From Squeal to Tail

This class is going to be great. We have great Chef's and the things we are learning and doing are going to be fun. We learned about fabrication of a pig. The ribs, loin, tenderloin and how to butcher the pig. The use of the pig in cooking is known as "from squeal to tail." We each got a three rib loin roast. We frenched the bones and then we put them in a brine overnight and we will roast them tomorrow. If you don't know what frenched bones are, they are the exposed bones with all the meat removed. Rack of lamb comes to mind when I think of things frenched. I know there are other applications for things being Frenched. Keep it clean you guys. Again, very classy and we can charge more for it. Always thinking of ways to make more money.

French kitchen terms of the day:

Yesterday I mentioned beurre manie (burr-man-yay) in describing Lier. Beurre Manie is a mixture of flour and butter of equal parts by weight to thicken sauces. Like a roux, but not cooked. Cooks keep this handy as it is a quick means to thicken a sauce that is refusing to thicken.

Another request from a fervent follower of my blog (Erin), asked what sous means in regards to a sous chef. Literal translation is (under chef). The Sous Chef works for the Chef de Cuisine and is charge of the kitchen help and production. It is two steps from being an Executive Chef. These were established by Georges-Auguste Escoffier in the 1920's, known as the Classical Brigade in his attempt to organize a kitchen.

All very cool stuff!