Pig Diet...Not for Slimming

My nephew, Austin Schneller, is raising four hogs this year. Each year he raises a few for his own consumption and a lucky few friends who help with the costs. A few years ago he raised four Danish Landrace prize stock pigs. They were lean and skittish, without much fatback. They grew really fast but were not what he was after. Then next year he got a Berkshire, a couple Hampshires and a Duroc cross. These were totally different, huge and very fatty. Last year he tried Tamworths, which were wonderful, large with very nice bellies etc. Some of the best pork I've ever tasted. This year I think he has the winner, a cross between Large Blacks and Old Spots. These pigs are very healthy, great foragers and getting really fat. They are a little agressive with each other but thats just pigs acting as they do.

 The feed for the pigs is pretty much the same year to year, lots of grains including corn but also some fermented barley, then as we get into fall, acorns, pumpkins, squash and apples, all byproduct waste from local farmers. This year I picked a big bucket of acorns off my lawn and they ate them like candy. The pigs are under some large oaks so they get all the natural drops in their pen as well. They always get the kitchen scraps from Austins home cooking.

  At the CIA we have the St Andrews Cafe where we try to keep it local and use as much locally grown food as possible. The attempt at sustainability is valid but I noticed we were throwing out the waste food scraps so I introduced the pig bucket. Every couple days the students from St Andrews fill a 5 gallon bucket with a wide assortment of scraps. I pick it up and drop it off to Austin's on my way home, which is typically late evening. The pigs get a very nice late night snack. I've always heard the worst time to eat dinner is late at night because it will make you fat! Well thats the goal here.

 The difference of flavor between these hogs and the commercially grown pork I work with in class is like day and night. Hese pigs are not only fed a more diverse and healthy diet, they are also allowed to mature a little more, giving a more complex meat taste. The other day we cut a half hog from Meiller's in Pine Plains. It was ok but didn't have much marbling and fat back. It wasn't raised poorly, but it was a white pig breed which tend to be leaner and it just wasn't allowed to mature.

 To get the best possible pork, such as that used for the Bellotta Iberico hams, it takes time and lots of really good feed, which means it will be expensive, but well worth it.

Beta-agonists? Good thing cattle don't race bikes.

I was reading an article in a trade magazine the other day which was commenting about the average carcass weight of recent beef. Beef has gotten bigger from some feedlots and the reasons for this are multiple. One is simply introducing larger breeds into the mix. This has been going on for hundreds of years and it is a natural way to increase size. For example if a breeder mixes an Angus with a larger Charolais you end up with bigger beef that should have some of the higher quality traits of the Angus. Advances in breeding and the ability to track generations have resulted in seedstock ranchers growing exactly the type of cattle they want, and for many that may mean larger cattle.

 There are other reasons why cattle have gotten larger. Feed is being managed in ways that can maximize the growth of cattle. Fermenting hay and steaming grains can bring out more nutrients so cattle can actually grow on less feed. Keeping track of the animals diet and exact ration is very important for growth.

 Another aspect is the use of steroids and hormones. Many cattle are implanted with a steroid in their ear upon arriving at the feedyard. This steroid is released for a few days and then the animal goes through a long period of feeding before it is sent to market. The steroid is, for the most part, depleted to low levels before slaughter and the end result is about a four percent gain in size. So this will explain some of the gain but most feedlots  have been using these for years.

 Why are cattle getting even bigger these days? We cut a boneless 0x1 striploin the other day that weighed 17.4 lbs! Thats big and impossible to cut into a thick 8 oz portion steak for a quality restaurant.

  Another tool being used by feedlots today is a different feed supplement called beta- agonists. Beta -agonists are used on humans for asthma relief. Are these cattle having trouble breathing?? Not exactly. Beta-agonists are used to grow muscle faster by increasing the efficiency of the feed. Here is a very good explanation and shows the different types used today. http://fyi.uwex.edu/wbic/files/2010/11/Beta-Agonists-Factsheet.pdf The gains are substantial and the real savings is in the amount of feed the animal needs to grow. The most popular brand name is zilpaterol hydrochloride (Zilmax) is produced by Merck.
  Here is a bit of text from a beef grower about the use of a beta-agonist...

Beta agonists, like ractopamine, work by activating the beta 2 receptor on the muscles of my cattle. This binds specific beta receptors in the muscle cell membranes and increases protein synthesis. What does this mean exactly?


1.As animals grow larger and get close to the time of harvest, their bodies tend to turn nutrients into fat instead of lean muscle. Ractopamine encourages or repartitions those nutrients into muscle growth through protein synthesis rather than fat deposition.

2.This allows the animal to make more lean muscle (what we want to eat), and less fatty tissue (what we do not want to eat).

3.By making more muscle and less fat from nutrients, the animal becomes a more efficient user of its food thereby reducing the total environmental footprint of its food production. http://feedyardfoodie.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/the-great-puzzle-what-role-does-a-beta-agonist-play-on-my-farm/

 

 So this explains why many cattle have gotten larger and also why they are leaner. Lean beef may have eye appeal in the super market but not in a fine steakhouse. And the beef's flavor is also effected. There seems to be less depth of flavor because it is taking less time to grow cattle so they end up in the market younger, therfore less time to develop more complex taste. But as we see drought conditions continuing in the midwest and west, we will see more and more use of beta-agonists. As feed prices soar, cattle growers want to sell faster. Everyday on feed costs them big bucks.

 Beta-agonists have been deemed safe by the FDA but here is an article that sheds more light on the discussion. http://chronicle.com/article/As-Beef-Cattle-Become/131480/  It certainly is an interesting tread of comments afterward. Some program beef processors, such as those seeking higher marbling and smaller sized cattle, have asked feedlots to not overuse the beta-agonists so the beef can fatten. Any natural beef program will not allow them.

