Prometheus Unbound

            According to Greek myth, Prometheus had stolen fire from the gods and gave it to mortals. For this the gods condemned him to be chained to a large boulder, where, every night, an eagle would eat his liver. Forever.

            Maybe Prometheus’ punishment was just. Imagine eating constantly eating raw antelope. Imagine constantly freezing, even in Sub-Saharan Africa. Imagine being constantly being attacked by insects, lions or the dark.   

            But controlling fire was not just a matter of stealing it. Fire is a complex chemical reaction involving oxygen, fuel and an ignition source. Unless all three elements are present, a fire will not start. It’s still a wonder that humans managed it at all. While dates for man’s earliest control range from 1.7 million to 400,000 years, for most anthropologists, incontrovertible evidence of controlled fire appears around 125,000 years ago.

         

         Fire has had a remarkable effect on our own evolution. According to the anthropologist Richard Wrangham, the ability to cook food with fire was the defining moment in evolution: it explains the shift from the more ape-like Homo habilis to our modern ancestor, Homo erectus. As cooking makes food more bioavailable, more energy could be devoted to human brain and body development than on digestion. Although direct evidence of cooking, such as ash deposits and carbonized animal bones, is often lacking in archaeological records, Wrangham argues that smaller teeth and larger brains suggest fundamental changes in eating habits from raw to cooked.

But the most interesting aspect of Wrangham’s thesis is on human sociality. Before fire, everyone foraged for him or herself. You eat what you can find. But as cooked food takes time and effort, it soon becomes a valuable resource. Wrangham argues that it is this need to protect food that formed the need for social bonding between sexes.

While some anthropologists dispute Wrangham’s interpretation of the archaeological evidence, there is little dispute about the importance of fire to humanity. What Wrangham does not discuss in detail is how early man may have prepared food. What kinds of tools did they use? How did they manage heat? How did they know when food was done? Modern kitchens and recipes with their measurements and standards cannot answer these questions.

For Niklas Ekstedt it is this standardization in modern cooking that has erased the ancient craft knowledge of our hominid ancestors. Reading 17^th and 18^th c. Swedish cookbooks, Ekstedt noticed the inordinate amount of attention paid to cooking fires. As a challenge to himself and the dining establishment, the owner/chef of the eponymous restaurant Ekstedt in Stockholm has based an entire menu only using wood-based fire. There are no gas stoves, no electric ovens, no pacojets- only open fire, a hearth oven and a wood burning iron stove.

The tacit, embodied knowledge of how to build a fire and how to cook over fire cannot be written down. It is this knowledge Ekstedt wanted to recover in his restaurant. Ekstedt admits the learning curve was steep. In an experience he likens to Thor Heyerdahl and the Kon-Tiki, building the restaurant and the menu required the staff to set aside past experiences: “We all started from scratch.” Everything, from how to build the fire itself, to which woods were best for cooking, and which utensils and cooking equipment functioned best, demanded a complete re-thinking from the team’s culinary training. . Hardware warehouses replaced kitchen supply stores. Soldering irons, heavy gloves and blacksmithing tools became commonplace.

Diners have also had to test their palates. Ekstedt still uses traditional Scandinavian ingredients, but the fire and custom utensils make for new dishes. Damp seaweed is used to package mussels inside a wire basket. Lobster is smoked in a chimney. In a twist on using traditional cast iron cooking, Ekstedt incorporates the iron itself into the dishes. By throwing acid into his cast iron pots, iron leeches into sauces, purees, and garnishes. The result is diners saying, ”I haven’t tasted this before.” 

            The most unpredictable factor of all is the fire itself. As Ekstedt acknowledges, “No one is bigger than the fire.” Just as cooking changed social relations for early man, the fire in Ekstedt’s kitchen has changed the hierarchy of his kitchen. There is no “I” in fire. “Everything I know I learned from my team.”

            Karl Marx called Prometheus “The greatest saint and martyr of the philosopher’s calendar.” Although fire’s gifts have been many, perhaps the greatest gift lies in society. For Niklas Ekstedt, the revolution has just begun.

Getting Piggy With It

A sign from the 1970s reading "Danish pigs are healthy; they burst of penicillin"

    

     When I was a little girl, I was obsessed with the “Little House” series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, especially the first volume in the series, Little House in the Big Woods. Contrary to the moralistic cheese dripping form the TV series, the book described man and nature “red in tooth and claw.”[1] Bears were bears. Deer was food (they killed Bambi?!). And for god sakes, don’t ever go out in a Wisconsin blizzard alone!

      To a 6-year old suburban girl, the idea you could live in the middle of nowhere, and you could still eke out a living was very cool. Cheese, maple sugaring, butter churning…you could make that stuff? Yep, you could make that stuff. But the best part? The section about pig slaughtering (This was the age before Babe came out).

“It doesn’t hurt him, Laura,” Pa said. “We do it so quickly.” . . . It was such a busy day, with so much to see and do. Uncle Henry and Pa were jolly, and there would be spare-ribs for dinner, and Pa had promised Laura and Mary the bladder and the pig’s tail.”[2]

Yum. Spare ribs for dinner. The bladder bit was explained later (used to make a balloon…early lesson in anatomy for me). But the pig’s tail? What the hell were you going to do with that?

          “Pa skinned it for them carefully, and into the large end he thrust a sharpened stick. Ma opened the front of the cook stove and raked hot coals into the iron hearth. Then Laura and Mary took turns holding the pig’s tail over the coals.

          It sizzled and fried, and drops of fat dripped off it and blazed on the coals…At last it was done. It was nicely browned all over, and how good it smelled! They carried it into the yard to cool it, and even before it was cool enough they began tasting it and burned their tongues.”[3]

       Oh. That’s what you did with a pig’s tail. In a pathetic attempt to repeat this tasty project, I asked the meat guy at the local grocery store whether they carried pigs’ tails. All I got was a “Where is your mother?!” I also tried to suggest this to my Brownie troop leader. Needless to say, it didn’t happen.

