More on the Market

I'm not sure if I find the idea of people shopping local as a leisure activity hopeful or irksome. I could say the same about the term "deeply local." But I do love what Jill Slater says about selling a puppy!

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Proper Ground Beef

I spend a lot of time thinking about ground beef. About an hour a day which is how long it takes me to trim and grind the meat that will become the burgers that day at Diner.

Ground beef is one of those things that people either love or fear like no other meat, except maybe bone marrow, I can think of. I've heard at least 10 people tell me about some relation of theirs, usually a dad or uncle, who eats or ate raw hamburger right out of the foam tray. Of course we all know people who would never think of eating a hamburger that was anything but well-done.

So what IS the deal with commercially produced ground beef anyway? Should you fear it? Should you eat it raw? What are "best practices" for making it? Let me tell you.

What goes into ground beef anyway? What goes into most grind is lean and fatty beef trim (the stuff they trim off large cuts to make them free of sinew and gristle or to make them look prettier) and tough meat from the fore quarter of the beef, aka arm chuck. None of this stuff is super scary sounding right? Oh, yes... arm chuck. That sounds very wholesome and mid-western how could that be bad? If you only knew.

What could go wrong? Why is important to know and trust the person who makes your burger or sausage? Turds. Blood. Hair. Filth. Dead cows. Green meat. What?

Turds, filth, hair: Slaughter houses, no matter how well run and clean, are still pretty dirty places which is fine since the animal is essentially sealed off from the gastro-intestinal content, blood, hair, etc. that may splash up onto the hanging carcasses as the slaughter men hose the above items into floor drains. Also, your steer might also have been dropped onto said kill floor. Don't forget about what it may come in contact with during transport in the back of some delivery truck. Have you ever seen the floor in the back of the average delivery truck? All that seems pretty gross. Nothing that you'd want in your meat. This is where love and trust for your butcher comes in. When your butcher is taking apart sub-primals (chances are he will never get quartered beef) he should be shaving off whatever part of the cow that was on the outside (where the turds and blood are) and throwing it away. It doesn't add-up to much waste-wise but it takes time and when a butcher is in a hurry it is seldom a good thing.

If that outside is not trimmed off it IS going into your ground meat. What did you say? You don't have a butcher to love and trust? Well then you are getting nasty stuff in your meat, I guarantee it. You can talk local and organic all you want but, if you eat meat, you need to be intimate with your butcher. Otherwise you have absolutely no idea the character of the man you are entrusting your digestive tract to.

"What bout the dead cows and green meat!" There are companies that do nothing but pick up dead cows from farms across the U.S.. Where do you think that two day dead dairy cow ends up? Chances are you've eaten one.

Green meat is basically meat that is about 35% rotten and has started to turn a shade of ghostly Lunesta Moth green. It smells quite bad. OK, it smells like a dumpster full of dead rats. It is not something you would want to eat. I knew a grizzled old butcher that looked like Edward James Olmos who used to work at a packing house that made Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage. He swore that they had piles of green, stinking meat, and I quote "as big as a house" on the bare concrete floor that they would then feed into the huge industrial meat grinder that made the sausage.

You think that stuff sounds yucky, it doesn't even include the "mechanically separated" meat by-product pudding that places like McDonalds or any other huge chain uses to make their burgers. This process involves the bones of the animals to be crushed and forced under high pressure through a sort of sieve. McCorprate food companies love it because it produces a very consistent product that takes the various meat flavorings and texturizers better than real meat.

I would imagine that if you don't have a butcher you trust and you still want a burger you're going to have to start doing it yourself. So how does one make proper ground beef?

Cuts: I like a fatty burger so my choice would be something like untrimmed brisket or trim from the belly. If you want less fat I would just get the cheapest pot roast type thing. Not too lean now! Most ground beef is at least 20% fat. If you're having trouble finding a cut with enough fat ask the guy at the meat counter if he has any untrimmed cuts (i.e. they have much more fat on the outside).

Trimming: You know that you need to remove the stuff that was on the outside of the animal but how do you tell which part it is? Well, number one, it will likely be a darker shade of white than the natural color of the fat. Sometimes it will be reddish from blood splash. The best way to tell is, of course, the go old USDA blue stamp. Once the outside is shaved off you will also want to get rid of any tendons, connective tissue or gristle that will gum up your hand crank meat grinder and end up as what Aaron calls "bullets" in your cooked burger. Also cut out any glands that you may find buried in the thick potions of fat. They will look like tan cancer blobs. Don't worry, they're just part of the lymphatic system.

Cut: Now cut your meat into 1 1/2 inch cubes. The smaller you cut them the easier it will be to grind. I only had to take apart a grinder full stuffed full of meat once to learn to cut them into smaller pieces. While you're doing this remember that if you run into any gristle that is hard to cut through it will be hard for the grinder blade too. Trim it out and toss it.

