Secrets of the Butcher

[rotuts]

Secrets of the Butcher      by    Arthur Le Caisne

 

 

Secrets of the Butcher: How to Select, Cut, Prepare, and Cook Every Type of Meat

 

I think I noticed this book in a review in FineCooking.   I have it from the library.  I have a small number of " Butcher" books myself

 

including the Granddaddy of them all : Cutting Up in the Kitchen: The Butcher's Guide to Saving Money on Meat & Poultry well worth it used.

 

SotB is an outstanding book.  Ill offer some snaps for review purposes only.  They may be hard to read , as the light in the Kitchen is not the best

 

there are drawings in the book , no pictures.  but very nice drawings.  each animal type is covered , including game and offal.  Ill concentrate on Beef. but what you

 

see is similar for other animals.

 

 

several interesting pages on breeds.

 

 

 

feed and cuts

 

 

and what breed might do for your standing rib roast

 

 a huge amount of very interesting stuff , such as above

 

 

pepper types , and a similar exposition on salt  ( not pictured )

 

each cooking type and style is covered in detail.   I became a bit concerned that SV might not have been included , but 

 

 

near the end there are some Rx's.   almost all of them ' Classics '  Beef stew , Standing Rib Roast , Beef Bourguignon ( recommending Burgandy Wine ! )  and one of my absolute favorites :

 

Blanquette of Veal.   I used to make this using Julia Child's  Rx in Mastering the Art often..  This dish seems a bit old fashioned these days ...  there are some interesting 

 

" up-dates ' to the Rx in this book.

 

 Veal is out of favor in my area, and I learned some interesting things about today's veal from this book.  Ill use that info when I try to find some veal for BoV

 

 

 

I liked this book a lot , and have learned a lot so far.  the breed info is frustrating  as Im not going to find any of them @ Stop & Shop

 

but it did remind me of the Belted Galloway breed.  And there is a Family Farm with many of them near by.  most of the meat goes to high-end restaurants

 

but they recently opened a FarmStand  w some of their beef Fz.    Ill be taking a closer look at their offerings to be sure

 

this book is so outstanding  I ordered a personal copy for myself from Amazon.  and I do my very best not to buy books these days.

 

well worth it I feel

 

[rotuts]

I closely read the section on veal.

 

apparently , these days , in my area

 

veal is " battery farm calf "

 

its a calf fed powdered milk , water , and grains.

 

not its mothers milk

 

the author's view of this :

 

"  The meat has a lot of fat, dries out very rapidly during cooking, and has lost much of its tenderness. it barely had any flavor.  Badically

 

your should forget it exists '

 

I believe it

 

no B of V for me.

 

[gfweb]

at its best, veal is pretty bland

a carrier for sauce

[rotuts]

@gfweb

 

once you get the book from your Library

 

or sooooo much better 

 

buy it

 

you will understand V here is not V there

 

Ive had in in FR  in the ' 50's  and the ' 60s and the low '80's

 

and made it for many years here from '80's to '90's ++

 

from the Old North End

 

in BOS  before they took down the elevated expressway\

 

I do think that back then, in the butchers in the N.End

 

I had to discuss what I wanted to to with the veal 

 

before thy sold it to me

 

true story

 

I sued to make cannelloni al forgo many times

 

had to tell that them first

 

they they got the veal from the back 

 

trimmed it nicely for me

 

done.

 

Im betting its very hard to fine BofV  in France these days

 

aside of burning cars

 

it an old dish  

 

etc etc.

 

but with real deal veal

 

which you can read about in this book

 

and not get yourself 

 

see : nothing for nothing

 

it an astounding dish.

 

get the book

 

to be fair

 

scrapple was not mentioned

 

mor for me

 

there are two delicious pages on

 

Blood Sausage

 

 

!

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My library does not have it but amazon did.  And so should I in two days.

 

[gfweb]

bought, @rotuts

[rotuts]

@gfweb

 

you will not regret it

 

in the long run\\

 

the shorter run  ....

 

any 

 

 

your way ?

 

just saying.

 

Edited December 3, 2018 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

now its been a while since I motored over to

 

Intercourse 

 

and Blue Balls

 

but

 

maybe the Amish have a few to these ?

 

 

possible

 

unlikely

 

and with respect for review purposes only :

 

 

 

but no Veal my way

 

[gfweb]

There is some Galloway and Charolais around here. But most is Holstein

[rotuts]

talk to the farmers

 

gobble them Up

 

id say

[IowaDee]

Have a farmer near here that raises Galloways.  Locals just call them Oreos.  We raised Charolais years ago.  I am convinced they are the breed behind the Cow jumped over the moon rhyme.   They can clear a six foot gate from a standing start.  And they actually glow in moonlight. .eerie beasts.  Angus are the breed of choice in this area now.  As far as the milking breeds Holsteins rule the milking parlor.  The bulls have among the worst reputations of any breed  among locals.  Many of the Amish farmers are getting out of the dairy cattle business and buying dairy goats.  The demand for milk has really gone up.  Part of this is due to the popularity of goat cheese and goat milk yogurt.  And the expenses of raising goats vs cattle  is a lot.  Sorry I tend to wander off subject in the blink of an eye.

'Rereading this, it sounds like I meant it is more expensive to raise goats than cattle.  Nope, just the opposite.

Edited December 4, 2018 by IowaDee (log)

[rotuts]

@IowaDee

 

not wandering at all.

 

a lot of the book is about breeds

 

and how they taste

 

 

[rotuts]

for review purposes  here are more cows

 

get the book for all the other tasty animals .   I have !