      So much for my adventures in pioneer food-hood. I would have to wait 32 years later before I would get my chance at the pig’s tail. And no, I don’t live on a farm or slaughter pigs. That chance was at St. John Bread and Wine in London.

Smoked Anchovy with Roasted Beet and Hen's Egg

       To those of you living in foodie land, this should not be surprising.  Fergus Henderson and Trevor Guilliver (re)-invigorated “nose-to-tail” eating practices that were basically forgotten, thanks to urbanization, industrialization and commercial food practices. But when St. John first opened in 1994, this was not “hipster” or “haute” food. Fine dining was French – definitely NOT British. Times have definitely changed. With a menu that consisted of hare with lentils and pig trotters (pig’s feet to us Americans), oxtail tongue hash with a runny duck egg, braised lamb with potato and seaweed, roasted beet with anchovy, and a incredible local peach sorbet (with an icy shot of vodka), I didn’t care where those parts came from. They were delicious. 

Hare with Lentils and Pig's Trotter

       The food is not particularly complicated. It’s not foamed-up-the-ass. There are no weird agar particles. And the only suspension that’s going on in these foods is a suspension of disbelief that offal is really NOT awful – it’s really, really good.

When I talked to Lee Tiernan, the head chef of St. John Bread and Wine about the dishes, he said, “My uncle used to eat like this.”

What exactly is “like this”?

I seriously doubt that Tiernan’s uncle had a nice Bordeaux with his meal (or maybe he did, and if he did, he’s a really lucky man!), but this is food of Britain’s pastoral past, not the food of Britain’s post WWI[4] industrial factories. The hares were brought in that morning. The fish are from the British Isles and coasts. The pigs were not from the Tesco meat cooler, but from organic, free-range farms with breeds that most commercial farmers would eschew in a heartbeat.[5] And the pig…it comes WHOLE.

      But the thing I was most impressed was a particular philosophy at the restaurant. Yes, all their sourcing is at the heart of trendy locavore practices. Conservationists love the fact that the food helps support a genealogical past that would be otherwise lost of industrial breeding practices and agriculture. Foodies love it for its “integrity” to British food traditions. And for Anthony Bourdain, it is the last meal he would want to have if he were sent to the executioner’s chair.

       In fact St. John might be called a BoBo[6] wet dream. But for all the hype the restaurant has received (well deserved!), the most poignant statement came from Tiernan: “I’m a chef. I just cook and I try NOT waste anything.”

      And that, for me, is the most impressive part of this restaurant. In an age where the wealth of nations has allowed fish to be flown in from the Mediterranean, foie gras to be served any day of the week, strawberries from Morocco eaten in December, waste is everywhere.

     Not in Lee Tiernan’s kitchen. Pig tails are made into crispy snacks. Ox-tongue that got a little overcooked becomes ox tongue hash.  Pig feet get placed in any soup or stock dish for a little oomph. Bones are roasted for marrow and placed into salad. Veal tails are brined and bones are roasted for soup. Chitterlings[7] (that’s pigs’ intestines)? They’re served with turnips. Not to mentions kidneys, livers, brains and hearts. And when I visited the kitchen, there was a giant pot of assorted pig parts that were probably going into some delicious dish. 

Stewing Pig Parts at St. John Bread  & Wine Kitchen

Maybe this is the true luxury of modern day life: having the time to cook and eat food that does not come from a freezer, has been freeze-dried into pellets or packaged in swaths of plastic. Food that is honest because it has been honestly raised and made. That’s worth its weight in gold.

Crispy Pig's Tails (Pan is for presentation)

Crispy Pig Tails

While pig tails have now become all the rage in restaurants, Southerners (in the United States) have been eating them for years, mainly as part of Carribo-African-American food culture. Pig tails are tough to come by in any grocery store, so go to the most reputable butcher you can find and ask them about it. They can probably get them from you. Also, if you are near a good farmers’ market that sells pork products, you may be able to order them. And one more thing – make sure they are free range and/or organic. You don’t want to waste your time eating antibiotic laced crap.

8-10 pig tails (look for ones that are fairly meaty), rinsed thoroughly

8 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved

1 onion, coarsely chopped

2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp. salt (you can also use a salt blend like Old Bay or any Cajun seasoning-it works nicely)

1.     Place pig tails in a large stock pot and fill to cover. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and cover the pot for 15 minutes.

2.     Drain pig tails and return to a clean stock pot. Cover with enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and then add garlic, onion, red pepper flakes and salt. Boil over medium-low heat for about 2 hours or when the tails are almost falling apart.

3.     In the meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil and grease with vegetable oil.

4.     Drain pig tails (save the cooking liquid for beans, stock or soup – it’s SO good) and place them on the roasting pan. Roast tails for 30-40 minutes or until skin crisps and browns (If the skin is still is a bit flabby at 40 minutes, you can broil them at bit until they do. But this shouldn’t be necessary.)

5.     Take out of the oven and serve immediately with beans, rice or cornbread.

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[1] English nerds go gaga. This reference of course is to Alfred Lord Tennyson’s famous poem, In Memoriam A. H. H., from 1850 :

Who trusted God was love indeed

And love Creation's final law

Tho' Nature, red in tooth and claw

With ravine, shriek'd against his creed

(From Canto 56)

[2] Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Little House in the Big Woods.  (New York: Harper Collins, 1971), p. 16.

[3] Wilder, 17.

