Pork Spare ribs come from the belly. Pork Back ribs (or AKA baby back ribs) come from the rib portion of the loin as in like where your ribeye would come from if we were talking beef.

Pork babybacks are more tender because they come from the loin (same place as the pork chops come from). They also have smaller bones and lighter weight. Generally 2-1/2 lbs & under for baby backs.

Pork spareribs are usually more affordable than pork back ribs and are meatier. They are also larger w/a larger bone. Full slab of spareribs will be 4-6 lbs. A "St Louis" (also aka "Kansas City") cut rib is just spareribs with the brisket bone cut off. This type of sparerib cut makes them visually look similar to a baby back rib but more meaty & larger boned. Sometimes you will see this brisket rib portion also sold at retail. It is usually then called "rib tips". Since slow cooking is the way to go with ribs, they are all plenty tender & fall of the bone.

Most common beef ribs are back ribs (rib portion of the loin) and short ribs (plate/chuck). Taste good. Cost more.

Depends on what part of the country you are in on what is on the menu at a bbq joint and ask for ribs. Commonly both pork spare ribs & baby backs will be on the menu. If you are ordering on a menu that says "ribs" either a "half rack" or a "whole rack", this is usually pork baby back ribs. If you are ordering on a menu that says "St Louis" then you are ordering spare ribs. Really just depends on the place.

If you are in Texas, you'll likely find beef ribs pretty common on the menu.

Always brown the meat when using a crock-pot. The pot never gets quite hot enough to cook the meat right. By the time it reaches a safe temp the meat will have been sitting at dangerous temps for a long time.

I like Ro-Ro's BBQ on Stoneway in Fremont in a pinch- not too expensive and great flavour.

It's just a light color play that occurs in deli meat, especially beef. Depending on the beef & the type of light, can be a rainbow of colors but often it has a green tinge which leads many to think the meat is spoiled. Spoilage would likely have an off odor, feel slimy or sticky.

It's normal.

I heartily second both of these recommendations. I would like to add that fennel (seed and bulb) and orange zest, which are both components of the Greek pork sausage loukaniko, would be wonderful with goat.

I bet Rain Shadow would order some Cornish game hens or smallish fryers for you if you asked them.

Meat & poultry labeling terminology is regulated by FSIS. Because mechanically separated meat & poultry changes the product, it has it's own "standard of identity" which must be used on the label. A "standard of identity" is established for all meat products and must be on the labels. Mechanically separated meat is paste-like, therefore having its own identity.

Organic doesn't hold the safe seal for me. It simply doesn't mean what it used to. To answer your question and not go off into some political tirade (although meat IS political) factory farm vs small local farm should be your real concern. The "organic and free range" chicken may eat organic corn/feed and have a door barely large enough for one of the thousands of birds to travel through to an outside place (free range) that is no bigger than my deck. I personally have come to the conclusion that anything we consume the most of as a nation (Beef, Pork, Poultry we should be the most cautious of. Big Ag. unfortunately keeps finding ways to raising these animals cheaper and cheaper (to keep up with the demand) at a bigger profit and at a health cost to us. First step...Read the label... for sure hormones are not good for us, antibiotics are not good for us and the bigger the company, the less safe and good for us it is. Best bet...take some time out of your day, travel to a farmers market, eat less meat and be happy that you pay more for it now. Pay now or pay later. I just couldn't stay away for the politics.

Make sure you get a whole brisket and not just the flat. Most grocery stores separate the flat and the point. Ask for a whole packer brisket. You want one in the 10-12 pound range. When you get it home you are going to want to trim off a lot of the fat. I like to leave about 1/4" of fat all over the cap, some people like a little more, some people like a little less. It's also a good idea to mark you brisket at this time. What you do is square of a bit of the skinny flat, cutting perpendicular to the grain. This will let you know which way the grain runs and how to cut once it is done. It can sometimes be hard to tell when the black barky meat comes out.

Next you're going to rub it with your favorite rub. Brisket tends to do better with rubs that are higher in salt than sugar (pork tends to work better with sweeter rubs). Here is one close to what I use:

60g Salt
50g Sugar
30g Black Pepper
15g Paprika
10g Lemon Powder
10g Worcestershire Powder
7g Garlic Powder
5g Mustard Powder
5g Cayenne

I don't inject or marinate my briskets.

At the point you smoke it until it's done. You're looking for an internal temperature of 185-190. I'm a big proponent of smoking the meat fat side down and not turning or touching it all during the cook. I also believe brisket should be cooked over oak. Pecan, cherry, apple, and peach are good to mix with the oak, but oak is best.

