To load or not load

Ryan passed along a flow chart today that he got off the Canadian Pork Council's web site. It was astonishing to see that there is a need to have a flow chart made for people that operate farm equipment, and potentially a PC that explains whether an animal is to sick to send to slaughter, detailing if it can't walk by its own means it should not be loaded. Makes you think what we might be eating. I like to think that animals raised for their meat deserve to be treated as more than just a commodity.
This is a photo of all our cured meats. We have prosciutto braseolas, lardo and cured duck magret. We’ll have more in a few more weeks.

Happy Valentine's Day

Hello, a long day today. I walked from Lansdowne to Bathurst before a streetcar passed me. It was a brisk walk and my beard froze rock solid so I couldn't smile without a tug of pain. I took down 2 hips of beef, 1 chuck, 1 cross cut and some other stuff. It was my first high-speed tenderloin removal. Needless to say my blade is dull again, like I ran it across the curb all afternoon. I have fond memories of filing Popsicle Pete sticks like that on the curb. You can get those sticks sharp as shives like that.

The order came in today as well. Trevor the driver always has a little thing he does just before you lift something. For example, there was a gigantic chuck well over 170lbs, he says 'here is a little guy for ya' then he waits till you get your back into it before he says anything. It was my turn for a hip and he says 'that one belonged to that chuck' and then laughs as my spine compresses.

Max seems to be über sensitive lately since Rip's death. He’s ready to cry at the simplest things. I feel for him. We have talked about how we miss her and that things are different around the house now. It’s hard to lose a pet, no matter what age.

For my baby

Happy Valentine's Day. It's sort of a heart-shaped steak. Enjoy!

I love you,
Karin

No more fluffn' I promise

I got my knife sharp as a razor today and made a tonne of sausage. Took down the bregeolas that were hanging in the original posts and sampled it. Very nice. It was a cold walk home and we are expecting 20 cm of snow tonight. Tomorrow we'll smoke kielbasas and poach boudin blanc.

The kids are making Valentines Day cards and are being very cute. This will be my first Vday that I'll be home since I can't remember. When Karin was pregnant with Sloane her due-date was the 14th of February. I was worried because I would not be able to share a birthday with her. New Year's Eve, Valentine's, and Mothers Day are the busiest days in restaurants.

I don't foresee a big rush on for steaks tomorrow, although it is a perfect treat for me.

Karin and I went to see Pan's Labyrinth. We both enjoyed it. I think I liked the walk up Queen St. better, its different than at a three-year-old's pace. Sloane is going to be four this week and she says she looks and feels like 4, that is a good thing.

Today I prepped Brageolas and hung some from a couple weeks ago. These were rubbed in a cure for a week, kryovaced and then re-rubbed for another week. After that they will hang for three more weeks. Ryan was working on summer sausage and kielbasa when an interesting question came up about the term 'emulsification'. It was brought up that in order to make an emulsion you needed an acid i.e. lemon in mayonnaise or vinegar in a salad dressing. I argued that an emulsion is purely the suspension of material within a semi-liquid state and that the acid is there solely for culinary purposes. For example, margarine is an emulsion of some weird stuff - oil and water and -oh yes- yellow. I think I'm right about this.

Here are some pictures of what has caught my eye this week.

Elk

What is amazing about Game meat is that it breaks down so easily.

The fat and membrane that connects the muscles is weak and you can easily separate them. I've worked with a lot of Caribou and red dear this was my first elk. Talked to an organic duck farmer this week about the feed and conditions for the ducks. It's all very interesting. I love eating meat. I do believe that it tastes better when the animal lives well. Happy animals living in conditions that they were intended to live in, eating food that they intended to eat (not corn). Produce better quality ingredients. For me as a chef I can handle not having a perfectly marbled steak if the flavour is there.

Other qualities arise when talking about meat such as toughness. A happy animal is not tormented finishing its life on a feedlot, crammed shoulder to shoulder to others knee deep in fecal. I believe that industrial (conventional) farming practices encourage the use of antibiotics /corn feed and god-knows-what-else-in-the-feed feed, in order to counter the stresses that feed lots produce on the cattle. Forgoing flavour. It’s a basic disassociation of cattle to meat that seems to be at the core of our problems.

Holy Crap, I'm Six

Lets keep those clickies clicking we can roll to number 5 with your help!!!!! click here

This is the head cheese in the display case.









We are in our Steve Zissou hats feeling like pirates.










DDay making light of our delivery.










Malloy posing in the back alley.











Sent off some e-mails today, both should provide some fruit. Got a chance to try Rocco's cassoulet last night, it was awesome. Saw my friend Jong at Gate 403, missed J it was getting late. Karin and I have a date Saturday sans the kids should be good.