  The size of beef has gotten larger, no doubt, and the cyclists in the Tour de France have gotten faster, they are both using similar substances to grow muscle. Beta-agonists are one of the many substances banned in professional bike racing. The use of  beta-agonists is banned from animal feed in the EU and many other countries around the world. I'm not an expert in pharmaceutical study and I don't know the long term chronic effects of the use of these substances. I'm a butcher looking for marbling and flavor and some of today's beef seems to be lacking in both. I'm also a cyclist and long time racing fan and that sport has also lost a lot of flavor in recent years.

 

 

Austrian Butcher Style

 Back in the spring I had the opportunity to visit Peter Trixner who lives near Klagenfurt, Austria. Peter and his wife Petra own a beautiful ranch on a hillside overlooking the Austrian Alps in the distance. They are raising Tajima Wagyu and Tajima - Charolais crosses. These cattle are some of the first high end Japanese genetics found in Europe. The beef from their first slaughter was a bit lean and Peter was just beginning to understand the feeding regiment that it takes to reach the high fat scores typically found in these breeds. Peter is hoping to use his beef in the hotel restaurants that he holds interest in. The Lake's hotel located in nearby Portschach am Worthersee was featuring some of Peter's beef this summer on their fun casual menu. I worked with Peter to develop a dry aging room for the beef in the hotel so he can start to feature some real steakhouse quality taste. Lake's is a resort hotel that was featuring an ecclectic menu catering to summer guests and the wagyu would be a perfect fit. www.mylakehotel.com
http://www.okamiwagyu.com/

 While I was there we broke down two beef sides at a local agricultural school. The school is for local farmers and features a state of the art slaughter room, excellent hydraulic lifts and a large cooler for aging the sides. They also have a processing room for sausage and salami making including a good size smokehouse. The butcher instructors watched as I broke down the beef in a US style which is very different from their traditional Austrian ways. We tend to make more cross cuts through muscle groups where they tend to leave muscle group intact.
 The Austrians also don't normally keep certain cuts as steak. Flank, skirt and hanger are rarely kept for dry cooking. I also took apart the sirloin into small sections for steak medallions. The cutting went on for the afternoon and we talked about our styles and the advantages for each. The outcomes were that we decided to leave some cuts whole to better dry age them and we also vacuum packed a lot of grinding meat. i think it was really important for Peter to see how much of his carcass is not going to be steak unless he hits the high marbling scores associated with Wagyu beef. Artisan butchery is much more about thinking outside of the norm and seeing another culture's style for cutting really allowed me to realize the possibilities. We cut the tenderloin out of the entire side and then cut a full loin and rib section, something none of us had ever done before. It was huge, like a giant center cut pork loin. Peter had his chef at the hotel dry age it for two weeks. I wish I could have gotten back to taste it.
  Whether its Austrian, Italian, Japanese, French or US style of cutting, there are always alternative ways to take apart a carcass.

Is Bigger Better?

The other day we were breaking down and frenching racks of lamb. We had a carcass that weighed about 75 lbs and the full hotel rack weighed a little over 8 lbs. It was a local product that was finished on some grain. It wasn't overly fatty and the yield grade would have been about a 2. Then we took some prefabricated split and chined racks out of the bag. Some weighed over 9 lbs! These are 8 bone racks ( 16 bones total) costing over $ 9.25 per lb. 9lbs x $9.25 = $83.25. Divide that by the 16 chops and you get a single chop that costs $5.20!! Wow thats a lot. So whats going on? Average weights of both lamb and beef are going up. This is a result of better genetic selection, feeding techniques and the desire for meat processors to sell more product without selling "more" product. Does that make sense? Its not like the processors are sending older mutton that have matured and become larger, these are just bigger lamb.

I recently was looking at carcass weights in the NAMP buyer's guide and the largest category is "D" 75lbs. and over. It seems today the largest amount of graded lamb is falling into this category.

Here are the last week's USDA slaughter numbers.
CHOICE AND PRIME, YG 1-4 Head 7,332
Weight Head
45-DN 375
45-55# 388
55-65# 723
65-75# 1,366

75-85# 1,902

So larger lamb is definitely out there but there is also a fair amount of smaller stuff too. My point here is when ordering lamb be sure to let the purveyor know what size range you want.

Another way to beat the big problem is to create multiple protein plates. Use that monster chop but instead of putting two or three on the plate, put just one and some other lamb items such as a bit of braised pulled lamb shoulder, grilled lamb riblets, lamb sausage, a small osso buco.

New Zealand and Australian products will be much smaller and less expensive per lb. The flavor profile of those is different but if you need to serve that large 4 bone rack roast these may work for you.

The price of lamb is high and the product has gotten larger and it seems to be staying that way for the long haul. That doesn't mean you shouldn't consider putting it on the menu, it just means you may need to rethink your price or amount served.

Photos of carcass courtesy of http://ansc-cpanel.unl.edu/meats/cde2008/lamb%20carcasses/carcass.htm

Sweet Meats

Check the label on almost any cured pork products and you will see a form of sugar listed. Sweetness and pork are traditional. Many a holiday ham has been glazed with brown sugar, pineapple, maple syrup, honey etc. Fresh pork dishes are often prepared with sweet fruits such as apples, raisins, pears, apricots and many more. Sugar or sweetness in general have risen to the forefront of the typical palate over the years. We as a culture, have become accustomed to the taste and when it isn't there, many people will find the food is lacking something. Sugar can be considered an addiction of sorts. We find many recipes today adding lots of sugar into savory foods.

Recently I cured a ham with my recipe tha contained water, salt, nitrite, spices and a little dextrose. I cut the dextrose listed in the recipe in half. When the ham was cured I soaked it to release a lot of the salt and then smoked it on and off for a few days. The result was a delicious flavorful ham that didn't over power the taste buds with sugar. I have to admit I did bake it with some coarse chopped onions, a few cloves and a light sprinkle of brown sugar. This added to the taste of the pan gravy and the skin's flavor but didn't add directly to the ham's overall sweetness.

I brought some of the ham to class and we compared it to a commercial sandwich slicing ham that claimed to be cherry wood smoked. First we tasted the slicing ham. Most students found the flavor appealing. I found it to be extremely sweet. Then I gave them my ham. "WOW that is sooo good!" was the comment. Then I asked what was good about it. Explain the flavor. Smoky, rich, savory were some comments. Sweet was not one of them but the results were positive just the same.