[4] As much as British food gets knocked on as vegetables-boiled-to-a-blandness, a quick history of British cooking would tell you otherwise. 18^th and 19^th century England, due to its trade prowess, had spices galore from the West Indies, India and the Caribbean. Cakes and ices (ice cream or sorbets) were molded into decorative tins. Game meat was a regular in the fall. What killed it? WWI and WWII when food rationing and food industrialization came together in a pretty unholy alliance (at least for taste buds). Local cooking and food never quite recovered. Until about now.

[5] An excellent example of this is the pig breed “Middle White.” A pig well regarded for its meat in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, the breed has basically gone out of pig production due to industrialization and a preference for bacon and lard producing breeds.  Considered “endangered” by the Rare Breed Survival Trust, a conservation organization to preserve and protect native animal breeds, the Middle White numbers have bounced back.

[6] Just in case you are not familiar with the term, “Bobo” is a mash-up of the words “Bourgeois” and “Bohemian,” coined by the New York Times columnist David Brooks, in his book Bobos in Paradise.

[7] Chitterlings, contrary to what many Southerners (people from the South of the US) might thing, is actually a word from the mid-Middle Ages England, between the 11^th and 15^th centuries. While originally used to refer to pig’s intestines (and in the South they still do), they can also refer to any type of intestine, such as veal or cow.

Where's the Beef? (Part II of Aging & Cooking Your Own Steak)

“Did you ever see the customers in health-food stores? They are pale, skinny people who look half dead. In a steak house, you see robust, ruddy people. They're dying, of course, but they look terrific.”           

-Bill Cosby, American Comedian

            What’s the point of having good quality beef if you can’t cook it? You’d be surprised how something that seems as intuitive as cooking a steak can be so puzzling to many. If you think that Fred Flintstone is the your model of cooking steaks, then you have a lot to learn (all anachronisms aside, Fred Flintstone probably was aging his meat because he didn’t have a proper meat locker in prehistoric Bedrock).

            In Part I of eating better beef, we went through the steps of aging your own meat. That was the easy part. The difficult part is yet to come – how to cook your meat.

You would think there is some universal rule to grilling a steak, but beyond getting your grill at an eyebrow burning 800F, there seems to be little consensus on the grilling debate. I was always taught to use a hot pan, room temperature steaks, and ALWAYS tongs, lest any precious juices come pouring out.

Apparently, Peter Luger, steakhouse extradoniaire, doesn’t play by those rules: They take a cold steak, stick it on the hot grill rack, sprinkle some salt on the steak. They apparently take it out when it’s still raw inside, cut into it, and then place it back into the broiler to finish cooking.

Morton’s, another well-known steakhouse, does it completely differently. Steaks are taken out an hour before grilling to warm up the steak’s interior so there isn’t a temperature differential when the steaks are being cooked. They are salted with the mysterious “Morton’s secret salt.” Then they are blasted in an 800F broiler to sear and finished off in a 400F oven.  And they must be rested – to insure the juices are reabsorbed into the meat.

And then there’s the Modernist Cuisine[1] way.[2] First, you sous vide[3] your steak for 45 minutes in a 130F water bath (for medium-rare). Then you go and sear your steaks in a super-hot cast iron pan, broiler, grill or torch. This seems very simple, until you realize that to do this properly, you need a proper vacuum sealer – which will cost you a couple of hundred dollars, and then a commercial sous vide machine that makes sure that the temperature of your water stays consistent – that piece of equipment will cost you around $1200 on the low end (a gazillion dollars on the high end). Add the price of a professional foodservice broiler/grill, that will set you back another 5000 bucks, and then…well you get the idea.[4]

 Ideally, we want a crusty outside and a juicy, tender inside. Well, biochemically, it’s actually really difficulty to get that steak.[5]  Why? Let me count the ways.

First, let’s start with the steak itself. While raw meat is delicious (steak tartare?), browning a steak[6] allows steak to really shine. When a steak is browned at high temperatures, the browning reaction – called the Maillard[7] reaction – sets in. At high temperatures, 250F plus, a carbohydrate molecule and amino acid molecule react with each other producing an unstable intermediate structure – a glycosalmine. This in turn forms more reactions that result in browning and “meaty” aromas. Because the amino acids contain sulfur and nitrogen, a multitude of compounds can be made that we associate with savory meats.

But those reactions, as mentioned above, only come about under specific conditions. If a pan is too cool, it will not have enough heat (energy) to trigger the Maillard reaction. In real terms, your meat will be cooked, but it won’t brown. Also, have you ever tried browning meat straight out of a marinade? It doesn’t brown well and instead you end up with steamed meat. That is because the Maillard reaction is requires enough heat to dry the surface area. Unless you have a commercial grill that can be heated to high heat, your meat never had a chance.

And then there is the undercooking-overcooking problem. Beyond browning, the most difficult aspect of getting a perfect steak is getting the inside cooked as well as the outside. The problem is that by the time the outside is seared and crusty, the inside could be either dry as a bone or caveman raw. The problem is due to the properties of meat when cooked. The temperature range in which meat is firm yet juicy is about 30F, between 120-150F.  In the earlier stages of cooking (around 120F), protein fibers coagulate and push out water molecules resulting in a firm and juicy steak done “rare” or “bleu.” In later stages of cooking, around 140F, the collagen in meat begins to denature, pushing out more liquid and becoming denser, resulting in a firm/chewy yet somewhat-juicy steak at medium.  But when you have a super-hot cooking surface, it takes just 3 minutes to exceed that range of temperatures, often resulting in overcooked steak.

How to avoid this? Look to the masters. By initially browning the outside at a high temperature and then cooking the rest at a lower temperature, one decreases the risk of either having char-raw meat or rubber boot by slowing down the cooking process. By giving meat more time to cook thoroughly to the proper internal temperature, one reduces the risk of overcooking.

