Archive for August, 2010
Blood and Guts II.
Actually sounds like a name for a corny movie sequel! It is in fact the second part of the post regarding:
- Duck Blood Larb (see previous entry)
- Beef Innards (Tripe and Offal)
We needed super fresh innards and I had managed to find a cow that would be slaughtered at noon. “Fresh as possible”.
Some viewers may find some of the photographs graphic, hence the photos appear after the “read the rest of this entry” link.
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Guts.
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Tripe comes from the stomach of the animal and Offal means the edible entrails and organs (think: heart, liver, brain, tongue etc…). In the USA the latter is often called Organ or Variety Meats. We just call them, Yummy!
Countless cultures feature these types of foods on their menus, with many dishes being considered as delicacies. Even those whom frown upon or are disgusted by the thought of eating these meats naively consume burgers and sausages.
In a sadistic way, I wanted to “meet” my bovine friend, who was unwittingly going to give me her blood and guts.
Sad, I know.
However as a cook, I think you should be able to look at your meat in its live state and respect what mother nature has provided you with. The highest respect you can show mother nature is to eat everything from the animal, and let´s face it, if you´re going to eat it, it has to be killed.
My contact told me that somebody had purchased the cow for its meat, and if I wanted, I could come and collect the tripe and offal, the items that the buyer didn’t want at the slaughtering. Its strange to think that so many Spanish dishes feature the tripe and offal from pigs, but hardly use those from the cow. Better for me…
A short drive through the countryside led me to the “Finca” where a herd of cattle grazed and enjoyed their lazy day.
My friend Daisy (I know…, its a cheesy name…) was led in to an iron passageway. There was a “clang” as the gate closed behind her. There wasn’t much room for her to move in the passageway, Daisy could only go forward. One of the workers gingerly climbed up the steps overlooking the “Death Row” and nonchalantly placed a rope around her horns. Was he going to hang her? Er, nope.
Another worker climbed up the opposite side holding what looked like a green coloured pressure washer lance, like those two-handed jet-powered guns you see people use to spray water on their cars with. But he wasn’t going to give her a wash. In fact he delivered 300 volts to the back of her head. Quick and fast.
Its wasn’t the electric shock that would send Daisy to the big ranch in the sky, the shock just rendered her unconscious.
What killed her was the slitting of her throat.
Watching this didn’t seem too bad as I though it might. I mean, Daisy lived a carefree life, was allowed to roam on hectares of land, feeding on copious bails of hay. She wasn’t traumatised by being squashed in to an overloaded lorry and driven for miles in sweating and cramped conditions. Quick and fast.
I finally realised why she had the rope around her horns. The other end was tied to the back of a pickup truck which unceremoniously dragged her the short distance to where she would be sectioned. Its easier to drag a dead cow away by truck.
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Blood and Guts.
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Sounds like a tagline for a horror movie!
In fact, its about two sets of dishes.
- Duck Blood Larb (Larb Luert Pét)
- Beef Innards (Tripe and Offal)
Some viewers may find some of the photos a little disturbing (hence they begin after the “read the rest of this entry” link). Also, I have decided to separate this post in to two parts. Blood, then Guts.
I pondered quite a lot about whether to post about these dishes or not. However, I believe that they should be recorded and written down as these dishes exist and are a part of our food culture. If you are squeamish, then I would advise against reading the rest of the post.
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Blood.
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It all began one sunny afternoon away from the kitchens. A day off. A drink. The team and I were talking about food, like we always do. We talked about how we miss foods from our home towns.
You have to remember that we live in the Spanish countryside without access to all the rich Asiatic herbs, spices and other ingredients that some people are lucky enough to have or can purchase nearby. A fresh Papaya is really a treat for the team, they only ever get to eat a “tum mak houng” when somebody visits them from abroad. Only a few years ago, they started to harvest fresh chillies, grown in the back yard. Before then they got their “hot fix” from dried chillies. Things are looking up though, this year they have grown some nice Thai Basil and other herbs, especially Lemongrass.
Reminiscing about food over a few cold beers brought us to the subject of Duck Blood. To be precise, about Duck Blood Larb. I personally don’t really care for the dish. I have seen it served many times and have even uploaded a video from LCTV in a previous post. Going over the list of ingredients I realised that with a few alterations, we could actually make it here.
Action: Reaction. All I had to do was find a couple of live ducks.
Some team members began to salivate over the idea of eating “freshly squeezed” duck blood.
The further the afternoon went on, more dishes were discussed until we got to Cow Tripes. A load of “goodies” from the inside of the cow. The stuff “people throw away”. Yummy.
Action: Reaction. All I had to do was find a cow that had recently been slaughtered. “Fresh as possible” my team said.
A few days later I got a call from a friend who had heard my plight for live ducks. I had managed to evade the question of what I was going to do with them.
A little online research in to the dish uncovered some reports of deaths in Vietnam concerning the H5N1 Virus (Avian Flu) where a very similar dish is said to have been consumed by the victims shortly before falling ill. Scary stuff.
However, I was intrigued as to how other people prepared this dish. There is always a different version of every recipe.
I quick browse on some Asian on-line forums regarding the different recipes and characteristics of the dish only reaffirmed to me that some forums were just a place for ignorant people to post (or bitch, make fun of or verbally abuse each other) about something they know nothing about.
An online search for videos not only resulted in our LCTV Video, but also a few homemade videos of people preparing the dish. But none of these other videos explained anything about the techniques or ingredients.
The usage of blood in food is not an uncommon practice. Blood Sausages are very popular in many cuisines (think English Black Pudding, French Boudin Noir, Spanish Morcilla, German Blutwurst etc…). Other solid or semi solid blood dishes involve what the Chinese call “Blood Tofu” which is widely enjoyed throughout Asia. This coagulated blood which can come from various animals such as pork, beef, chicken etc… is used in stir fries and soups. However, the colour of the blood used in these dishes is somewhat a dark, almost burgundy-brownish in colour.
The blood served in duck larb retains its bright vibrant redness, which can be off-putting to some. The texture of the blood depends on the recipe, it can be liquid, slightly congealed or firm.
One sunny afternoon, the two guests of honour arrive to the team´s house.
Needless to say, if you want the duck blood, you are going to have to bleed it. 
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