As food awareness has evolved in this country, what was once old has become new again. Butchery, charcuterie and use of lesser-known cuts of meat are on the upswing, thanks to educated chefs and home cooks who understand that using every part of an animal prevents waste and helps a farmer’s bottom line.
But while home cooks may be proficient in preparing standard cuts of meat, they may be at a loss with less familiar ones. What’s to be done with flap meat or flank steak, for instance?
THE EXTRAORDINARY MEAT DINNER
Chefs Ed Kenney and Dave Caldiero prepare a menu inspired by recipes of Bruce Aidells and Ryan Farr of 4505 Meats:
>> Where: town restaurant, 3435 Wai?alae Ave.
>> When: Saturday; seatings at 5:30, 6:30, 7:30, 8:30 p.m.
>> Tickets: $165; includes a signed copy of “The Great Meat Cookbook,” by Bruce Aidells
>> Reservations: 941-9088 or visit goo.gl/rjwvI
|
If you’ve got questions on that front, listen to Bruce Aidells, the man made famous by the sausages that bear his name. Aidells shares his expertise in "The Great Meat Cookbook: Everything You Need to Know to Buy and Cook Today’s Meat" ($40, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), published in October.
Aidells is in Hawaii this week with San Francisco chef Ryan Farr to teach Hawaii Culinary Education Foundation classes for culinary students. The men will also headline "The Extraordinary Meat Dinner," a benefit for the foundation Saturday at town restaurant, featuring a menu based on their recipes.
Aidells’ book is a revamp of "The Complete Meat Cookbook" from 1998, which dealt with popular cuts of commodity meat, or meat from animals raised en mass in feedlots.
The new book profiles today’s much-changed meat scene, which offers options to commodity meat: naturally raised (no additional hormones or antibiotics), grass-fed and organic beef; heirloom (old breeds, such as Berkshire), pasture-raised and organic pork; as well as lamb, goat and veal. Aidells discusses lesser-known, less expensive cuts and the best methods to prepare them with more than 100 recipes.
Flap meat and flank steak, he says, are tougher cuts that do well marinated. Offering a strong recipe lineup for these cuts required looking beyond Western-style preparations.
"It meant going to other parts of the world. There’s a strong influence of South America and Asia in the beef and pork recipes, and of the Middle East and India for the lamb and goat recipes," he said.
The operative word for the cookbook is "user-friendly."
Aidells categorizes recipes according to whether a dish is good for parties, if it’s a quick and easy preparation or fits any number of other criteria. Categories are listed with recipes, and a category index is also provided. Each recipe also comes with a list of alternative cuts to use.
ADVICE FROM BRUCE AIDElLS
KEY WAYS TO FLAVOR MEATS >> Brining: Soaking meat in a solution of salt and a little bit of sweetener not only mildly flavors the meat, but changes the muscle protein. The tough texture of a lean meat, for instance, can be improved. Popular turkey brines take many hours to execute, but brining pork requires just two to four hours.
>> Marinades: Meat is soaked in spices and various liquids to add flavor, assist with absorbing moisture and tenderize.
>> Rubs: A mix of salt, pepper and dry spices is rubbed over the meat. Flavors are absorbed.
>> Pastes: Rubs that include liquid (olive oil, mustard or fruit juice, etc.) are wetter and form a crust when cooked. Tandoori, a combination of yogurt and spices, is a classic paste.
RESTING MEAT
It’s good to get in the habit of allowing meat to rest after cooking. Meat cooks from the outside in, so it takes time for internal temperatures to equalize. The larger a piece of meat, the longer it should rest. Aidells’ recipes include directions for resting times.
HOMEMADE LARD
Unlike its commercial counterparts, homemade lard does not contain hydrogenated fats. In fact, it contains less saturated fat and more unsaturated fat than butter. Making lard calls for cooking pork fat on very low heat over the course of hours. Aidells’ recipe takes 4 to 6 hours. Source fat from a butcher.
|
"My editor wanted me to give my point of view. He wanted me to be opinionated," said Aidells. "So I’m not pooh-poohing others who might prefer a different cut or don’t have access to a certain type of meat. I provide alternatives."
