Inflation or Demand?

In the past few years we have seen some dramatic increases in the price of meat. This is a general statement that most consumers would agree with, but it is a generalization with a lot of exceptions and misconceptions. Let’s look at some wholesale market prices year to year. These prices are listed on the USDA market news as well as other financial reporting sites. My research is pretty basic and some numbers could be off slightly but it gives you an idea of where the markets are trending.

Choice Beef

                             Last year     This year

Bone in Rib Eye   $9.90          $8.45

Boneless Rib         $11.07      $9.63

Brisket                   $3.74        $3.55

Striploin B/in         $6.83       $6.68

Tri tip                     $5.84       $4.10

Outside skirt          $11.90   Basically unchanged

Other cuts have gone up slightly but basically beef prices are down from last year

Chicken whole       $1.38        $1.34

Chicken in 2021 was $2.37

Pork

1/4” trim butts     $1.31      $1.39

B/o pork loin       $1.55      $1.45

Belly                   $2.74      $1.65

Pork and chicken remain very low priced at the wholesale level.

So looking at this why are prices of certain meat cuts so high in the supermarkets? Yes there are increases in trucking costs, packaging etc but some prices maintain a very high price tag, even as wholesale prices come down. Why? Because they continue to sell. It’s pretty basic capitalism, if the price goes up and people still buy it then the price is not going to go down. Some companies have made record profits in the past few years, plain and simple.

 

The same goes for foodservice. If a chef insists on using overpriced items and complains but doesn’t shop around or substitute with other cuts, then the purveyor will keep the prices high. Then the restaurant simply charges more and if the diner is willing to pay, who cares?  But an aware purchaser can work around high prices to keep menu prices level or increase profit margins. I’ve seen prices fluctuate dramatically between different purveyors. Now it is important to examine less expensive cuts to be sure they are an acceptable quality or that trim levels are similar but sticking with a particular brand may lead to overpriced items. You can call it cutting corners but if the overall quality is the same then it’s just being frugal. You can also create cuts in house by buying larger cuts and fabricating them yourself. Some require the kitchen to use the byproduct trim but not anything difficult. 

 Here are some examples;

Chef x sells pork collar. They buy it at $8.50 lb from a specialty purveyor. 

Chef y sells pork collar and homemade sausage. They buy specialty whole Boston butts for $4.25 lb.

Chef a sells pork collar and pork sliders. They buy standard commercial Boston butts from the warehouse store for $1.95 lb.

Each chef is choosing a purchase that fits their menu but they are all selling a pork collar roast which is very simply removed from the whole pork Boston butt. 

Recently I saw boneless duck breast for about $12 lb. The whole duck from the same brand was about $3.20 lb. It takes me less than two minutes to take off the legs and bone and trim the breast. Basically I get the legs, bones, giblets, fat for a super cheap price. I’ve seen the same thing for Frenched chicken breast pork racks and many more. Some basic knife skills and menu expansions can dramatically increase profits. 

 Ok so the news is inflation is out of control. Or maybe our purchasing is a little out of control  be smart and make more cash! 

Underutilized cuts? Overvalued cuts?

 

I’ve heard the term whole carcass utilization many times by many chefs and culinarians. The need to not waste any meat in a carcass is an absolute necessity in these days of higher prices. If your goal is to buy a whole animal and break it down to use every part then you need a logical plan. Although the meat industry gets a bad wrap for waste, this is exactly what they do. They break down the whole into market cuts, not leaving out any part. The dilemma for them is how to get the most value from each section. The bottom rung of the ladder is if a cut is not being sold above the market price of ground meat then grind it. But that’s not the only concern. Some cuts are so small and difficult to isolate and therefore never make it as a market cut. In the beef animal you have cuts like the pectineus, which sits on the side of the top round. It weighs no more than a pound. Or the oyster that resembles skirt steak but weighs maybe half a pound. I’ve isolated the pork brisket which is also small.. The meat packer isn’t going to isolate these, package them and market them unless there is a guarantee they’ll be sold. Their research teams are constantly looking for ways to increase value but it’s hard to justify a cut that represents one pound out of a 800 lb carcass.

 Small market local butchers can go outside the box, literally. A craft butcher at the retail level can isolate these unique cuts and suggest them to special customers for top dollar. They have the chance to sell one off items and create a desire with menu ideas. The special cut can have a placement in a showcase that can feature it in the limelight. A customer might enjoy the cut so much they may consider reserving it for the next time a whole carcass is broken down. 

 A chef in a restaurant, on the other hand, needs multiple portions of a cut to have a consistent menu. If they decide to do whole carcass then the menu may need many overlapping dishes that don’t include the specific name of the cut, such as braised beef or pulled pork, but also many more complex dishes. These and many other dishes don’t require a specific description, just a consistent presentation. This requires a knowledgeable waitstaff to explain the dish. No one needs an explanation for rib eye or rack chop but they make up a fraction of the carcass. Selling all of it equally is much more difficult. Experimenting with multiple cuts using the same basic cooking method to try for a consistent outcome is difficult and can be expensive if it doesn’t go well. An example is trying to make a thin sliced grilled item from both the top round and knuckle. Both might be tender enough but have slightly different textures or cooking times. Both require some cutting skill to trim correctly to an appropriate thickness. 

 Back to the big processors. Another phenomenon I’ve noticed is the once underutilized cuts have now gained popularity. Cuts that were once considered a step above grind are much more expensive. Examples such as inside skirt steak, boneless short ribs (chuck flap), teres major, sirloin flap (bavette) pork shanks, all are now what I consider high priced items. So where are the under priced deals? Larger cuts from the round continue to be inexpensive. Beef top round, bottom round (gooseneck), knuckle, fresh ham of pork, pork picnic, lamb shoulders, all are low priced. But these cuts present lots of marketing and cooking challenges. They tend to be tougher or overly lean. They have little name recognition or if names are used they indicate low value and quality. So what’s the alternative? The large processor can always grind. The craft butcher can cut in inventive ways or offer cooked items such as roast beef, cured ham etc. The chef/restaurant might consider looking at recipes for these cuts and finding overlapping uses, or thin slicing and quick cooking.  Using skills to entice the customer can enable the use of more of the entire animal. One thing I teach my students is there are two ways to make a menu; 1) think of the dish and buy the meat for it or, 2) look at the purveyors sheet and find the least expensive items and create a menu using that. 