Grind: Any new hand-crank grinder you buy with come with several grind plates with holes in them in various sizes from large to small depending on what size ground meat particle you want. I would recommend using a large plate and then running it through once more using the smallest plate. Trying to use the smallest plate right of the bat may result in a clogged grinder. This is only necessary with beef. Pork is much softer and doesn't need a second pass.

Other advice, tips, etc: If you plan on seasoning the meat do it before you put it through the grinder as it will be more evenly distributed in the grind just make sure that you don't over season!

Red wine vinegar helps give hamburgers a bit more punch with a touch of red wine beefiness and acid.

To get burgers to stay together on the grill let the meat warm up before you make patties and make sure to work it into a ball well.

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Elgy-Ouriet "Brut Tradition"

Producer: Elgy Ouriet
Wine: Brut Tradition
Region:Champagne
Appelation: Champagne
Grape: 75% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay
Vintage: NV

Golden colored with some hints of green tinges. Lemon and honey suckle butter on the nose with some wet stones, chalk dust, white roses, nuts and cooked peaches on the edges. Lots of pepper and raspberries with white roses here, Mirabelle plums, and lemon and lime rind. Mid palate of baked dried red-fuits with a long finish.


Egly-Ouriet is one of the original Grower Champagnes distributed by Michael Skurnik Wines, long before "Grower Champagne" became part of our wine vernacular. As such, Egly has earned a soft spot in the hearts of many Champagne groupies. Based in the village of Ambonnay, this small estate claims approximately eight hectares of ALL Grand Cru vineyards, mostly in Ambonnay, but also in Bouzy and Verzenay. Francis Egly is one of the most conscientious, skilled vignerons in the entire region and his vinous, terroir-expressive Champagnes are unique and incredible. The vines average 30-50 years in age and are planted to 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay. In order to preserve the integrity of the base wines as much as possible, all wines are unfiltered - a somewhat unusual practice in Champagne. Once the assemblage is complete, all wines spend a minimum of three years on their yeasts, often significantly longer, resulting in rich, full-bodied Champagnes. The date of disgorgement can always be found on the back label. Unapologetically vinous, and with amazing depth. The sheer ripeness and quality of the fruit allow for a very moderate dosage of 4 grams per liter. Egly's Champagnes are legendary.

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SPAIN Featured on a Plate at marlow

Speaking of local we are exploring foods of Spain with the recently released Iberico Ham and a number of Spanish cheeses to accompany it on a small plate at Marlow. Here is a bit of info about all the parts of the plate:

HAM

Iberico Ham: From multiple areas in southern and southwestern Spain. The meat comes from a specific pig called Black Iberian Pig, cerdo negro, or simply black pig. These pigs are unusual in that they have a natural inclination to eat acorns. Piglets are fattened on barley and maize for several weeks after they are weaned from their mothers. Then they are let loose to roam and root in oak groves. The highest quality Iberico called Jamon Iberico Bellota are gorged on acorns towards the end of their lives (bellota means acorn)m and is not yet available in the US. All of the Iberico is aged for at least 1.5 if not two full years.

CHEESES

Garroxta: From the Catalan region of Spain. This is a small wheel of goat's milk that is aged less than two months and thus is most often pasteurized. The milk is cultured with a bacteria and the rooms in which they are aged lead to the development of a velvety, gray rind. If the cheese has been kept properly it is usually still somewhat pliable and has a kind of woodsy flavor (it is often aged on Spruce planks). It is very similar to aged goat's milk cheeses from Twig Farm in VT.

Idiazabal: From the Basque region of Spain. Most often this aged sheep's milk cheese is made with raw milk. This region of Spain (and also the French side of the Pyrenees) is well known for sheep's milk cheeses. This particular cheese is aged at least 6-7 months and is pressed which means it has a harder texture. The cheese is smoked soon after coming out of its mold and the smoked exterior acts as somewhat of a rind- it can look at bit waxy even. Idiazabal is less sweet and nutty than the French Pyrenees sheep milk cheeses and it can have some bright citrusy notes alongside its salty flavors. It is similar to Frere Fumant from 3 Corner Field Farm right here in NY.

Mahon: This cheese is from Menorca, Spain in the Mediterranean region. It is one of the few cow's milk cheeses from Spain. Mahon can be consumed at a variety of ages- those that make it to the U.S. are all aged beyond 2 months (because of our raw milk rules) and often seem to be even older. It has an apricot colored exterior (I think it can smell like dried apricots too). This cheese is a bit flinty when cut- it can be a bit crumbly- and has great salt and acidity- lemony notes shine through.

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Salt Pepper and Booze

Would be hard to live without! Still it would be nice for our food to have a flight path similar to a honey bees.

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