My Favorite Cookbooks, Part 9, The Complete Book of Butchering, Smoking, Curing, and Sausage Making

The Complete Book of Butchering, Smoking, Curing, and Sausage Making, How to Harvest Your Livestock & Wild Game, by Philip Hasheider, might have a title as long as some Panic! At The Disco song names, but damn, does it deliver.  It shows you in full color glory the butchering process from the killing of the animal, dressing the beast, and then preserving or cooking it safely.  This is bonafide post apocalyptic survival guide reading and also a must read for any chef worth their salt. 

I once worked with a guy that questioned my interest knowing how to pluck a chicken.  I was reading the La Varenne Practique, by Anne Willan, which was the first cookbook I'd read that began to delve into this type of process.  I looked at the offending cook and let off a rant that must've been quite embarassing for him at the time.  It's important to know how your food has been handled prior to your cooking it.  Safety being a chief concern, but it also allows you to see details into how your product was processed.  Was it with care or haste?  Was it a humane or inhumane kill? 

This text not only discusses domestic animals, but shows wild game as well... including raccoons & squirrel.  Heck yeah.  Let's get some burgoo on, eh? 

I especially liked the detail on the necessary equipment needed for each task, such as the number of buckets needed to defeather poultry.  The author also makes a point to include more than one option for certain tasks, and highlights the pros & cons of each procedure.  This was definitely written by someone who is truly passionate about the subject matter.  Read this book. 

May nose-to-tail eating never die.

Happy New Years! Buddah's Palm Info & Stuff.



First off, Happy New Years!  Today I'd like to highlight a little used ingredient that I enjoy to cook with.  Buddah's hand or Buddah's palm citron is a traditional asian ingredient that has come to represent happiness, wealth, and longevity during the New Year.  I'm thinking these are all things we could use a little more of, right?

I found this hand at Meier in the 'burbs.  They aren't too hard to find, they're just one of those things that makes you wonder how you're going to eat it.  Hell, it has tentacles or something.  For those who read H.P. Lovecraft, it looks like a cross between Cthulhu & Big Bird from Sesame Street fame. 

Oh, and by the way, these suckers are fragrant.  Beautiful to look at, they'll last out at room temp. for a few weeks if fresh, perfuming the room you keep 'em in with a natural lemony scent.  My wife says it reminds her of Fruity Pebbles.  Strangely, that's how I feel about lemongrass.

Anyways, I immediately cut this baby into quarters, while I got a batch of 2:1 sugar to water simple syrup up to a simmer.  When you cut the palm into quarters, you'll notice that the rind isn't too thick and the middle is almost all pith.  Some varieties are more bitter than others, luckily mine wasn't too bad.  If you have a more bitter fruit, I suggest pre-blanching in water before adding to the syrup.  This baby didn't need it though.

I took a Japanese mandoline and shaved the quarters into thin pieces (a little less than half a julienne width or so), and then added them to the syrup.  I cooked them gently until they turned translucent, before they'd lose any structure.  I then turned off the heat, and let them rest in the liquid for a few minutes.



Oh crap!  We had to get to a party last night and I wanted to get these done before leaving.  So I used my ghetto dehydrator to speed shizznit up.

Yes.  You heard me right.  My ghetto dehydrator.  That's my microwave, suckas.  Word. 

I dried off the cooked pieces on paper towels and placed 'em in a single layer on a dinner plate.  Microwaving in 30 second bursts, until they dried and before they burned, I flipped them once to dry both sides.  On average, it was taking about 3-4 minutes to dry them out enough to have the zest stiffen. 

Then, all I did was toss 'em in some granulated sugar and serve them to our friends.  I think they liked it, since they were gone in about half the time it took me to make them.  Wishing y'all happiness, wealth and longevity in 2012.

That's assuming the Mayan prophecies aren't real.  Considering the strange snowless weather we're having in Chicago, the End may already be here.