WARNING!
The following entry contains some pretty gruesome butchery pictures. They are not for the faint of heart. If you're not a fan of seeing raw meat, bones, blood, brains being taken out of skulls... do not proceed! If you are... enjoy!
Well hello, lunch. Now, we certainly don't want to make any of our animal-lovers shed any tears, so fear not! The cows pictured above were not the actual ones taken to the butcher. These lovely ladies are actually a little older than the ones we sent to the slaughterhouse. But, you get the idea. Now let's get cuttin'!
Here we have an entire side of veal, waiting to be butchered.
To the left, the leg and part of the loin have been removed from the halved side.
The loin has been removed and is now being broken into chops.
Phillip, the butcher, hard at work!
And to the right, Gabriel (the owner) starts calculating weights and prices. He personally calls a list of potential buyers for hours a night when it's veal time.
(above) On the top is part of the loin. The ribs get broken up, perhaps for Veal Blanquette. And the leg cut is known as Osso Buco. Yum, yum, yum!
The picture on the left: on the left side is the Osso Buco. On the right is Escalope, a thin cut of meat that comes off of the leg and is typically pounded flat for Mike Nastri's favorite: Veal Parm (in Sub form, si vous plais)!
The picture on the left is probably one of the most recognizable cuts of meat - the loin. If this came from a mature cow, we'd be grilling up a Sirloin or NY Strip!
Not quite sure if this head goes with the body, but you get the idea...
Sweetbreads! The thymus gland, known for its milky texture, is located near the neck and the 'armpit' of the veal.
Ooh, it's getting good now: Phillip is removing the skin and meat from the skull, for 'Roulade de Tete.' (pardon my lack of French accents... haven't crossed that bridge yet in figuring out this whole blogging thing!)
Now, what should we have for lunch? ...
Ok, let's be honest. Brains are not something that I would purposefully order at a restaurant. I tried them once before at Craigie, and was a little grossed out but intrigued by them. The texture is a little... different. But I was willing to give them another go, especially knowing my handsome and amazingly talented boyfriend was in the kitchen.
Step one: Soak in cold water and clean off all the gunky parts. "Gunky," by the way, is a very technical term.
Step two: poach the brains in simmering water & vinegar (or lemon juice, if you don't have any vin) for 15-20 minutes, depending on how smart the cow was.
After poaching and cooling, you can remove a thin membrane from the outer layer of the brain. From here, you can go any number of ways - Owen decided (thankfully) that the Brain McNugget would work best (especially since we had a total of 7 people eating lunch that day).
Batter 'em! Flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Evenly coat. Start getting some oil hot in a saucepan. Once hot, drop 'em!
About halfway through cooking (golden brown on one side), add some butter and flip. Use a spoon to spoon the buttery juice over the nuggets, adding flavor. Our nuggets took about 2-3 minutes per side.
Voila! Put the nuggets on some paper towl to drain a little. Feel free to add a few drops of lemon juice, sriracha, sweet and sour sauce, barbeque, Hidden Valley Ranch Original... whatever grills your cheese! The brains were a big success at lunch - perfectly crispy on the outside and tender and meaty (and smart) on the inside.
Don't fret - the next post will be about cooking something a little bit easier to stomach: Apple butter (and other various apple-esque activities)!
Well hello, lunch. Now, we certainly don't want to make any of our animal-lovers shed any tears, so fear not! The cows pictured above were not the actual ones taken to the butcher. These lovely ladies are actually a little older than the ones we sent to the slaughterhouse. But, you get the idea. Now let's get cuttin'!
Here we have an entire side of veal, waiting to be butchered.
To the left, the leg and part of the loin have been removed from the halved side.
The loin has been removed and is now being broken into chops.
Phillip, the butcher, hard at work!
And to the right, Gabriel (the owner) starts calculating weights and prices. He personally calls a list of potential buyers for hours a night when it's veal time.
(above) On the top is part of the loin. The ribs get broken up, perhaps for Veal Blanquette. And the leg cut is known as Osso Buco. Yum, yum, yum!
The picture on the left: on the left side is the Osso Buco. On the right is Escalope, a thin cut of meat that comes off of the leg and is typically pounded flat for Mike Nastri's favorite: Veal Parm (in Sub form, si vous plais)!
The picture on the left is probably one of the most recognizable cuts of meat - the loin. If this came from a mature cow, we'd be grilling up a Sirloin or NY Strip!
Ok, here's where it gets interesting...
Not quite sure if this head goes with the body, but you get the idea...
Sweetbreads! The thymus gland, known for its milky texture, is located near the neck and the 'armpit' of the veal.
Ooh, it's getting good now: Phillip is removing the skin and meat from the skull, for 'Roulade de Tete.' (pardon my lack of French accents... haven't crossed that bridge yet in figuring out this whole blogging thing!)
Now, what should we have for lunch? ...
Ok, let's be honest. Brains are not something that I would purposefully order at a restaurant. I tried them once before at Craigie, and was a little grossed out but intrigued by them. The texture is a little... different. But I was willing to give them another go, especially knowing my handsome and amazingly talented boyfriend was in the kitchen.
Step one: Soak in cold water and clean off all the gunky parts. "Gunky," by the way, is a very technical term.
Step two: poach the brains in simmering water & vinegar (or lemon juice, if you don't have any vin) for 15-20 minutes, depending on how smart the cow was.
After poaching and cooling, you can remove a thin membrane from the outer layer of the brain. From here, you can go any number of ways - Owen decided (thankfully) that the Brain McNugget would work best (especially since we had a total of 7 people eating lunch that day).
Batter 'em! Flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Evenly coat. Start getting some oil hot in a saucepan. Once hot, drop 'em!
About halfway through cooking (golden brown on one side), add some butter and flip. Use a spoon to spoon the buttery juice over the nuggets, adding flavor. Our nuggets took about 2-3 minutes per side.
Voila! Put the nuggets on some paper towl to drain a little. Feel free to add a few drops of lemon juice, sriracha, sweet and sour sauce, barbeque, Hidden Valley Ranch Original... whatever grills your cheese! The brains were a big success at lunch - perfectly crispy on the outside and tender and meaty (and smart) on the inside.
Don't fret - the next post will be about cooking something a little bit easier to stomach: Apple butter (and other various apple-esque activities)!
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