This all sounds fine and good, but what is the home cook to do? Here’s the deal. You can do this at home, but it will take some thoughtfulness to get it just right. Here are the steps to do steakhouse at home:

Pre-trimmed aged steaks

1.                    Take your nicely aged steak (see post on meat aging) out and trim if needed off any off-colored pieces and shriveled bits (see picture below) about 2 hours before cooking. This allows the temperature at the middle of the steak to rise a bit so the steak is not ice cold when it hits the grill (this avoids char-raw steaks).

Post-trimed aged steak. Notice it's a bit smaller than above.

2.                    Pat your steak dry as thoroughly as you can. As mentioned above, the Maillard reaction needs a dry surface to do it’s magic. If it’s soggy, you’ll get steamed meat.

3.                    Preheat your oven with a rack (a cake rack works well) at 400F. If you don’t have a rack, you can use a baking sheet, but rack is better because it allows for the hot air to circulate evenly around your steak, insuring even cooking.

4.                    Heat a cast iron skillet on the highest heat possible. You know it is hot enough if the water sizzles immediately after you sprinkle it in the pan.

5.                    Coat the bottom of the pan with 1-2 tsp. of neutral vegetable oil – NOT olive oil (it’s smoking point is too low). I prefer rice bran oil because it’s neutral in taste and has a high smoking point.

6.                    Salt your steaks and place them on the pan. For steaks an inch thick, sear steaks for about 1-11/2 minutes on each side, turning once. For steaks 11/2 inch thick, do it for 2 minutes on each side. And for god sakes, use flat-sided tongs to turn the steaks, lest you pierce your meat and let precious juices run out.

Steaks after being seared. Notice the nice crust developed on top due to a hot pan.

7.                    Transfer your steaks to the oven and let them roast for about 6 minutes for 1-inch steaks or 8-9 minutes for 11/2-inch steaks for medium rare (130F internal temperature). Lessen the time by a minute or 2 for rare steaks.

8.                    Take steaks out of the oven and tent with foil for 3 minutes to let the juices re-absorb.

9.                    Eat.

There you have it. Steakhouse steak at home. You don’t need to spend too much money doing it – just a little bit of time and effort. And with steaks this good, you won’t need that red meat fix so often. You’ll eat well – and help save the earth and your health at the same time.

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[1] Just in case you don’t follow 5-volume, $600, 50 pound cookbooks, Modernist Cuisine is a book by Nathan Myhrvold (with Chris Young & Maxime Billet) that is a reference book on the science of contemporary cooking. You want to know how they make those crazy foods at WD-50 and El Bulli? Here’s were you find out how they do it.

[2] I don’t have the cash to get the set, thus I am forced to suss out their technique through Amazon’s search function.  Illegal? Uh…not sure.

[3] Sous vide is a method of cooking in which foods are vacuum-sealed (think TV-infomercial Food Saver) and then cooked in a low-temperature water bath. The point is to keep food from oxidizing, losing juices and overcooking.

[4] Melissa Clark of the New York Times, has a nice piece on trying to do Modernist Cuisine at home. Her recipe for grilled rib-eye can be found here: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/dining/seared-frozen-rib-steaks-recipe.html?_r=1

[5] OK – I am one of those steak eaters who likes her steak rare to just-barely medium rare with a good crust. I am not going to give a lecture to those who do the “well-done” (aka shoe leather) bit. But the advice here is relevant regardless of how you like your steak cooked.

[6] While all browning is cooking, not all cooking is browning. Yes, cooking for meats is defined by the denaturing of proteins – that is the proteins change structure due to heat. Think of it this way: if you put a steak into boiling water, the steak will  “cook” – but it won’t be tasty. It will just be a grayish lump of chewy meat. 

[7] The Maillard reaction is named after the French physician Louis Camille Maillard who discovered this process in 1912.  Maillard reactions require both a carbohydrate (either a sugar or starch) and an amino acid. In the case of steak, it would be the amino acids attached to meat proteins. Although it is often confused with caramelization, the two processes are chemically different (but not necessarily mutually exclusive). While caramelization also is a browning reaction, it only happens in sugars (technically speaking it’s the pyrolization of sugar).

Beef, That's What's For Dinner

Strip-loin...a little past it "freshness" date...

God, I love a good piece of red meat. I know from a sustainability standpoint I should be shooting myself. Cows are not exactly a winner in for the planet, food security or your health.[1] Furthermore, due to the high cost of meat as well as ethical concerns, meat consumption has gone down the last 5 years.[2] But sometimes I really just want a good steak.

            To keep my conscience (and my kid and husband’s cholesterol & fat levels in check), we usually eat red meat about 2-3 times a month. (The policy in the house, is that for every meat/fish dinner, we do a vegetarian dinner. As I do 99 percent of the cooking in the house, beggars can’t be choosers.) It’s not that often. And we’ve pretty much switched to eating only organic & free-range beef. Yeah it’s hella expensive, but if you’re going eat red meat, at least do it the right way.

            I don’t just mean from an ethical standpoint. If I’m going to eat beef, I want the best damn tasting beef I can buy. Up until recently, I figured I was shit-out-of luck when it came to good tasting beef unless I was in Peter Luger[3] land.  They have access to not only the best quality beef[4], but also to industrial grills (the type that can get up to 1000°F) and experienced cooks.

            And it’s just not the grading that matters to beef connoisseurs. There are several different types of cows, from Angus[5] to Hereford to Wagyu/Kobe.[6] There are also differences in husbandry & slaughter techniques. Grass-fed, organic and free-range all describes how the cattle were raised. Butchery practices range from the crude (anyone who has read Michael Pollan’s article “Power Steer” in the New York Times will know what I mean) to the religious/ethical (Kosher or Halal).  And then there is the issue of which cut to go with….

