Extreme Cuisine & Strange Ingredients

[Darb]

I don't know about the bit with maggots, but unfortunately, the story about bears paws being a prized black-market item is true ... in China. The basic premise is that the most highly exercised and toughest parts of an animal, if cooked slowly and correctly, become the most unctuous and flavorful parts of the animal ... through the process of collagen being converted into gelatin.

In the west, we see this same principal in action (with tough cuts that become delectable) with cuts like tough abdominal muscles (brisket & corned beef), shanks (veal osso bucco & lamb shanks), feet (pig trotter), ribs, jaw muscles & facial skin/tendon (head cheese), tails (ox tail soup), etc. In China, this pattern is carried to it's extremes in things like shark fin, pig's ears, and bear's paws. In japan, you can add fish heads, and also the muscle around the eyes of tuna.

I've had all but two of the above items (shark fin & bear pars), and because they're terribly endangered I have no plans to ever try them.

[Darb]

Ok, here we have 3 fresh tongues - one veal (about 3 1/2 lbs), and two pig (about 1 lb each), ready for the slow cooker.



And here they are again after almost 4 hours in the slow cooker, drained, skinned, chilled, and ready to be sliced and gently re-heated. Also pictured is a bowl of sour & semi-sweet raisin-nut sauce, a recipe for which I found on the internet and gave a whirl, but which I'll never make again (much too strong ... clearly designed by the same seafood hating wuses who can't eat clams without drowning them in cocktail sauce).



I hadn't made lentils in a while, so I also whipped up a pot of spicy yellow dhal, a bowl of which is shown below, garnished with some of my homemade chimichurri sauce.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Langue de boeuf sauce madère still is one of my favorite delicacies.
Though that sour & semi-sweet raisin-nut sauce sounds and looks alluring.

[Darb]

Your sauce (looks like roux, madiera & mushrooms) seems a lot less overpowering than the raisin sauce I tried last night (too sour & strong). I found that the raisin sauce overwhelmed, rather than complimented, the tongue.

For my taste, simple is best when it comes to tongue. Here, I just thin-sliced some of the chilled braised tongues, along with some polenta, gently warmed it in the microwave (which activates the fat in the tongue and makes it tender and unctuous), sprinkled it with a little kosher salt (to bring out the flavor), and added a small dab of yellow mustard (for the tongue) and chimichurri (for the polenta), and ate it like sashimi ... with chopsticks.



Another favorite way is the hispanic classic Lengua Soft Tacos, in which cooked tongue is coarsely minced, quickly browned on a smoking hot flat top, and then served with thinly shaved radish, lime, and freshly made hot sauce (usually a choice of green or red) in some heated corn tortillas. In a way, I suppose my version (pictured above) is a sort of deconstructed version of the latter, minus the lime.

[umsolopagas]

I am sure that is delicious but it looks so dubiously unappetizing. Honestly it looks like huge blocks of fat and baby slices served with fresh stomach contents of a ruminant and sick-baby poo.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

I am sure that is delicious but it looks so dubiously unappetizing. Honestly it looks like huge blocks of fat and baby slices served with fresh stomach contents of a ruminant and sick-baby poo.

Close your eyes and smell it. That tells you a totally different tale, appetising enough to make your mouth drool.

[Darb]

I think I'm due to make some trotters in aspic again. I'll take some nice photos when I do.

[KeE]

I've alwys had tongue as a roll, tinly sliced on buttered ryebread, with some coarse mustard on top. I think your dish looks appetising, though.
Do you serve your trotters with sauerkraut or thinly sliced fresh spring cabbage with sour cream?

[Darb]

I pretty much improvised my own method for the tongue. I have enjoyed tongue before in a variety of styles, but this may have been the first time I cooked it myself, using a tongue that was fresh, rather than corned (jewish style). My late Mother used brined tongue and pressure cooked it, and served it with potato and veg du jour.

Your verson of trotters is different from mine, and I'd enjoy hearing your recipe. I'll elaborate more on mine when I make it this coming week.

[KeE]

I now realize I've got it all wrong. I was thinking of pork knuckles...

[Darb]

Ah, ok, I get the point of confusion. As I understand it, the "knuckle" on a pig it's a bit of a misnomer, and is actually a cut from above the first joint, or what would be the elbow on a human ... whereas on a human, the knuckle is part of the hand (the pig counterpart of the hand being the 'trotter').

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Ah, ok, I get the point of confusion. As I understand it, the "knuckle" on a pig it's a bit of a misnomer, and is actually a cut from above the first joint, or what would be the elbow on a human ... whereas on a human, the knuckle is part of the hand (the pig counterpart of the hand being the 'trotter').

So what do you call a pig's tail? The pig's corkscrew?

[Darb]

For lunch today I stopped by a local columbian restaurant, and got my usual chicharron (fried pork belly/rind) and frijoles. This time however, upon scanning the menu, I spotted some fresh blood sausage, which I ordered and was rich and delicious, with a delightfully crispy natural casing.

This is not my photo, but it is none the less identical in appearance to what I had earlier today, which was ...

Morcilla Cocida:



Seeing and eating Blood sausage is of no great consequence in much of Europe, but here in USA, particularly in suburbia, it's still considered somewhat unusual by much of the general public. The only place you see it in an artisanal German and Polish delicatessens that still make and sell their own charcuterie.

[Darb]

I stopped by a little known korean market in my area, and was very sad to learn they were closing, partly due to the economy and partly due to their off-the-beaten-path backroad location in an industrial park. It was one of my regular haunts for authentic asian ingredients.

