I want to bake meat inside of clay

[Tri2Cook]

Ok, I was a bit flippant with my reply. The point I'm trying to make is that there is foodsafe and edible clay available. It's used by a top level chef in a 2 michelin star restaurant that was number 4 on last years world top 50 list and diners are specifically instructed to eat the clay in the dish. The clay is baked, not served raw. It just doesn't really sound like a worthwhile risk for a business at that level if there was any serious chance of danger to the diner involved. I didn't mean to undermine people's concern, I just wanted to try to keep the facts in a row.

[Lisa Shock]

A fairly fancy restaurant here in Phoenix had several meats baked in clay on their menu. Unfortunately, they recently closed. If I run into anyone who worked there, I will ask them about their sourcing of the clay, and any other details I can get.

[Reignking]

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=96021&st=30

Some posts here have talked the stone potatoes, too...

[gfron1]

A fairly fancy restaurant here in Phoenix had several meats baked in clay on their menu. Unfortunately, they recently closed. If I run into anyone who worked there, I will ask them about their sourcing of the clay, and any other details I can get.

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Maybe their guests were feeling weighed down. Or maybe the business plan was left in shards...okay, I'm done.

Thanks for the link to that demo I forgot about that one.

We're really talking about two beasts here. First, is the earthen vessel in which food is cooked. Clay is not intended to be consumed in this instance although I am hoping for some of the flavor to infuse...someone earlier asked why...to counteract the richness of some game that I might serve in it.

The second is the kao which is perfectly safe to consume. The question for me here is what value is it going to provide? Its cool but if its not going to improve the taste or texture then why? And I'm perplexed by the quote in the demo by docsconz that said the clay is consumed but not digested...where does it go? John if you're reading this, do you remember what that meant?

Edited June 24, 2009 by gfron1 (log)

[Kerry Beal]

And I'm perplexed by the quote in the demo by docsconz that said the clay is consumed but not digested...where does it go?  John if you're reading this, do you remember what that meant?

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Where all things that aren't digested go! Picture corn kernels.

[gfron1]

Thank you Dr. Beal - we'll forgo the diagram on this one.

[Abra]

I'll be the one to ask: why would you want your food to taste like dirt???

[gfron1]

While there may be a geologist who will argue that clay and dirt are the same, to me they aren't. I'm looking at a very rich cut of game meat that I think will work very nicely with the subtle flavor of clay.

Edited to add a more complete answer. I like to play with flavors. Sometimes odd, sometimes not odd but not obvious either (my whole celery dessert phase). I've had many failures and many many surprise successes. I think flavor pairings and uses is a strength of mine. When I originally was thinking about this dish, my first thought was, "this is going to be too strong for some people." Challenge. But, this dish is also important in my overall menu and I'm not willing to throw it out so easily - I think I can make it work well.

Why would people want to infuse tobacco flavor? Why saffron? Why cilantro? Why take things to near burnt? Why... and the list can go on. For me, I'm not thinking about the black and white of clay/no clay. I'm thinking about a subtle shade/taste of clay which, yes, has appeal to me, especially with something that is meaty rich, and especially if I accent it with something maybe sharp or citrusy- acidy. Flavors are like colors on a painting to me - you need contrast, rhythm, texture, complements...is this just gastronomic spewing? I don't know, but its how my mind works when I think about developing dishes. Does that answer the question? Or does anyone care anymore

Edited June 25, 2009 by gfron1 (log)

[Tri2Cook]

Where all things that aren't digested go!  Picture corn kernels.

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And that is part of why Kerry is one of the coolest people I've never met!

Rob: Through following your blog and discussions here I feel like I know a lot about your food philosophy and that's the reason I keep arguing my case in this thread. You want people to enjoy what you do but don't necessarily worry about whether or not they're completely comfy with it. You don't mind if they say "What the f#@k?" at the description as long as they smile after eating it. Flavor experimentation is one of my favorite things. I rarely get the opportunity to make use of it in my daily work but I get excited talking about it and look forward to seeing where you take this one.

Edited June 25, 2009 by Tri2Cook (log)

[Kayakado]

Kaolin is the white clay used for making porcelain. The darker the clay the more impurities it contains. The kaolin used in Kaopectate and lipstick etc has been pretty well sanitized, much more so than what is availabel to potters. Clays have lots of impurities, like sulphur (yuck). As the clay dries in the kin heat these impurities are burned off. I don't think temps under 500° will do much to burn off this stuff we call chemical water. I've been away from the clay studio for too long to bring much detail to this, but I'd stick with packing food in salt or other food items that you are sure are not as contaminated as clay. If I was still bent on trying it, I would not source the kaolin from my local potter friend - you need to get it from the chemical suppliers who supply the pharmaceutical manufacturers and get food safe products, even if you plan on wrapping it in an inner liner like leaves.

Edited June 25, 2009 by Kayakado (log)

[Tri2Cook]

Yes, kaolin and bentonite are available in food and cosmetic grades. The suppliers can and will tell you which they carry. If they can't or won't, shop elsewhere.