what are you eating today?

[kpnv]

actually, its called leftovers haha.

[Ahlvahroe]

Stuff from last week really.

3 courses.

Scallop & Whiting Timbale with Saffron Beurre Blanc

Roast Duck Breast with Beetroot Marmalade, Pommes Noisette and a Port Glaze

Warm Apple Cake with Blueberry Compote

Dinner one night

Chicken Chermoula with Mint Salad - I really really enjoyed making and devouring this. First time making Morroccan anything.

Breakfast one day

Pancetta Wrapped Asparagus and Sauteed Mushrooms.

i havent been able to eat anything for the last 3 days so looking at this awesomeness almost makes me feel like crying, i should stay out of this thread till my throat heals and i can eat again.

[dino might]

one of the rolls i had was a 'dessert roll'- fried eel, egg, cream cheese, rice and fried coconut on the outside.

it was to die for.

[avantster]

celebrating a friend's birthday.

goose foie gras and duck liver parfait with red onion marmalade and toasted brioche. textures complemented well here, and crumbly but just-substantial-enough brioche was perfection.

quail ballotine with a wild mushroom herb salad and truffled vinaigrette.

seared sea scallops with cauliflower purée, tomato confit, tamarillo compote and spanish jamón.

wagyu eye fillet. full blood wagyu steer, grain-fed 600 days. dark photo makes it look like a burnt turd but the meat melted in my mouth.

all washed down with a '05 henschke keyneton estate cab sav.

[prima]

scallop dish looks great avanster

[tweeds]

for the DD+1

doing my best dog-bowl impression

burning and pillaging

some late-night snacking

[Bane]

chicken bowl

fried ice

[mojinho]

wagyu eye fillet. full blood wagyu steer, grain-fed 600 days. dark photo makes it look like a burnt turd but the meat melted in my mouth.

you win the thread for today (tweedlesinpink is a close second with those weird chickpea snack things that i want to shove down my throat).

but i don't get what the big deal is with restaurants advertising "grain-fed beef." cattle graze in nature on grass. grass-fed beef is where it's at. that's one of the main reasons south american beef is so flavorful.

[I<3Bacon]

anyone else like char siu?

[photo]

If char siu is bbq pork then yes, quite good, actually the only way I would eat pork.

[dismalfuture]

What's the point of feeding Wagyu cattle grain and slaughtering at 600 days anyhow? That would make them no different from a regular cow, essentially. The whole point of the Wagyu craze was to feed heifers beer and massage them daily for 3 years before slaughtering to get the marbling. I know they have brought Wagyu to Texas and are probably doing this 600-day grain fed bullshit over here as well, but really, what's the point?

[avantster]

Bit of a myth and a marketing tool. They aren't all massaged daily. Wagyu are often cleaned and kept warm. It's also common to see one being rubbed down with straw to clean off dirt. They are well groomed, rather than pampered.

As for alcohol, yes, they are occasionally fed beer and sake. It aids appetite and digestion.

So there's some truth to that but in the end it's about genetics and feed.

As for grain vs grass fed, that's a whole other debate.

It's not uncommon that grass-raised cattle are grain-fed for the last few years. The point is so that their diet can be controlled. I won't go into the ethics of grain vs grass, but in the end, grain-fed produces a more consistent product.

[DaBestSpoona]

I dont really care to know about the process of raising cattle.

All I know is from looking at the meat section at the market Kagoshima => Saga > Kobe =>American Wagyu > Austrailian Wagyu.

[plongin]

back to the comfort food....

always ramen.

[whizkit]

I was watching this Heston Blumenthal show on youtube where he mentioned that grain-fed cattle tend to be more fatty and marbly compared to grazed cattle, and therefore more flavourful.

[plongin]

i wouldn't exactly say its more "flavourful".... the more marbling actually means theres a more even distribution of fat in the meat, and the more even distribution of fat you got in the beef, supposedly the more juicy the meat is.

[mojinho]

As for grain vs grass fed, that's a whole other debate.

It's not uncommon that grass-raised cattle are grain-fed for the last few years. The point is so that their diet can be controlled. I won't go into the ethics of grain vs grass, but in the end, grain-fed produces a more consistent product.

i agree that the product is more consistent: grass changes with the seasons and drought conditions, and as the cattle eat different things their meat tastes different. oh the whole, however, meat that i've had that's grass-fed is more flavorful.

i should say, however, that i've never had Kobe or Wagyu beef.

PS Wikipedia says lots of stuff in Australia and the US that passes as "Wagyu" would never meet Japanese standards.

[jpgm]

breakfast...

porridge with banana and honey....double espresso

lunch...

baked beans....9 grain vita weat biscuits....carrot....pear....monster energy drink

dinner...

barbecued spatchcock with garlic, evoo, lemon juice and chili....salad of spinach leaves, pear, sweet potato and roasted hazelnuts....coke zero

[mojinho]

you're into the pears, eh?

[jpgm]

i actually dont eat them that often, but they are beautiful at the moment. seriously good.

[plongin]

^^ pears are refreshing...

homemade breakfast cause it was stormin' out today and I was stuck in the crib

eggs, slices of gruyere & emmenthal, toast and jam.

[whizkit]

i wouldn't exactly say its more "flavourful".... the more marbling actually means theres a more even distribution of fat in the meat, and the more even distribution of fat you got in the beef, supposedly the more juicy the meat is.

Much of a meat's flavour do come from its fat, no?

[defiance]

mini-meetup; dd+1 pilgrimage.

[plongin]

Much of a meat's flavour do come from its fat, no?

I guess its the way you look at it. If you're saying that the more fat there is, the better tasting the meat is; then I have to disagree. But yeah, some fat probably makes the meat taste better but I don't think fat determines how good the meat tastes; but I think marbling does more for the meat in terms of texture and juiciness.

anyway all this talk about steak has got me seriously craving. damn.

[sushijerk]

Much of a meat's flavour do come from its fat, no?

Fat brings richness and tenderness, but meat flavour actually comes from blood. This is why few steak lovers order filet mignon because even tho its' a tender muscle, there's little bloodflow and lacks "beef" flavor.

I dunno what grain-fed brings to the table. I think it's just one of those food terms that gets thrown around and actually means very little, like organic and free-range.

[whizkit]

plongin - i get you, i dun mean the quality (both taste and texture, which I think should not be discussed seperately, and by extension, the method of preparation) of the meat can simply be determined just by the amount of fat in it but really determined by the combination of the quality of the lean portion and the quality of fat/marbling (which is often seen as a distinguishing character for a good piece of meat).

I have to admit I'm no expert at meats.

shit, i had 3 meals between 5pm and midnight today, and I'm hungry now.

edit: just saw sushijerk's post^. I totally forgot about the role of the blood in imparting flavour to meat.

[prima]

girlfriend made me breakfast

then lunch

couldn't help drinking the glass of soy milk we prepared before snapping a quick photo

[mojinho]

chopsticks at breakfast?! you asians are CRAZY!

[DaBestSpoona]

girlfriend made me breakfast

then lunch

couldn't help drinking the glass of soy milk we prepared before snapping a quick photo

And this my friends is how Japanese women nab their prey

[plongin]

chopsticks at breakfast?! you asians are CRAZY!

1. chopsticks at breakfast

2. rice at breakfast

3. raw egg at breakfast

the japanese know whats up