            I can’t tell you what choice to make in terms of all these choices – that’s up to you (and isn’t that what America is all about?), but beyond getting the highest quality steak you can afford (this means either getting Choice or Prime beef), what else can you do?

            You age it. This is one of the main reasons why home cooks will never be able to replicate a steakhouse steak at home. As gross as it seems, an old steak will beat out a fresh steak any day of the week – and here’s why:

            The taste we associate with a good piece of beef – that meaty, rounded, nutty taste  – that comes from glutamates[7], specific amino acids, that give that pronounced “umami” quality to foods. Glutamates while inherent in all living cells (why you can you vegetarians/vegans are not exempt from eating, dare I call it, “meaty” foods), particularly proteins, it is only in the free, unbound form that contributes to that savory taste in delicious beef.

            And this is where aging does it’s magic. It isn’t until enzymes start to break down the proteins from bound glutamates to free glutamates. The longer the enzymes have to break down those protein compounds, the more glutamates are freed.

            But it doesn’t stop there. Aging also tenderizes meat. Meat isn’t all soft and squishy once you kill it. Just like the horror films, rigor mortis sets in.  Proteins are tough little compounds. All that stingy stuff in tough meat? That’s a combination of collagen, muscle & connective tissue – all made out of protein. If enzymes aren’t given enough time to break down all that tough tissue, you just get that…tough meat.[8]

            To a certain extent, all commercial meat is “aged.” It’s about 4-10 days from slaughter to sale, and by then some aging has occurred – but nothing to write home about. The home cook can age their beef like a pro, but there are a lot of caveats…mainly of the food safety kind. Oxygen and light contribute to meat rancidity. Bacteria seem to like meat as much as humans do. (E. coli anyone?)[9]

            But yes, you can be your own butcher and age your own meat. There are two aging methods: wet aging and dry aging. Wet aging, preferred by Morton’s Gene & Georgetti, and The Palm, is done by vacuum sealing cuts of beef (to prevent oxidation) and letting the meat sit for 3-6 weeks in a cold aging room[10]. Dry aging, done by Peter Luger, Capital Grille, Craftsteak, is exactly as it sounds. Meat is dried thoroughly (to prevent excess bacterial growth) and allowed to free-stand in an aging room for up to 4 weeks.

Piece of wet-aged strip loin

            Which is the better method? There is a serious debate amongst steak-lovers about this, and any steakhouse will give a long-list of reasons why their particular method merits consideration. Well, I prefer a dry-aged steak. I think the meat is tenderer than wet aged and the flavor is more concentrated, due to the evaporation. Which is the easier method for the home cook? Wet aging, hands down.

            To wet age a cut, all you need to do is have vacuum pack your meat (it doesn’t matter what cut you choose) and let it sit in the coldest part of your fridge for a couple of weeks, and turn it over every couple of days. Here (see picture above), I’ve wet-aged a strip-loin for 5 weeks. If you notice it, the meat is much darker in color than that of a “fresh” steak.  How did it taste? Well, you’ll have to wait to next post to find that out (and the science behind a perfectly cooked piece of beef).

            Dry aging, on the other hand, takes a bit of work. First, clear out the meat drawer of your fridge. Clean the meat drawer fastidiously – I mean the scrub, hot water, the works.[11] Take out any rack (cake racks are good) that fits into your meat drawer and also go on a sanitation spree. Why the rack? Because the more air that circulates around your meat, the quicker it will age. Then take out your meat and dry it as thoroughly as possible. The easiest way is to use sterilized cheesecloth or a kitchen towel to dry it off (do not use paper towels-you will be tweezing little pieces of paper forever).[12] Place the cake rack (fat side down if using a loin or other large cut of meat) in the empty meat drawer and place the meat as far apart as possible on the rack, without touching the sides of the drawer.

            That’s it. LEAVE IT ALONE! The longest I’ve put it in the fridge has been 10 days. But to be on the safe side, I say a week should be the threshold for the home cook.

            While dry aging, you might notice your meat looks and smells a little “off.” It’s not going to be that rosy red. In fact it’s going to look a little grayish. Do not let that deter you. Furthermore, if you find any moldy bits on the fat or meat – that’s OK – you trim off those pieces before you cook.

            And there you have it. You’ve aged your own steak. Yeah it’s a bit of work, but it’s an experiment worth doing. And you’ll never look again the plastic wrapped stuff at the grocery store….

            

PS Next post we’ll look at the next step, how to cook your beef. And as usual – there’s a science to it….

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[1] I’ve written posts about meat-eating. As a former vegetarian, I can definitely see both sides of the meat debate. But as a flexitarian of sorts, I think it's far better to encourage LESS meat eating than to go the NO meat eating route. Not because I think it's a better moral stance, but in terms of changing food-behavior permanently, some change is better than none at all.

[2] Mark Bittman of the New York Times has just written an op-ed about the decline of meat eating in the US. Here's a link to the actual data involved in that article.  http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Market/Meat-eating-drops-in-US/?utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter+Daily&c=77qNraRtuAAB13iq4M/Dl145IGHUSJLq

[3] Peter Luger is considered to be one of the best steakhouses in America. Of course there are tons of good steakhouses and good steaks (and as to which is best is the type of topic that usually ends up with fists flying), but Luger is pretty consistent in the ratings. I’m pretty partial to the place, but that is because I like the bare-bones aspect of the restaurant: there’s no cushy chairs, no Dean Martin in the background, and no Mobster or D-list celebrities hounding the place. Just meat. And some knives, to make it easier to chew.