Aidells also covers flavoring techniques with brine, marinade, rub and paste recipes that illustrate how diverse flavors can be. "That’s what my forte is. I’m a sausage maker. I understand what flavors go together," he said.
As for charcuterie, Aidells explains that the practice has gone from necessity to art.
"Before refrigeration most societies slaughtered animals during a certain time of the year, usually the cold months, and they needed to preserve the meat. Preservation was based on adding salt to make such things as sausage, salami or ham," he said. "Pork was most popular in the preservation tradition. Beef was not as popular across the globe because it’s expensive to raise.
"Now sausage is made more for enjoyment than preservation. The art part of it is that it allows an individual to combine flavors to produce a good result."
Aidells said he’s filled sausage casings with more than just meat. He mixed sundried tomatoes and other ingredients to make "an instant pasta sauce in a casing." An Asian sausage took on Chinese flavors when he incorporated fermented black beans and shiitake mushrooms with poultry.
Though sausage-making can be intimidating, Aidells demystifies the process, explaining that a food processor or a stand mixer with a meat grinder attachment is all a home cook really needs.
Aidells developed his skill as a sausage maker while working toward a career in medicine. It was a means of funding his education. "I hadn’t planned to be a chef. I studied endocrinology and did medical research for five years."
Aidells was doing postdoctoral work in London "when I was exposed to the British banger," inspiring his interest in sausages. He discovered Louisiana cuisine during a stint in New Orleans, which led him to produce an andouille sausage.
"I made andouille in Berkeley, not knowing that the Cajun craze was coming, and in 1983 I was in the right place at the right time. There was a ready market for andouille. Most chefs wanted access to it, and I was the only supplier. The side benefit was that my future wife was one of my first customers.
"Andouille has a lot to do with how my life turned out."
———
CHINESE-STYLE BRAISED OXTAILS WITH BABY BOK CHOY
“The Great Meat Cookbook,” by Bruce Aidells
4 pounds oxtails, most external fat trimmed
2 cups homemade beef stock, canned low-sodium chicken broth or water
2 whole star anise
6 1/4-inch rounds fresh ginger
2 cups sliced onions
8 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon Chinese ground bean paste (sold in jars in Asian aisle of supermarkets)
12 baby bok choy, washed
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions (white and light green parts)
Arrange oxtails in a large Dutch oven. Add stock, star anise, ginger, onions, garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar and bean paste, making sure the oxtails are covered in liquid; if necessary, add water to cover. Bring to boil; reduce to simmer and cook, partially covered, for 3 hours or until meat is almost falling off bone. If not tender, continue to cook, checking every 30 minutes. Oxtails are best if cooled and refrigerated in their liquid for up to 3 days so surface fat congeals and meat develops a rich, savory flavor.
When ready to serve, remove congealed fat and bring oxtails to a simmer. Heat 10 minutes. If sauce is thin, remove the oxtails and boil sauce to reduce until it becomes flavorful. Don’t overreduce or sauce will become too salty. Discard star anise and ginger. Return oxtails to pot and rewarm while cooking bok choy.
Bring pot of salted water to a boil. Add bok choy and cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until tender. Drain.
To serve, place 2 bok choy in each of six shallow soup bowls. Ladle oxtails and sauce into bowls and sprinkle generously with scallions. Serves 6.
Alternative cuts: Beef or bison shanks
Notes: For bok choy substitute snow peas, sugar snap peas, won bok cut into 6 wedges, mustard cabbage, Chinese or regular broccoli, shiitake mushrooms. Snow peas and sugar snap peas need only 1 to 2 minutes of cooking, while broccoli will need 5 to 6 minutes.
Leftovers: Turn into chow mein. Remove meat from bones and cut into chunks or shred. Cook noodles until just tender. Toss noodles with meat, some scallions and slivers of yellow onion in a little oil in wok or large skillet. Moisten noodles with just enough braising sauce to create a light sauce; heat through. Garnish with thinly sliced scallions.
Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 600 calories, 30 g fat, 13 g saturated fat, 225 mg cholesterol, 1800 mg sodium, 14 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 10 g sugar, 67 g protein
———
Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.