 I know this is general information without being to specific and prices are always changing, but use of an entire carcass is not easy. We didn’t get into any of the byproduct but I’ll post another article about that soon.

Cochon 555 2020 Reflection

Hello Everyone,
It’s been a while since I last posted anything here. Now that I’m stuck at home enjoying my “summer break” during this crazy crisis I thought I’d rev up my old two finger typing technique and restart this blog.
  Last Sunday, March 8th, before all the shut down on large groups in NYC and everywhere, I once again had the privilege and honour to judge and attend another Cochon 555 event at the Altman building in Manhattan. The dishes were superb, as usual, at this annual event. The chef’s creations and inventive excellence shows why the pig is a perfect nose to tail menu item. The event celebrates heritage breed pigs and its main focus over the years has been to showcase the attributes of quality heritage pork and small farmer contribution to the growing of these animals. Craft’s porchetta, Little Park’s Adobo Ribs, Hudson and Charles pressed pulled pork, Bar Boulud’s Fete du Cochon, and Almond’s Pâté almond were just some of the bites that stood out for me....and there were plenty others.
Cochon also features a whole hog butchery demo and this year featured Liz Clarke from Sullivan County Farms which delivers local meats and farm products into NYC. The pig was sold off to the attendees and some of my students assisted.

 So heritage breed is no longer a new thing in restaurants. We see it advertised on many quality trending menus. So what has changed in the pork industry overall? There are some restaurants that develop a relationship with smaller farmers and local distributors like Sullivan County. Others buy from established meat purveyors that have also brought in local or regional heritage breed pigs. Companies like Fossil Farms and Debragga and Spitler, Dartagnon, distribute very high quality pork. These mid-sized companies are where most chefs in NY find their heritage pork.
 Some bigger companies have tried to muscle in on the heritage/ high end pork market. The biggest is Smithfield/ Farmland with their Prime Pork brand which was once called Duroc Pork for the dominant breed used to create it. This pork is fed no growth promoting beta-agonists which insures more marbling etc. ( Why they grow their other pork with growth promotors is another question, and possibly another blog post later) Snake River Farms, known for their Wagyu beef, also does a high end Kurobuta pork which is basically Berkshire. These products are available nationwide and by large distributors.
  Do customers really look into where their pork is from or what it is fed? Are chefs willing to spend the extra to support local”ish” farms? I think as many customers in quality restaurants move away from a meat centric diet and eat less of it, they are willing to spend extra on something really good when they decide to eat it. The heritage breed market may have flattened out a bit but it is still strong and hopefully, once we get over this crazy virus time, we can get back to enjoying the good stuff.

The Meat Hook Brooklyn NY

  A couple weeks ago I got up early and braved the tangled roads,bridges and construction to visit with the butchers at the Meat Hook in Brooklyn. I've known about the place for a long time and been meaning to get there to see whats going on. They are located within the confines of the Brooklyn Kitchen store on 100 Frost St. Meat Hook features some amazing dry aged grass fed beef, small farm pork and poultry, unique sausages and a ton of prepared products including their own lardo, marrow butter, smoked bacons. Ben Turley was glad to show me around and explained how and where they get all their meats. The concepts of Meat Hook include absolute integrity when it comes to being able to tell their customers how and where their meat is raised. They do this without being pretentious or "preachy". Ben explained the relationship between the shop and their customers as "Here is our product. Its really good and we like it. Its kind of expensive but we understand if you don't like it or don't want to afford it." They don't scream "how can you even consider eating anything but or local product?" But their product is really good! The pork had lots of marbling, the grass fed beef had good color and some marbling and lots of intermuscular fat. The sausages were well made and loaded with flavor. The Szechuan Sausage was great and the Toasted Fennel and Garlic was a fine choice. They were making a green Chorizo called Toluca when I showed up. That one was superb. All their stuff is made in-house and not off sight unless it is made in their close-by sandwich shop location.
  The Meat Hook Sandwich Shop is about three blocks away from the main location and offers really nice large sandwiches, quality beverages, and good sides. They roast all their own meats and use locally sourced baked goods. If you find yourself in Brooklyn, head over to the shop and buy some quality grass fed steaks and then walk over to the sandwich shop and get a killer lunch sandwich.

 The Butcher Shop

100 Frost Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 349-5032  meatmail@the-meathook.com
Monday - Saturday 10AM - 8PM, Sunday 11AM - 7PM

The Sandwich Shop

495 Lorimer Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211

(718) 302-4665 sandwiches@the-meathook.com

Monday - Saturday  11am - 9pm, Sunday 11AM - 4PM

Divide and conquer...or not?

I like a nice rib eye steak. I like it thickish and cut from the chuck side. I like it with some rich intermuscular fat (fat between the muscles) and I like it grilled at a high heat over hickory coals to give it lots of crust. I season it a day ahead with salt, pepper and chopped garlic. That fat drips down into the coals and flares up in a smoky swirl. It goes perfect with a large salad of greens out of the garden and some nice basic apple cider vinaigrette which helps cut the richness of the steak. That, and a nice glass of Montepulciano (12 bucks for the big bottle!), is a perfect steak dinner. This may be a meal I have 4 or 5 times a year. Is it healthy? I'm not sure, nor do I consider that part of it. The fat is rich but I'm not eating this everyday. I suspect the processed fat in french fries or nuggets, with its antifoaming agents, is also harmful. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/whats-infast-food_b_805190.html
 Enough about what I like, lets discuss the trend in foodservice to take traditional steak cuts and divide them into smaller pieces that all seem to resemble a tenderloin medallion. We do this in class all the time. I've been teaching how to divide the top sirloin butt into medallions for the past ten years, showcasing the baseball steak and attempting to convert even the cap into medallions. ( If you are not following this here is a link) http://www.beefinnovationsgroup.com/valuecuts/sirloin/data_pdf/beefLoinTopSirloinButt-How_to_Cut.pdf This cut, traditionally, would be a large slicing steak. I still think that is a great way to cook it, with some exterior fat left on the edge.
 Another presentation is to denude the striploin and divide it in half the long way and make striploin medallions. This is a way to cut the steak thicker and not serve such a huge portion. The trouble with this is that the steaks can sometimes look like a half moon.
 We also see the rib eye being divided. This process involves taking the cap or inner deckle off and isolating the longissumus dorsi ( which is basically the same muscle that runs along the entire back of the animal and is the striploin). The problem with this is the nuscle that is isolated for medallions is conical in shape and difficult to portion into even looking cuts and the cap ( deckle) must be sold as a seperate piece. http://www.beefinnovationsgroup.com/valuecuts/rib/data_pdf/beefRibRibeyeLipon-How_to_Cut.pdf
 A big part of all this dividing thats going on is chefs wanting to serve smaller, thicker cut portions. This may make sense but there really needs to be some serious yield testing done on these. Every cut I mentioned requires a lot of trimming and denuding of fat. These, other than the tenderloin, are the most expensive cuts you can buy. Taking them apart, trimming them into "unnatural" shapes really cuts into the profits if you aren't charging enough.
 Another reason I think the beef industry likes these innovations is that beef in general has gotten larger over the years and many chefs were complaining they cannot cut a nice thick steak at a reasonable weight. This way of cutting enables the beef industry to grow monster size cuts and not worry because chefs will be cutting everything in half.
 I am not the one to suggest whether these cutting styles are a good idea or not. Chefs need to cost and experiment with these cuts to see if they are profit worthy. But don't forget fat is flavor.