For some reason research and development teams have done studies and conducted taste panels that have found sweet sells. The more we sell sweet stuff the more people come to expect it. Sweet is found in loads of savory items. Sweet tomato sauces, crackers, salad dressings, mustards, coated chicken products, sausages, and more. Many of our fresh products are enhanced with sugar also. Butterball turkey, pumped brined pork loins, stewing hens. Our palates are being distorted by sweet. I really can't eat the super sweet ham that most deli counters sell. It tastes like candy to me yet many to many people that is the only flavor of ham they know from childhood so that is what they expect.

What role does sugar play in curing? Primarily sugar or sweetness is added to counter the harshness of salt. It is a flavor agent. Sweetness can also act as a fuel for good bacteria to grow creating acids resulting in the tangy taste we associate with a cured food. Some sugar or sweetness is necessary. But how much and what kind? Dextrose tends to be less sweet than plain sugar while corn syrup tends to be more sweet. My usual recipe for curing is 3 gallons watere, 2lbs of salt, 1 lb of dextrose, 4 oz TCM and then whatever spices I choose. This last recipe I reduced the dextrose to a 1/2 lb and it work out great.

I think another possible reason for the over sweetening of products is so the company can add more salt, resulting in a longer shelf life. Don't get me wrong, I like a peach glazed pork chop, but that is a natural amount of sugar, not a distortion created to placate to the customers palate cravings.

Silverskin Blues

The other day we had to denude 15 boneless pork loins to make a bunch of clean 4 oz. cutlets. Part of the process is to peel off the silver collagen on the outside of the loin. First I trimmed off the thin fat layer and then carefully inserted the knife under the collagen and peeled it off in strips trying to minimize the amount of meat taken off. This takes time and skill.

Removing collagen from the outside of cuts is something we teach at the CIA for cuts that are going to be sauteed. Denuding beef tenderloins for saute or carpaccio, veal leg sub primals for cutlets or scallopine, pork loins for medallions, or lamb loins for noisette, is part of the skill set a trained chef or butcher needs for creating refined meat portions. The skill also applies to fish butchery. Peeling a salmon is a common task that our students learn in the seafood class. Peeling a salmon and denuding a porkloin are cleaned very differently with the salmon laid skin side down and flat on the table while the loin is peeled skin up. So while peeling the loin I decided to see what would happen if I flipped it over and tried to clean it like a salmon. After a few gouges and mis-fires I got the hang of it. Instead of a thin section removed I got almost all of the silver off in one shot. It was not easy but it was fast! So next time your peeling a thick collagen band off a piece of meat, think like a fish butcher and flip it over, skin side down.

Large processors no longer peel either siver skin on meat or salmon skin. Today we have automated skinning machines that can do the job in seconds. The salmon skinner is super fast and requires basically no skill. Meat skinners require a little skill and the worker must where special gloves that shut off the machine if contact is made.

Knife Knowledge

The other day I sharpened an antique knife for a friend. It was a small butcher knife that read "High Carbon" on the face. It was stained and old looking but the handle was in great shape. Once I put it to the 4000 grit stone the edge came back to life and the thing was like a razor when I finished. I brushed a tiny bit of mineral oil on it and gave it back to my friend.

Recently I had a student ask if they could bring in their own knives rather than the school issued brand. I said it would be fine as long as they were suitable for butchery. The next day he came in with two very expensive Japanese knives that were made of "layered" steel. The edge was amazingly sharp and the knife worked very well.

The discovery of high carbon steel was truly an amazing breakthrough for knives and the ability to harden them made for much longer lasting edges. Knife blades are a combination of metals that all combine for specific purposes. There are a variety of metals used, but the primary one used today for most commercial knives is steel. Steel is composed of a variety of ingredients which can change the structure of the edge. Here is a list of knife blade ingredients used to create steel:

CARBON - a mineral that is added to iron to change it into steel. Carbon helps harden steel. The higher the carbon content, the harder the steel and the finer you can get the edge.

MANGANESE – also adds toughness and ability to harden.

CHROMIUM – Steel will rust and corrode and chromium boosts adds resistance to corrosion and staining.

VANADIUM - creates a fine grain in steel when heat treated.

MOLYBDENUM - used to increase toughness in steel and allows for more flexibilty

TUNGSTEN – a very hard metal that creates a fine yet dense steel structure.

Steel “recipes” are patented and owned by specific knife companies. Many Japanese, German, American and Swiss companies for instance own their steel patents and create knives that are unique to them. A layered knife is basically a very hard brittle steel at the core surrounded by softer steel to support it and give it some flexibility and stain resistance. A quality knife will have a combination of metals that will provide a quality edge that will last but also resistance to destructive acids, salts etc. found in many foods. Company trade secrets and techniques for creating these edges mean that the prices can be very high. A super quality Japanese blade can cost over $1,000 for a chef knife. But there are many knives well under that price that do a great job. Personally I use a bunch of different brands of reasonable knives that are typically used in the meat industry. Brands such as Victorinox, Sanelli, Giesser, Frost, Dexter all put out decent knives for low prices( $20 - $40). They all hold an edge pretty well but are by no means the same as the layered knives previously mentioned.

Along with the type of knife metal, the edge and body may have texture added to enhance the knives performance. Many knife companies now sell knives that are scalloped or “hollow” meaning there are a series of scalloped sections along the body extending to the edge. This provides for less friction when cutting and can also result in a sharper edge. This is a different technology than a “never dulling” serrated edge, such as that found on some bread knives. Serrated knives will damage meat so its best to leave them off the butcher block.

