FARÇIR Flashcards
Farçir is the French would for what?
Verb “to stuff.”
A farce, in a professional kitchen, refers to what?
A stuffing.
In many kitchens and most cooking schools, the term for meat stuffing has been Anglicized into what?
Forcemeat, probably the ugliest culinary term in the books.
Forcemeat has gradually expanded to include what?
Any kind of meat, vegetable, or fish that’s been seasoned and ground before being cooked, either inside some other food (a vegetable ravioli, for example), in casing (sausage), in a mold (pâté en terrine), or free-form (a pike quenelle).
Why is farce an extraordinary cooking tool?
It can bring you to the heights of pleasure, and yet it almost always uses common and inexpensive ingredients or provides a means for turing the trim from valuable ingredients into something shapely and delicious.
Farce technique is ultimately what?
One of economy and resourcefulness, and so it is the good cook who knows and understands the versatility of the technique.
Are farces infinitely variable?
Yes
The standard ratios in culinary school involve what?
Purees, namely the emulsified forcemeat and the mousseline forcemeat.
Brines are used to what?
Cure food, preserve it, generate flavor, add their own flavor, and enhance succulence.
THE NOBLE SAUSAGE
3 PARTS MEAT: 1 PART FAT
SAUSAGE SEASONING
60 PARTS MEAT/FAT: 1 PART SALT
Why is sausage one of the culinary glories when cooked right?
It’s a package of inexpensive trim, some fat, some seasoning that can be unparalleled and deliciousness, in its ability to satisfy.
Can sausage be made with just about anything that can be fit into a casing?
Yes
Do sausages have to fit into a casing to be sausages? Explain.
No, patties are part of the sausage tradition (relatives of the crepinette, which is a patty wrapped in caul fat) and free-form sausage is common as well in pasta, soups, and stews. Potstickers use a dough to enfold sausage. So, often, do raviolis.
The keys to a great sausage are first and foremost what?
The right proportion of meat to fat, and second to add the optimal proportion of salt to that meat mixture.
What’s the advantage of the sausage ratio?
It can be scaled up or down as you need it.
To ensure juiciness, sausages should be between ___ and ___% fat.
25, 30
Without fat, sausages are what?
Dry and unpleasant.
There is no such thing as good, ____ sausage.
lean
When chicken sausages taste delicious, it’s because of what?
The right proportion of fat.
Be aware that store bought chicken and turkey sausage are often made from what?
What’s called “mechanically separated” meat–meat and other fragments whipped off bird carcasses in a big spinner.
Commercial sausages that are both delicious and lean often have what?
Some kind of chemical shenanigans going on in them to compensate for the lack of fat.
How can you make healthy alterations to sausages?
Vegetables and fruits can add moisture and flavor to sausages–roasted red peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, and apples makes great additions to sausage. Liquid fat, such as olive oil, can be added to sausage, as can wine or rich stock.
In the end, what is the fact with sausage that we must embrace?
It’s all about the right ratio of meat to fat.
If you make a sausage from eye of round, venison, or other lean meats, you would need a little more fat than what?
1 parts fat to 3 parts meat
Do you need to add fat to sausage made with pork shoulder?
No, it already comes with the perfect proportion of fat, but you can add.
Fat of choice for sausages.
Pork back fat, from the back of the hog; it’s the fat the rims your pork chops but can be as much as 2 inches thick.
Where can you order pork back fat?
Butcher or grocery store meat department.
What if the back fat comes from a farm raised pig? Is it healthier?
It’s better for you than the more saturated fat from beef or lamb.
The word sausage derives from what?
The Latin word for salt.
Originally, what was the primary preservative in sausage? Why?
Salt because it reduces bacteria activity. It remains so today in dry-cured sausages, but it is also the primary flavor enhancer in fresh sausages.
Did sausage used to be dry cured?
Yes, and thus could be kept indefinitely.
Should you use iodized salt for sausage? Why?
No, it adds a chemical flavor to food. Use kosher or sea salt only.
When should you salt your meat? Why?
Well in advance of grinding it, so that the salt dissolves and penetrates (it will also help dissolve some of the meat protein, which will give the finished sausage a good bind and texture).
What is the ratio of salt to meat/fat in ounces?
.25oz salt per pound of meat/fat.
