Are You Going to Eat That?

This is critical information.

There are two things that are insanely delicious, that you have likely had in your possession and possibly thrown in the trash.

Maybe most of you will know about the two things in this alert.  But even if ONE person learns about these treats for the first time here, this post will have been worthwhile.

The first one involves poultry and the second one involves cheese.

Thing One.

I leaned the hard way not to let my old friend Raf carve a roast bird.  Really, it is unwise to let him carve anything unattended.  And even if you watch over him, Raf is still the one wielding the big sharp carving knife.

He has a habit of eating all the best parts as he is working.  These include crispy edges of skin, rich nuggets of buttery fat, caramelized and browned meat ends, and the oysters of the roast birds.

Oysters?

Every bird, be it chicken, turkey or goose, has oysters – two to be specific.  They are located on the sides of the backbone, tucked away toward the tail.  And when each morsel of meat is plucked from its cavity, it does not look dissimilar to a shucked oyster.  It’s a strange name, to be sure.  But the French have a better name.  According to Mark Bittman, the French loosely translates to “the part that only a fool leaves behind.”

Don’t be squeamish.  It has nothing to do with prairie oysters.  It is just a perfectly delicious, rich and tender bite of dark meat.

But it’s hidden.  So if you don’t know about it, one of two things might happen.  One, the oysters might inadvertently end up in the stockpot.  Or two, your loved ones may take advantage of your ignorance and eat the oysters themselves.  For better or worse I have been teaching young master Fussy about the oysters, and he loves them.

Thing Two.

If I were ever stuck on a desert island, and I was only permitted to eat one cheese for the rest of my life, it would be Parmigiano-Reggiano.  Even as I have dramatically cut back on my cheese, butter, and cream consumption on doctor’s orders, my consumption of Parm-Reg if anything has increased.  Even as my personal economy shrinks, and I find myself making difficult choices, there is always money in the budget for this culinary necessity.  Nothing comes close.

But nobody is going to throw away a piece of Parmigiano-Reggiano.  Or are they?

For years I was under the mistaken assumption that the rind of Parm-Reg was made out of wax.  It’s hard like a wax rind.  It’s been branded which one might expect would be done with a wax rind.  The rind is so hard that cheesemongers need two different knives to cut through it.

Would you believe the rind is made of cheese?
Would you believe you could eat it?
Would you believe it is delicious?

Well, it is.  And it is delicious, provided you prepare it properly of course.  Otherwise you would likely break your teeth.  But it is very simple.  All you need to do is simmer it in liquid for a while.  Not only will the rind add the famous Parm-Reg umami to whatever dish you are making (note: it works especially well with tomato sauce), that impossibly hard piece of rind will break down into a soft dense piece of concentrated deliciousness.

To facilitate this process in the cooking of sauces, I cut my rinds down into square centimeter pieces, and they are good to go after about thirty minutes.  The more time the better.  Larger pieces can be used in big pots of bean soup to replace the bacon or pancetta called for in most recipes.  You will just need to sauté the aromatics in oil.

In the spirit of full disclosure, Mrs. Fussy does not care for the Parm-Reg rinds.  But she also lets me and young master Fussy eat the chicken oysters.  Bless her heart, more goodies for me.

If after trying the rinds for yourself you decide you do not care for them, I would be willing to offer them a very loving home.