Beyond the steel edge another factor to consider is the knife handle. First compare handle materials. Some knives come with a smooth grip ebony handles. These will work fine if your hands are dry and fat free but often can get slippery. Some of the very expensive knives I’ve worked with had a riveted ebony handle I found too thin and uncomfortable for butchery, like the wrong shoes! Smooth handle knives are good for vegetable cutting and repetitive chopping but not the best for tight gripped butchering.
There are knives with plastic handles that vary in thickness and density. I often look for a textured handle like those found on a mountain bike grip, large and easy to hold with a great grip even if a little wet. Others will have a molded hard plastic that may feel a little unnatural if your hand is the wrong size.
Another option is the wooden handle. These can develop some texture over time and have a natural worn-in feel. I grew up cutting with wooden handled knives and they feel natural to me. But wooden handles can be damaged by prolonged moisture exposure so they need to be kept dry and an application of mineral oil is a good idea from time to time.
I’ve also worked with a very expensive Global knife from Japan. This single molded steel handled knife was basically one piece of hardened steel forming the handle and the blade. The handle is textured with little divots and was built into the knife. It had a good feel and the edge was incredible but it was cold and got a little slippery when wet. I couldn’t get a really good grip on it unless I kept my hand dry. Many chefs swear by these knives so again, it’s a matter of choice. Here are the basic choices for knife handles:

Hard textured plastic : durable, lightweight, many styles
Soft textured plastic: great grip, wear slightly faster, very comfortable
Riveted hard ebony: durable, many brands are thin, slippery when wet
Textured metal : very durable, cold, slippery when wet, will not burn!
Wood: damaged by moisture, “breaks in” to your hand, warm

To decide if a knife fits your hand, grip it like you are shaking someone’s hand and if your fingers fit snug and extend all the way around to the soft part of the palm the knife fits. A knife handle that is too small will feel slightly loose and will have the fingers overlapping when wrapped around the handle. A knife that is too small can lead to slippage and also fatigue. A knife that is too big can also be dangerous and can lead to loss of grip and fatigue. You’ll know when a knife is too big if your fingers don’t wrap around it securely. It will feel bulky and awkward. This can result in a dangerous loss of grip. When purchasing a knife be sure to sample a few to make sure the fit is good. Some knives have a sloping handle that enables the cutter to “choke up” on the knife and actually hold the blade with the thumb and forefinger giving the cutter more control. This technique is used for fancy smaller cuts like those done on poultry.

Whether you buy a knife for $10 or $1,000 be sure to understand what that knife will do for you. Its like skis or bikes ( can't help but think about those) If you buy a $8,000 downhill mountain bike to ride the railtrail you are simply wasting money.

Grass Fed Fat?

About two years ago we got in a local beef that was range fed. I wanted to show the class what a grass fed beef looked like and how it tasted. This one was a deep red color and had so little fat I thought it was an old dairy cow. It was a Scottish Highland breed which is supposed to be a great grass feeder, being small and able to eat a lot of forage. Obviously the grower didn't exactly know how to raise beef and was just tapping into the "local" marketing.

Last year I had the opportunity to see Red Devon beef that were raised outside of New Paltz, NY. The pair of stocky steer had been feeding on a lush pasture for most of the summer and looked very healthy. About three weeks later I was at Fleisher's in Kingston and they were cutting the Devons. The exterior fat was thick and the rib eyes were loaded with marbling, to the point of excess. I got to sample a small piece and the flavor was complex and delicious while the tenderness was also very good. ( View the photo below)

Last week I attended a seminar put on by the NY Beef Industry Council. It was hosted by Brookfield Farms near Hartford NY. The farm is owned by Ami Goldstein (a CIA grad!) and is managed by her daughter Jen. The seminar was wide ranging and focused on various aspects of the beef industry. But what I found interesting was the Jen had begun rotationally grazing the cattle and found that they were fattening on grass and only needed a little grain towards the end of their feeding to finish them to a very high quality.

Finally I toured one of the world's finest meat purveyors, Debragga and Spitler in NYC, where my former TA Kevin McCann is a manager. He showed me a bunch of dry aged perfect super prime beef and also some dry aged Wagyu. We were walking through one cooler and he stopped by a really well marbled carcass. "This is pure grass-fed from the Finger Lakes region" he said. It once again proved you can fatten on pure grass. ( view photo of Finger Lakes grass fed)

The preception of grass fed is that it will be very lean, tough and dry tasting with a strong gamey flavor. There have been a lot of articles written on the taste differences with chefs or tasters likes and dislikes. Its always the same, grass fed vs. grain fed but no real info on what sort of grass fed. I find grass fed varies greatly depending on how and where it was raised. You wouldn't simply compare French wine to a US wine. You would be much more specific, region, grape etc. Tasting grass fed beef is similar. You need to know what breed it is and where it came from, how was it pastured. Summertime grass or well fermented haylage can provide the nutrients needed for fattening. Breed figures into it but most of your typical meat breeds will do OK on grass ; Angus and heritage breeds that are not in the mainstream do very well. Breeds such as Red Devon, Belted Galloway, Scottish Highland all can fatten on grass. But the grass is the important part. High energy grass that is not overgrazed will yield fat cattle. With the summer season in full swing and the farmer's markets starting to rev up, look for some quality fatty grass fed. Tell those that are trying to sell the super lean stuff to make some grind.

Pale Soft Exudative Pork

On days when we talk about pork in class there is often an acronym, PSE, used to describe low quality pork. The other day, while working on pork, we found at least 25% of the classes pork butts were very soft and mushy without much marbling. I stated that these were PSE and would not be a very high quality dining experience when eaten. PSE or Pale Soft and Exudative refers to the initial color and texture of the meat and is not caused by microbes or virus, it is more of a condition. In pork, fat and meat should be firm when chilled and the color can range from a light pink to a darker, almost red color and still be considered quality. Some breeds will have a lighter color and also the age and diet of the animal will have something to do with it. But PSE pork will lose some of its natural color and become a light blotchy pink. Its meat will be soft and jello-like and the fat will be very mushy also. If you place an opened cut of PSE pork in a pan it will ooze ( exudate) moisture and in a vacuum bag will exhibit excessive purge. When cooked PSE pork will dry out much faster when cooked and will not hold a brine or process well.

