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I'll do it.

Bragging rights! Who else is in?

We'll probably be posting a round up of photos and comments on Tuesday or Wednesday. We just figured that the weekend was the best time to do some serious cooking. Can't wait to hear about your lamb shoulder chops!

I live in a heavily Dominican and Trini neighborhood, and my neighborhood supermarket is stocked with all kinds of ultra-cheap meats : whole cow tongues, chicken hearts and feet, goat, oxtail, tripe, pigs feet, and, I kid you not, barf sirloin, though I can't imagine how beef became barf.

My favorite – I can buy lard by the pound.

Anyway, I would love to start cooking with these ingredients, but to be honest, I'm intimidated. I need suggestions, people! What should I do with this stuff?

I'm in but when I read this I assumed we were talking about Beef Tongue or something like that!!! I'm not sure what cut to get...I grilled an eye roast last Sunday and have another in the freezer but don't want to do that again so soon. Some of these cuts I've never heard of (deckle??)

Maybe I'll cook lamb. I never buy lamb. I don't know why. I've always left that to mom.

Damn! I just grilled up some beautiful lamb shoulder chops last night, and didn't think to blog about it. They were fantastic, too!!

Most of these cuts I prepare often so it doesn't seem like an honest challenge. I do have an older blog post on Chili con Carne using 7-bone chuck or tri-tip and Rancho Gordo Pinquitos (so good!), but the photos aren't great.

Hmmm...
I have been wanting to tackle the deckle.
Although, I had never heard it called deckle before.
I really like saying deckle.
What a great word, deckle.
I wonder what the butcher charges for a deckle?
Mmmm... Deckle.

Thanks for the fun challenge, Caroline. I look forward to diving in, and to seeing the results everyone has to offer up.

Cheers,

~ Paula

@lamora, i was thinking the same thing! But really, outside of California it is an off cut- I'd never heard of it until I moved out here. It's only a matter of time before the rest of the country figures it out though.. tri-tip is way too good to keep a secret.

I guess I'm just baffled by our collective willful ignorance about meat cuts, especially from a name-game perspective which is kind of what that article was getting at: Flanken = shortribs. 7 Bone = the pot roast we all remember from childhood. I'll also echo other comments from fellow Californians "Tri-tip is an off brand cut?"

Anyway, my favorite non-standard cuts for the Summer are going to be:

Lamb sirloin chops (better flavor than even shoulder chops) and lamb breast (instead of pork spare ribs)

Pork shoulder chops (almost as tender, more flavor, cheap)

Beef pin bone steak (a bone-in sirloin steak that is crazily huge but also way more flavorful than a porterhouse or ribeye)

I've got to echo the comments about these being off-cuts. Except for the deckle (which I had to look up) they all seem pretty common. Some meat names vary across the country, too, so the meat product might be familiar but the name could be different.

And sometimes the meats are readily available, but are incorporated into different cuts. Like the lamb shoulder steaks that I have could have been left as a roast or de-boned and ground. So the meat is on sale, but not as that particular named cut.

Deckle sounds interesting, since it's the one I'm least familiar with, but I suspect it's one of the pieces that gets tossed into the ground meat. If I wanted it, I'd have to special order from the butcher, and means it's not going to be inexpensive.

Another Californian here who sees tri-tip all over the place. The "gourmet" grocery stores sell it marinated at a not so cheap price. I'll have to check out the cuts of meat when I head to the grocery store after work today. Maybe I can find something interesting (and cheap!)

santa maria style tri-tip is the way to go....no fancy marinades just salt, pepper and garlic powder......yum!

Have been away and just returned to read this thread - interesting - I use all cuts of lamb in curries, or grilled (delicious with garlic, rosemary and lemon zest, S & P) or braised like Lancashire Hot Pot - could @lamora explain to me what a "tri-tip" is? I have never heard of it up here in Canada, it is possible it is called by another name. Thank you for the information - I am looking forward to hearing from someone.

I decided to go with the faux bresaola mentioned in the NY Times article. I started with a 1 1/2 pound piece of eye round at Whole Foods and marinated it over night in red wine, thyme, rosemary and black pepper. The next day I seared it and roasted it to medium-rare. I let it cool off in the fridge for a while and then sliced it as thin as possible and served it over a bed of arugula dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. I topped the whole thing off with some shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano. It was delicious, the overnight soak in red wine made the meat super tender and really flavorful. Success!

Take a look at what everyone made over the weekend here!

I too did the marinated roast eye of round suggested in the article. I made a little sauce with the marinade and roasting juices, which turned out great.

We had the sandwiches tonight with an apple horseradish spread and a bit of swiss - loved it.

http://chezpalmsey.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/roast-eye-of-round/

@bareneed, the tri-tip roast is a large-grained, triangular cut of meat that is from the lower part of the sirloin. They've never been a popular cut and is usually ground up into hamburger (or so I've heard) For some reason out here in CA, the tri-tip is the favorite cut to grill or BBQ; rubbed, marinated, etc...and sliced thin across the grain. It is a leaner cut of beef and grills up in no time at all. Maybe the rest of the country isn't aware of this great cut because it is all shipped out here!!

@ Caroline: Photos are posted. :)

Will you be posting a follow-up round up post? I sure hope so!!

Cheers,

~ Paula

@grocery guy: Flanken is specifically short ribs cut ACROSS the ribs, so each piece has 3 or 4 short pieces of bone. "English-cut" short ribs are cut between the bones, so each piece has a single solid slab of bone. And my mother never made a pot roast from a 7-blade in her life; it was brisket, always, and that's how I still do it.

My grandmother, may she rest in peace, made deckle with canned tomato soup, which she roasted low and slow in the oven all day. She wrapped the pan in foil, and the soup would get thick and caramelized on top of the meat; heaven. I haven't had it since she passed away, and I never got the recipe. It was one of my favorite meals.