Becoming a Whole Animal Cook
Rose Veal
by Benjamin Roberts
A number of years ago a local farmer named Tom Hunter approached us about selling veal he was raising. Up until meeting Tom, we had not considered selling veal, as it didn’t fit our model of ethically raised meat. No need to recount the horrors of commercial veal production in this space, the internet will be happy to inform you of the unconscionable treatment of calves raised for veal.
Tom presented a much different idea of veal—a traditional method which allows the calf access to pasture in addition to its mother’s milk. Rose veals presents much more like grass fed beef than the ultra white confinement veal that most folks are used to. We covet this protein for it’s deep, complex flavor as well as it’s beautiful tenderness.
Each year Tom’s retirement project weighs on him a little more and he suggests this year might be the last. We will enjoy this incredible treat for as long as possible, as it really is one of the truest expressions of care for an animal that we can provide to our customers.
If you’re interested in learning much, much more about rose veal, click HERE for a wonderful, in depth exploration.
The Roast Quartet
by Nick Mangigian
With Thanksgiving only a week away, it's official: we're in feast season. There is no better balance between abundance, deliciousness, and sneaky economy than putting an awesome roast in the oven for your guests.
The holy quartet of roasts, in our opinion, is as follows:
Prime Rib: The most decadent of them all. We recommend about one pound per person if opting for bone-in, and we are always happy to take the bones off and tie them back on (a process known as "Chicago-ing") if you ask. The absolute best way to cook this is a reverse sear, which takes time but is foolproof if you have an instant read thermometer. Our dedicated meatmongers would love to talk you through this. The important thing to remember is that medium rare, or even medium, beats rare on prime rib-- you want that fat to render!
Filet Mignon: The king of steaks, and deceptively easy. If you have a gas grill, there is no better way to cook one of those, although the oven/broiler combination is a good one too. 8oz of meat per person is a good rule of thumb, and you can either reverse sear this, or start it off hot to get nice color and then finish at lower heat until you've reached a final temp of 130 for medium rare.
Chicken: For three adults, or two adults and two kids, a roast chicken is a wonderful, comforting meal, and you can move mountains with two chickens. About an hour and 10 minutes in the oven at 450 is a bulletproof way to get crispy, golden skin and succulent meat that temps at 160.
Turkey: Everybody fears the biggest, baddest bird of them all (it was almost our national bird!), but turkey is really just a massive chicken. You'll want to treat it more gently to get it up to temp, and then blast it at the end to brown the skin.
The three biggest favors you can do with yourself on any roast, though, are the following:
An instant-read thermometer is your friend! If you have one of these, and the internet, there is never any doubt about what temp you want to cook your beautiful piece of meat to.
A preparatory dry brine makes a MASSIVE difference on how juicy and delicious your roast will turn out. As a rule of thumb: ¾ tsp of salt per pound of meat, and half that amount of black pepper, will lead to a memorably awesome roast.
Let the roast rest! The bigger the piece of meat, the longer the rest, but generally speaking 10 minutes is a good amount to keep things juicy. You get about 7 or 8 degrees of carryover cooking during the rest period, so it's important to pull your roast off the heat before it's reached your goal temperature, and to let it rest far away from the heat source (ie, not on the grill or in a turned-off oven).
Roast easy, friends, and as always-- we are glad to help talk you through your next cooking adventure!
Cook Like a Monger: Old Fashioned Pork Ribs
By Matt Gruber
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening. Most of those times of day are when I like to enjoy some good ol' fashioned BBQ Ribs. Oddly enough, ribs haven't always been a "pit" staple. It wasn't until the 20th century that people started really dabbling with barbecued ribs. Part of this has to do with people neglecting the tougher and gristle heavy cuts of the animal. Most people were delighting themselves with the more tender and easier to deal with cuts.
I myself felt lost and confused that I couldn't recreate the delight I have had from smoked ribs in my travels down south at places like Papa Turney's Old Fashion BBQ in TN - and even right here at home at places like Ted Cook's 19th Hole in Minneapolis. I was stuck on the idea of needing a smoker to have tender, fall off the bone barbecue at home. Turns out all I needed was patience, acceptance of no smoke, and an oven that can hold a low temp (I think this one is pretty common).