PSE is caused by a sudden drop in pH levels during chilling which causes cells to leak out moisture. http://www.asas.org/symposia/0601.pdf The fact that PSE pork has a low pH actually means it is preserved somewhat. The level of pH is part of what is considered when curing meat such as salami. Pork with a pH of around 6 is ideal where PSE pork is nearer to 5.

So what causes the sudden drop in pH? Hogs will sometimes get a condition known as PSS or Porcine Stress Sydrome. This is usually a heritable condition that has been passed on through the gene pool. Pigs that typically have PSS have what is known as the Halothane gene, and will be prone to the disease but will not always dsiplay it. Normal pigs that don't have the gene for PSS sometimes become super stressed when transported or placed in new pens before slaughter and will also turn PSE. Its a tricky thing. PSE is caused both by genetics and also environment. Weather also can be a contributor. Hot humid weather tends to trigger it too. Any dramatic weather changes can cause it. The incidence of PSE are higher in summer months than in others. Stunning and slaughter facilities can contribute to it too. If pigs are stressed at the time of slaughter they can show it at a higher rate. Pigs that are miss handled even for a short time right before slaughter can show signs.

Some farmers claim that hogs that are more sensitive to stress are those that have no entertainment. The hog in the wild is a scavenger that needs to root out its food and dig up earth. They bask in the sun when its not too hot and create wallows when it is. If they are stuck in concrete pens they get bored and understimulated leading to a stress prone pig. Hogs that are given more stimulation tend to be easier going when it comes to slaughter time.

Not all PSE is the same. There are varying levels of it. A hog that goes through slaughter may appear normal but may end up showing some PSE condition in its final cuts. One side of the pig may have it while the other not so much. Severe jello - like conditions are almost always from pigs that have the PSS gene whereas slight PSE will be in normal pigs that were handled poorly before slaughter. Also the chilling temperature can have an effect after the hog is slaughtered. If the temperature is not brought down quick enough, PSE like conditions can set in. There is also another condition known as RSE ( Red Soft and Exudative) where the pork is looking more like quality pork but still has the mushy texture. I have seen this quite a bit lately too.

So why were 25% of the pork butts at some level of PSE or RSE in my class? The pork came from the midwest and it could be the recent swings in weather had some effect. Maybe that particular load came from hogs that could have been jostled around in the truck. But there could be a systemic reason for it. In the late 1980s hogs that were considerably leaner were introduced into herds. These hogs tended to be carriers for the halothane gene, thinking they would be better producers of lean. This web site explains the entire problem quite well. http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/swine/facts/04-053.htm The Landrace pig known for its fast growth and leaner muscle was found to be a carrier of the gene more often than other breeds. This breed still influences our herds today. This is not to say that all Landrace are going to have PSE or that any of the popular heirloom breeds can't have it. Any pig can have it but the trend towards leaner hogs has certainly increased the instance of stressed hogs. From my observations the small market heirloom breeds I've worked with lately simply don't have it. They are solid and the fat is super firm.

Another issue could be the use of hog food additives such as Paylean which are designed to increase muscle mass. Ractopamine is active ingredient that is used to create the larger hogs. In general Paylean makes pigs prone towards stress if handled poorly. If overused or used incorrectly it can create fatigued hogs that are no longer ambulatoryrequiring more aggressive methods to get them to slaughter. Paylean does not cause a pH drop or color change directly but if the hog is more prone towards stress because of it then indirectly it could have a negative PSS effect. The effect of super lean pork is a dry cooking product even if it isn't exudative.

Here is the website from Paylean and they state that it has no negative effects on pork color or tenderness and helps to improve yield scores. http://payleanpays.ca/pdfs/Paylean%20Technical%20Reference%20Guide.pdf My issues are with overly lean pork. Too lean and no flavor, that simple.

Another protection against PSE is to inject sodium bicarbonate into the carcass right after slaughter to adjust the pH level. This effectively stops the effects of PSE. Hormel Corporation is licensed to produce sodium bicarbonate treated pork for certain products. http://nationalhogfarmer.com/news/farming_pork_quality_2/

Whether you buy large name pork or pork from a local farmer PSE can be an issue. I've seen pork that had great marbling and solid fat in the same bag as jello pork. I wish large companies would isolate the higher quality non-PSE pork and sell it as such. I find that my local producers are raising a very high quality but very fatty pork and rarely see any PSE. My nephew raised hogs that we slaughtered and chilled. One had a slight exudation probably due to the chill time but its flavor was far superior to any pork I've eaten this year. They were very happy hogs indeed.

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

Popular Cuts and Percentages

I recently heard someone talk about the wonderful flavor of the oyster steak. The oyster, which sits on the outside of the aitch bone on the beef carcass weighs only about 6 -8 ounces. On a 800 pound carcass this is a tiny percentage to say the least. Back in 1998 a project funded by the Beef Checkoff program and conducted by the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, http://bovine.unl.edu/ was completed . The purpose was to analyze the entire beef carcass according to the isolated individual muscle as opposed to larger multi muscled cuts that chefs are familiar with commercially. Each individual muscle was subjected to the Warner Bratzler test which detects tenderness. The discoveries were an awakening for the beef industry. Instead of cross cutting through each large section of the carcass, muscles were isolated and sold as "new" cuts. Old world butchers and various cultures around the world have been doing this for years. Often a European chef will ask for a cut that is not the same here in the US. These cuts are smaller and more difficult to isolate than the typical cutting style. An example would be the "flat iron" steak which was isolated from the shoulder clod. The upside of this research is a higher profit margin from the entire carcass. The downside is the problem when one of these small cuts gains in popularity to the point where the cost becomes prohibitive. If a restaurant decides to put a small isolated cut on the menu, such as the Teres Major or Petite Tender, which weighs about a pound, and it becomes a popular item, the price may shoot up. If the menu states "petite tender" then the restaurant cannot substitute with another cut that might work instead.

