Let's go shopping--- Meat

Today, I am going to enjoy my shopping journey at St. Lawrence Market. The main reason I choose this market for purchasing meats is that there are diversified meats and cuts. In addition, it is a farmer market so their ingredients are usually fresh. Actually, I am always excited when I walk into the market because I really love conventional markets and like to explore traditional and classical foods and dishes. I personally believe that a traditional market is a good place where you can experience their traditions and hospitality.

                                              

                           

                 

            

Wow...There are many kinds of meats and different cuts depending on animals. You might feel how excited I am during this journey through these pictures. Here! Chicken, is one of my favourites.  It is very popular and the most common type of poultry in the world especially in these past decades due to promotion by various groups. Indeed, chicken is highly nutritious containing, about 20 % of protein and it is low in fat. Chicken isn't divided into many cuts; however, it usually consists of white meat (breast and wings) and dark meat (legs). Both of them are main parts of chicken. Besides, there are some edible components such as chicken feet, kidneys, neck and giblets. For main cuts, Taiwanese would like chicken legs more than breast in my hometown because they are juicier. Therefore, I chose chicken legs for making a presentation this time.

To begin, I think most of us are familiar with chicken legs and know they are below the joint of the back. However, there are specific and different cuts from legs such as chicken thigh with back portion, chicken leg quarter, chicken thigh and chicken drumstick. A chicken thigh with back portion consists of a thigh and some back.  Therefore, it contains a thigh, the upper part of the leg, a drumstick, lower part of the leg and some back. Sometimes pelvic meat and fat are attached. Chicken leg quarter is similar to chicken thigh with back portion. The only difference is chicken leg quarter includes some stomach fat and tail. However, all of them are dark meat and it means more fat, more connective tissue and more cooking time compared with light meat. Dark meat is usually muscle tissue and it needs more oxygen during exercise and movement. When muscles are used more frequently, the become darker. Therefore, we could know there is more myoglobin protein in dark meat

Chicken is subject to federal inspection the same as other meats such as beef and pork and it also could be graded including Canada Grade A, Canada Utility Grade and Canada Grade C. However, grading is not compulsory. All right, let's go to purchase chicken leg quarter and see what price is.

Well, as we can see from photo below, 1 lb for $2.19 so 1 kg for $4.84. It is not expensive compared with other cuts, breast, wings, drumstick and thigh are 4.99, 3.99, 2.89 and 3.19, respectively.

But how do I utilize this cut for optimum cost benefit? I am for sure that I usually won't waste any meat even bones when I prepare to cook. Today, I have chicken leg quarter so I am going to make Three-Cups Chicken, famous Taiwanese cuisine. First, I debone from chicken leg and separate bones and meat. I only use meat and fat to make the dish; therefore, bones will be stored in the refrigeration for creating my own stock next time. Here is my mom’s recipe below.

Ingredient:

                Fat from chicken---------------------------------> several pieces

                 Vegetable oil-------------------------------------> 1 tablespoon

                 Chicken legs, boneless and bite-si-------------> 2 pounds

                Ginger, thinly slice-------------------------------> 8 slices

                 Dried red pepper----------------------------------> 4 

                Fresh red pepper----------------------------------> 4

                   (2 for cooking/ 2 for garnish)

                Garlic, peeled and minced----------------------->1 head

                 Green onion, only white part/medium dice --> 1 bunch 

                Rice wine------------------------------------------>1/2 cup

                 Soy sauce ----------------------------------------->1/3 cup

                Basil leaves----------------------------------------> 4 stalks

                   (save some for garnish)

                Light brown sugar--------------------------------> 1 tablespoon

    Direction:

                   1. Heat up  a wok and then render chicken fat. Strain it         

                   2. Add chicken oil  in a wok over medium flame 

                  3. Add chicken meat into pan and pan fried until golden brown. Dish up and
                       set aside

                   4. In the same wok add vegetable oil over high heat then follow by chopped

                       garlic, sliced ginger, white part of green onion and dried red peppers, and

                       sauté until fragrant. 

                 5. Add light brown sugar, stir fry until sugar melts. Add pan fried chicken,

                       stirring evenly around 2 minutes 

                   6. Add rice wine, soy sauce and fresh red peppers and bring to a boil 

                   7. Once it boils then turn it down to low heat and simmer until sauce is

                       reduced to reduce to half its original volume. Sauce should be getting

                       thicken

                       8. Add basil and lightly stir all ingredients until fragrant around 30 seconds

                 9. Turn off the heat

                 10. Serve

      

 

See! It looks so tasty. I chose from many ways to cook it such as pan fried, sauté and simmer since chicken leg is dark meat. The reason why I pan fried chicken at first is because this way of cooking could sear meat and keep the juice inside. The second way is sauté, making flavour more incorporated. In the end, it is simmer, keeping meat moist and tender, making flavours are more concentrated.

In summary, this is a good journey not only purchasing meat but also creating dish. The more important thing is that I obtained knowledge about cooking ways depending on their property of animals and cuts. Indeed, this mission enriches my techniques and thinking.  Being a student in chef school, I should start trying to  learn and grow from different missions. I believe each mission brings a lot of valuable experience and  improves my skills. They will be highly useful for my future career.

Reference:
Smart Kitchen (n.d.). Chicken Pieces. Retrieved January 22, 2016 from https://www.smartkitchen.com/resources/ingredients/protein/poultry/chicken-pieces