Respecting the meat you eat.

Haute cuisine, head to tail

Both of these articles are showing the growing interest in properly raised animals as well as offal cookery. Its amazing how people are changing their tune, do to the effects of mass factory farming leaving a huge foot print as well as its disrespect to the animals.

Its great to see that people want to turn the clock back and save these cuts as well as return to proper farming techniques. This is a breath of fresh air, which I look forward to seeing more of.

My brother in law Michael Hearst and band mate Joshua Camp of One Ring Zero have written a great song for me based on a recipe that I wrote. This is a new project they are working on, taking chefs recipes and turning them into songs. This a bit similar to ” As Smart As We Are” where he worked with authors who’s writings became the lyrics and basis for his music threw the whole album. I have included the recipe below, follow along to the song and then make yourself some dinner.

A little back ground on the dish. On the south side of Chicago was the largest livestock market and meat processing center in the world Approximately one mile square, it served the nation’s great meat packing companies and many smaller ones located in the surrounding area. A dish that became very common among the butchers was brains and eggs, this came to be know as the butchers treat.

Click the title below to here the song.

Brains and Eggs “The butchers treat”

serves 4

2 calves brains

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp white wine

5 eggs

2 Tbsp cream

1 Tbsp butter

1 tsp chopped chives

1 tsp chopped tarragon

4 slices of rustic country bread

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt to taste

Black pepper t taste

To poach the brains, fill a large pot with water and add the salt, lemon juice, and white wine. Bring the water to a boil and then turn it down to a simmer, so the water is lightly bubbling. Gently place the brains into the water and simmer them for 5 minutes. Remove the brains from the water with a perforated spoon and place on a plate. Put the plate in the refrigerator to cool for about 15 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, cream and herbs and beat with a whisk until light. Season with salt and black pepper. Set in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Once the brain is cold and firm, dice it. Heat the butter in a sauté pan over high heat until it starts to brown. Then add the cubed brain pieces and gently stir until golden brown. Turn the heat down to medium. Pour in the egg mixture and fold the brains and eggs together with a rubber spatula until it’s all cooked; it will be light and fluffy.

While the eggs are cooking, grill or toast the bread so it will be warm when the eggs are finished. Serve the brains on warm plates with a piece of buttered toast.

I will be having a boccalone meat snack with radio host Gene Burns on KGO radio. You can listen to Dining Around with Gene burns here.

Well folks I finally got convinced to take my Head to Tail dinner on the road. So here it is on march 4th in New York City I will be cooking at the Astor Center with moderator Michael Ruhlman. You can view the events here at Astor Center NYC. Cant wait to see you there.

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After a closer inspection and I flipped the eggs over I find a note written on the shell for me.

So who can resist such a great prophecy, so I crack the egg and get ready to dig in and find this.

As hard as I tried I couldn’t get it down, and I can eat almost anything thrown my way. I guess the prophecy won’t come true. Darn. But to be serious this is a huge undertaking for someone who has never had anything like it. The crunch of the bones and the tickle of the feathers are hard to get used to.I know this is a common dish in many countries but for me it was way over the line. Sorry Debra– I couldn’t do it.

Who would have thought that a primarily vegetarian magazine would do a story on me and my offal beliefs. A little bizarre to see my photo among ads for yoga and raw foods but, its nice to see that folks are grasping the concept whether they eat it or not.

A few months ago the folks from the history channel came by and filmed me cooking pork offal. I just received the news it will be airing on modern marvels.