Cochon 555...turns that butcher loose!!

Over the past 5 years I've been involved with the Cochon555 events that travel around the country. I typically get a bunch of student volunteers to help out at the NYC event and have helped with demos there and in Vail. If you are not familiar with Cochon check it out here http://cochon555.com/  It is an amazing competition that features five area chefs preparing five heritage breed pigs and also five quality vintners but also other great foods and distilled drinks. The chefs create numerous nose to tail menu items and their creativity is totally unleashed.
  Brady Lowe, the grand idea master who came up with this incredible party, is an advocate for locally raised and heritage breed pigs and one of the main goals has been to showcase the farmers as well as the chefs. It really is a truly great time had by all.
 There is one part of the event that trumps all others for me, and that is the butchery demo. Each event features a whole hog being cut up by a star/craft butcher. The butcher typically works with heritage breed pork on a regular basis and gets a chance to show their skill to hundreds of on lookers. This is the cool part... the hog is whole, unsplit and the butcher can cut it any way they like! So how many ways are there to cut a pig? Don't you just cut it into primals etc just like the big companies? Absolutely not. The styles I've seen at these events allow the butcher to go beyond the norm and let their culinary mind take over to create cuts that you just don't see in a supermarket or purveyor's box. The commodity pork we see presented out there doesn't follow seams or leave any fat on cuts. The breakdown doesn't take into account muscle shapes. But at Cochon they TURN THAT BUTCHER LOOSE!! and the resulting work is truly unique to that person.
 Over the years I've broken down many quality local pigs and I typically show my students the standard commercial cuts so they can recognize them when they buy it but we talk a lot about alternative methods. I've also cut pigs at my nephew Austin's after we do a slaughter. In both cases I don't use a band saw and barely use the hand saw.
 The term "artisan" butcher gets kicked around a lot. What makes a butcher artisan? All of the butchers I know or have known over the years were hardworking tradesmen or craftspeople if you must put a label on them. They cut to fill showcases or prepare meats for grind, sausage, charcuterie, salumi etc. They do it with speed and dexterity and not always thinking about "art". But on this Sunday Jan. 25th 2015, Erika Nakamura will be the artist, front and center at Cochon 555.... and I'll be watching with my glass held high!

NYC Local

  I'm looking for more info on this subject and the goal is to encourage all types of restaurants to consider using more local products, so please feel free to add lots of comments.
   The difficulties in serving local meats in a restaurant setting are many but certainly not overcome with some planning and changes in purchasing mindset. First we need to define local. What is an acceptable range for local? Some claim 50 or 100 mile radius but for a restaurant in NYC this may be difficult. There are farms close enough but the volume would be depleted in a day if most restaurants had a “local only” menu. So many restaurants have broadened to a regional area. Purchasing meats in NYC from the region might mean extending out to farms in Pennsylvania, western New York, New England, New Jersey, or even beyond into Virginia, Quebec, Ohio. The focus may drift from locality to the raising style of the meat and of course, price. Some of the prerequisites for “local” might be free roaming or pasture fed, maybe grass fed, or raised outdoors. Restaurants may require specific labeling such as USDA Certified Organic or NOFA, certified American Grass fed, Humanely Raised and Handled and more. Defining local is up to the restaurateur and the customer. Purchasing is another hurdle. Most small farmers that are raising meats in this style are selling their meats for top dollar in the local farmer’s market or as whole freezer orders. Many will not sell a subprimal cut let alone an individual portion cut. So how does the restaurant purchase? Some are buying the whole or half animal, breaking it down in-house. This presents problems of inequality in the types of cuts available. There is only so much Rib Eye compared to chuck cuts.
  Some purveyors have jumped in to try to satisfy the restaurant needs and this area of purchasing is growing. Examples would be Debragga and Spitler selling all grass-fed beef cuts and burgers from their sources in western NY and featuring Mangalitsa pork from NJ as well as specialty poultry from small processors in Pennsylvania and Virginia. Another quality purveyor, Pat LaFrieda, is selling some local products and is adding more. These types of purveyors are servicing the very high quality restaurants in NYC and they allow a restaurant to purchase meat in the “normal” way without having to buy a whole carcass or pick the meats up themselves etc.
   Another option is to buy from some of the smaller niche markets that focus primarily on retail sales. Places like The Meat Hook and Fleishers in Brooklyn or Saugatuck Craft Butchery in Westport, Conn. are selling cuts customized for restaurants. Many restaurants that sell local make a connection with a farm at a farmers market or off a website where they can make arrangements to either have it delivered or go and pick up directly. Restaurants typically want to feature the name of the farm on their menu so this connection can be very important.
    Many NYC restaurant menus that are featuring local meats are not necessarily 100% local. Some will approach it with a few local items such as a local burger, local chicken or duck, local pork cured products but rarely will you see a local beef striploin or tenderloin steak. There are some but many tend to run these expensive cuts as a featured item as opposed to a regular menu item. Restaurants that feature local also tend to feature meats from a distance but raised in a style that will be appealing to the same type of customers. Meats that feature a specific name brand such as Niman Ranch, Creekstone Farms, Meyer Angus, Berkwood Farms Pork, Bell and Evan’s Poultry. These are examples of quality name brands that are certainly not local but are produced in ways that might have some of the same features that the customer is looking for in a local product. Heritage breed names, feed styles or lack of pharmaceuticals in production are features that many customers will seek out, in addition to local, when considering their purchase.
   There are certainly plenty of restaurants featuring local meats but some are doing a much more comprehensive effort than others. A prime example is Gramercy Tavern where much of their meats are locally sourced. Perla is also featuring some local product and the chef has a lot of butchery skill in utilizing the whole carcass. Bill Telepan, owner of Telepan, does some local products and features lots of local pork on his menus. Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns needs to be mentioned here as well. They are strict about their local offerings and hold to their ideals that serving local is very important. But the truth of the matter is that many other restaurants claim they sell local but the menu reflects only a small portion of their meats are local if any at all. Many “talk” local but are not serious about using local products when it becomes inconvenient.
   Some restaurants are approaching the local menu idea with a different idea. In addition to their regular menu they have a small selection of “nose to tail” items on a separate menu. This gives the chef the freedom to purchase a whole carcass and make all sorts of interesting alternatives. Bar Boulud features a four item nose to tail menu featuring Raven and Boar pork, Feast features Whole Hog Mondays. The term “feast” is becoming a popular way to present a “tasting” menu with a singular meat theme. Resto and Trestle on Tenth both feature unique party menus or “feasts” that are price fixed featuring whole carcass dishes. They require you reserve a few days ahead. Blue Hill offers a summer ”feast” and they showcase seasonality as well as location.
    A good source for locating local meats is the EatWild website. They showcase a number of New York farms and the restaurants that are featuring their food.
    The solution to serving local meat is multi-layered. Flexibility seems to be the key. Being able to feature the whole carcass, especially with beef and lamb, and using all of the variety of cuts is the best way to feature local. Pork is the easiest in that it can also be sold as cured and sausage products and poultry are easy because they are small enough to be sold as whole or cut up portions. Having the staff to break it down and use everything is crucial but also having a chef to think of enough dishes to use it all is also important. The alternative is to leave it up to the purveyor to sell local in typical restaurant cuts. This is a growing area and more places are getting into it. Companies are re-evaluating their products to see if they can cash in on the local movement. An example is Leidy’s Pork from southern PA. They are not a small company compared to others but they are also not a huge conglomerate located thousands of miles away. Olymel is a huge pork producer in Quebec that sends their products around the world, or Taylor Packing Co., a Cargill owned beef processor in western PA that slaughters 4,000 beef cattle a day, can they be considered local? These are the decisions that must be made with care in the restaurant

