felt the Pekin was a touch more gamy, when if anything I expected the Muscovy would be. No surprise in the Pekin's juiciness. The Pekin was, in a word, extraordinary. I will need to get in the Muscovy fresh to make a fair comparison, but as of now, much to my surprise going in, I too voted for the Pekin. I know Wild Acres has developed an extraordinary line of ducks, and that my be a big part of it - generous breasts, very red meat, a great product (standard disclaimer - no affiliation, but may buy when we open). Lemon sorbet with Chambord to finish.

Lucy - Absolutely, unequivocally gorgeous - congratulations on such a triumph. And thank you for the photos and descriptions, they alone are worth the price of admission. Paul

Jin - PLEASE tell me where you obtained your merde du supermarche! I've got a dinner for my in-laws coming up, and need it to accompany my vin, grand cru du vomitesse. I'm stumped where to go. Paul

I would think either way would be great. I tend to like less steps between the freshly cut animal, and a simple, but finished, pristine sauce, an extension or intensification of the main taste (thank you, Thomas Keller, among others). Therefore, it's my preference to add the herbs to the reducing sauce directly. The reason I don't add the rosemary any sooner is because it is so volatile, and, to me, a little rosemary goes a long way. Your mileage may vary, of course. I add the pepper near the end for similar reason - except, I have found that if I add the pepper too long before the end, all the nice, spice and resin quality tends to dissipate and only heat remains. Cheers, Paul Oh, just saw your picture. Nope, these just came from your butcher this way. You could French them, meaning just incise around the rib bone beginning near the "eye," and scrape away the meat to the distal end, for presentation's sake, if you'd care to. Save the trimmed meat for something, i.e., your small sauce, if you're making it.

I don't like to spatchcock my crapaudine. Many do, though. Paul

I'm with balmagowry - s/p, that's it. However, I'm also a big fan of a bit of sauce made from the animal itself, as an extension of the pure flavor of the meat. You mentioned white beans, which I also love, esp. with shank. Have you considered doing a small sauce, using a bit of reduced lamb stock from riblets or the like? I enjoy making a simple integral sauce this way, with in addition to mirepoix, garlic and tomato, an infusion of rosemary the last 1/2 hour, and black pepper the last 10-15 minutes (to get the spice/resiny character, without that much heat). But you still can't go wrong - start with good meat, and trust it. My humble $0.02. Paul

I punch out the marrow in my femur bones and reserve that for finishing, as in bordelaise, or making something with them - crusted, fried, persillade for something truly decadent. As they are essentially nothing but fat, I'd rather remove them up front rather than in the deglazing or clarifying portion of the stock. That said, and I'd agree with most folks it is likely you fried either the marrow (or your bones from a high heat), one thing I'd ask is whether your second batch nicely filled the brazier or whatever it was you were using to roast the bones in? May be a simple question, but if there was space around the bones, they would be more likely to burn (glaze turning to charcoal) in shorter order. Just a thought. I think you are spot on with your final thoughts - paying more attention to the roasting process. No more important lesson have I discovered than to trust no "rule" of roasting, braising, etc. - inherently, each batch is radically different and, in the instance of roasting bones, I try to pick them at the nexus between that rust red/brown and just over the top. Shame about the 2d batch. I hold the animals I cook and eat in high regard, and when I have dumped something in waste I feel it (not as much as the animal, of course). Good luck. Paul p.s.: edited to add, like you I have been cooking since I was a kid. I worked through La Technique by the time I was 12 or so, and had the high honor of torching my eyebrows and forelocks with a rather ebullient crepe suzette, before a collected company of 20 or so, at the tender age of 10. From a fellow self-taught cook, cheers.

Lemon, Garlic & Thyme-Scented Poussin, pan roasted, with a double stock reduction, lemon and garlic confits, galettes, and tons o' parsnip puree, our favorite root veggie (through a tamis with butter, touch of salt and parsnip-infused cream, and that's it). Riesling. Also, poussin ballotine (with oven dried tomatoes and goat cheese), but will not likely keep it as an oven roast - spit roasted, yep. But, overall, prefer it plain and simple, with the lemon, thyme and garlic quick marinade, above. Paul

I love sage as well. Some things I use it in are: oven-dried tomato and three-cheese raviolis, in a sage-brown butter; with braised rabbit and cippolines, infusing the jus near the end with sage and more aromatics; and most especially with pork roast - a blade end pork roast, brined for several days with aromatics, spices, thyme, sage. The day I roast, I split the meat into chops, leaving them intact at the back (chine/rib); pack between the chops with garlic, thyme, sage, black pepper and rosemary; tie tightly together and roast to 130, then butter baste for 10 minutes or so; split into chops, using reserved herbs with butter and finish pan roasting to sear the "interior" side of the meat, to bring it all to 145-150. Tent and eat. Paul

Dumpling, the restaurant will be located in Marquette, Michigan, in the heart of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Our first love for many years and looking forward to the venture. Paul