HC-butchers-art - 10/4/97 An article for headcooks on developing a good relationship with a local butcher shop. NOTE: See also the files: headcooks-msg, p-menus-msg, food-sources-msg, kitchen-clean-msg, feasts-fish-msg, feast-decor-msg, feast-ideas-msg, meat-carving-bib. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 11:31:49 -0400 From: Philip & Susan Troy Subject: SC - Long -- Re Bone Marrow, Butchers, etc. The Noble Lord Stefan Li Rous wrote: > << does anyone have any suggestion on getting bone marrow? Or even suet? >> and the Noble Lord Ras responded: > Bone marrow is usually not available by itself. However, any good supermarket > usually has marrow bones for sale from the marrow can be extracted. Also a > quick glance through your yellow pages will probably show several butcher > and/or meat shops. and Adamantius (that's me) writes: I'd been planning to actually compose something coherent on the subject of finding a good butcher who actually seems to care about whether your meal is a success. However, this seems like as good a time as any to jump in with a bit of pontific--ahem--information. Let's say you are Lord Joe, or Lady Jane, Feastcook. You will, at some point, probably be buying meat for your local group's famous annual "Bruise by Day, Cruise by Night" event. Where do you go? There's always the supermarket, where you can either go the day before the event, and pick up, say, 60 individually wrapped chickens and 15 pork loin halves in the little plastic trays, or you can order these things in advance, which will probably mean there is less packaging to wade through and dispose of, you will be reasonably sure that the market will have what you need when you need it, and there may well be a bulk discount (especially if you ask about it). So, there you are with 15 half pork loins or 7 1/2 whole ones. Ever try to carve one of those puppies? The rib bones are attached quite well to the bones that once did duty as the spinal column. They haven't been chined. So say goodbye to separating the loins into chops, unless you are skilled enough to bone them out without slicing off your thumb or wasting half the meat, or plan to spend half your day hacking away with a cleaver, and the previous clause about thumbs and waste still apply. In the mean time, you still have those 300 marzipan roses to make... You could ask the supermarket butcher to chine them. He may or may not want to do that; he's a busy man. He has plenty of customers, and he probably doesn't know you from Adam. If you can persuade him to do that, or to cut up the chickens, or whatever he can do to make your life easier, then well and good, and more power to you. You might consider offering to waive the bulk discount (if any) in return for this service. The chances are quite good that he'll say something like, "Look, do you want this meat or not? I've got 600 pounds of hamburger to grind." Ultimately not very helpful. Now, suppose we try something similar with a butcher shop. Butcher shops that cater to various European ethnic groups are especially helpful, because they are more likely to carry the kind of weird stuff that many SCAdian feasts thrive on. They probably won't look askance when you ask them for suckling pig, or suet, or marrow bones. The first things you'll notice are that the quality of the meat (and the overall level of service), are higher, as are the prices. Probably significantly so, in most cases. Try shopping there once a week or so. Be friendly. Not usually a problem for SCAdians. You don't have to break your budget too seriously to pick up a couple of pounds of stew meat or a chicken every so often. Your goal is face recognition. Do this for a while, maybe a couple of months. Try to learn some names of employees, discreetly. Then you strike. Start with something simple. Get those 60 chickens from the butcher. Show up at a time when they're not busy (find out in advance when that would be). Explain to them that you'd prefer to do business with people, not a corporation, and that you prefer to support local small businesses. Explain that you are cooking for a non-profit function for your club that researches and teaches history. Kind of like a church supper. Tell them you'd like to get 60 chickens from them, if your budget can handle it, and would prefer to get all your meat from them, if you can afford to. So, would they also throw in a couple of top rounds? (Remember we're keeping it simple.) Ask for a ballpark estimate of the price. The chances are good that you will be given a discount for quantity purchase. The butcher will be getting in that meat above and beyond his usual stock. He probably won't be relying on the profits from that sale (especially since you're a poor teacher and all ; ) ) to go to Bermuda with. As long as he sells whatever he gets in, in addition to his usual stock, it's almost as if you are getting it directly from his supplier. Anyway, if you get the meat at a discount, this should bring his prices down to something vaguely comparable to the price at the supermarket. Even if it works out to a bit more than the supermarket, you can console yourself with the knowledge that the product will be better and you will be building a working relationshiop with the butcher that will ultimately be to your extreme advantage. Soon you'll get to the point where he'll ask you if you want things boned, or the chickens cut up, or whatever. As this relationship improves, you'll probably find that the butcher is willing to do a lot more for you. Today, chining the pork loins. Tomorrow, the world, as the saying goes. Seriously, though, the more he does for you, the more time you'll have for other stuff (such as 300 marzipan roses). My butcher, as I think I've mentioned, will not only throw marrow bones and/or suet or pork fat, or caul fat for wrapping, in with an order (usually for free), but he will custom cut the meat almost any way I ask him to. Even better is the fact that I can bring him a measured amount of spices, salt, wine, etc., and ask him to mix those with 20 pounds of pork butt, 5 pounds of pork belly, and 25 pounds of venison, grind them, and stuff them into sausage casings. He does this for the cost of the meat, and he might have a glass of the wine if there's any extra. I think that's fair. Adamantius ______________________________________ Phil & Susan Troy troy at asan.com Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 11:53:35 -0400 (EDT) From: Mark Schuldenfrei Subject: Re: SC - Long -- Re Bone Marrow, Butchers, etc. Adamantius writes: I'd been planning to actually compose something coherent on the subject of finding a good butcher who actually seems to care about whether your meal is a success. However, this seems like as good a time as any to jump in with a bit of pontific--ahem--information. He's right, again. This is getting tiresome..... I've used similar techniques. We have a local convenience store near my home. Once upon a time, I managed to get my hands on several 20 pound blocks of cheese. All it needed was slicing. I asked the guys at the store what they would charge to slice the cheese for my non-profit educational group. "Nothing, just give us a couple of hours, so we can continue to service our customers". Their competition has closed down.... I wonder why? Partly because all my purchaing is done at the store owned by "the nice guys". BTW, for those that aren't up on butchery like Adamantius: 1. chine \'chi-n\ n [ME, fr. MF eschine, of Gmc origin; akin to OHG scina shinbone, nee]dle - more at SHIN 1: BACKBONE, SPINE; also : a cut of meat or fish including the backbone or part of it and the surrounding flesh 2: RIDGE, CREST 2. chine vt : to cut through the backbone of (as in butchering) Tibor Edited by Mark S. Harris HC-butchers-art Page 4 of 4