Meat Day: the prequel and the sequel.

I have to give you the whole picture: we went to the butcher's on Friday, and since this is one of my husband's favorite stores, we came back with much more than we actually needed. Before I got married, I've never went to the butcher, maybe a couple of times when I was 5 or 6 years old with my mom or uncle, and that was it. I never needed to go. Actually, I have to confess that I never touched raw meat before. The only thing I could cook was the fish for my cats, and I insisted on doing it myself to make sure that it was done the way they liked it. But when I started cooking for real, I had to overcome my fears and deal with raw meat. I started of course with the meat department at the supermarket. I discovered that the plastic covered foam trays that I got even from the fanciest supermarkets did not offer me the same quality I was used to. So I decided to go looking for a good butcher. I found a nice Italian butcher on 9th Avenue in New York. He was so helpful and so patient with me. I had to ask all kinds of questions, and was really happy that I could have a conversation with a real person, not just someone who would tell me if the store had the cut I needed. In fact this is how I learned that how you plan to cook the meat determines the cut. I discovered that the butcher offers cuts that you'll never find in a supermarket, and he can prepare it for you the way you like it. Of course, the new butcher I went to after my first friend closed his store, has a different idea about how to trim the meat. He likes it a bit fattier than I do, so after days of arguing in vain with him, I decided to let him trim it his way, then after watching him carefully doing it several times, I'd go home and give it another trim. Now everybody's happy. Also I learned a lot from my butcher: I can tell him my general idea about the meal and the number of persons I'm serving and he would offer advice about how to cook the cut I chose or suggest something else. And it always works. Also I'm used to the concept of using the whole animal nose to tail, so I'm always sure that I can find what I need at the butcher's. You can imagine how happy I was when I found that veal from the butcher is not that sad beige undetermined piece of meat you get at the supermarket, but a beautiful rosy succulent cut that definitely came from a well fed, well treated animal. Remember when I told you before to buy your liver slices from the butcher? Yes they are not plasticky and tasteless like the ones sitting in the display case at the supermarket. So, we were buying veal, and ended up with 3 lb of veal liver, 2 lb of chicken sausage, a rabbit  and a duck.

SAUTEED VEAL LIVER

                                          

My husband insisted that we cook it the same day, as a prequel to the big meat day. So I went immediately to the kitchen and prepared it in minutes. I had asked the butcher to slice it rather thin, but the slices came a little less than a 1/2 inch thick. No problem, I said to myself, it might take a little longer to cook. But to my surprise it didn't. You'll need:

2 lb of veal liver sliced

2 tbsp onion/garlic frozen mixture

1 tbsp butter sliced in thin squares

2 to 3 tsp lemon juice (more to taste)

Salt and pepper

Wash the liver slices carefully, making sure that you remove any blood clots they may have in. Place the liver in a bowl, add the onion mixture, salt and pepper and mix to coat. Add the lemon juice and let marinate for a while, about 20 minutes, while you prepare a salad or some rice. Arrange the slices in a nonstick skillet large enough to hold all the slices in one layer and start cooking on medium high heat. They will render their juices, let it cook until all the liquid is absorbed, then turn the slices on the other side. Let them brown. When all the liquid is absorbed, spread the thin slices of butter over the skillet and wait for them to melt. Add some water to the skillet, and move the slices with your wooden spoon to release the browned bits from the bottom and the sides of the skillet to form a sauce. When it comes to boil, lower the heat and let simmer on low until the liquid is almost all absorbed. Your liver dish is ready. Serve it with some rice, with its sauce, and a salad.

CHICKEN SAUSAGE

                                             

Another delicious thing I got from the butcher was some chicken sausage. I've seen it before in his display case, but every time I tried to buy it, we had so many other priorities that I had to pass. This time I said this is it, we're getting the sausage. My husband was not very enthusiastic about it, you know, for him ground meat is not meat. We got it anyway, and I asked the butcher how should I cook it. I came home very excited, but had to keep it for after the Eid: you cannot cook chicken, let alone sausage, during Eidul-Adha!
You don't need a recipe: just cook the sausage in a nonstick skillet without adding anything to it, no butter, no oil, nothing. The only advise I can give is the following: my biggest skillet was very crowded when I put all the sausage in it (we had 2 lb). So I let it cook for a few minutes, then took it out of the skillet and cut it in about 6 inch pieces. Why did I do that? I figured that I should not cut it while it was still raw, it might spill out its contents. But now that it is half cooked, it can hold its shape and filling. Now, brown the sausage in the skillet, turning the pieces to make sure that they are browned on all sides. The butcher told me to add some water or red wine. I opted for water this time in order to know exactly how it tastes without any addition. So, add some water (just enough to deglaze the pan) and let it cook until all the liquid is absorbed. You're done. How easy was that?
I served it with some mushrooms that I quartered and cooked in the same skillet without adding anything to it, just adjust the seasoning at the end if need be.
That's it, tomorrow we're having a salad!