Pork ribs are such an easy day off food that I believe everyone should explore. Leftovers for a breakfast hash, pull off the bone for a lunch sandwich, or a full on spread for a picnic inside dinner, this is how you start your new obsession.
Ingredients for homemade BBQ sauce:
1 cup chicken broth
½ cup ketchup
1 cup grated onion
2 tablespoon Worcestershire (highly recommended Col Pabst)
1 tablespoon mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
¼ cup molasses
Optional - 2 teaspoons your favorite hot sauce
For the rest, all you need is pork ribs and your favorite sides
Salt and pepper pork ribs 24 hours ahead of time
Preheat oven to as low as 200, but somewhere between 200-215
In a small sauce pan add together all BBQ ingredients and salt and pepper to taste
Whisk together and reduce until sauce consistency and set aside
Place ribs in oven uncovered on middle rack, sit back and relax.
Once the ribs reach an internal temperature of 200, glaze with BBQ sauce and broil until internal temperature reaches 215 and has a nice bark.
There you have it, it’s mostly a waiting game until 215. You cannot screw this one up! Depending on the size of the ribs, allow yourself ~1 hour per pound, maybe even a bit more is a good rule of thumb. Also, don't be ashamed to just use some good old Sweet Baby Rays either (not a sponsor).
The Pairing: Smashburgers and Ogleshield
By Sam Schonberg
For this week’s pairing we are exploring one of the many uses of Ogleshield, a raclette-style cheese from Somerset, England. Ogleshield is only aged three months, lending it a high moisture content and a melt-in-your-mouth texture. While delicious on a cracker or served on a board, it is a phenomenal melter and is highlighted when hit with some heat. Because it is a younger cheese, the milk fats don’t separate when heat is applied. In addition, the raclette style tends to have a slightly lower salt content than a cheese like a cheddar. You can salt both sides of the meat without worrying about blowing out your palette. Finally, although Ogleshield is not aged a particularly long time, it has a well developed flavor that only expands when melted.
As a whole animal butcher, we developed a House Grind to reflect the quality of animal that we butcher in house. Our 80/20 grind has enough meat to hold together when grilled, but is fatty enough to be flavorful without any additives. Toss on some Ogleshield, and you’ve got a rich burger that is just juicy enough to soak into your bun. Smash the burger (at the start of your cooking cycle!) with a spatula to increase the surface area of the burger itself. More surface area means a crispier crust, but more importantly, more room for cheese. Read up on all the benefits and techniques of smash burgers from the man himself, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt.
We’ve already devoted space to the decadent pairing of Ogleshield with the Mariposa Red, but it bears repeating that a chillable red is probably the best possible summer burger pairing. Take a big hunk of Ogleshield, eat half while you cook, and put the other half on the burger.
Ask A Butcher: Reverse Sear
What is a reverse sear and when do I use it?
A reverse sear is a simple method of cooking larger pieces of meat, such as cuts like the bone-in ribeye, or double cut pork chops. Rather than sear the meat then put it in the oven to finish, you first bake the meat then you sear it at the end for a beautiful finishing crust. This method was first developed by Kenji Lopez-Alt in the mid 2000s, when he wrote for Cooks Illustrated.
How to Reverse Sear:
The reverse sear is our favorite way to cook any piece of meat bigger than about a pound. To execute successfully, you’ll need an instant read thermometer.
Preheat your oven. You can set your oven as low as 180° if you’re feeling patient; a temperature as high as 300° will still yield noticeable “reverse-sear” results.
Place the meat in a cast iron or oven-safe stainless steel pan and place in the oven. Temp the meat periodically and flip it each time you do.
For medium-rare, take the meat out of the oven at 115° and let it rest on a dinner plate or wire rack before searing.
Heat your pan on the stove until just smoking. For bigger pieces of meat, you can get your grill, broiler, or oven going at very high heat.
