New knives

I picked up a blue steel no. 1 deba 180mm and yani 300mm for making sushi and sashimi.

Duck.... Duck.... Goose

I went and got two ducks and a goose for x-mass dinner. So we are going to have Duck Duck Goose!

Wine spectator article...

If you have ever watched a Samurai epic, you know that Japanese warriors
pay a great deal of attention to their swords. That same level of attention has
gone into the making of Japanese kitchen knives. Sales of Japanese-made knives
have skyrocketed in the past 10 to 15 years, according to Jeremy Watson, sales
manager for Korin Japanese Trading Corp. in New York. "We deal mostly with
professional chefs, but in the last five to six years, we've seen many more
retail customers as well," he reports.Japanese knives have become so popular
that American and European knife manufacturers are now making knives in the same
style. German-based Wüsthof, a premier producer of kitchen knives, sells more
than a dozen versions of the popular all-purpose Japanese knife called santoku
in two collections.Unfortunately, the popularity of Japanese knives has led to
some poor imitations. There are dozens of Japanese-style knives, most commonly
of the santoku variety, that are as worthless as $50 espresso makers. You often
get what you pay for. Expect to shell out at least $150 for a good Japanese
chef's knife. However, there are factors other than price to consider as
well.Japanese knives are divided into two categories: traditional and
Western-style. Japanese chefs almost exclusively use traditional Japanese
knives. Western-style Japanese knives fuse some of the elements of traditional
Japanese knives with aspects of Western knives (also known as European or German
knives).One thing to consider is the bevel, or the angle at which the two sides
of the blade come together on the knife's edge. On a traditional Western knife,
it is 50/50, meaning the same angle can be found on both sides of the edge. On a
traditional Japanese knife, it's 90/10. On a Western-style Japanese knife, it's
70/30. "[Japanese knives] give a more precise, cleaner cut," Watson says. If
you've ever seen Japanese chefs work their magic at sushi bars, you know what he
means.Western-style Japanese knives resemble Western knives in appearance, from
the handle to the shape of the blade. However, there are notable differences.
The steel in all Japanese knives, including Western-style ones, is harder, which
enables them to hold an edge longer. They also have thinner blades, which
generally makes them lighter. These two qualities, above all else, have earned
Western-style Japanese knives many converts. "I've moved from German to
[Western-style] Japanese knives," says Sarah Jay, author of Knives Cooks Love
(Andrews McMeel). "I have small hands, and the Japanese knives are less
fatiguing."But Norman Weinstein, author of Mastering Knife Skills (Stewart,
Tabori & Chang), remains unconvinced. Weinstein, who teaches knife skills
classes at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York, is a long-time
advocate of Western knives, especially those that are German-made. "There is a
mystique about Japanese knives," Weinstein says. "They are made of excellent
steel and they are thinner. But the idea that Japanese knives cause less stress
[on the hand] makes no sense to me."To illustrate his point about lighter not
necessarily being better, Weinstein asks each of the students in the 130 classes
he teaches every year, including some small-handed women, to cut a rib of celery
using two Western chef's knives: one an 8-inch, the other a heavier 10-inch.
Most of his students (including me, when I attended one of his classes) are
stunned to find that the heavier knife cuts more easily.So, East or West? I
tried out three different brands of the Western-style Japanese chef's knives,
called gyutou, from Korin. All three, the Togiharu ($157), Masanobu VG-10 ($345)
and Misono UX10 ($210), had 9.4-inch blades. All had good balance, but the
Misono's larger wooden handle felt more comfortable in my hand than the smaller,
resin-based Togiharu handle, even though my hands aren't particularly large. The
Masanobu had a more traditional Japanese cylindrical handle, making it necessary
for me to choke up on the blade to gain more control.All three cut like a dream,
better than any Western chef's knife I've ever used. The Togiharu and Misono cut
onion slices so thin, it reminded me of Paul Sorvino slicing garlic with a razor
blade in Goodfellas. Despite the reputation of Japanese knives for being light,
all three weighed in between 8 and 9 ounces, about the same as my Wüsthof
10-inch German knife. The combination of heft and sharpness made cutting harder
vegetables, like fennel, a breeze.I also tried a Togiharu santoku ($110), which,
at 6.4 inches, fell between the Chinese-made Analon santoku (7.75 inches) and
the German-made Kuhn Rikon santoku (5.75 inches) that I own. While Analon and
Kuhn Rikon aren't considered top-of-the-line knife makers, they illustrate how
widespread the popularity of the santoku-style knife is. The Togiharu ran rings
around both, even though the Kuhn Rikon has a nonstick coating.If faced with a
choice between the santoku and gyutou styles, I'd choose the latter, which gives
you the sharpness of Japanese steel with the heft of a Western chef's
knife.There are some caveats. Unlike Western knives, Western-style Japanese
knives have no bolster, the thick band of smooth, unsharpened steel that runs
along the heel of the blade. Without a bolster, your forefinger can bang against
the unprotected heel, which can cause soreness or blisters. Of course, this
depends on how you grip the knife. I've always pressed my middle finger against
the bolster when using a chef's knife. But with the Togiharu, I had to pull my
finger back a bit and squeeze a little harder with my thumb and forefinger on
either side of the blade. Watson says he hasn't gotten complaints from customers
about soreness or blisters.A more important issue is how to maintain the
sharpness of the knife, something that far too many amateur cooks don't pay
enough attention to. "People think that because they paid $125 for a knife, they
don't have to do anything [for upkeep]," Weinstein says. "It's like buying a car
and not thinking you need to put gas in."Western knives can be sharpened in
three ways: using a stone (though few people will take the time to learn how to
do this properly); using a manual or electric knife sharpener; or by sending
them to a knife sharpening service. Western-style Japanese knives can also be
sharpened with a stone, but not with a manual or electric sharpener, because of
the bevel. The bevel also makes honing the blade, which sets the edge but
doesn't sharpen, difficult on a honing steel. However, there are fine and
superfine stones that hone Japanese knives and remove surface scratches.
Japanese knives should be sent to a sharpening service that knows how to handle
them.Finally, maintaining your kitchen knives involves more than sharpening and
honing. Wash them by hand, not in the dishwasher—the heat can damage the
steel—and without abrasives, which can scratch the metal. Wipe them dry and put
them away after they are rinsed to eliminate spots, and keep the knife tips from
getting damaged in drying racks. Store knives in a knife rack or on a magnet
bar; knives stored in drawers can get nicked—and possibly nick you. Take care of
your knives and they'll take care of you, as they did the Samurai
warriors.