[4] To those of you not familiar with the beef scene, there are 8 grades of beef in the US based upon intra-muscular fat levels (what’s known as ‘”marbling”) and tenderness.  US Prime is the top grade of beef, but due to it’s limited availability (only 2.9% of beef is labeled Prime), high-end restaurants usually buy the bulk of supplies. Most of us buy what is labeled “Select” or “Choice” at the grocery store.  Choice is the higher end than Select, and once again, the fat content and distribution determine the difference between the two. As for the rest of the beef grades? Think of potted beef because almost all of it goes into processed food (think your dog or cat food).

[5] Angus cattle, one particular breed (called Aberdeen Angus in Europe), have a reputation of superior beef, that reputation is not really founded upon any scientific study. The popularity of Angus beef in the US has more to do with a strategic marketing campaign by ranchers. In the UK, Aberdeen Angus is usually held to higher animal welfare rules than that of its US counterpart. Possibly due to those husbandry standards, Aberdeen Angus was the only breed that did not get Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (“BSE” or “Mad-Cow Disease”) in the last BSE epidemic in the UK.

[6] Kobe beef does not refer to a specific breed of cattle, but to the area from which the cows are raised: Kobe, Japan. All Kobe beef is raised from the Wagyu variety, but not all Wagyu (sometimes labeled “American Kobe”) is Kobe beef. The difference lies in how the cattle is raised: Kobe beef is given a diet of beer, beer mash & grains to encourage fat development as well as daily massages to prevent muscular development and stress that could lead to tough meat.

[7] Yes, these are the same glutamates that are in MSG or monosodium glutamate - the

[8] Remember all those pioneer stories with pictures of Indians hanging their deer, bear or whatever carcass in the background? This technique has been used for eons to soften meat. It just isn’t some crazy Hollywood detail.

[9] Once again, I am willing to take a food safety risk by aging my own meat, but if you have ANY reservations about food safety, don’t do it. No matter how many precautions you take, bacteria and mold happen.  Like raw eggs or raw milk, this technique is only for those who realize the risk and are willing to deal with the consequences…. e.g. like food poisoning. And for god sakes…don’t feed this to small children, elderly or anyone with a compromised immune system. It’s just not worth it.

[10] Meat lockers can control the temperature and the humidity of the environment. While all aging rooms are types of meat lockers, not all meat lockers can serve as aging rooms.

[11] While it is hard for anyone to get cooking supplies scrupulously clean, the easiest way to sterilize equipment is to place the object in boiling water for 10 minutes.

[12] Some people have used hair-dryers to speed up the drying process. I’ve also seen the hand-fan method. Does it work? Uh…my arm’s too weak to find out.

Invasion!

           

          They come in droves. They invade your garden, your lakes, your rivers and your home. And just when you think you’ve defeated them, they come back with a vengeance. And you don’t even know that they are there…This could be the teaser for a horror film, but it’s not. It’s a description of invasive species. And before you go screaming in horror about they impending doom to come, it’s too late. They are already in your own yard, hanging out the entire time. Kudzu? Asian carp? King crab? And even the North American beaver. These are all examples of invasive species.

So what are invasive species? Basically they are any non-native flora or fauna that negatively impact any given ecosystem economically, ecologically or environmentally. The European Union has given two conditions to defining an invasive alien species: Plants and animals that are outside their natural distribution area, and also threaten biological diversity in a given area.

But what does that mean for us? Well if any of you are recreational fisherpersons, you probably are already aware of the invasive species problem. Asian carp,[1] introduced into the US as an “environmentally friendly” answer to algal bloom in fisheries and local waters, their rapid growth (they easily weigh up to 100 pounds) and fertility (Bighead carp produce 200,000 to 1 million eggs in a lifetime. This is compared to 300,000 for common carp and 300-5,000 eggs for silver carp.) And did I mention they jump?[2] Silver carp jump up eight to ten feet when disturbed, often injuring boaters and recreational fishermen (Imagine being hit with a 100 pound fish at 100 mph. Hospital trip).

Jumping aside, the real problem with Asian carp has to do with its ability to displace native fish species quickly. Already in the Mississippi River and rapidly moving up its tributaries, Asian carp threatens to out-complete and overtake aquatic life systems in the Great Lakes region.[3][4] Because bighead and silverhead carp eat such mass quantities of plankton and algal forms (up to 5 to 20% of their body mass), they starve out smaller and native species competing for the same resources. Because Bighead and Silver carp eat plankton and other algal forms, they are not easy to catch through ordinary means (angling) and because of their low commercial and sport value, they remain overrepresented within a given fish population. In an evil chain reaction, the entire Great Lake system is threatened:  Whitefish (no gefilte fish for Rosh Hannah), bass and muskies die out because the food they depend upon, small crustaceans, plant forms and lakebed dwellers, have all been devoured by Asian carp. The insects, birds and other animals that depend upon the lake plants, insects and aquatic life for food also die out. In short: An Asian Carpocalypse.

Realizing the potential (and actual) damage that Asian carp and other invasive species do to local environments and economies, the US Environmental Protection Agency, US Fish and Wildlife Service (a part of the US Interior Department) along with several state agencies (usually those involved in natural resources) usually work in concert to either eradicate or further prevent the migration of invasive species. But this is a rather difficult task because the medicine often kills the patient. For plants, many of the herbicides (including the notorious glycosphate, found in Monsanto’s Round-up) also kill the native plant and flower species that agencies are trying to protect. The same goes for insecticides, fungicides and other pesticides. Some areas have used biological controls, such as goats, sheep or cows to graze away invasive plant species, but they too are problematic (mainly in terms of expense, animal husbandry and over-grazing). Some involve increased hunting licenses for the invasive animals. And in some cases, a total kill, either through fire or chemicals, is involved to refresh the ecosystem.