Local Cheers and Woes

 I recently saw a special party menu featuring local beef tenderloin. Sheesh! A large party featuring over twenty beef tenderloins! That's more than 10 whole animals. What was the reasoning behind the menu idea? Many chefs today want to ride the next popular wave and create menus that will catch the customers desire to be eating what is on the cutting edge of the culinary world. The term "local" has jumped on to many menus all over the nation and beyond. Local seasonal vegetables, local free-ranged eggs, beer featuring locally grown hops, wines from local grapes all combined on to menus,
giving the customer a way to support local farmers. Meats are part of this puzzle and featuring local meats is absolutely possible and being done, even on the food truck level.
 So why did this menu irk me so much? My worry is that "local" takes on some sort of elitist tag when viewed on a menu. The last thing the local supporters and farmers want to see is their products becoming an elitist out of reach food source for restaurants.
 Here is a scenario. There's a chef running a nice bistro with and eclectic menu that they've created from experiences and travels. They look to serve local products. Why? In their travels to Spain, Italy or Hungary they found that the best food had was in small places that featured the food and wine from that area. Chefs there had a relationship with a local greengrocer or butcher and they bought through the age old practices of haggling and "working" each other for the best prices. The chef here wants to recreate that experience in the US. Do they want to put this local stuff on their menu because its trendy? The answer should be NO, they want to use the local products because they have a better flavor and they have a relationship with their farmer or purveyor.
 The hard part for a restaurant, especially when concerning the use of local meats, is two fold. First the price tends to be higher and restaurants are always struggling with profit margins. It is sooo tempting to look at the prices from a large distributor and buy pre-cleaned vegis or pre-cut meats that are ready to go and may have decent flavor. Second, buying meats from a local source often means buying a large primal or full carcass. A purveyor that sells cuts that are broken into small subprimals is most likely to not be selling truly local products or they are going to charge a fortune. They also most likely will not have enough of one cut available, especially if it is a small item such as a teres major, tenderloin, lamb loin or middle meat cuts such as striploin or rib eye. The" local only"butcher shops that I know can get top dollar for these cuts in their retail case so why would they want to sell to restaurants at a discount. My friend Kevin at Side Hill Farmers in Syracuse NY would be more than willing to let chefs know what cuts are available that are outside of the normal middle meat cuts.
 The point is if a chef wants to feature local they need to be flexible and inventive in their creations. It showcases much more skill as a chef to create a dish from a beef bottom round or lamb breast than from the middle meat cuts. These types of cuts, although, as local, they may still be more expensive than larger commercial meats, will be reasonable enough to make a good margin.
 So how would a large hotel or banquet hall present local? This may require some really inventive thinking but a chef might consider a grind product as part of the menu or appetizers. A chef might buy a half hog and make a myriad of different sausages that could compliment the meal, or provide a local burger on the lunch menu. A big operation might not be able to do the absolute local product but might consider a regional meat item. A casino in Connecticut could feature pork from a large plant in Pennsylvania rather than from a distant plant. This shows at least the spirit of local and could prove attractive on a menu. The definitions of local can vary from chef to chef.
 Personally, I think beef tenderloin lacks the flavor depth of many other cuts and it takes very little skill to roast it. To put "local" beef tenderloin on any banquet menu reeks of desperation of a chef that is trying to keep up with the "trend" of local without changing from their old mindset and in the end appearing as a food elitist, even if that wasn't the original intention.

Assorted meat dishes at The Cannibal in NYC from local sources

P.S. Local beef tenderloin sold at my friends at the Saugatuck Craft Butchery in Westport Conn. sells for $38. per lb!

