charcuterie

that duck is like the will ferrell elf character then, eh? is that like nutritionally balanced to feed yr ducks only maple syrup? diabolical from a taste perspective i'm sure tho

ya it's a foie gras "thing"

it might be mixed with grain or something

I can imagine how wonderful the fat from that duck was. One of the pigs we had raised was finished with free grazing on acorns and apples, and the flavor of the meat and fat was just so good.

also if i don't get enough duck fat what do you guys think abt supplementing it with shmalz? or will that make it taste too chickeny?

I used olive oil, myself.

And I just remembered that most of the confit, encased in fat, has been in my fridge for about 18 months. I wonder if they're still good?

Probably. Cook it to 176 F for 30 min (or use it in a long-cooked cassoulet) if you're worried about botulism toxin.

also if i don't get enough duck fat what do you guys think abt supplementing it with shmalz? or will that make it taste too chickeny?

― a fool committed to a VISION of SOMETHING NO ONE ELSE UNDERSTANDS (jdchurchill), Wednesday, May 19, 2010 6:54 PM (4 hours ago) Bookmark

goooooooose fat

yeah go for the goose fat!

btw love how this thread is for all anti-nutrition nazis

i dunno how anti-nutrition we are dude. i think the whole fat=bad is some amurkin suprastitionisms. i was reading this where they mention the weston a price foundation for wise traditions in food, farming, and the healing arts who extol the virtues of *gasp* eating animal fats!

bad news dudes :(

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8688104.stm

(sorry if this was linked before)

A Harvard University team which looked at studies involving over one million people found just 50g of processed meat a day also raised the risk of diabetes.

But there was no such risk from eating even twice as much unprocessed meat, such as beef, lamb or pork.

This was despite the fact the two forms of meat have a similar fat content.

I was just going to post this. It would be interesting to see if there was any difference between the Oscar Mayer processed crap that people eat and "artisanal" or homemade charcuterie. I know I make my own bacon, sausages, etc. because I like to know what is in my food. Also I find most all mass-produced processed meats to be way too salty. And I like salt!

"defined as any meat preserved by smoking, curing or salting and includes bacon, sausages, salami and other luncheon meats.

Salt can increase blood pressure in some people, a key risk factor for heart disease.

In animal experiments, nitrate preservatives can promote atherosclerosis and reduce glucose tolerance, which can in turn lead to heart problems and diabetes. "

Can we get a mod to retitle this "Charcuterie: The Anti-Nutrition Nazi Thread"? Thx.

i don't have time to deconstruct this snippet of pop science from bbc news perpetuating the myth that fat is bad for you, but i would like to see what brands of sausages/bacon they were eating. also this sentence says it all (correlation does not equal causation, bitches!) "Although cause-and-effect cannot be proven by these types of long-term observational studies, all of these studies adjusted for other risk factors," said Renata Micha, lead author.

basicly she's saying 'we shouldn't draw conclusions from this, but we're drawing conclusions from this.'

Dude the main takeaway here is that fat is NOT bad for you, at least when comparing cured meats with, say, steaks.

"there was no such risk from eating even twice as much unprocessed meat, such as beef, lamb or pork.
This was despite the fact the two forms of meat have a similar fat content."

Though the study looked at people who were eating the equiv of a sausage a DAY so I don't know if it's worth gettin too stray-assed over anyway

Sorry - buzz harsh over!

The fact there was no specific or controlled study, but only conclusions drawn from looking at the results of 20 studies not overseen by the researchers, leads me to discount this. I'm surprised they forgot the part about nitrates causing cancer.

The fact there was no specific or controlled study, but only conclusions drawn from looking at the results of 20 studies not overseen by the researchers, leads me to discount this.

Really? Why would the Harvard Institute of Public Health use such a clearly bum methodology??

ok whatever, tracer hand did you put up that muffin recipe you raved about april 7 yet? would you please add that to the muffin thread?

Here's the direct release: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/2010-releases/processed-meats-unprocessed-heart-disease-diabetes.html

They started with 1,600 studies and narrowed it down to 20 they felt were pertinent.