Sear the meat on all sides. You’re looking for a beautiful, brown Maillard reaction on the outside to add texture and flavor, and a final internal temperature of 130° for medium-rare.
Serve immediately, there’s no need to let it rest again.
Ask A Butcher: Spatchcocked Chicken
What is a spatchcocked chicken and why do people love them?
A spatchcocked chicken, sometimes called a butterflied chicken, is a whole chicken from which you remove two bones: the spine and the keel bone. Doing so allows the bird to lay flat for cooking, both decreasing the time it takes to cook and increasing the ways to cook it.
Spatchcocking a chicken dramatically decreases the cooking time, regardless of the method. The time it takes to roast a whole chicken in the oven is cut in half, from around an hour and a half to a measly 45 minutes. Because they can lay evenly on a flat surface, spatchcocked chickens are also perfect for grilling. This also exposes more skin to the heat, rendering even more of it crispy and delicious. If you want your chicken to be fall-off the bone tender, you can even grab your biggest, deepest pan and braise the chicken on the stove or in the oven. That is, after searing the skin, of course.
Breaking down a cooked spatchcocked chicken is incredibly easy. Because many of the connecting bones are now gone, you can simply pull at the base of the thighs to separate the thighs and breasts. The breasts should require nothing more than a cut between them, providing easy portioning for a full meal.
Spatchcocking a chicken at home is surprisingly simple, too. To remove the spine, you stand the chicken on its head, running a sharp knife down both sides of the spine, all the way to the neck. If you don't feel comfortable using a knife, a pair of kitchen scissors works as well. Once you have the whole spine removed, you flip the chicken over and press down on the back of both the chicken breasts. This should expose the keel bone, located between the two breasts. It's very easy to remove with your hands, and with that, the chicken will lay flat on a surface. If you want to see an example, or have any more questions, please ask us at the meat counter! We love your questions, and were always happy to spatchcock the chicken for you, too!
Ask A Butcher // What's the Lamb American Roast?
This will be a regular series, in which our St. Paul Meat Shop butchers, Scott and Peter, answer your questions about meat! Sign up for our emails and never miss a post.
Q: What is the Lamb American Roast and how should I prepare it?
A: The Lamb American Roast comes from the same place on a lamb as it does from a cow (namely, the chuck section). The big difference is that the lamb version is a smaller 1-2 person roast, while the beef version can feed 3-5 people.
This cut has loads of rich lamb flavor. It's really well marbled and great for slow roasting. As usual, we recommend cooking this guy to medium rare.
Each Lamb American Roast weighs about 3/4 of a pound and there are only two per animal. That means we only have two of these roasts a week in our meat case. Plan ahead for this one!
Ask A Butcher // What's The Teres Major?
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This will be a regular series, in which our St. Paul Meat Shop butchers, Scott and Peter, answer your questions about meat! Sign up for our emails and never miss a post.
Q:What sort of cut is the teres major and how should I prepare it?
A:Teres major is a cut of beef that comes from the chuck section of the cow, right below its front leg. It is about the size of a pork tenderloin and happens to be the second most tender cut from a cow (after the tenderloin, of course). Fun fact: Teres major takes its name from the same spot in human anatomy. Whaaat?!
Teres major has a much richer flavor than beef tenderloin, however. Because this cut comes from a very active part of the cow's body, it experiences greater blood flow and thus develops more complexity. Normally, lots of physical activity leads to tougher meat. However, because teres major sits just below the cow's leg, it remains melty tender with all the added flavor benefits of the leg.
Treat this cut very simply. Salt and pepper it and then roast or grill it whole to your desired temperature (we like medium rare). Grass-fed beef tends to taste pretty great on its own, without much special treatment. Why? Typically, cows that are corn-fed fatten up quickly and get sent to slaughter around 8-10 months old. Grass-fed cows have more time to mature and develop rich flavor. At our butcher shop, we usually receive our cows (from Hidden Stream Farm in Elgin, Minnesota) when they're 28-30 months old.
**Note: Teres major is a rarer (but affordable) cut, which means our shop on Grand Ave carries a limited number of them every week. Something to keep in mind when you're planning dinner!