 

 

 

 

 

OK enough review !

 

get your library to get the book !

Edited December 3, 2018 by rotuts (log)

[kayb]

1 hour ago, IowaDee said:

Have a farmer near here that raises Galloways.  Locals just call them Oreos.  We raised Charolais years ago.  I am convinced they are the breed behind the Cow jumped over the moon rhyme.   They can clear a six foot gate from a standing start.  And they actually glow in moonlight. .eerie beasts.  Angus are the breed of choice in this area now.  As far as the milking breeds Holsteins rule the milking parlor.  The bulls have among the worst reputations of any breed  among locals.  Many of the Amish farmers are getting out of the dairy cattle business and buying dairy goats.  The demand for milk has really gone up.  Part of this is due to the popularity of goat cheese and goat milk yogurt.  And the expenses of raising goats vs cattle  is a lot.  Sorry I tend to wander off subject in the blink of an eye.

 

When I was a kid, we raised Herefords. They tended to dress out less than Angus of a comparable age (we generally killed steers as yearlings), but we thought the taste superior to Angus. And then we crossed Hereford and shorthorns and got some good beef, too.

 

I had  boss who, in a previous life, had been a west  Texas cattle rancher. They raised a Charolais-longhorn cross. He swore by them. I think he just liked to show off how well he could rope.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Anyone else noticed Jeff raised the price $5.34 since @rotuts posted -- or at least since I purchased my copy this afternoon?

 

[rotuts]

wow.  I got it for 18

 

maybe JB has a Bot following eG ?

 

when something is mentioned , the price goes up !

[Smithy]

@rotuts, in the pork section do they discuss picnic hams? This does look like a wonderful book. I'll have to see if I can get our library to buy it.

[gfweb]

20 minutes ago, rotuts said:

wow.  I got it for 18

 

 

me too

[rotuts]

@Smithy

 

they talk about 12 breeds of pigs

 

then this :

 

 

also

 

 

they also have several pages on cured hams of the world . 13 types  2 pages on bacon types , two pages on lard !

 

they failed to mention any cured hams from the USA, so the book is not perfect after all

 

after studying the book , you might eat less meat , but much better meat for a given budget.

 

I have a visit to the Galloway's on my to do list , and have given up on veal for Blanquette du Veau .

 

win some, loose some.

Edited December 4, 2018 by rotuts (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Now that I have my copy of Secrets of the Butcher and two pounds of expensively boneless chuck short ribs from Whole Foods Prime Now I am no less clueless.

 

I plan to braise the chuck short ribs and I am sure they will be delicious but I was hoping for enlightenment.  I already knew chuck is from the chuck primal.  I also picked up some pretty prime Angus strip steaks on sale from Shoprite.  Ironically the Angus prime strip steaks were much less per pound than the Whole Foods chuck.  I'm surprised amazon hasn't sued the USDA for trademark infringement over Prime.

 

[SLB]

So, I asked Santa for this book, and Santa came through! 

 

It is very interesting, and I like le Caisne's sense of humor.  There is some stuff I'd never heard of before, like the concept of resting the meat before you finish cooking it.  And I've enjoyed learning about the different breeds of beef and pork and whatnot. 

 

But there was a moment in the game section that threw me, the section at p. 97 on the Song Thrush.  He notes: 

 

"This is without a doubt the best type of thrush, but like the others, it's illegal to sell it.  The only way to eat it is to hunt it or have a hunter friend.  You don't eviscerate the thrush.  Only the gizzard, crop, and eyes are removed.  The intestines melt during cooking and give the meat a unique flavor". 

 

Although I pride myself on having no unexamined squeamish, I  admit that I had to put the book down and nearly take to the bed. 

 

Is "melt" a, uh, hunter's term? 

 

Or did I read that right, you eat the [presumably full] intestines???

 

 

[kayb]

Ick. Pass.

 

[rotuts]

never had them in FR

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1562561/Frances-songbird-delicacy-is-outlawed.html

 

you have to cloak your head 

 

google

 

ortolan bird dish

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7fLsPWSZ7U

 

 

" keeping the aromas from escaping "

 

BTW in FR

 

the ' Napkins " are much larger and go way down to the table 

 

bon Appetite ?

Edited January 5, 2019 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

BTW

 

at Amazon  its back down to $18.26 or so.

 

snap up a few !

[JoNorvelleWalker]

4 hours ago, SLB said:

So, I asked Santa for this book, and Santa came through! 

 

It is very interesting, and I like le Caisne's sense of humor.  There is some stuff I'd never heard of before, like the concept of resting the meat before you finish cooking it.  And I've enjoyed learning about the different breeds of beef and pork and whatnot. 

 

But there was a moment in the game section that threw me, the section at p. 97 on the Song Thrush.  He notes: 

 

"This is without a doubt the best type of thrush, but like the others, it's illegal to sell it.  The only way to eat it is to hunt it or have a hunter friend.  You don't eviscerate the thrush.  Only the gizzard, crop, and eyes are removed.  The intestines melt during cooking and give the meat a unique flavor". 

 

Although I pride myself on having no unexamined squeamish, I  admit that I had to put the book down and nearly take to the bed. 

 

Is "melt" a, uh, hunter's term? 

 

Or did I read that right, you eat the [presumably full] intestines???

 

 

 

I managed to miss that bit...thanks @SLB for sharing.  Four and twenty blackbirds baked into a pie and all of that.  I confess I thought thrush was a disease.

 

Now that I think of it I wonder how those Moroccan pigeons @BonVivant has been enjoying are prepared?