All Up in my Grille

I've realized today that the point of this blog is to do a little more than discuss how I make food. I feel like I give a pretty good look into what's going on class, but quite frankly, I think I'm too broke to have drinks after class with classmates, and its late by the time we get out of class, and most of the people live outside NY, except the two I already had drinks with. Somehow we decided to get drinks again after Thursday's class (the next class after this post, which is actually tonight), so maybe I'll have something else to say about that kind of stuff. If you're reading this and are interested in anything, please drop me a comment. Like what types of pans we use?, what color nail polish I used to differentiate my utensils?, etc...

Anyhow, we fired up the grill for this class. It was a pretty easy class, to be honest. And I took a very hands on approach, which is what I want/have to do. I did all the grilling for our team, and prepared the chicken. I'll get into it in a second.

The beef we used was a very fresh cut, located right below/behind the ribs. It was a 182, I believe. What the hell does that mean? Apparently, every piece of the cow has a corresponding number. So if you tell a butcher that you'd like a 182, with a 1x1 tail, then you're telling him/her that that you want a certain cut that has been designated as #182, and the tail end of that cut should be approximately an inch thick and an inch long (from the base of the primary cut of meat). At least that's how I understood Chef Tom's narrative. Apparently there's an $80 guide to these cuts. Pretty pricey!

Anyways, the beef was vacuum-packed and looked pretty damn fresh. it had a thick layer of fat on one end, which chef trimmed completely off. He also removed the sinewy silver skin that was between the fat and meat. This is a tough layer that doesn't quite break down without a long duration on the heat.

But because the meat we had was classified as a first category, it lends itself better to a quick cooking style, cooked to medium rare. The categories are First, Second and Third. The second and third are progressively tougher meats, and are usually braised or roasted for longer periods of time so the meat gets tender.

So, what are aged meats? I'll tell you what isn't an aged meat, and that was the piece we had. Ours was fresh out of the package. Aged meats allow the natural enzymes of decaying meat to begin breaking down the meat and therefore making it a bit more tender. Italians can age meat in a cool basement for a while, some put it in high tech "aging rooms." What's better? beats me.

With that said, an aged meat is usually more tender and delicious. Ours was not as tender as butter, but still delicious. We grilled it and put on beautiful quadrillage (diamond shaped grill pattern). Mine was rare/medium rare and very delicious. Before you serve/cut the piece you should always let it rest for a couple of minutes. This allows the blood/juice to recirculate throughout the piece, so it doesn't bleed all over when you cut it, and it makes the more cooked parts juicier.

We served our steak with pommes frites and sauce choron. Sauce choron is a derivative from hollandaise sauce (egg yolks beat over simmering water, then with clarified butter whisked in). into that we put a bernaise reduction (vinegar, crushed pepper, some herbs, then strained) and a little fondue de tomates. It was really perfect on the steak. But that stuff is BAD for you.

We ate this for dinner, and it was fantastic.

Next we did the chicken. I prepared the chicken almost entirely. My partner was more than eager to let me do this. I took the wish bone out this time. Good habits are important. I then cut down both sides of the backbone, through the ribs to remove the back bone and tail. Then I cut out the rib bones and the hip bones. We also cut the drumstick and the thigh at the joint to expose it, and exposed the thigh bone, since that part usually takes the longest to cook. It was pretty easy. I took my time (not my sweet time, but I didn't rush) just to get a grasp on what I was doing. Chef walked by and said "beautiful." Haste makes waste. I brushed the almost boneless chicken with a little olive oil, and we sprinkled a little thyme on it. We let it marinate in the fridge while we prepared the rest of the dish. The rest of the dish was basically a veal stock reduction as the sauce, and pommes pailles (fried haystack of potatoes).

So when it was time to grill the chicken, you put it skin down, and after a few minutes, you give it a 30 degree turn to get the quadrillage going. It looked beautiful! Flip it for a minute or two to get the flesh side going then take it off and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, you take it out, slightly under cooked, and coat the flesh with a layer of dijon mustard, then bread crumbs (which have been mixed with a touch of oil and chicken jous. Pop them back in the oven for another 10 minutes and hopefully by then, the meat is cooked through (140 degrees or so, and let carry over cooking bring it to 145)

This dish was PHENOMENAL. Better than the steak. I didn't actually taste it until I got home, but it was great.

We had another great class. My partner and I took care of business. The proteins seem easier to cook and prepare than the sauces. I don't enjoy making the sauces since they're easier to mess up and require all types of reducing and ingredients. But you can always add more stock or water if you've reduced it too much.

One guy was upset that his chicken wasn't fully cooked on the grill, and we had to remind him that he was finishing it in the oven. This was after he mangled it. But it was ok, because we cut the pieces apart for service anyways. You just got to pay attention, and read ahead in the recipe.

As I was walking to the train station I ran into Grace, my old partner, and Bret (probably the one who is at the top of the class right now). We decided on drinks for Thursday. I guess I have to take some money out of the bank. I'll let you know how it goes (without disclosing anything too private).