Once it hits the temp you want to remove it from the smoker and let it rest. You basically have two options. The first is wrap it in foil and let it sit for at least 30 minutes. The second is to wrap it in foil and put it in a beer cooler for a couple of hours (if you preheat the cooler you can actually hold the brisket for about 4 hours). Then you want to remove the point from the flat. Slice the flat against the grain (remember the mark we made?) about the width of a pencil. With the point you can either slice (this can be hard), chop or pull it, or cut it into chunks. If you chunk it, put it back on the smoker for a few hours to make burnt ends. You should also have a lot of juice left in your foil after the rest. Don't lose this. Pour it back over the meat after you slice it.

The key is too cook at two different temperatures. The amount of juice the meat looses during cooking is dependent almost entirely on the internal temperature of the meat. If you are shooting for a juicy medium rare (130F), your goal is to have as much of the meat at that temperature as possible. Any section over that temperature is going to loose a higher proportion of the juice. This chart will show the weight loss versus temperature of a steak: http://www.seriouseats.com/images/20100303-sous-vide-steak-chart.jpg. All of that weight is water, which is juice.

The ideal way to accomplish this is to sous vide the steak. You put it in a bag under a vacuum and cook it in a 130F water bath. I understand that this is probably something you aren't interested in.

There is a way that can get you close though and is perfectly doable on your gas grill. The first step is to salt the meat. For the best results salt the meat on both sides, then put it on a rack uncovered in the fridge overnight. When you plan to cook, take it out and leave it at room temperature for 30-40 minutes. If you can't do this, take the meat out of the fridge, salt it, and let it sit at room temperature for at least 40 minutes (don't try to shorten the time).

While your steak is sitting get your grill ready. What we want to do is put your grill at the lowest setting possible. Somewhere around 300F is good, but if you can get it to like 200-250F you'll be better. Put the steak on there and cook it until you get it up to about 120F as an internal temperature. Take the steak off the heat and keep it somewhere warm. Now the goal is to get your grill as hot as possible. Crank all the heat to high, put the lid on, and move the grates as close to the heat source as you can. Let it heat for 10 minutes or so. Pat the steak dry and put it over the hottest part of the grill and sear both sides to your liking. It shouldn't take more than a minute or two. During this time your also going to raise the internal temperature up to about 130F.

Now that you're done, let the meat rest for at least 10 minutes (longer if your steak is thicker than 1.5"). If you have a handy dandy infrared thermometer, you want the surface to be around 120F before you slice.

This should work for you, but there are some caveats. Depending on how well done you like your steak (if you're cooking it over 135F I might come and take it away from you though), how quickly your grill heats, and how hot your grill gets; you may need to take the initial cook either higher or lower than 120F. The same steps can be accomplished using an oven and a cast iron pan (and I think the results are better that way too).

HI Christina,

My first thought is in the form of another question. Should we try and teach ourselves to like a particular food? I know that may not to be root for your question, but the thought came to mind. ( I am not crazy about tripe myself) That said, I believe that texture, the idea of what the function of these parts are and the more unfamiliar and "fresh" flavors of these parts play a roll in our taste buds enjoying something or not. "Liking" something or not when it comes to a particular food begins with our eyes, then our brain and lastly our buds. I am sure you have enjoyed pate that of course often contain organ meats. The texture and flavor are somewhat masked by all the spices and fat. Not cheap, because of the labor involved if someone else made it for you, and not that healthy because of the fat. You challenged your self quite a bit by attempting beef liver. I soak liver and most organ meats in milk overnight. This will draw out impurities and tone down the game-like flavor that you may not be used to. One thing about liver. If its not crispy on the outside, I don't care for it either. Non crispy... tastes, feels...well, like liver. A classic sauce for liver, is a mustard and shallot cream sauce (don't forget the sauteed onions piled on top) pan seared with a nice crispy out side. (I am not sure if it was the texture or flavor that bothered you most) All these delicious components, make for a nice tasty dish. That's liver. For the other organ meats, if you want to acquire a taste for gizzards, heart, kidney etc...these start off a little more dense than liver. Let me suggest that you slice or dice the organs on the small side small, sautee in garlic, shallots rosemary, fresh thyme. Sear crispy, splash a little wine in that pan, swirl in a little mustard and splash of vinegar. Season with S&P and toss on to some heart greens such as frisee, add a poached egg and you may learn to like it.

Dong Hing (south side of Jackson between 11th & 12th, 1 block east of Van's Groceries, which is your budget produce option) is the cheapest I've found. I've been out of the country for a couple months, but as I recall pork is generally under $2/lb (cheap cuts under a dollar), flank steak between $2 and $3/lb, oxtails @ $2.39/lb. They also have a good seafood selection and hard to find shit (like "beef pizzle", which, yes, is cock). Chicken and duck are dirt cheap. I've seen the county hygiene people there doing their routine inspections a couple of times, and things seem in order.