Middle meat cuts such as the tenderloin, strip loin and rib eye have always been more expensive because of their tenderness, flavor and also shape, that is conducive for portion cutting. A completely cleaned and denuded tenderloin only weighs about 4 pounds so in a 800 pound carcass there is only 8 pounds of tenderloin medallions. Wow! The larger tougher cuts from the round and chuck take up a much larger percentage of the carcass. Recently I have encountered the rib eye divided into its main eye muscle and its tender cap piece, reducing its size and raising its price. I'm not suggesting these are bad ideas. These are very tender cuts and wonderful for flavor and plate presentation but the chef must realize the cost and reduce the portion size. A 6-8 oz portion should suffice on these cleaned isolated cuts.

How does this relate to other meats? Another cut that is very popular but is a low percentage of the whole is the veal hind shank. There are only 6-8 quality bone-in portions of veal hind shank osso buco available in a 400 lb veal carcass. Veal osso buco maintains its popularity and cannot be substituted with another cut so the price is high, over $8.00 per lb. Another example is the boneless eye muscle of the lamb loin. It weighs only a little over a pound from a 70 pound carcass.

As a chef decides what meat to put on the menu they are often confronted with the many options available today. A menu that is locked into a specific cut makes it very difficult to buy a larger cut and be able to utilize all of the other leftover parts. Its even harder to purchase a full carcass as many local farmers and small processors like to sell. How can a chef put a single item such as loin medallions on the menu when it is such a small portion of the whole carcass? It is the dilemma many chefs encounter when considering local meats. A menu designed with larger cuts or full carcasses in mind requires the overlapping of uses and maybe stockpiling some cuts in the freezer. Its a different mindset.

A chef may also often wonder why a specific cut is expensive. Prices of individual cuts are all based on the full carcass. If a certain small cut is unnoticed then its prices remains low. A chef should be flexible with menu items to realize the most profit. Or, at the very least, keep up with price fluctuations to adjust the menu prices.

Hog Start to Finished!

My Nephew, Austin Schneller raised 4 hogs for this year. They were born in spring and reached a little over 6 months. He fed them a combination of oats, alfalfa hay, corn, table scraps, garden scraps, pumpkins, apples, lots of acorns and a few Dunkin Munchkin treats. They lived in a nice large pen about twenty by forty feet on a rocky ledge with plenty of muddy places to wallow and a nice hay strewn shed to hang out in when it was hot or rainy. Oak and hickory trees cover the plot and drop their nuts right over the hogs. This year there was a phenomenal acorn crop. I have a few large oaks in my own yard and raked up a few 5 gallon buckets for them. Pigs love acorns, especially those from white oaks. They also like hickory nuts and can crunch them up without trouble. They escaped their pen a couple times and foraged the local woods for a few days ( hence the Munchkins to lure them back.)

All in all it cost Austin just over $2,000 to raise them. Each hog ended weighing about 300 lbs dressed carcass, with two slightly smaller, so they ended up costing a fair amount. But cost was only part of it, Austin was going for ultimate quality. Austin contracted with a few people who bought them for a price they all previously agreed upon.

These pigs didn't need an antibiotic or any other pharmaceuticals other than worming, because they started out healthy and lived an active robust life. All foraging pigs need to wormed a couple times because they can pick up parasites from the ground they root in. These were last wormed back in August.

The hogs were Hampshire Landrace crossbreeds from a quality herd. They were mostly black with a large white stripe around their middles. They were extremely marbled and had a cover fat of well over an inch on the loin. The bellies were large and almost two inches thick. The meat color was a deeper red than most pork. The fat melted in my hands and was creamy smooth. The flavor was rich and full...porky!

Last Saturday, Nov 20th, we did the slaughter. My father Robert, my brother Rick, nephews Quinn and Dean along with a few other strong armed friends were up to the task. We had a core group that knew the process. Harvesting hogs is a fair amount of work with each part of the process as important as the next. First they are stunned with a 22 caliber rifle; then bled. My nephew Dean was the "sticker", hitting the main blood vessel in the neck. I did the first one and he did the rest. Hogs need to be bled out correctly and soon after stunning to ensure there is no blood "splash" or broken capillaries in the lean muscle. Then we scalded the hogs, dipping in 150F water for a few minutes to loosen off all their hair. This requires some heavy lifting and shackling to be sure the hair is loosened. Then the scraping, which is done by all, at once, using bell shaped scrapers and knives. The hair was becoming thick due to the cold fall weather making this process difficult.

Once cleaned on the outside it was time for the evisceration. Removing the entrails of a pig is careful work. First the gambrels are opened along each foot and the heavy rope is hooked to the "spreader". Each foot is hooked up and then the hog is lifted using a pulley to a height where its nose is just about 3 inches from the ground. A sharp knife is required to cut the skin carefully but not pierce the intestines or other vitals. This work is a little rough for those who have never been around it. For me, I sort of set myself outside of the situation and just do it, similar to a surgeon. Just apply the skills learned and don't think about the gore etc. I had the opportunity to teach Austin's friend Jesse how it was done. Jesse had worked as a cook in the famous Fore Street Cafe in Portland Maine where whole hogs, already cleaned and eviscerated, were brought in from local farms from time to time to be cut and used. He had worked with cutting the meat etc but had never done the whole thing from live to finished carcass. We salvaged the liver, kidneys, heart and caul fat but we didn't feel like cleaning out the intestines. Then we loosened off the leaf lard so it would be easy to use when it hardened.

The next step was to split the carcass which requires a cut directly down the spine and no more than a 1/4 inch wide. A couple years ago we came across a new method of splitting, we used a thin long handled Japanese pull saw which slowly but very accurately cuts through the back bones.

Finally the two sides are lifted off the spreader and rope simultaneously, requiring teamwork and strength. We hung the sides in the barn and hoped for cold weather. Sunday it was cold, high around forty and low of twenty seven. Monday reached a high of over fifty but never over forty five in the barn. Austin set up fans to keep the air moving. We hung them until the Friday after Thanksgiving and by that time the fat had set up beautifully. This process of allowing the meat to hang is crucial. The carcass must stretch out and set up before it should be cut. This is one of the key lessons to Austin's quality pork. Let them chill and set up for a few days and the meat develops a very nice flavor. If the weather is right, I would hang the loin with the skin on for about three weeks for a very deep concentrated pork taste.

