August 10, 2004

• I've always assumed that offal, organs and snouts were an integral part of all "specialty meats". That's why they're special!
• If it's normal factory farmed meat, offals probably the least of your worries. Probably best not to dwell on it, if you want to still eat meat.
• pastrami - "A highly seasoned smoked cut of beef, usually taken from the shoulder."
• Don't know about turkey pastrami specifically, but here's a factsheet on hot dogs from the USDA. If it doesn't include the word byproduct or variety meat then it seems like you're safe from scary organ meats. However, if you're that picky about meat then I'm surprised you can eat anything commercially prepared.
• wow, a meat eater who wants to know about the meat they eat. Damned rare if you ask me (okay, pun intended). Good for you roly, but as Wibbleflex pointed out, you may not really want to know.
• Don't ever eat commercial salami, pepperoni, bologna, or any other meat stuffed into a tube, unless you know who made it. Look for kosher meats, or make it yourself. But don't be afraid- 'variety meats' can be tasty!
• are variety meats and specialty meats the same thing? i think the first is stuff most folks don't eat (liver, kidney, heart, brain) and the latter is where stuff like that is chopped up and made into another, um, dish. oh and found this: "Although considered choice morsels in Europe, variety meats are less well known in the United States." considered choice morsels! heh. you wacky europeople.
• "To retain respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in the making" NSFW cartoon illustration; links NSFvegetarians.
• oh! and my favorite specialty item, which i've never actually had because it sounds just tooo tooooo tooooooo awful: Head Cheese Head cheese, also called souse and brawn, is a jellied loaf or sausage. Originally it was made entirely from the meaty parts of the head of a pig or calf, but now can include edible parts of the feet, tongue, and heart. The head is cleaned and simmered until the meat falls from the bones, and the liquid is a concentrated gelatinous broth. Strained, the meat is removed from the head, chopped, seasoned and returned to the broth and the whole placed in a mold and chilled until set, so it can be sliced.
• (close-up of aforementioned head cheese, consider yourself warned)
• i think the first is stuff most folks don't eat (liver, kidney, heart, brain) Don't knock them kidnies! Ahhhh, what I'd give for a nice steak and kidney pie right now. /you know it's real, because of that rich iron flavour
• I ate the cheese many years ago, Sidedish; in Mexico, it's called queso de puerco (pig cheese, which I find less disturbing...) Now, this is not for the fat-overconscious, gristle-looking-food-fearing people. But still, was quite manageable. In fact, imagine some of the more meaty cuts of ham, with some cartilaginous bits and a distinct fat-lard flavor. Now, this was then... nowadays, what passes fot it on supermarkets is a pale, greasy, gelatinous thing that melts away of heated. Not good.
• if heated. Da mn dylsex ai...
• ewwwww!! Now why did i have to click on this post when i just finished having a hot dog for lunch? I mean i know weenies have questionable content - BUT its something i try not to dwell on. I like grilled liver, deepfried chicken gizzards and pork trotters. However i like these separate from each other. Not ground up and mixed with eyeballs and brains and lungs! Now excuse me while i go barf my lunch!
• Wib & pete -- points well taken. Thankfully my wife and I are well aware of the squalid conditions in meat packing plants and we've avoided factory rubbish for almost a year. The turkey pastrami was from Whole Foods Market. Not really sure of any better place to get our meats without going vegan.
• Dang, 14 posts and still no info on what's in prepared meats, except for hot dogs.
• SideDish, it ain't just "wacky europeople" who enjoy the odd animal part. Check out this eGullet thread: The Offal Truth. mmmmmmm hog parts
• I'm a fan of "lips and holes" as you put it and I am born and raised in Southern California. My ex is from Argentina and they eat everything but the oink down there. Had many a good parilla. Blood sausage, sweetbreads, kidneys, my mouth is watering just thinking about it...
• was born and raised...
• Actually, from what I heard a zoo director while working on a project for them is that dominant carnivores eat the internal organs first as they are have the most nutrition. They leave the muscle to the lessers in the pack.
• I once worked in a store/deli that prepared sausages and hams, etc. Much of the clientele were Europeans and the owner was an Austrian who took his meats very seriously. When the pigs came in they were whole hogs and cut in half straight down the middle. The rectums had been removed and the only meat taken from the head were the jowls (very fatty) and the brains. The rest of the head is tossed, so that covers your snout and asshole concern. The meats used for sausages are trimmings of varying quality left over after you cut and trim the ribs, chops, roasts, hams, bacon, hocks and feet. Just check the prices in a good meat shop and you can tell what grade of meat is used: Italian sausages are usually cheap, Bratwurst medium and something like a Krainer or a Debreziner more expensive (also because they are smoked). Good sausages will not contain organs, etc., except, of course, the sausage casings which in true sausages are intestinal linings: beef for large sausages such as kolbasa, pig for medium sized and lamb for small sausages such as breakfast sausages. By weight casings are actually one of the most expensive ingredients in sausages but when possible definitely peel the sausage after it is cooked to avoid the chewiness of the casing. All sausages contain spices, and white sausages such as Bratwurst (which also usually contains some veal) and Weisswurst (veal with some pork) will contain powdered milk. Good sausages will not contain gluten. So, if you buy sausages from a good shop you are not getting nasty bits, and in fact the most expensive sausages are made of the same meat as your roasts and chops. Cheaper sausages are just cheaper bits like hocks or side ribs. All sausages will have fat and likely some gristle. Hotdogs....just don't go there. Try to find some good German weiners. As for salamis I am not as familiar with the meats used as we bought ours, but I am guessing that the spicing/smoking probably flavours cheaper meat. Then again, some salamis are quite expensive. My recommendation re. sausages is don't buy any mass produced sausages but rather try to find a smaller shop that makes their own. The difference is remarkable. So if any Monkeys are ever visiting Ottawa, Canada, go visit The Sausage Kitchen! Excellent meats all around.
