For some ungodly reason, they pick 'em well before they're ripe around here and don't even do us the favor of gassing them so they at least appear ripe. [What a disservice to the local growers.] Stored for a week in a cardboard box they're now red. Thick skin, pithy, flavorless. Other than sacrifice them to the fruit flies, what would you do with them?
@mmontini, Everything coolname said plus diet, especially the finishing ration, growing region, age at slaughter, plus gentle handling all the way, including the truckers.
I would take your survey but if you want meaningful results you should ask a representative panel (and exclude people like me who are ITB or closely related businesses or those in market research, marketing etc.).
@josephtetro, like Sapelo, I am ITB (I run an online marketplace for farm specific, connoisseur quality meat and also support top natural or organic producers through a related education program).
I strongly believe a butcher shop can succeed, even in tough times, though perhaps not in all markets. IMHO, the key is that butcher needs to offer genuinely differentiated products. Too many of them sell the same commodity beef as the pre-packed stuff you get at the supermarket (and often at higher prices). Economically, a butcher will also need to sell higher margin items or products that meet the needs of those who don't have time to cookl, e.g. prepared foods or meat complements.
As Sapelo notes above, there are a lot of people who want to buy meat directly from the farm. However, the farm-to-fork distribution system doesn't always exist to support this. Some farmers/ranchers located in or close enough to large cities and that also have a top quality butcher nearby have a relatively easy time direct selling their products. For others, the Internet or an aggregator can help broaden reach beyond the immediate market.
If you want to talk more, I'm happy to help you figure out if this is something you want to do.
Since you specified spaghetti, spaghetti with smothered onion sauce, recipe from the beloved Essentials of Italian Cooking. Exceedingly simple, elegant, and unusual.
That is incredible about the burger. Maybe back then they had something in their other than beef?
Anyone who's ever found one on the floor of their car knows that McD's fries become petrified about 2 hours at room temperature.
There are some great suggestions above. We did this a few years ago. For your dessert, make sugar cookies in the shape of elephants and donkeys and decorate with red, white, and blue icing. For couples who split the ticket, you can create a hybrid.
If you're looking for full flavor, green beans with chopped walnuts, largish chunks of garlic, cooked over high heat with walnut oil. Start with the beans and add the walnuts and garlic toward the end so they roast without burning. Sprinkle with sea or kosher salt (not too fine a grain).
If you want something simple, agree with recos above for steamed green beans or chard tossed with salted butter.
I avoid sugar substitutes (other than in my toothpaste - anyone know a brand that doesn't use saccharine)? I just don't like the taste.
I do have concerns about aspartame based on reports that aspartate, released during digestion of aspartame, crosses the blood-brain barrier and can build up to toxic levels.
Just a thanks, I followed the advice of many who suggested roasting the tomatoes (I'd already "ripened" them to a red state). I'd done this before with Romas but not this variety ("standard supermarket" is the best description I can give). Cut into large wedges, tossed in extra virgin olive oil and kosher salt and roasted for about 1 1/2 hours at 300F. We also roasted some garlic until sweet and then tossed both with angel hair pasta and served with parmigiano reggiano. Absolutely fabulous. Talk about turning a sow's ear into a silk purse.
@LadyMarmalade, I agree. We've traded off flavor for chicken that can be cut with a fork. On its own, it has little to no flavor but instead simply acts as a platform for sauce or a good strong marinade. You might try a chicken that's been allowed to truly roam as exercise (and a partial diet of bugs) = flavor. Hard to find as chickens have a lot of predators, etc., etc., but there are farmers out there who can make a good tasting bird.
Vodka, but I once had a creamy bolognese that was wonderful.
I am lucky. I have access to 100% grass fed and finished beef. They never see a kernel of corn their entire life. Thats my ideal, but i still will occasionally have a Kobe or prime, dry aged steak at a highend steak house.
a steers diet is probably the most important aspect to me. nothing else affects the finished product quite as much. put garbage in, get garbage out.....
I love to make my own sauce from home grown tomatoes. It takes awhile, but it's worth it.
My choice.....
Anything that's not out of a can or a jar.....
Subscribe to our feeds:
Subscribe by email:
Website: http://www.oliverranch.com
Location: San Francisco Bay Area and Toronto, Ontario
About:
Favorite foods: Steak, artichokes, wine, dungeness crab, dark chocolate
Last bite on earth: