Top 3 Meats
I roasted a goose the other night. It was my first goose ever, and I really enjoyed it. In fact, i liked it enough that goose now enjoys a spot in my top 3 favorite meats:
1) Prosciutto, specifically from Parma Sausage on Penn Avenue, where the hams are aged for a minimum of 16 months and it’s sliced to order and it melts in your mouth.
2) Goose–which is an accomplishment, as it jumped right into the #2 spot out of nowhere. I suggested roasting goose for Thanksgiving next year. Aurora said it doesn’t feed as many people as turkey does. I said that we’d just have to invite fewer people. She shot me a dirty look.
3) Lamb–pretty much any preparation, so long as it’s medium rare if roasted and falling apart if braised. In particular for braised lamb, I enjoy a mediterranean-style preparation with good green olives and pistachios in with the stewed meat. But so long as it’s been well-prepared, you can’t go wrong with lamb in my book.
Duck had previously held the number 3 spot, but was edged out of my rankings by the tastiness of the goose.
While everyone who was dining with me enjoyed the goose, I was the only one among us for whom goose ranked in the top 3.
Aurora’s top 3:
- Rabbit
- Duck
- Seared Ahi Tuna
Justin’s top 3:
- Corned Beef
- Lamb
- Seared Ahi Tuna
Ji Eun’s Top 3:
- Spicy Pork
- Tandoori Chicken
- Cephalapod (either octopus or squid will do)–but only if it’s spicy!
Your top 3?
January 6th, 2009 at 4:37 am
3. I tasted duck off of my wife’s plate @ Kaya on Friday night . . . it was really good but costs $24. It’s a good thing it was her birthday!! I had the Kaya Angus burger and you can read my review of it here . . .
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/23/270900/restaurant/Strip-District/Kaya-Pittsburgh
2. Venison from Pure Earth Organic Farm in Crawford County is another favorite. You need a hunting license and permission from the owner to go out and shoot one, but it is oh so good tasting. Dressing and butchering are on your own.
#1. My favorite meat . . . pork from Mickley Organic Farm (near Slippery Rock/Grove City) . . . slow cooked and basted in Reed’s Ginger Ale, that I purchase by the 6 pack from Frankferd Farms Foods.
Honorable Mention: Seared Tuna from Eleven. If you can convince yourself that you’re not going to die from eating a hunk of raw fish, it is oh, so wonderful in your mouth. Another birthday priced meal.
January 6th, 2009 at 8:22 am
I forgot to mention . . . I love “Pro-szhoot” as I call it . . . but the nitrates give me migraines, so I have to be careful . . . what about Parma’s is it free of nitrates?
I normally buy Citterio brand (with emphasis on the more expensive imported Italian one if available*) because the ingredients are pork, salt . . . That’s all!!
*I generally don’t like to support conventional American Pig Farmers . . . the lagoons of waste they create are an environmental hazard and contaminate groundwater . . . plus they are just big factories.
January 6th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Do you have any recommendations for a good butcher in Pittsburgh? Preferably one where I can get the cuts they don’t sell at whole foods: veal bones for stock, hangar steak, the occasional kidney or other blood and guts.
January 7th, 2009 at 12:22 am
well, if you’re not going to do the “guilty pleasures” survey as well, i might have to revise my list to include gas station hot dogs as a favorite meat!
January 7th, 2009 at 10:54 am
Suppposedly lamb barbecue is a speciality in some parts of Kentucky; I’ve never experienced it there, but it was on the menu one night at Blue Smoke/Jazz Standard in Manhattan, and it was delicious.
January 7th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Troy — you should sign up for the Big Burrito list — you get a birthday coupon!
Jesse — wondering where one obtains goose, and could you say more about your preparation? I did a piece this week about the USDA killing nuisance animals like Canada Geese. They killed 1,700 in 07 in PA.
January 8th, 2009 at 3:15 am
That’s what I meant when I said it was her birthday . . . the duck was $24, and Big Burrito gave it to her for free with her birthday postcard.
I paid for my burger.
I have lots of nuisance geese on my farm in the spring around our pond, if you wanna come and shank one
January 8th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Where’d you get the goose? I’d love to give it a try. (I won’t say “shot”)
Shadyside Market on Walnut has wonderful butchers and first-rate meat and poultry.
January 9th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
I got my goose from Dietrich’s Meats (www.dietrichsmeats.com), right off of I-78 exit 40 (the Kutztown/ Krumsville exit). It’s a place I stop when I’m on my way home from the east, quite too long of a drive from Pittsburgh to just go shopping there; though there are some lovely wineries in the vicinity if you wanted to make a weekend of it. Just make sure you have cash (no checks, no credit cards) and a cooler to store everything in!
January 9th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Oh yeah, in terms of butchers– I can’t speak specifically as to who might have what, but a few suggestions of places to try:
In the strip district there are: Strip District Meats, Anderson Meats, and Jo-Mar’s.
In Lawrenceville: Foster’s Meats.
I’ve been to each of these places at least once but never looking for goose or variety meats, so I can’t say as to what they’ll have for you–but they are all close enough to each other that it would be easy to check out all 4 in one fell swoop–unless you want to go out to Troy’s farm!
January 11th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Red Meat
White Meat
Dark Meat
January 11th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
What, are there other kinds of meat?
January 12th, 2009 at 5:41 am
Well, there is one more . . . fake meat (for vegetarians).
January 12th, 2009 at 10:28 am
What, are there other kinds of meat?
When I was in the Navy, on board ship, we were often served mystery meat, and, no, it was not in anyone’s top 3.
January 13th, 2009 at 11:37 am
Okay, so here’s what you do for next Thanksgiving: Roast two geese. That way you’ll have plenty of meat, which will be important because once people find out you’re doing roast goose, they’ll bail on their own families and show up at your house uninvited. Also, you’ll have enough bones to do goose stock! Okay, you might not have *quite* enough bones, but you can probably cheat with a few turkey necks or chicken wings. There’s my two cents…
January 15th, 2009 at 6:48 am
Thanks for the response listing the ingredients to Parma’s Prosciutto Jesse, I’ll have to try it since it is free from nitrates.
I posted it below so your readers will see the ingredients also . . .
—– Original Message —–
From: Jesse Sharrard
To: Farmer Troy
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2009 4:21 PM
Subject: Re: [Corduroy Orange] Comment: “Top 3 Meats”
Pork, salt, pepper, and time: 16 - 18 months. A much drier, more velvety texture than Citterio–though I don’t know that I’ve had their Italian brand.