• Just a follow-up: same things apply to prepared meats such as cold cuts, though they will perhaps contain more binder (soy protein). Mass produced = bad. Good sausages and prepared meats have very few (if any) ingredients other than meat, spices, milk and binder.
• Interesting, JG -- just looked up The Sausage Kitchen online (I'm in Ottawa) and found it listed on a gluten-free page list. My brother in law is celiac, but is fortunate to live in Winnipeg which is where the Cdn. association is based, so they have a restaurant and some suppliers nearby. There appear to be a great many suppliers in the area. Perhaps that's another way for people to find quality meat products -- from "specialist" suppliers -- the above-mentioned kosher, or celiac, vendors.
• Who knew we had a knockwurst expert lurking about?
• Cool post, JG!
• Hey Rorschach! Nice to find another Ottawa monkey, and welcome to Monkeyfilter. Indeed we had quite a few customers whose main reason for shopping at the Sausage Kitchen was that our products were gluten free. If you ever want to ship your brother in law some good eats, grab some of their Krainers and Debreziners - smokey sausage goodness that travels well.
• Regarding my original FPP question, I found some info on this Food Network page... it doesn't suggest anything grisly and explains how there can be a turkey pastrami. Some Usenet recipes also start with a turkey breast base.
• Dang, 14 posts and still no info on what's in prepared meats, except for hot dogs. rolypolyman, I wouldn't say we've been ignoring your question. You mentioned "offal" in your question and that drew our attention. I stopped by the local IGA on the way home today, hoping to read the label on the turkey pastrami, but they were out. ok, I also needed to pick up some tonic. A quick google on 'USDA 'turkey pastrami"' yields a less-than-felicitous bounty of recall notices. :( Traditional beef pastrami is similar to corned beef, except that it's smoked and steamed after being brined. I would hope that turkey "pastrami" would be turkey breast meat treated to a similar process. Similar but shorter - if subjected to the same brining/smoking/steaming process as beef plate or brisket, turkey breast would be transmogrified into warm leatherette. Then again, turkey pastrami may be made of turkey snouts and a-holes for all I know. *yikes*
• Hey JG. Likewise. Cool, I'll keep in mind. I think his birthday is coming up. (why do men send men meat for presents? -- if I could only send him BEER -- any suggestions?) and... VAGINOSCORPIO???
• heh, I see that I loitered in the preview mode a bit too long. Next time I'll scroll down before posting. I already linked to egullet re: offal, but here's another one. A Vancouver chef diligently pursues the great pastrami / smoked meat experiment.
• Once had lunch at this place with a girl who ordered an entr
• Lots of info on traditional sausage making here. The recipies are good if you need to feed an army. I found working at that store quite fascinating. The sausage making machinery they used was modern but the recipies were old and very simple. Watching the sausage makers turn a dozen sides of pork into a load of different meats in an afternoon was impressive. Very little waste and the meat was excellent. Nothing like fresh smoked bacon or smoked pork chops right out of the smokehouse. Rorschach, re. beer: KLB is a good microbrew from Peterborough. If it isn't available in the 'Peg maybe send him a case. They make a tasty raspberry wheat beer. I think you can get KLB brands at The Beer Store. And yes, Vaginoscopia. Should probably be marked NSFW on my user page. :-)
• Mmmm, Mystery Meat...
• I've tried the KLB raspberry. not bad (might have enjoyed it in a better setting -- bad night). Didn't know that wheat beer was ok for celiacs -- I thought all beer was out.
• My mouth is watering big-time. I hate you all.
• if you're SPECIFICALLY wondering what's in turkey pastrami, and you don't mind a PDF file, here's a recipe for you.
• Slightly off topic - Another Ottawa monkey here and I'll second a recommendation of The Sausage Kitchen. It's recently become my favourite place to have lunch. The sausages are great, but so is the schnitzel, perogies, etc. On topic - I believe turkey pastrami is usually made using thigh meat, although this changes depending on who's making it. Some producers will use breast meat, while some commercial manufacturers will use mechanically separated turkey. The only way to know what's in your pastrami is to find out who makes it and contact them. Since you said you buy from Whole Foods, I wouldn't worry too much, they're trying to build a reputation selling high quality, organic foods and I doubt they would sell a product containing mechanically separated poultry. Here's an interesting article profiling Whole Foods Market and the president John Mackey.
• For those who want damn fine German wurst without heading back to Germany, look no further than Usinger's of Milwaukee.
• Actually, from what I heard a zoo director while working on a project for them is that dominant carnivores eat the internal organs first as they are have the most nutrition. They leave the muscle to the lessers in the pack. Indeed, for many centuries the highest ranking noble at any meal was presented with the heart as the choicest piece of meat, and then lesser nobles would receive the other organs as their rank determined, long before anyone got the cuts of muscle. Our modern sensibility is the problem, not the snouts and assholes themselves.
• For the sausage experts, what is "summer sausage"?
• ...presto, change-o, turkey bashtrami!