We cut the hogs a little out of the ordinary. Two of the hams were made into large steamships for Christmas dinners. The other hams were seamed and turned into roasts, with the top round well trimmed for cutlets. We cut the foreshanks into osso buco. The shoulders were boned out using seam butchery rather than the straight through the muscle techniques used by large commercial processors. We cut off the chine bones of the loin and then hand cut the pork chops; no band saw work here! The huge bellies and jowls were rubbed with the salt recipe for bacon and then were pressed together for later smoking. Some of the fatback was saved for cured lardon and most was cut and rendered to lard for frying. Some of the bones were roasted for a stock and later reduced to a sort of pork glace. Some of the fatty pieces were saved for making, fresh breakfast sausage, smoked liverwurst and country pates. My dad took the heads and will make homemade headcheese and scrapple. He also took the hearts, sliced them into thin strips and made a Hungarian soup with lots of paprika and sourcream.

While cutting the pigs we threw a few slices into the pan, CIA meat class style, just salt and pepper and a hot skillet. The taste was so satisfying!

The idea of raising a pig and then harvesting it is not all that fascinating. Its a lot of work and requires a fair amount of equipment and some valuable knowledge for it to go well. Many parts of the process could go wrong and ruin the whole plan. Austin is getting to the point where he is now growing a true artisan pork. A flavor so deep and rich accomplished partly by the breed but mostly by the feed style and the space allowed. The taste of place or terrior if I must use that word. His pigs taste of the place they were grown. All of the feeds came from farms nearby ( except the rare Dunkin Munchkin). They also taste so good because of the techniques used during the harvest and the aging after, and then the curing and spices used on the food itself. The garden fresh sage, the local hardwoods used for smoking, all playing a part in the taste. But there is something else about the pork we were tasting. It was about the age old traditions of families getting together during harvest times to put up food for the coming year. It was about the culmination of all that hard work finally paying off. Its about looking at what we eat and saying well there you go, I made that! Not just bought the ingredients and cooked it, but really made it from start to finish. Its about developing a product that not everyone is going to taste. I felt honored to have helped in this process and to taste such a treat. Congrats to Austin on a very successful hog harvest!

Cutting Boards...Polymer vs Maple

Years ago the local health department came through my kitchen and told me I should think about removing all of the wooden cutting boards that we had on our line. " Plastic is better, easier to clean" the inspector said. I always resisted for a few reasons. First, I was in busniess and we didn't see the need to replace anything that wasn't broken unless there was a monetary benefit. Second the wooden cutting boards were nicer on the knives. I find the plastic boards take the edge off faster, especially when doing a lot of chopping, such as mincing garlic or parsley. Third was simply aesthetics, the wooden boards looked warmer, more "homemade" so if we took a photo of a rustic dish with a wooden board it just looked better. So which is best?

Today I work on large plastic tables in the meatroom at the CIA. They are used by three seperate classes daily. There are thousands of little nicks and dings and a few larger saw cuts from the many classes that have used them over the past 5 0r 6 years, since they were last replaced. We wash them and sanitize them each night, then allow them to air dry in a cold room.

So which is better? First lets talk about what they actually are. Plastic cutting boards are made of polyethelene and can be made in a variety of thicknesses. Over time they get nicks and cuts in them which can harbor bacteria, making them difficult to sanitize. There are some that claim antibacterial surface but the effectiveness of this is questionable. Most carry a warning stating "This product does not protect against bacteria". Once the antibacterial board is cut into bacteria will also be found in it. Plastic boards can be planed and resurfaced if thick enough, getting rid of all the nicks. Cleaning plastic can be done in a dish machine if small enough to fit which sterilizes the surface. Another aspect of plastic boards is they can be colored to designate uses; yellow for poultry, green for vegis, white for meat etc. Super thin plastic cutting mats can be used for small portable cutting and these can also be washed in a machine. Plastic boards can be sanitized with harsh chemicals such as bleach and then rinsed thoroughly whereas wood will absorb the flavor of the chemical.

Wooden cutting boards are made of hardwoods that have a tight grain. Maple is most typical, hickory is possible also, teak and other tropical woods are found but very expensive. Oaks' grain is too wide enabling moisture to penetrate. Pine and other fir trees are way too soft and fragile. Bamboo is cut and layered to make a very hard board that resists cuts but can dull knives somewhat. Bamboo boards can be light and thin and very easy to clean. Wooden boards can be cleaned with abrasive scrubbers such as steel wool which actually take a tiny layer off, healing the board's cuts. Maple boards resist bacterial growth and are found to be safer than a over-used plastic board but wooden boards cannot be allowed to be continually moist or soaked in sinks. They can split and mold can form in the cracks. Wooden boards can be planed, also to resurface. They must be kept dry and may require an occassional conditioning with mineral oil. I have seen old school butcher shops pour salt on their boards every night and then wipe it off in the morning to kill any harmful bacteria. Small wooden cutting boards can be sanitized in a microwave. Wood is also a "green" renewable resource as opposed to plastic.

Another type of board is made from rubber. Two inch thick rubber boards are expensive but feature some of the best of both worlds. They can be sanatized like plastic but won't dull your knives as easily. Rubber is also renewable. They can warp but they also can be heated in an oven to be reshaped. Rubber boards "heal" like wood so the small cuts seal back up keeping it free of bacteria harboring nicks.

When chopping with the cleaver, plastic and rubber boards will be damaged. Normal wooden boards will chip and damage also but the maple "chopping" block is designed for it. The grain is set so the cleaver is chopping down into it as opposed to across.

Whatever board you choose its imperative that it is cleaned correctly and replaced when worn. Each type has its advantages and disadvantages and inital cost plays a part in the decision. I welcome any comments on this and ideas from you.

