Quote from: Peripatetic Phil on November 24, 2023, 10:03 PM
Thank you, T63 — much appreciated.
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** Phil.

Hi Phil, I spoke with one of the guys who shoots deer and he said he removes them when they field dress them. He does it to reduce the size of the burden, and to minimise the risk of sharp things piercing his rucksack. He said some people retain them as dog treats.

I know that there are hygiene issues when a deer has been gralloched and thought that may be a reason to remove them but he said the removal of the hooves isn't part of that process but as part of the external hygiene inspection they check between the cleaves of the hoof for the lesions caused by foot and mouth disease.


Regards


T63

Quote from: Peripatetic Phil on November 24, 2023, 08:55 AM
I realise that he was dead, I fully appreciate that he could no longer feel pain, I know that he was destined to be eaten, but why did someone find it necessary to cut off his feet ?  I am confident that it wasn't mutilation for mutilation's sake, but to my mind it does convey a sad lack of respect for a once noble creature ...
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** Phil.

I will ask the question of the gamekeeper when I next see him Phil. I watched a number of videos of deer being processed and from memory all of them had the feet/hooves removed.

The beast after skinning

I'm not sure how venison is interchangeable with other meats when cooking in a curry. Whilst I have a little experience with venison joints I don't recall ever using it in a curry. So having taken charge of a 60kg fallow buck I am looking for ways to run down the glut currently in my freezer.

The deer arrived with his skin on which, never having jointed such a beast before, took me by surprise.

After relieving the beast of his coat it took me another 4 hours to joint him which means I now have bags of diced and minced venison.

I am going to knock up a venison rara at the weekend using both diced and minced venison as a trial and see how the meat turns out in comparison to beef, mutton or goat. I'll let you know how it turns out.

I was mooching through an American based food website where it appears every contributor uses sous vide in their food preparation.
I saw a documentary on tv some time back where a UK pub chain cooked their dishes centrally sous vide style before distribution for finishing off on the individual sites/pubs/restaurants.
Does anyone here regularly use sous vide for food preparation at home and if they do, is it really worth all the cost and bother?
T63

We had the family around for our Diwali feast following the Remembrance Day parade. After a selection of shop bought starters, we served up Ox cheek Rogan Josh, roasted Aloo Gobi and Haleem

Plus steamed basmati rice, black pepper chicken, pig cheek Vindaloo and Anjum Anands edgy peas. Still two day left of Diwali if you want to treat yourself to something spicy.

This is my take on a Lamb Bhuna inspired by an Anjum Anand recipe but adapted in line with other Bhuna recipes I have cooked over the years. I have cooked this using lamb, mutton and bone in goat; beef could be used but you would have to increase both the cooking time and the amount of stock or water.
If I have any available I will add coriander roots to the initial paste and I generally reduce the sauce so that it coats the meat quite thickly.

Lamb Bhuna by Tempest 63

Ingredients
2 large tomatoes, quartered
30g ginger, peeled, roughly chopped
8 large garlic cloves, peeled, roughly chopped
2-4 green chillies
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1kg diced boneless lamb shoulder
20 black peppercorns
2 Tej Patta (Indian bay leaves)
5 cloves
2" stick cinnamon
4 green cardamom pods
2 black cardamom pods
2 large onions, roughly chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbs ground coriander
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
250 ml stock (lamb or beef)
Juice of half a lemon
1 cup coriander leaves


Method
Put tomatoes, ginger, garlic and chillies in a blender with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water and process to a smooth paste.

In a non-stick pan heat half the oil over a high heat and brown the lamb, in batches, for 4-5 minutes, getting a good colour on all sides. 

Remove the lamb from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Heat the remaining oil over a medium heat add the whole spices and onions. Cook stirring occasionally for 10 minutes or until the onion is well browned. Return the lamb and any collected juices to the pan with the ground spices and stir until the spices lose their raw aroma, add the tomato/ginger/garlic/chilli paste, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer stirring regularly for 15-20 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by half. 

Increase heat to high and stir fry until all the excess moisture has evaporated. This really intensifies the flavours.

Add the stock, bring to the boil and cover with a lid. Reduce heat to low and simmer for another 20-30 minutes, or until the lamb is tender. Uncover and raise the heat until the sauce has thickened and coats the meat. Add the lemon juice and season to taste. Serve topped with the chopped coriander.

I bought the 40th anniversary edition of Indian Cooking off of Amazon, despite reading some unfavourable reviews that the recipes are dated and past their sell by date. I would strongly disagree, as would my family, including a growing number of grandchildren who still enjoy the food.

I haven't looked at it in any great detail or found/explored the 11 new recipes. But the Grauniad provided a good review and potted biography of MJ and the book.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/sep/17/madhur-jaffrey-indian-cookery-interview-serious-as-anything-in-my-life

Is anyone thinking of using the 5 days of Diwali as an excuse to cook up a few curries?
Dhanteras Is The First Day Of The Diwali Festival on Friday, November 10, 2023.
The third day Sunday, 12th November, lends Diwali the nickname "Festival of Lights".
Diwali's Fifth Day - Bhai Dooj/Vishwakarma Puja is November 15.

My family are attending the Remembrance Day parade in our town on Sunday 12th so I will celebrate/combine both occasions with an Indian themed lunch.

Happy Diwali!

https://timesproperty.com/news/post/5-days-of-diwali-2023-in-india-blid3197#3

T63

The BBC is running a story on the current cost of a takeaway curry in various regions of the U.K.

Indian takeaways: Restaurant owners say high prices down to perfect storm https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-67138765

The wife and I used to have a takeaway most weeks but in our area, a medium sized town midway between Chelmsford and Colchester, the cost is becoming prohibitive.

A main course each, a couple of chapatis, two veg side dishes and some poppadoms (which used to be free) is now close to £45.

The price seems to be a bit of a lottery; we add up the cost of the order and even though we have the latest menu, an additional 3 or 4 quid is always added to the order. I don't know if this is now for delivery, despite the menu stating delivery is free but it means the delivery guys and gals don't get as big a tip as they used to receive from us.

The takeaway opens at 17.00 but has recently decided to deliver from 18.00 hours, meaning the food is invariably tepid and can arrive too late to eat before bed.

The biggest problem is the quality of the food. I tend to order from the tandoori section, mixed grill or chicken shaslik, whilst the wife focuses on some of the "regional specialities", shaktora or Nawabi. I've noticed on a chicken shaslik that the quantity of chicken has reduced to be replaced with added onion or tomato, whilst the wife says everything off the regional menu tastes exactly the same, there is no variation in the sauces.

This is from the take away that we have used for many years, it has never been the greatest but was the best of the lot. A rival opened a few years back claiming to offer a "fine dining takeaway experience", a claim they never substantiated but it was a better take away and carried a premium price. We used it for a short while but reverted to our usual take away after a while. I'm told now that this high end restaurant has also increased its cost but has nearly halved its portion size and quality has fallen away. The owner of a local Tapas bar used to sing the praises of this high end option but was so disappointed with recent meals he told the restaurateur, a friend, that he could no longer recommend the place anymore and would no longer being ordering from there, and these guys are/were good buddies.

We all know the Indian restaurant trade has been in trouble for years now, I just wonder if this is the death knell for the industry from which it won't claw itself back?