That said, only slightly more expensive but with better quality, my favorite spot is Lam's. East about half a block from 12th on the south side of King, off the parking lot behind the decaying yellow house. I don't recall if the butcher is onsite, but shit's fresh. I paid 2.99/lb for the biggest, fattiest oxtails I've ever had there. Sear them and braise them with wine and stock for a couple hours. My god. Anyway.

And if you want decent chorizo for cheap, the carniceria on 14th & Jackson is the best place I've found.

We've got a Cameron Smoke n' Fold. It's a cheapo little smoker that's easy to throw in the truck and do up some salmon etc. at a family shindig. It's not very large, and it doesn't get very hot (maybe 165 degrees), so it takes longer to smoke than other/more expensive smokers. I'd also recommend a half hour or so of oven time post-smoking for chicken and fish, just to make sure they're done through. That said, this little aluminum box creates magical things. It's time-consuming, but so SO worth it. We've smoked everything in it, from brisket to marshmallows. And wood chips are dirt cheap and available all over the damn place (hardware stores, Big 5, etc.)

As a hidden bonus, the smoker acts like a giant version of one of those car air freshener trees. My vehicle smells like hickory/apple potpourri most of the time. I had the smoker in my truck when I got new tires put on last year, and three guys in the shop had ordered smokers online by the end of the day, the smell was that good.

Sheep have it better, for sure. They need the grass to graze, which is also why it is more expensive and less available. Land takes money. Very different from feed lots for cows and pig farms where they are raising these animals in smaller and smaller areas to increase their profits. Commercial beef cattle are primarily not given the opportunity to graze as they are fed corn and corn product, something that makes them and us sick. Most (not all) cows you see on farms "grazing" are dairy cattle.

I like to prepare mine from scratch, but that's not really necessary. If you want a good recipe for it, look in Charcuterie by Micheal Ruhlman. Once it's cured, you need to cook it. Don't boil it! If you have a pressure cooker large enough, that's the best way. If not, cook it in a roasting pan in the oven, partially covered at about 250F. This will take 3 or 4 hours to become tender. Once it's tender, do not remove it from the liquid. Let it cool to room temperature in the liquid, and then refrigerate while still in the liquid overnight. Then you can slice and serve. Either reheat it, or keep it cold.

Let me tell you a story about a holiday many years past at the Griffin family home.

Dad Griffin is a hunter, so dinner was to be a wild turkey. Young Brother Griffin demanded to be allowed to cook said wild turkey for the family feast. Dad Griffin had plucked his turkey when he processed it for the freezer, but he had not removed the pin feathers from the bird before he froze it, figuring that he would do so when we were going to eat the bird.

Young Brother Griffin neglected to pluck/singe off the hairlike pin feathers that coated the turkey before he roasted it. He also neglected to realize that wild birds aren't nearly as fatty and moist as domestic birds, and so he roasted the creature as though it were a Butterball. Young Brother Griffin thus presented to the table a wild turkey that was burned, dried out, and covered in nasty burned pin feathers that looked like hair. It looked horrible and was practically inedible. I went out for Chinese after that "meal." Young Brother Griffin hasn't been allowed to cook holiday meals for the family since.

That's why you want to remove the feathers--so you don't serve your guests hairy-looking birds.

The easiest thing to do with game birds is skin them, taking the feathers and skin off at one stroke, but then you have to lard them before cooking or cook them in liquid so they don't dry out. If you want the skin, first scald the bird in boiling water to loosen the feathers (and please do this step outside, because it will stink to high heaven). Then, pluck the bird of most of the feathers, and finally remove pin feathers either with pliers (if there are few) or with a propane torch (if there are a lot--if you do this, also do it outside).

One last thing--don't skin your birds until you get home. Game wardens need to see feathers to identify species.

My understanding is that the currywurst available here pales in comparison to Berlin.

However, yes, you can find it at Feierabend (in South Lake Union), Prost! on Phinney Ridge, or any other restaurant owned by the same folks.

The People's Pub in Ballard also has currywurst.

Go to Rain Shadow Meats! They are great—excellent sourcing, really nice, will guide you to good values if you're on a budget...

Regarding Bill the Butcher: Here's some info on them with a link to another story. I understand they're labeling a lot more of their product now, but the nominal Bill has reportedly departed the company... it's all been a little too peculiar for my taste.

My favorite is Red Mill Burgers on Phinney Ridge in Seattle. They have some cool out of the box burgers (red onion jam--mmm...)and yes on bacon and malts.