COOL or Fool

COOL....Country Of Origin Labeling.  In late November the FDA implemented a new rule that states any whole muscle meat item must declare where it originally came from. Simple right? You walk into a market or you are ordering ground beef for your restaurant and you simply say I'd like US grown beef and there it is on the label. WHOA! Hold your horses! ( that's another topic!) This law only applies to "whole" muscle cuts. Any processed meat does not require the labeling. Any ham, bacon, bologna, hot dog, breaded meat, seasoned meat, sausage, etc does NOT require any sort of origin labeling. Ground beef does require a COOL label but if the meat is processed in any way, such as precooked or seasoned, it does not.
 Both Canada and Mexico are fighting this new law because they believe it violates free trade agreements. We've been buying a lot of meat from both of those countries for a long time and most consumers would never know it. In fact we've been buying a lot of meat from other countries. Here is a quote from the USDA web site "U.S. beef imports in 2012 totaled 2.22 billion pounds, or nearly 8 percent higher than in 2011. Imports were stronger year over year from Australia (+45 percent), New Zealand (+8 percent), Mexico (+56 percent), and Uruguay (+39 percent). Australia and Canada supplied the largest imports of beef to the United States, at 655 and 537 million pounds. Among the remaining top beef exporters were New Zealand (495 million pounds), Mexico (242 million pounds), and, jointly, Central American countries (Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Honduras at 140 million pounds)." 2.2 billion lbs.!! And this is just beef, we also are seeing some huge hog farms in Mexico and that country's exports are growing.  This is big business and some large processors stand to lose some market share if the law stands. We also export a lot of meat to those countries.
 But who is losing if this law goes away? Well the law potentially helps cattle growers here in the US; those hard working ranchers that have been hit by a number of tough conditions over the last few years. Droughts in Texas, freak cold snaps and snow like in South Dakota this fall, floods like in eastern Colorado, all part of our meat supply. Large meat processors would rather hedge against our cattle growers by importing 2 - 3% of the meat they process. Many large companies are fighting this law and state that it is unnecessary government regulation. Their statements claim food safety laws in Canada and Mexico are fine and we don't need to worry about meat imports. Here is an article in the online publication Stitata about the use of the Beta-Agonist Clenbuterol found in Mexican meat....... "Consumption of clenbuterol contaminated meat has caused 56 cases of clenbuterol poisoning in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan. The cases were treated promptly and all recovered. In order to prevent a wider contamination, officials seized 72.5 kg of meat. Clenbuterol is a drug that is used to treat asthma. In some formulations, it increases the creation of muscle and is sometimes used to increase the muscle mass of animals such as cattle, pork or sheep. Clenbuterol residue remains in the body for a long time (months) after consumption and can affect lung and heart function." There is a lot of corruption and looking the other way when it comes to regulations in Mexico but this type of abuse of chemicals is a concern globally! The Canadians aren't without scandals as well. Here is an article about E-Coli tainted product headed for the US. http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/10/01/canadians-kept-in-the-dark-for-two-weeks-over-tainted-meat-scandal-liberals/   Even in our own meat supply we find things that need to be addressed so how can we, as a nation, allow meat from other countries without at least giving the public a heads up?
  But this law only regulates a portion of the meat brought into the US. All of the processed , value added meat does not need labeling. So if a giant pork company like Shuanghui, which now owns Smithfield, processes pork into value added hams, they do not require a country of origin labeling. Chinese produced pork could be sold in the US as a Smithfield product. This company was also caught abusing beta-agonists and yet our lawmakers determined that it would hurt our economy if we further regulate. What is to stop multi-national companies from shipping whole carcasses out of the US and processing them overseas and bringing them back as US product, even under the existing law? Nothing!  In reality further regulation would only hurt the bottom line of a foreign company. All of the fast food burgers sold in the US do not require any label about country of origin because the meat is cooked.  Our US processing plants and the workers in them are effected by this and we need to seriously consider COOL for all meat products. The law isn't stopping companies from bringing in the meat...it simply identifies the sources so that chefs and consumers can make their own decisions. Only a fool wouldn't agree with COOL.

Texas Longhorn Cattle in the Catskills!!

 Its a steady rain and 65 degrees on a June morning here in the Catskill Mountains of New York. That's a far cry from the weather in San Antonio today, where it is 94 and very sunny. Not that it doesn't get to be 94 here but the contrasts between the two places is obvious.
  On our way to western NY, my son and I take Rt 17which passes through a lot of hilly country with some farms mixed in. There are a couple Angus farms and dairy operations with lots of Holsteins. We sometimes take a scenic route off of 17 which takes us past the Papacton Reservoir and then through Downsville NY.  On the edge of Downsville there is a huge pasture-covered hillside. And there right along the edge of the fence we saw something that made us stop the car and grab the camera phone; pure-bred Texas Longhorn cattle with their huge horns and an indifferent expression of "Watchya'll lookin at?"
 Tom and Julie Markert own the Triple M Ranch in Downsville NY and also the beautiful Old Schoolhouse Inn and Restaurant. http://www.triplemlonghorns.com/ They have over 250 head of pure bred Texas Longhorn cattle on site and they use the cattle for their famous longhorn burgers and other special meats on the menu, including short ribs. The cattle are fed on pasture for most of the time but finished on corn feed for about 90 days before slaughter just to provide some extra fat. The grain is all locally grown and these cattle live in one of the most pristine areas one can imagine. Here is a photo of one of their prize stock bulls.

 Longhorns fell out of favor with cattle growers in the west years ago due to the fact that many growers switched to stocky meat breeds from England and Europe. They are a unique breed in that they are very hearty and can fend off predators but are actually an easy going breed that can be trained to ride! Longhorn can live off scant pasture and do very well in hot dry climates. Their meat is leaner than most beef cattle but they can be fattened to a certain extent to get some marbling. They are one of the oldest breeds of cattle in the world claiming ancient ancestry to Spanish Iberian cattle. First brought to the Americas by the early Spanish explorers in the 1500s, they are considered the closest thing to wild cattle that we have in the US. The fact that they are difficult to move around in chutes and gates makes them an unpopular choice for many growers but a lot of Texas ranchers now keep a few as a symbolic connection to the past. Their horns are valuable and ranchers such as the Markerts, sell the ornamental horns.
  Since 2010 there is a USDA certified program for Certified Texas Longhorn Beef with a criteria that focuses primarily on pure bred genetics and not so much on marbling scores like most Angus programs. The idea was to keep the breed pure so processors could market Texas Longhorn without it being mostly cross bred with another cattle breed.
  Next time you're in Downsville NY, bring your fishing pole and then stop by the Old Schoolhouse Inn and try an authentic taste of the old southwest, right here in the southeast of NY.
  Another note....bring your camera because not only do the Markerts raise Longhorns, they also raise Watusi cattle which have even larger horns!!