Sam Gugino has been writing for Wine Spectator since 1994, becoming a
regular columnist in 1996.

The quest for good pork

I have been on a quest for good pork the past few week. It started over the past holiday when we picked up a 7 bone in open pasture grass feed beef rib roast. It was unbelievably good. So I got to thinking if cow can taste this good a well treated pig must be mind blowing.

The problem I have run into is all I can get at Whole Foods is "free range" pig. Free ranged means basically nothing... the animal can be considered free range if it can access the out side, but there is no time limit given. That means if your pig can see the pasture it can be called free range. It totally makes a difference in the taste and quality of the meat.

Why waste time and money on low quality meat?


Anyway I am ranting and have been up for far to many hours to be making any kind of sense.

If I find a whole pig I am buying it with the hope of butchering it myself.... I should end up with far too much pork. Some I will give away, some with get frozen and some I will try and cure(homemade prosciutto and salamis).

PIG!!!

Not just any pig...

After a year of testing and a year in cure, we can finally announce the
arrival of cured Heritage hams from a 3rd generation curer in Virginia. While
the hams taste like Serrano hams from Spain, the Edwards family has chosen the
name Surry-ano for their product since they are produced in the town of Surry.
Edwards' Heritage Cured Ham is a beacon of culinary culture in this country. The
taste of this product is equal to the finest cured meats of Italy and Spain and
even the thinnest slice engulfs your mouth with the sharp taste of a world class
cured meat.
With time this ham acquires a more intense flavor and becomes
harder but it never spoils and does not need refrigeration. The raw ingredient
(fresh ham legs) comes from Heritage Foods USA and its primary pork producer,
Mark Newman, from Myrtle Missouri. Mark's pigs are Certified Humane and are
among the only 100% Six-Spotted Berkshires raised 100% on pasture in the United
States. Every order placed with us will come from Newman Farm pigs.
The
curing process begins by packing the ham in a special salt by hand. The salt
crystals are shaped in such a way that they don't fall off during the cure. Five
days later the hams are cleaned and rubbed again with more salt where they
remain covered for another 25 days. The excess salt is then removed, and the
hams are put in netting and hung on wooden racks in the 'Spring-Time Room'? for
21 days. This room fluctuates between 45 and 50 degrees with 80% humidity,
keeping the product moist. The hams are then placed in the Smokehouse where the
temperature is gradually raised to 85 degrees over the course of 3 days. At this
point a fire is lit just outside the Smokehouse using hickory wood and the smoke
is blown onto the hams 24 hours a day for about 7 days and stops when the ham
acquires a lovely mahogany color. They are then moved to the Aging Room, which
is kept at 83 degrees. They stay here for a minimum of 11 months but as many as
20 months. www.heritagefoodsusa.com

Tastes like... well like food is ment to taste.

Shigefusa (Tokifusa Iizuka)

I realy spent way more then should have on this knife... but it is totaly worth it. This one came with a custom spalted maple handle by Daniel O'Malley (http://www.bladegallery.com). The current wait time on a Shigefusa knife is some time around a year... This special one of a kind knife was a series of collaborative knives by Shigefusa and Daniel O'Malley.

Shigefusa (Iizuka Tokifusa and his two sons) is the one of the most famous
houchou (Japanese style chef's knife) blacksmith in Japan. Shigefusa has
trained under the famous tamahagane razor maker Iwasaki Shigeyoshi for 10
years, and before he became independent he received several months of
training by another very famous swordsmith Nagashima Munenori by the
recommendation of Iwasaki-san. By the age of 38 he had already been
celebrated as the best houcyou maker in Japan. The beautiful poished look of
Shigefusa knives are acheived by applying the special Japanese sword
poishing technique creating the hazy polished look. Now with his two full
grown sons beside him, Shigefusa has achieved an unrivaled state as a
houchou maker. I can take orders for all Shigefusa knives and tools. If
you are interested in knives that aren't shown on the HP, let me know
what
you are after, and I'll get back to you with price and the waiting time. (http://www.geocities.com/soatoz/hamono/Shigefusa/Shigefusa_Santoku.html)

"Finally, the knives have ready."

Only after some 70 odd days the knives I oredred are shipping from japan.