There has been a lot of chatter lately about “nose-to-tail eating”: utilizing of all parts of an animal for human consumption rather than just a few prime cuts, while the rest goes into making dog food. While butchering and cooking the entire animal used to be standard practice, it is now rather trendy in restaurants. Progressive chefs have shunned prime rib, filet mignon and double-cut pork chops in favor of braised beef cheeks, skirt steak and pork belly. Why? I have several thoughts on the subject:
1. It's economical. It’s economical. Due to the economic downturn, chefs need to save money on their food budget and want to pass the savings on to their customers.
2. It’s a challenge. It’s a challenge. In these days of pre-fab everything, chefs have access to pre-portioned, trimmed, pristine cuts of meat; but what’s fun about that? We like to use our knives. Tackling a 100 pound box of beef cheeks and cutting away all the fat, sinew and cartilage is an experience. It keeps our skills sharp.
3. It's cool. Any line-monkey at Outback Steakhouse can say they grilled 100 filet mignon on a Friday night, but a real chef boasts about how well their crispy pork belly dish turned out, after lovingly and patiently skinning, seasoning and slow-braising it for hours.
Maybe we, as a society of consumers, have come full-circle, and what was once considered an old fashioned practice is now in vogue again. People have recently become more aware of farm to table eating and the importance, both health- and environmentally-wise, of knowing where one’s food is sourced from. There is a long overdue, new found respect for the farmers who grow and raise our food. One way to respect the animals whose lives are sacrificed to feed us is to utilize all their parts. This is not a new idea by any means, just a return to it out of necessity.
I was put to the test recently by a catering client who requested "trotters", or pigs feet. The closest I’ve ever come to trotters is using smoked ham hocks in stocks and soups. I embraced the challenge with open arms. As a lover of all things porcine, I felt good about learning a new way to prepare a part of this tasty little animal. True, trotters do take time and patience to prepare, but isn’t slow food the new fast food?
This article appears in Oct 28 – Nov 3, 2010.