Butcher Skills for Restaurant Chefs

A meatcutter in a large packing plant can fabricate an enormous amount of meat in a single day. They have the advantage of the "assembly line" arrangement with all of modern techniques and equipment. For instance, the task of boning a leg of lamb and tying it into a roast is done over and over by a single person working off of a moving conveyor belt. The cutter doesn't need to carry anything or move from his or her spot. The its a simple 1-2-3 step proceedure, pull the leg off the conveyor belt, bone it out and throw it back on, and then the roast is formed and netted by someone else. On larger cuts, such as beef, the task may be aided by hydrolic pullers and tools specifically designed to reduce stressful labor and increase speed of fabrication. The result is a product that is cut accurately to industry specs that is standardized and available from purveyors with regularity. The same goes for portion cut items. Steaks and chops are cut on machines that can regulate thickness and weight and done in huge volume so the processor can pick out all of the like-sized portions for accuracy. You can buy a perfect 10 oz striploin steak over and over.

So why would a chef decide to do any fabrication in house? There is no way to match the speed of the large plants and they would need to pay someone to do it. But the restaurant chef that has some butchery skills has an advantage over those that don't. They can custom cut things that are outside the norm such as instead of simply boning the leg of lamb they can french off the end of the shank, remove all other bones, stuff the interior and then tie it to create a look that is unique. Meat cutting, especially on the small custom restaurant or meat market level can go in directions that a large processor can not possibly do. Other examples are chefs who dabble in curing meats. A ham, custom partially boned in the true prosciutto style, leaves the femur and shank intact but the aitch bone removed except for a little corner of it to protect the interior from mold. You can't buy this from a large processor. All sorts of little tricks and custom ideas can be done to maximize yields, create unique looks, convert tougher cuts to tender all by butchery skill.

Another situation invloves chefs that want to sell meat from a small local processor. Most small processors cut meat from local farms but cut for retail freezer orders. They focus on quick volume band saw work which may not be good for a restaurant. Today we find some chefs buying the entire primal cut and breaking it down themselves. This enables them to utilize all of the trim, bones and even fat to make a large variety of sauces and dishes that wouldn't occur if they purchased pre-cut items. This cutting requires a lot of skill and time. There is no assembly line. Meats need to be cut on a large table instead of off the hook. Meats are out in a warmer environment than in a meat plant so spoilage is an issue. Crosscontamination can occur if proper care isn't taken. But the end result can be a taste and texture that is as signature as a fine pastry or a great sauce. A restaurant that custom cuts their meat can use the fact on the menu or in advertising. Even an inexpensive bistro can offer an in-house ground burger that is made from whole muscle cuts rather than buying pre-ground beef that may have contamination.

I must admit that I am partial to chefs cutting some or all of their meat in-house, afterall I have trained a lot of them. I also realize in many situations such as very high volume hotels or casinos can't possibly do all their fabrications but there are often ways to save money or create new presentations by custom cutting.

Buying local:Right way, wrong way, NO way!

At the CIA we are buying some local meat for our St Andrews Restaurant. We have found that the Hudson Valley has a large variety of meats raised by farms within 60 miles of our location including, beef, lamb, pork, poultry and even some veal. We have been getting beef from two producers Meiller's in Pine Plains and Rykowskis in Rosendale NY. Both have quality beef breeds, Meiller's has some very nice Angus and Rykowski has Hereford. These livestock are on pasture and are supplemented with corn and fermented silage which fattens them up. Meillers has been reaching high choice marbling scores and Rykowskis are reaching at least select levels. We have aged the striploins and rib eyes from both with great success. With both of these farmers, sometimes the marbling is high, sometimes low but the cattle are young enough to still have fine fibers and therefore a quality meat.

I have experienced some very high quality strictly grass fed beef from a grower in mid state NY that had the distinct grass flavor but also some marbling. The rib eye we sampled was tender and savory. An innovator in this field is a company called TallGrass in Kansas. http://www.tallgrassbeef.com/ Bill Kurtis, ownner, has a philosophy of raising quality beef on pasture and is gaining some market share. Jo Robinson, the pasture feeding advocate, describes a good pasture fed beef farmer as more of a grass farmer, growing a high quality grass as the main food stuff.

In past posts I wrote about Scottish Highland cattle and their ability to fatten on grass and forage. They have a very fine fiber and produce a lower fat but quality meat. They are not typically raised commercially due to their excessive furry coat and very large horns but there are numerous farms throughout the US that do raise and sell their meat. NY state has over 35 farms registered as raising Highland cattle and many more in New England and Pennsylvania.

Recently we recieved a pasture raised Highland that was raised in Rhinebeck NY. It was not what I expected. The beef had absolutely no fat on the exterior and no marbling at all!. Surely this was not inducative of what this breed represents. It was by no means quality, but not because of the breed but how it was raised. The term "grass fed" doesn't simply mean the animal is allowed to roam a pasture and eat down all the grass, even though this is what, many people believe. High quality grass fed is placed on ripe fresh grass and then moved from pasture to pasture to insure the animal gets plenty of nutrition, even to the point of marbling. I have tasted numerous grass fed steaks that had marbling and might have graded low choice. I understand that Highland cattle develop less fat and maybe it was that it was an extermely hot time of year but this was a waste.

Another issue was the lack of USDA inspection. Farmers can be exempt from USDA inspection if they are selling directly to the end user. The meat must be stamped "NOT FOR SALE" as was the case on or carcass. I called the NY Ags and Markets dept. to confirm my suspicion. This meat was not legal for sale in a restaurant. But what about using it for demo in a school setting? The meat would have been consumed by students, therefore it would be considered part of their meal plan and in effect would have been sold to them, making it illegal.

The third issue was the price. I know that locally grown, fully pastured beef is going for a high price these days but this 500 lb carcass was over $3,000! I recognize the need for farmers to recoup their investment but this seemed excessive, especially considering the quality of the meat.

Lessons learned? Know your farmer if buying local. Local does not simply mean better! Be sure to purchase inspected meat if selling it in a restaurant or shop. Uninspected farmer's market meats are ok for home cooks that are not re-selling but a chef needs to be more cautious.

This post by no means was meant to discourage the use of quality grass fed beef or heritage Highland cattle but there is a right way and a wrong way to buy local meat and there was NO way we could use this example.

Over grazed pasture.