Alyssa (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} a_gypsy_soul) wrote,@ 2007-01-16 18:14:00 |
|
True Stories From the Culinary Underbelly (of pork?)
In my life, the slime of Atlantic Salmon has been replaced by the blood of cattle, swine and lamb. That could be a metaphor for life. Maybe. But it was a long day and I'm not feeling particularly pensive, so I'll leave that philosophical undertaking for another time. The meat room is a whole other world, starkly different from the incredible chill of Fish. In the warmer confines of animal butchery, not only have our noses and fingers thawed, but so have the personalities. Located deep in the bowels (offals?) of the Culinary Institute of America, Group 140 is having a little fun as we denude tenderloins and slice cutlets. And Chef Schneller banters with us and cracks the off joke or two.
I love meat class. Yesterday, an entire pig came in. 210 lbs. of bacon-y goodness (sold for a mere $1.45 per pound). As I coveted the creamy fat of the pork belly, I realized how few people have ever set sight upon an entire hog. Back in the days of Chad, in the bigger cities like Kelo, we could head over to the Christian side of town and see a number of big ol' couchons ready to delight our gustatory sensations. You could just point to the pig carcass and ask for anything that caught your eye. The "butcher", with his trusty dull knife, would then cut you up some pork, wrap it in paper, if you were lucky and stick it in some leydas...if he had some lying around. You knew the goat you were ordering was fresh because it's head was still lying on the ground. And throwing away the fat? Are you kidding? You were crazy if you DIDN'T eat that good stuff, grilled over a hot fire. I'm proving quite good at the whole breaking down meat thing. I can't say I've ever boned out a shank, loin or rib rack. But I can't say I've never done that either. I can't really tell you what I've cut fat away from, peeled silver skin off of or deboned because at the crazy meat markets the cuts never really made much sense to begin with. I've had a lot of practice. And if you can learn to do anything with dull knives and Chinese import scissors, with sharp knives you can do anything. It's like learning to drive in Dallas. Once you do that, you can drive anywhere.
Meat is good, friends. Meat is good.
In my life, the slime of Atlantic Salmon has been replaced by the blood of cattle, swine and lamb. That could be a metaphor for life. Maybe. But it was a long day and I'm not feeling particularly pensive, so I'll leave that philosophical undertaking for another time. The meat room is a whole other world, starkly different from the incredible chill of Fish. In the warmer confines of animal butchery, not only have our noses and fingers thawed, but so have the personalities. Located deep in the bowels (offals?) of the Culinary Institute of America, Group 140 is having a little fun as we denude tenderloins and slice cutlets. And Chef Schneller banters with us and cracks the off joke or two.
I love meat class. Yesterday, an entire pig came in. 210 lbs. of bacon-y goodness (sold for a mere $1.45 per pound). As I coveted the creamy fat of the pork belly, I realized how few people have ever set sight upon an entire hog. Back in the days of Chad, in the bigger cities like Kelo, we could head over to the Christian side of town and see a number of big ol' couchons ready to delight our gustatory sensations. You could just point to the pig carcass and ask for anything that caught your eye. The "butcher", with his trusty dull knife, would then cut you up some pork, wrap it in paper, if you were lucky and stick it in some leydas...if he had some lying around. You knew the goat you were ordering was fresh because it's head was still lying on the ground. And throwing away the fat? Are you kidding? You were crazy if you DIDN'T eat that good stuff, grilled over a hot fire. I'm proving quite good at the whole breaking down meat thing. I can't say I've ever boned out a shank, loin or rib rack. But I can't say I've never done that either. I can't really tell you what I've cut fat away from, peeled silver skin off of or deboned because at the crazy meat markets the cuts never really made much sense to begin with. I've had a lot of practice. And if you can learn to do anything with dull knives and Chinese import scissors, with sharp knives you can do anything. It's like learning to drive in Dallas. Once you do that, you can drive anywhere.
Meat is good, friends. Meat is good.
