Bizarre food?

Posted on by Webmaster

In the coming weeks, Xpress will explore the world of offal, sample insects and strange fish parts and go on a wild-foods walk with local expert Alan Muskat.

Are the foods we'll try really all that bizarre? Perhaps to cultures that can afford to be picky. But in many areas of the world, people don't balk at things like grubs and beef heart — they regard them as valuable sources of nourishment and protein. Also, you may be surprised how many foods that are typically discarded are actually delicious.

That being said, if you tend to have squeamish sensibilities, it might be wise to skip this three-part series we're offering. But, if you're interested in lamb "oysters" and the taste of shirako (look that one up at your own risk), then read on.

Whole lotta heart

"Heart is different from liver and kidney,” says Brian Canipelli. “It's just a muscle — that's all it is. It may have a little bit of extra iron flavor at the very end. If you can get past the stigma of eating heart, it's really very good — and not that hard to make." Another unique property of heart, says Canipelli, is that it doesn't contain the ropelike muscle fibers of standard cuts that make it necessary to slice against the grain for tenderness. "You can cut it however you want,” he says. “The muscle fiber structure is different, so you don't even have to let it rest."

Beef heart recipe courtesy of Cucina 24. Local beef heart is available through Hickory Nut Gap Farm for $2 a pound. For more information, visit hickorynutgapfarm.com.

Serves 5-8 people
Ingredients:
1 beef heart
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp crushed red pepper
zest of half a lemon
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method:
When working with a beef heart, cut it into smaller, manageable sections. Work with each chamber of the heart individually, slicing off the pockets of fat and the layer of tissue and silverskin on the exterior and trimming the gristle within. Further portion beef into approximately four-ounce servings. Marinate with combined ingredients for three hours. Season with salt and pepper. Grill over high heat until rare. Slice thinly and serve.

Tongue and cheek

Chef Brian Canipelli of Cucina 24 makes a dish that he refers to as “pork tongue and cheek” on his menu. "I call it that just to give it a funny name, but it's basically a pig's head,” he says. Canipelli gets his heads from Hickory Nut Gap Farm and goes through a process that he says is very similar to making a head cheese. Here’s how he describes it:

“I rinse [the heads] out and soak them in water overnight, boil the blood out and put them in a stock pot with mirepoix and spices, like I’m making a stock. I simmer it for three hours, then let it cool. I pull all of the meat off, cheeks and neck, all of that. Then I take a little bit of the fat and skin, then take the tongue, peel it and chop it up. Then we put it all into a bowl. There's so much gelatin that your fingers are sticky with it, and the gelatin is what will help everything stick together — like meat glue, almost. What we do is season that up with toasted garlic and salt and pepper and roll it up like cookie dough and refrigerate it. The gelatin makes everything set up. We cut it off in pieces, bread it up and fry it."

Canipelli serves the dish at his restaurant with pickles and local mustard.

It’s excellent.

Xpress will also present some rather PG-13 multimedia, including video of brave eaters trying daring local offerings. Keep an eye on mountainx.com/dining.
—Mackensy Lunsford

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