They want to influence the US government dietary guidelines, which are up for review. It would interesting to know where the researchers grants come from.

yea this is what happens they cherry pick the studies which themselves are merely correlative and tailor the information so that it fits their paradigm. i do this too btw except my paradigm is sausages + beer and as you might guess the studies start off neatish and then end up with grease spots and indecipherable writing.

that muffin recipe you raved about april 7

Dude... I have completely forgotten what this even was.

i just made some almond muffins last week that were fucking BOMBBBBBB - they had fig paste inside

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, April 7, 2010 5:37 AM (1 month ago) Bookmark

ok so i put all the skin and what not in my crock pot friday-sunday and was a little disappointed by how much fat i got. not enough to cover both ducklegs, however i was thinking it might work if i confit one at a time. i did end up with a handful of the most delicious scraps of stuff tho. also i put the duck breasts in a bunch of salt so as to make duck prosciutto.

Could you put both legs in a canning jar thick end down and cover them with the fat that way? The jar would stand up to the low heat you want for making confit and give you a small volume to fill vs. a flat dish.

hmmm i dunno if they would both fit in the jars i have. i guess they are quart or whatever 32 oz. this type of idea might find use for me tho

You might be surprised how much will fit in one of those. I got a dozen hard-boiled eggs in a quart jar when I was pickling.

It does help if the jar is the wide mouth kind, not the narrow one.

i have wide mouths exclusively now cuz of the extra utility

Lunch today: duck confit sandwich with cranberry jam and sliced cabbage on a banh mi roll.

http://quizilla.teennick.com/user_images/T/TA/TAK/TAKENBYSURPRISE/1243668321_7518_full.gif

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd210/jdchurchil/food%20porn/DSC_0223.jpg?t=1275400649
this is how the duck legs look now. do y'all think that's too much in the water phase?

Yes. Did you end up cooking them in the jar? If so, the big difference would be so much less surface area for the water to escape while cooking. I didn't think that through. I'll bet it's delicious still - you should just use within a week or so.

damnit.

this duck 'confit' was kinda salty and i was thinking it's cuz it cooked in the super reduced duck stock, the pink lower portion in the jar pictured above. when i took the legs out of the jar, it was like demi glas or whatever is a step reduced beyond that: like jello. also now it's all mixed in with my fat so should i just do my best to scrape out the fat from the jello or try to cook it off on low heat? or both

also ate some of my duck prosciuto last night. i need to figure out a way to slice it super thin so if anyone has a tip on that hook it up yo

i was part of an SF charcuterie/salumi tasting mission yesterday evening where we tackled three of the better gran selections available.

Rillettes de Lapin was the clear winner for the best dish we had. I'd be interested in trying this at home.

yeah i've been thinking of making rillettes as well... doesnt seem like it would be that hard?

Lunch today: duck confit sandwich with cranberry jam and sliced cabbage on a banh mi roll.

― righteousmaelstrom, Tuesday, May 25, 2010 2:43 PM (1 week ago)

haha you mean "a baguette"?

a way to slice it super thin

One way is to partially freeze it, but that might change the texture a lot.

How are you going to use the confit? Mine's usually pretty salty due to the cure prior to cooking. But I usually just make cassoulet or risotto, so the salt's no problem. That geleè duck stock would be great in either, too.

haha you mean "a baguette"?

― _▂▅▇█▓▒░◕‿‿◕░▒▓█▇▅▂_ (Steve Shasta), Friday, June 4, 2010 4:59 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

most banh mis are on rolls that are baguette-like but a bit more spongy iirc

Banh mi baguettes usually have some rice flour added so they're not as dense as regular ones.

not gonna lie, i didn't know that.

this coming from a dude who ate close to 60 banh mi all over VN!

local shops here in SF use regular* baguettes...

*american style baguettes...

had a killer pork rillettes sandwich for lunch today

speaking of duck fat I ate a can of beans earlier this week that consisted of just white beans in goose fat:and this was just a generic store brand! I love this country (France) so much.

rillettes is a helluva lot like pulled pork, dudes if that opens up yr recipe frontiers. in a little bit when i get home i will post the recipe from charcuterie book

i guess i could freeze one a little and see if that helps. but when i cut them last night i was hasty and drunk so it might go differently were that not the case

oh and i ate the confit with a salad. my gurl dint like it so i ate her scraps straight up

I had cured duck breast at Taste a few weeks ago - it was cut fairly thick (1/8" maybe, def not paper thin) and they had seared the skin side briefly. Really good.