There is one solution that is slowly catching on, but needs help of the most invasive species of all - humans. No thanks to a poor reputation, many will not consider eating the fish. Some associate Asian carp with its bottom-feeding cousin, the common carp. Others hear the word “invasive species,” and feel queasy. As for looks – well, it ain’t winning any beauty contests.

But here’s the thing: Asian carp is completely edible and pretty tasty. Asian carp has been eaten in China for centuries as a luxury dish.[5] And the taste is really not offensive – a cross between tilapia[6] and mahi mahi. But in most cases, the problem has been one of marketing and exposure. Remember the Patagonian toothfish? Bet you don’t, because it’s now called Chilean sea bass (which you should NOT eat because it is completely over-fished and filled with heavy metals) thanks to a giant marketing campaign.

Can the same be done for Asian carp? The Illinois Department of Natural Resources thinks it can. In a move to kill 2 fish with one stone, the agency wants to use Asian carp for use in anti-hunger campaigns whilst ridding the rivers of the not-so phantom menace. For the 1.8 million on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (otherwise known as food stamps), this would be a cheap, nutritious and delicious form of protein. And the best part: it’s all SUSTAINABLE!!!

But it will take a lot of work to get this plan to work. Chefs need to promote the fish and serve it on their menus. Cookbooks will have to tell people how to prepare it (it will make great fish and chips!). Fish distributors have to accept the fish for sale. And most importantly, people will have start eating it. Lots of it.

We can’t eat all the invasive species in the world, but this is one novel solution to thorny social and environmental problems. In a world where we are running out of solutions for our conservation problems, creativity is needed. And it’s even better if you can eat it.

Sautéed Fish with Black Bean Ginger Sauce

This sauce goes well with any fish, but a firm, white-fleshed fish works best (such as cod or tilapia). And once you find Asian carp at your local grocery store, it will go great with it as well. The sauce can be made one day ahead (just store it in the fridge, covered and bring to room temperature before using.) And when cooking the fish, try to use a cast iron pan – it heats better and creates a better crust for the fish.

1/4 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. fermented/preserved Chinese black beans (see note)

1/4 c. rice vinegar

3 tbs. water

2 tbs. neutral vegetable oil (NOT olive oil)

3 garlic cloves, peeled

1 in. knob of ginger, peeled and coarsely cut

3 green onions

1 tbs. toasted sesame oil

4 6oz. white fish filets (any sustainable fish will do)

salt

pepper

rice flour for dredging (cornstarch will work as well)

2 tbs. of neutral vegetable oil

fresh cilantro sprigs for garnish

1.     Take soy sauce, black beans, rice vinegar, water, 2 tbs. of vegetable oil, ginger, green onions, garlic, sesame oil and process in a blender or food processor until finely chopped (It should have the consistency of a thin, slightly chunky sauce. If too thick, add water until desired consistency.)

2.     For the fish, heat remaining 2 tbs. of vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet (or a non-stick skillet) over medium high heat until hot, but not smoking.

3.     Season filets with salt and pepper on both sides. Dredge with rice flour (or cornstarch) until lightly coated.

4.     When oil is hot, add fish. Cook for 2 minutes, and then flip over gently. Cook until filets are done (depending upon thickness – about 7 minutes per inch).

5.     Take fish off of pan and place on serving platter. Pour sauce evenly across fish. Garnish with fresh cilantro sprigs. Serve with rice.

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[1] Asian carp refer to not one single species of carp but a group of carp; namely, grass (Ctenopharyngodon idella), black (Mylopharyngodon piceus), silver (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) carp. They have been grouped together because of their relatively late introduction into North America (versus the common carp, which has been in North American waters for centuries.).

[2] The jumping bit really is not a threat to humans. Although recreational boaters and fisherpersons have reported injuries such as black eyes, broken bones and concussions from flying fish. Honestly, this is the least of problems when it comes to Asian carp.

[3] The US Environmental Protection Agency has deemed it such a threat that they built an electronic fence at the juncture of the Mississippi/Illinois Rivers and Great Lake water basins to prevent upward migration.

[4] In some areas, Asian carp have occupied 95% of the aquatic biomass in a given water basin.

[5] Yeah, yeah. I know, the Chinese consider pigs’ brains and chicken feet delicacies, but they haven’t caught on here. But look, considering the growing middle-class in China, we should grateful that they do eat plenty of pigs’ feet and the like. If they start getting picky, like the US, the environment, not to mention food prices, are screwed.

[6] Ironically enough, tilapia, one of the US’s most consumed fish, is also considered an invasive species in Florida and across other parts of the US. But several US states, including Arizona and Arkansas use tilapia for water purification purposes (they eat a lot of plants and detritus). In Africa, they are also used for mosquito control (tilapia eat mosquito larvae).

Water Water Everywhere, But Nary a Drop to Drink

Image via Wikipedia

Sherif: He is dead.

Lawrence: Yes. WHY?

Sherif: This is my well.

Lawrence: I have drunk from it.

Sherif: You are welcome.

Lawrence: He was my friend.

Sherif: That!

Lawrence: Yes. That.

Sherif: ...You are angry, English. He was nothing. The well is everything. The Hasimi may not drink at our wells. He knew that. Sa'lam.

- From Lawrence of Arabia, David Lean, Dir. 1962

            I get a call this weekend from my mother-in-law. Usually they are quotidian affairs dealing with micro-managing our lives with baked goods, baby-sitting options and newspaper articles about violence in children’s cartoons. Not this weekend. Apparently there is an outbreak of Escherichia coli,[1] better known as E. coli, in the water supply. And luck would have it, it’s my neighborhood.

            And for 36 hours no water is potable. I go to the grocery store – no water to be found anywhere, except the pricey kind. Being cheap, I occupy all four burners with boiling water.[2] There’s a nice film of plaque on my teeth because the water is too hot to brush my teeth. Dishes have become a new organism. And it looks like my daughter might have the world’s most expensive bath - in Evian.

