GastroKitchen

Cooking with Pig Blood.

I was talking with a friend the other day about menu development and ingredients, cheeses and different curing techniques.  I don’t know a lot of people who I can have really good food discussions with, so I love my talks with Jason.  He is a very creative Chef in Austin who works with local farmers and does everything he can in-house.  In one of our talks more than a year ago I told him that I found the best Bacon in the country--Benton’s Bacon,  I gave him some and asked his opinion on the product, and in turn he told me he liked it. We talked about the flavor and I asked him what kind of bacon he uses.  He said I make my own.  If you can do it yourself, you do. 
 
In my operation making my own bacon does not make sense.  So fortunately Benton’s is for me.  In our talk he said he found a pig blood source and he was making sausage and other things, which made me think that of the times I have used pig blood.  I have not used it to make sausage before and it is on my things to do list.  I have used it mainly in braises and in thickening sauces.  Our conversation about pig blood took place the time I was writing the French Dinner menu. 
 
We did this dish Pork Civet.  Civet means thickening the sauce with blood.  It is an old French recipe where you cut up pork shoulder and marinate it in red wine and mirepoix for one week mixing it every day.  You braise the pork in the same wine you marinate it in and thicken the sauce with the blood after the pork is cooked.  I used pork cheeks for this menu thinking better flavor.  However, finding the blood was not as easy as I expected it to be.  My meat providers were of no help,  so I called up one of my cooks on his day off and asked him to go to the Dekalb Farmers Market and pick some up.  He sent me a text three hours later with a PC of the blood that said: “Do you love it?” I responded back "I love it."  the thickening of the sauce happens when the blood coagulates, so you need to temper it in.

 

Band Saw

The first near death experience of 2010.  Not really death maybe just hurt really bad.  I was cutting a piece of Dry Age Rib Eye and the blade on the saw snapped in two whipping right by my head, literaly missing me by 5 inches.  For the rest of the night I was thinking of how close that was.  We have so many tools in the Kitchen and accidents happen so fast,  it just put everything in perspective for me in about .025 sec. Dont get me wrong I love the band saw, we use it for so many things the new blade cuts better then butter. The last blade was just old I am going to get the blade you changed every year or sooner if needed, don't wait for it to tell you to change it.   For Tracee True Story and Happy Birthday.

Tobacco Braised Bison Shot Rib.

This was new to me using a good cigar in the braising of the bison.  It was really peppery but good, the bison was really lean think I will put some bacon in the next batch. some of the people wanted some more souse I think that it might be from the tobacco.  It heart a little to kill a good cigar.

Not Great?

First off

Take your time.

Follow the Recipe.

Make it nice or make it twice.

A lot of eggs.

How many cindes of eggs are thear now?
This is how my dairy cooler looks right now. 

I didn't even try to get any thing in thats all the difrent eggs.
We have our Pastured Local brown eggs, The White eggs from the bad chicken farm, Pasturized egg yolks, Egg whites with Gwar Gum, Egg Beaters, Easy eggs witch is mixed eggs with citric asid.  Makes me think of how it was 100 years ago, this is jest not right. 

WASTE

Is this really Big Box necessary for 2oz. of Caviar?  

Improvisation

We use improvisation all the time in the Kitchen. This was one of thous times.

One will shout the turkey throw the hollowed out bottom then tie it off.  We then Brie it for 12 hr. Then put them under presser. Cook to 160F. The Turkey is used for club sandwiches. We use to buy the expensive stuff but thought about all the money we save, and we do it our self’s witch is better anyway.

Multiple Use Items.

 

Corn Starch.

Am I Wrong.

I am making a new category thinking about Times that I don't think I am Wrong.  I might be wrong, I am wrong a lot off the time.  I often think I have some strange Larry David moments that might be funny to read.

I am in a pretty good place with a friend for lunch.  Not to many tables are in, so slow day, I see there is a Kobe Burger on the menu, with Apple wood smoked bacon and cheese, like blue cheese and a side like house made shoe string potatoes. Most of the food on the menu was in the thirteen to twenty ranges, apps from eight to thirteen.  The burger was Ten Bucks, OK I think wow I will be heir for lunch all the time. Then the disbelief set in, maybe it is not Kobe (It can't be for ten Bucks).  Had a good rapport with the waitress so I asked is the burger really Kobe beef.  She said yes, that’s when the moment happened. Could I see an invoice?  Its a great burger I jest can't see how you make money on it.  She said let me go check, thirty seconds later I hear from the back of the house in a loud Yell ( ITS NOT KOBE BEEF ITS WAGYU )  I don’t Know if the waitress new about the dinning room hiring the yelling from the Kitchen but she did bring me a ripped side of a box with a sticker saying wagyu beef burger patties. It was really good though and I did go back a few more times before they closed.