COCHON 555 NYC 2011

Back in December my friend Michael Sullivan, the butcher from The Inn at Blackberry Farm, asked if I could get some volunteer students to help at the opening of this year's Cochon 555 on Jan 23rd 2011. Cochon 555 is a ten city tour competition and it's purpose is to bring awareness to heritage breed pigs and small market farmers. It features five outstanding chefs, five breed of pig and five quality vintners all combining for a great time. At each tour location a winner is selected by a panel of judges and they will later compete at the final in Aspen to see who is the king or queen of pork! http://www.cochon555.com/menu/mission/ The founder of Cochon 555, Brady Lowe, then asked if I would like to conduct a demo and be one of 20 judges for the event. Hard to resist!

The event was amazing. The five chefs were given their hogs about a week or so ahead and were asked to prepare a nose to tail menu. The rules are pretty basic, prepare as many dishes that utilize the whole pig and present it with an explanation. The chefs presented at the judges table, giving a description of each item. The NYC chefs included Bill Telepan from Telepan Restaurant, Sean Rembold from Marlow and Sons, George Mendes from Aldea Restaurant, Peter Hoffman from Savoy, and the winner of this round Brad Farmerie from Public Restaurant. All presented amazing dishes and showcased their creative abilities with numerous braises, terrines, soups, crisps, pastries, pork infused everything!

Part of the mission of Cochon 555 is to showcase heritage breeds of swine and the assortment of pigs represented didn't disappoint. The pork used were all from unique niche market growers using their own particular feeding styles. There was Berkshire from Raven and Boar which was raised similar to pigs used for Parma ham, feeding them whey from cheesemaking. The Mangalitsa pig came from Mosefund Farm which Michael Clampfer feeds a diet partially of barley and acorns. There was also a Rede Wattle from Heritage Foods USA, an Old Spot pig from Flying Pig Farm and a Duroc cross from Fleischer's of Kingston. There was also a couple of butchery demos, one by yours truly featured a milk fed "porcelet de lait" mid sized pig from St. Canut Farm in Quebec which was provided by D'Artagnan distributors. The other was a competition demo between two Lowell Carson and Jose Manuel Alarcon featured a large Berkshire raised by Mark Newman of Newman Farm.

Twenty two students from the Culinary Institute of America joined the action as volunteers. The meatroom MIT Spencer Lee helped organize it and we all met at the location, The Lighthouse at Chelsea Pier. The students did a great job helping with the chefs in the kitchen, preparing appetizers, serving and generally were there when hands were needed. In return they got a chance to mingle and network with the chefs, farmers, winemakers and all of the guests.

Besides the heritage pork dishes there was a fine display of cheese presented by Murray's Cheese and wonderful charcuterie fromDebragga and Spitler. There was also some Black River Caviar Oesetra from Uraguay and Island Creek Oysters but I somehow managed to miss that tasting.

The wineries were also well representedby Copain Wine Cellars, Alysian winery, Elk Cove Vineyards, Failla Wines and Scholium Project. I enjoyed the Savignon Blanc from Scholium Project. It was slightly cloudy with super strong apricot tones that made you think it was going to be overpowering but it was very pleasant and went very well with the rich pork.

On a final note Bobby Hellen of Resto brought in a roast half hog that was carved and served on a waffle that was sooo delicious. My own demo pig, the porcelet was boned and rolled with porcetta spices and roasted. Its skin was a perfect wafer thin crisp.

Cochon555 moves on to Boston next weekend and then on from there. Check out their site. www.cochon555.com

Small processors, small restaurants

Running a small slaughter facility is no easy task. Here is an interesting article that describes the trial and tribulations of small niche market producers. http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2009/03/little-piggy-goes-home

With all of the talk about eating local and chefs looking to buy from specific farms, the link between the farmer and the table has gotten very crowded. Do you realize many farmers must book kill times weeks or even months ahead? The fact that NY state doesn't have any in state slaughter facilities means meat must be processed in a USDA inspected plant. This typically means the animals must be driven far from the farm, sometimes up to an hour or so away. This results in animals that can be stressed and exhausted upon arrival, lowering the quality of the meat. Also if the goal of eating local is to reduce the carbon footprint then driving animals around certainly makes no sense.

Another option might be to bring the slaughter house to the farm. http://www.mobileslaughter.com/ Mobile units might be the answer to a lot of problems in the northeast. No more trailering the animals. The end user could simply show up at the farm to pick up their meat. Small vendors could deliver cut product around the neighborhood or sell at the farmers market or to local small restaurants and caterers.

Is all dry aged the same??

On Monday a few of the meat room crew, Chef Elia, Steven and Kevin, went down to NYC to check out some meat shops. First we stopped at the premier meat distributor Debragga and Spitler in the old meat district on Washington Street. Upon arrival I took them up to the elevated rail/park that sits above the street. This was how all meat was brought into Manhatten in the hayday of the market district. There are still some old rails showing how the meats were loaded off rail cars straight into coolers. Gravity was used to move all the meats down during processing to the street level. It is an amazing park and it is nice to see the bit of meat history preserved.

Back in the day all beef was sent to New York as whole sides. There was no vacuum bag and it took a few days to get it from slaughter to the market, then it would sit a few more days in warehouses and maybe again at the local butcher. It was often 10 - 15 days old by the time the customer put it on the grill. It was well on its way to being dry aged. Today almost all meat is sent in bags and is wet aged.

So what is the difference? Dry aged is much more concentrated in flavor. Moisture evaporates about 13- 15 % leaving a fuller flavor. But there is more to it. When beef is aged a certain flora is created. Molds that are unique to a meat locker develop on the outside like those of a fine Salami.

We met Marc Sarrazin at around 9:30 after some introductions and small talk we started our tour of Debragga. Marc is a meat purveyor supreme. As we walk through a large cooler full of dry aging beef he explains his processes for creating some of truly the finest beef in the world! I have seen a lot of quality beef over my years buying beef with my father in the old markets that are now mostly gone from lower Manhatten, but Marc has the knack for exceeding the old traditions of the past. Between the newer genetics bred into today's beef and the old coolers that have just the right environment and flora the beef is better than ever. http://debraggaandspitler.com/home.html

We have been getting some dry aged at the school lately from a different purveyor but it doesn't have the same tangy "prosciutto" undertone flavor. It is good, but not great. Not all dry aged is created equal!http://www.debragga.com/default.asp#

After touring the dry aging room we took a look at the boxed beef in another cooler. Kevin's classic line was "This is the Fort Knox of meat coolers!" with box upon box of assorted Wagyu and specialty niche market beef and Kurobuta Berkshire pork. Take a look at the extreme marbling and quality of these products. A true treat for all of us who talk about quality each day in class.

After our tour we enjoyed a superior lunch at Rothman's Steakhouse in mid-town. Marc brought along a couple of wagyu steaks, one domestic and one Japanese which we had as an appetizer. Rothman's is a true steak lover dream and sells some fine dry aged beef.

We left Marc, who graciously picked up the tab, and ventured to Eli's Vinegar Factory on York ave. We met Billy Angelletti, the head butcher, who came up to the school and did a demo for my class a few months ago. Billy gave us a tour of the entire facility including the greenhouses on the roof. The meats were extreme quality again with lots of dry aged beef, quality lamb and veal, homemade sausages and Berkshire pork. The clientele of this and Eli's other store are willing to pay for quality and they never do "sales". Thanks to Billy for the great tour. http://www.elizabar.com/zabar/

We decided to walk over to another premier dry aged butcher shop, Lobels on Madison Ave. Along the way we stopped in Ottomanelli Bros which is another small but very good quality shop. They keep the tradition of sawdust on the floor. This shop should not be confused with the Ottomanelli and Sons shop on Bleecker St in lower Manhatten.

We also found a small Hungarian Deli that had homemade Keilbasa, Paprika Spec and dry spicy sausages. When I asked the woman behind the counter if she made the salami she gave me a look and said "No....my husband makes it." I waited until we got home and ate the Keilbasa with my son. It was good quality. We also bought some headcheese but that was a little too mild.

When we finally reached our final destination and talked with Mark Lobel about the school and business. Lobels is a very unique place with all sorts of businesses rolled into one. They have very succesfully published some great books on meat, they have a super mailorder/internet delivery and now the have NY Steaks set up in the new Yankee Stadium. Mark invited us to visit that location sometime during next year's baseball season. http://www.lobels.com/

As time began to run out we headed out of town before the traffic got too bad. I wanted to visit the meat markets in Grand Central Station and the forementioned Ottomanelli and Sons. Saved for another day I guess.

This trip was a joy with my colleagues. It was a pleasure to show them some of the history and quality that exists just two hours from the school. If you have any free time take the train down and visit some markets!

Butcher's tour of Montreal

Here is an article I wrote last year. We are on a three day weekend and just 4 1/2 hours from Montreal, a trip worth making!

Teaching just ninety miles from New York City, I am spoiled by the food bounty that can be found there. I boast to my students about the dry aged beef, custom Italian salumi, quality Glatt Kosher veal and Eastern European smoked sausages that are now found in NYC. It is hard to imagine a city that has more variety from a butcher’s standpoint. I tell them that New York should be part of their studies. After a recent trip, I now think of another nearby city that I can direct my students.
Over the winter The Culinary Institute of America hosted a demo by Rougie Canada, a producer of duck Foie Gras located near Montreal. I asked if they would allow anyone to tour their facility. The answer was a resounding “Yes, please come up and see what we do!” So arrangements were made and in late April two of us from the school set out for Montreal.
By April in the Hudson Valley, the snow has gone everywhere except in the high country of the Catskills. As we set out on a rainy Sunday we pass Albany and head up the Northway through the Adirondacks. The rain squalls turn to snow and the temperature drops. Snow is visible along side the road and on the higher peaks. We stop at a rest area and the wind feels like winter again. As we get closer to the border the snow is gone and the flat farm fields span into the distance. Once leaving the border we head into Quebec and our goal, Montreal. We arrive just after noon and find our 1960s vintage hotel. Another snow squall hits and everything turns white for a few minutes but just as quick, spring returns with a little sunshine. With about two hours to kill we head to the Old Montreal section. Chef Bruce Mattel and I tour the tourist part of town with its cobble stone streets and many souvenir shops. The site of signs written in French and the old architecture gives a feel of being much farther away than the quick four and half hour drive from home. Hunger starts to creep in and we decide to find a place to eat. Before leaving on the trip a friend mentioned a place called Schwartz’s Smoked Meat. I have the address and we head to another neighborhood to find it. Bruce has an uncanny sense of direction and knows the city a little. We find the correct street and search for the restaurant. We find that Schwartz’s has a line out the door on Sundays so we walk around a bit. Schartz’s will wait until tomorrow. We are in a food neighborhood with lots of small quality charcuterie shops. We walk into Charcuterie/ Boucherie Hongroise, a small family owned butcher. The showcase is full of Hungarian, German and Polish style sausages. There are all sorts of smoked meats, hams and specialties presented in an unpretentious way. This is not a café and there are no chairs, it is simply a quality butcher shop. This is where local neighborhood people shop regularly along with the local bakeries and cheese shops. The customer served in front of us orders a cooked sausage cooked and split on a roll with sauerkraut and mustard. We decide to mimic the order and also buy some spicy dried salami chunks and a little homemade headcheese. We eat our treats U.S. style, in the car because at this point we can’t wait. The sandwich does not disappoint. The sausage is spiced perfectly and the sauerkraut is cooked with chunks of pork in it. The headcheese is a little too gelatinous but very well spiced. It would have been better sliced thin on a roll as a lunch meat. I grew up on the stuff so I find it a great treat. We check a few more spots and decide beer is also in order. Good local beer is found everywhere.
Nearby, on Duluth st., is the very famous Au Pied de Cochon. Our Foie Gras hosts have suggested this location and colleagues at the Institute confirmed its intrigue. We walk in to find the restaurants crew preparing for the evenings work. Marc Beaudin greets us to take our reservation and arrange to eat at the bar, which is the front row for where the food is created. Au Pied de Cochon’s menu reads like a wonderful calorie fest. It is loaded with pork, duck, game, braised lamb, sausages and very little “middle meat” meaning there are no over-trimmed tidy medallions of loin. There is big food with richness. And of course there is Foie Gras. Rich seared Foie shows up throughout the menu. The owner, Martin Picard, has developed this menu with the goal of serving Quebec’s food and bounty. It is designed with eating in mind! He seeks out quality farms, local ingredients, seasonal specialties, and even has a connection with a single fisherman to bring in the North Atlantic’s bounty. We make our reservation and eagerly anticipate our return.
Upon entering Au Pied de Cochon we are greeted and seated at the bar as promised. The place is packed and the cooks are flying. Philippe Poitras and Marc Baedin are directing the floor and the waitstaff is in the dance of full service. We order way too much including another round of homemade headcheese and a Venison tartar as appetizers. Bruce orders “Duck in a Can”, a specialty of boneless duck and foie gras cooked in a sealed can for a unique braise. I order the “Pied de Cochon” or stuffed pig’s foot which is actually meant for three or four people. The foot is first hollow boned and then stuffed a pork and foie gras force meat. It is cooked sous vide and then breaded and pan seared. Another specialty is hand cut “frittes” cooked in duck fat. Rich and delicious! The food is splendid. I think of the menu and wish I could start again. Anthony Bourdain, when talking about Au Pied… “We have wandered so far from the roots of cooking – from our own roots- and from the source of our ingredients that we, many of us, nearly forgotten the simple and many-splendored delights of such fundamentally good things like pig, duck, the potato…and fire. Martin Picard has not forgotten” sums it up.
The next day we are to tour the Foie gras production. This will happen around 1:30 which leaves us a morning to further explore the city. Bruce knows the addresses of the two large market places. On Monday these markets are quiet and every one is recouping from the busy weekend. It gives us a chance to talk to local butchers and shop owners.
We first tour the Jean-Talon market and then the Atwater market. Both markets are European style with lots of open booths and stalls. The stalls are filled with local meats, specialty game, poultry and of course foie gras. We talk to the local butchers and discuss breeds and farms. These butchers either know exactly where the meats are from or they raise them themselves. We find every sort of butcher, charcuterie shops with fine pates, Halal shops with goat and lamb, shops with butchers cutting whole beef loins, sausage specialty shops with twenty types of grilling sausages. There is pork with some of the fat left on and a novel idea, marbling! And all the accoutrements such as specialty mustards, stocks, sauces, many homemade right on the premises. These shops are where locals find the food for the week. Don’t miss understand, there are large typical supermarkets in Montreal as well but these stalls represent the soul of Montreal’s food culture. Along with the butcher shops are many “fromagerie”- cheese shops selling “Lait Cru” or unpasteurized cheeses. There are bakeries, green grocers, egg shops, fish markets and florists. We find a Polish coffee shop that sells fresh homemade Paczki yeast doughnuts with a natural raspberry jam.
Soon it is time for lunch. We set out to try Schwartz’s again. This time we quickly get a seat and order the famous smoked meat sandwich. Smoked meat in Montreal is basically cured brisket covered with pepper and smoke roasted, basically Pastrami! You can order it a number of different ways but it is basically the same with the meat as the main event. We again order as locals and get an overstuffed smoked meat sandwich, cherry soda, a pickle and some non-creamy coleslaw. The smoked meat is cooked perfectly and slightly thick but very tender. We exit stuffed again.
We leave Montreal and head to the Rougie / Palmex plant in Marrieville, about 20 minutes drive. Palmex once a stand alone producer, has partnered with the French foie gras giant Rougie. We are warmly greeted by the US sales rep Natalie who acts as our interpreter. We meet Pascal Fleury an original partner in Palmex, and Jacque Besonette, a manager. They promptly shuttle us to the “gavage” farm where the ducks are fattened. Gavage is the process of fattening the liver by feeding it heavily. The ducks are raised on a separate farm to twelve weeks then trucked to this farm. All ducks are Moulards which is a cross between the Pekin and a Moscovy Barberi. They are almost full grown at this age and can handle the heavy feeding. Each duck is fed a specific amount of a corn meal pate twice a day. The corn is a high grade variety only purchased from specific distributors.
The feeding is quicker than I thought. It only takes two or three seconds to feed each duck. The feeding is done with a tube that easily slides into the ducks throat and is removed rapidly. The ducks are fattened within twelve days and ready for market. I was surprised to find that it only took twelve days to engorge the liver to a foie gras standard. The farm is divided into sections of ducks that are in various stages of fattening and when they are finished they are trucked out for slaughter. The barns are then power washed and very clean for the next group.
When we return to the plant we tour the new wing to be used for processing the ducks. The plant will produce the plain liver, boneless breast (Magret), legs, confit, tourchon of liver, rillets, and rendered fat to name a few items. The goal is to expand the value added items for both the retail and foodservice markets. The livers are graded with numbers 1, 2, 3 with one being the highest quality. We find that Rougie Canada produces about 200,000 ducks per year. Most of the plant is brand new and the entire place is very clean. It is divided between fresh and processed sections ensuring food safety.
After our tour, Bruce and I return to Montreal and get ready for our final dinner of the trip. Monday in Montreal is not the best night for dining out. Most restaurants are closed. Our host, Jacque, has found a location and we are not disappointed. We arrive at the Bistro Cocogne to find it primarily empty. No surprise on Monday. Our waiter greets us warmly and we begin another session of quality dining. We decide to try the tasting menu and are first treated to some fine British Columbian oysters. Courses are built on each other and we sample Salmon tartar, fennel soup with shaved dried chorizo, and again foie gras seared and served with a trumpet royale mushroom sauce. Our host comments on the foie and how it differs from the Rougie product. I must admit it was different than the previous nights version at Au Pied de Cochon but both are very good. I ask our waiter about the meats and all are locally produced. This course is followed by a very tender venison medallion, a wonderful local cheese plate and finally a pudding Chomeur made with maple syrup with a touch of homemade ice cream. We depart our host and thank him for the hospitality anxious to return the favor when he tours our institute.
Bruce and I awake the next morning to return to NY. We stop at the Atwater market one more time to grab a piece of local cheese and a nice fresh baked bread. A little taste reminder of the trip.
Montreal is a relatively short drive from the CIA and well worth the trip for any culinarian…especially butchers.