I am late to discovering Zippy Burgers in West Seattle (in Delridge area); closer to White Center than West Seattle proper). Love them!

I know there are a lot of Dick's loyal fans out there. Must be because they always look busy when I drive by. But for me it ranks at the bottom of the non-chain burger places. I wonder if nostalgia has something to do with its popularity. Can't figure it out.

BTW Zippy's is not a gourmet burger, unlike Red Mill. Zippys is inexpensive, burger size is generous. Bacon and malts? Check, check.

My partner votes for Kidds. Not on my list, but now you have a 2-in-1 POV :-)

I got some fantastic chorizo at Rain Shadow Meats (in the Melrose building) a while back.

Thoroughly cooked, like dry scrambled, should be fine as I see it.

We have to stop meeting like this.
How is the knee?

The trick with cooking a duck breast is to be patient. Score the fat side by cutting a cross-hatch pattern in the fat only (don't cut into the flesh, this helps the fat release or be "rendered" from the breast). Season with salt and pepper and spices of your choice on both sides.

Turn the heat to high on your pan (cast iron or other sturdy pan is recommended). Add a teaspoon of a high heat oil such as canola. Add duck breasts to the pan fat side DOWN. Turn the heat down to medium-low and allow the fat to slowly render out of the breast - it should take about 10-15 minutes. Be patient. You want to slowly crisp the skin while a good deal of the fat should seep into the pan. When the skin is crisped and the fat rendered out, flip the breasts and cook for only 2 minutes or so on the other side for a medium-rare breast (recommended). Meanwhile strain the fat through a sieve and keep in the refrigerator or freezer to use for your roasted potatoes (and many other uses).

Let the duck breasts rest on a plate for 10 minutes to reduce loss of juices when you slice, slice thin and serve.

1) Commercial ham hocks are generally going to look all the same. If you find them offensive but still want porky flavor, find yourself a ham bone instead--you'll get the flavor and some of the gelatin, but no meat and just a femur. Ask your butcher, or buy a country ham and harvest your own hock from that--hocks freeze well.

2) Hocks are usually smoked to the point of being precooked when you buy them. The skin is full of gelatin and collagen, so leave it on until you are done simmering and then remove it when you pull the hock out so you get that nice silky mouthfeel.

3) I haven't found much point of doing more to smoked ham hocks or country ham ends than dumping them in, as they're already quite strongly flavored. If for some reason you have a fresh hock, go ahead and roast/smoke/grill it before tossing it in to your soup. Cook it in your dish until the whole mess is done, then fish out the hock, allow it to cool enough to handle, peel off the skin if desired, and remove the bone.

4) After deboning and peeling, either pull off the softer bits (meat) by hand and put them back in the soup, or dice the whole mass up and toss it in. My family did the latter, but then again, Mom's from near St. Louis and snout sandwiches were sometimes on the menu, too, so we were used to the chewy bits.

All of this is predicated on long, low temp cooking. Ham hocks are good in beans and chili, and essential in stewed collard greens. Embrace and enjoy them for what they are--part of nose-to-tail eating.

You can debone a turkey, but I wouldn't recommend it to someone who has never deboned poultry before if you want it to be pretty. It's tricky and requires practice, but here's some step by step instructions with photos. I strongly recommend practicing with a chicken first.

Even better that a completely deboned bird is a spatchcocked one, which is a bird that has all its bones except the spine, and it is then laid flat so it cooks faster. Flattening the bird decreases the cooking time, and the way the wings fold over the breast meat protects it from high heat. Here's Martha Stewart's method. You can then roast the bird or even grill roast it. Caveat: unless you have a truly gargantuan roaster pan, use a small turkey or it won't fit.

Good luck!

I'd say go for medium rare to rare with your goat leg, but cooking time is going to depend on how hot you cook it. Most recipes I've found say 375 for 15 min/lb, some with a high-heat start to develop crust. Treat it like lamb and use a meat thermometer and you should come out OK.

Or, I just found this recipe.

Congratulations! You just made a batch of (probably non-kosher) schmaltz!

You can use your rendered poultry fat as the lubricant for sautees and other pan cooking. If you're really adventurous, confit some bird legs and add your schmaltz to the fat. Use it as the fat in a batch of crackers or noodles and you'll have homemade chicken in a biscuit.

Or, if you have a dog or know one, make the fat into doggy treats and you'll have at least one Xmas present out of the way.

OMGDuh - U can haz cheezberger. ;)

real A: Use patience, young padawan. The light side of the force is for knowledge, defense, never for attack or gluttony.
Healthy, non-filling snacks are the way to help: baby carrots are my go-to waiting-for-mealtime snack.