One of the items I grabbed today was a package of sweet and spicy fried anchovies, which look similar to this:

http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/sw ... ried-dilis

They're omnipresent in sushi bars in the orient, but are considerably less common here in America. Personally, I love em. The brand I grabbed are dried, flash fried, and dressed with a light coating of chilie and palm sugar. The quality of the brand I nabbed wasn't the best .... they were dark, indicating some age and oxidation, but tasty none the less.

The rest of my cart included, from memory:
* 2 different brands of Thai fish sauce.
* Some dried chinese white flat noodles (similar to japanese somen).
* Two varieties of refrigerated fresh noodles (one shanghai, once japanese).
* Two varieties of potato-starch noodles - one thick and braided, one very thin and wide like pappardelle.
* Rice noodles
* 5 lbs Asian Gleutinous Rice
* 5 lbs Asian Red Rice
* Bunch of Yu Choy greens.
* Szechuan peppercorns (something I've developed a taste for lately).
* 2 chilled tallboys of fresh coconut juice
* 1 large bottle of sweetened aloe vera juice (which came in a flourescent clear green bottle, but was clear with translucent pulp when poured)

[Darb]

I cooked up, rinsed and chilled the package of fresh white shanghai noodles (each noodles unfurls to 3 feet long). After putting most of it in the fridge, I made a quick snack by tossing some of the chilled pasta with some fresh mung bean sprouts, and some of the sweet fried anchovies mentioned below, along with my thai dressing (3 crabs fish sauce, rice vinegar, dark sesame oil and a little simple syrup) ... very tasty, and perfect for a hot summer day.

[Darb]

Lunch today was a green that's ubiquitous in many asian markets, but is virtually unknown to most maintream american shoppers ... kai-lan.

First I stirfried a bowl of baby shrimp, and then reserved them.

Next, I sauteed a large knob of my homemade preserved ginger in hot chili oil, added a little garlic and rice wine and chicken stock, the kai-lan stems, and when those were parcooked I added the chopped leaves and put a lid on it for 4 mins, and whem done, I added some thinned corn starch and the reserved cooked shrimp.

I served it over the leftover shanghai noodles I'd made yesturday.

I adore asian greens ... such a wider palate of flavors than basic, boring, broccoli, and even to a lesser degree, baby bok choy.

[Darb]

I have a batch of chinese style pig trotters simmering in the slow cooker as I type this. I'll try to post a few pics tomorrow, as time permits.

Tomorrow, I have a bunch of Kohlrabi to play with ... never cooked that before. Should be interesting.

Lunch today was a tortilla wrap with hummus, roasted red peppers, and some shaved cucumber that I dressed briefly with seasoned rice vinegar and chili sauce.

[Darb]

5 lbs of split trotters yeilded 4 pints of finished, deboned, reduced goodness, which is now firming up in the fridge. I'll post pics tomorrow.

[Darb]

First, rinse and drain the pig's feet, aka "trotters" (cut into 6 pieces each). There are approximately 4 trotters in this bowl, for a total of just over 2 kilos. The attentive will note the presence of several beef marrow bones ... more on those later.

Spoiler: show

Next, you blanche them in stages for about 60 seconds, to remove impurities. This also results in a clearer and cleaner tasting glace in the finished dish.

Spoiler: show

Next, lightly brown them in stages, then sweat some ginger and garlic, and deglaze with a little pineapple juice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and a pod of star anise.

Spoiler: show

Place in slow cooker and simmer for 5 hours, until fork tender, but not mushy. Scoop out and reserve the trotters, and then fine strain and defat the stock, and begin reducing by half in a seperate pan. While the stock reduces, debone the trotters (or if you prefer, remove only the largest bones).

Spoiler: show

When the stock is reduced to a thick sauce, divide the debones trotters between 4 one pint tupperware, and stop off with the stock, then refrigerate overnight.

Spoiler: show

After chilling, the trotters should set VERY firm ... firm enough to bounce when unmolded. If you opted to fully debone the trotters, you can simply slice it and serve it cold.

Spoiler: show

OK, the marrow bones ... experienced chefs will point out the flaw that my glace is opaque, rather than a nice clear "Trappist brown candi-sugar" color. That happened for 2 reasons:

a) I was inattentive with my slow cooker, and failed to spot that the "auto" setting had driven the contents past a slow simmer to a rolling boil for a good solid hour. That is the number one cause of most cloudy stocks, and a vaguely murky flavor.

b) When I was in the market at the time I bought the trotters, I also spotted some nice beef marrow bones on sale, so I grabbed them. When I thawed the trotters, I opted to free up some extra room and also braise the marrow bones. I fished them out after they were just cooked through and enjoyed the marrow, but they contributed to the cloudiness of the stock as well.

Anyway, the final yeild from 4 trotter was 4 pints of finished deboned trotters set in their own glace. Perfect ratio, eh ?

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

OK, the marrow bones ... I'll post about those a little laterm because I have to go ...

Looks good. Reminds me of "tête de veau en tortue" and "hure".
Somehow also of Tom & Jerry cartoons.
I suspect what will be coming: "toast á la moelle". Now that's a delicacy, I've had it in Raymond Oliver's "Le Grand Véfour", long ago.

P.S. Would you check the pixel size of your photo's, please? They are 2048 x 1536. To have the pics completely visible in FireFox, the text becomes unreadably small.

[Darb]

Ok, I rehosted all the photos in a smaller size. Thanks for pointing out my goof. Enjoy.

[MidasKnight]

So is it like lunchmeat?

[Darb]

Nope.

[darkmale25]

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[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

I give you the ....
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