            And this is what it’s like to live in a 3^rd world country. No access to clean water. That means no drinking water. No washing water. No bathing water. No toilets. No sewage treatment. Although we in the developed world take it for granted, the availability of not just water, but clean, potable water is a luxury that many developing countries have still yet to obtain. According to the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) 884 million people do not have access to safe, clean water[3] – that’s nearly 1 in 8. And for you toilet flushing types – nearly 2.5 billion don’t have access to reliable sanitation services, including 1.2 billion who don’t have sanitation services at all.

Compare this to the United States and the developed world. Or think about it this way - a person taking a 5 minute shower uses more water than a person in an urban slum uses in a day (developing countries). The developed world uses about 500-800 liters per day per person (about 130-200 gallons per day). And then there are toilets. We Americans LOVE to flush.  Forty percent of a household’s daily water use is used for toilet flushing. This is compared to only 14% for cooking and drinking. And those showers add up.[4]

Why is this a problem? I think one statistic sums it up: Only 1% of water on this planet is usable. 1% of water for the ENTIRE planet. And considering the effects of climate change as well as population growth, that 1% is only going to get smaller. According the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 36 states are in line for water shortages in the near future. As in NOW.[5]

            Less water means more problems- not just for the third world. For children, this means dying from diarrhea, which kills 1 in 5 children each year. For economies, billions of dollars are wasted in lost productivity. For the environment, ecosystems are destroyed. For governments, lack of water security has and will continue to cause regional instability[6]. For food security, less water means less food.

                What to do? Luckily, there are some easy ways to conserve water (and save money!)[7] Use a low-flow shower head. Get a low-pressure toilet (Europe has been using them for quite some time). Run your washing machine or dishwater ONLY WHEN FULL! Repair leaky faucets. Have extra water? Use it for cleaning or watering plants instead of putting it down the drain. And please, please, please don’t flush toxic materials into the toilet. This includes old medications, cleaners, bugs, cigarettes and whatever else was not meant for toilets. Not only do they gum up the sewer works, they take more water to flush out of the system (and prescription drugs still are in the water after that). And for those suburbanites: Forget the grass. Get native plants that are adjusted to the natural weather cycle of your region. Las Vegas was NEVER meant to hold golf tournaments.

            Waterworld was probably one of the worst movies ever made (up there with Ishtar), but remember the peecycler? Well, if we’re not careful, we may peecycling permanently.[8]

           

Acqua Pazza

             Literally translated as “crazy water,” acqua pazza has been said to be the forerunner bouillabaisse, the famous French seafood stew. If you ask me, this is easier to prepare, and a lot more sustainable. Traditionally it’s made with cod or halibut, but use sustainable substitutes instead (see recipe).You don’t need to use fancy fish, just fresh, firm white fleshed fish. Serve with some rice and a salad, and you have dinner in 30 minutes. That is really some crazy water.  

Acqua Pazza

4 5 oz. filets of barramundi, black sea bass or Pacific Rockfish

1/2 c. water

sea salt

ground pepper

15 cherry tomatoes (or 2 large ripe tomatoes), chopped

2 tbs. of the best quality olive oil you have (extra-virgin)

2 tbs. of drained capers

4 tbs. chopped black olives (kalmata are best)

chopped flat leaf parsley for serving

1.     Lay fish fillets in a single layer in a non-stick pan. Add water on top. Sprinkle fish with a pinch of salt and a couple of grindings of pepper. Top with chopped tomatoes. Drizzle olive oil on top and sprinkle capers and olives on top.

2.      Bring pan to a boil and immediately turn down heat to medium low. Cover pan and simmer gently until the fish is cooked through, about 10-12 minutes (depending on the thickness of your fish). Remove fish to a dish and cover to keep warm.

3.     Simmer sauce in pan until thickened, about 10 minutes. Place sauce over fish and sprinkle with parsley.

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[1] Escherichia coli is the name for a rod-shaped bacteria that are normally found inside the intestinal walls of most warm-blooded animals. For the most part, E. Coli is harmless to humans (there have been some studies suggesting that E. Coli colonization prevents infections in the intestinal tract). But the problem is the E. coli that some aren’t so friendly: the pathogenic kind. These are the ones that are responsible for most food-poisoning cases, such as the Jack-in-the Box cases in 1992 (E. coli O157:H7, most commonly found in cattle) and the recent cases in Germany (E. coli O104:H4) were toxin-producing strains.

[2] Most bacteria can be killed off with thorough cooking or boiling. The British never seem to get food-borne illnesses. I suspect it’s because they are boiling any vegetable literally to death…including any pathogens that are lurking about.

[3] United Nations Development Fund. 2006 United Nations Human Development Report-Water: A Shared Responsibility. (click here for full report).

[4] The biggest user of water is agriculture. In the US, 70% of water is used for agricultural irrigation. In Africa and Asia, that number rises to 85-90%. It’s a huge problem, especially in developing or 3^rd world countries that can not afford to waste water. Needless to say – a topic to big for this post – but it will be tackled later. Scout’s honor.

[5] If you are the type of person that needs pictures to say a 1000 words, click here to see pictures of the current drought in America’s Southwest. Caution: It’s not pretty.

[6] Water rights issues have been the source of so many diplomatic rifts across Africa and the Middle East, I can’t even count them all. One of the less cited reasons for the continuing conflict in the Gaza is the fight over water rights to the Jordan River.

[7] By some estimates, you can save 30% on your water bill by inserting water-saving devices in your home.

[8] By the way, this week is UN World Water Week. For more information about water, water conservation and public health, please click here.