Text 30335, 61 rader
Skriven 2009-10-25 05:54:12 av DAVE SACERDOTE (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av JIM WELLER
Ärende: Turkeys
===============
JW> Hilsa [...] It's Indian shad! I should plank that sucker.
 
DS> Or smoke it.

JW> I will keep it really simple the first time I try it so that the
JW> natural flavour of the fish comes through. Grilled or pan-fried in
JW> butter with a little salt and maybe lemon juice.

I noticed your description of hilsa mentioned it being "bony."  I
wonder if it's the same kind of "bony" as shad - the bones that 
come off the vertabrae in shad are kind of "Y-shaped" so the fish
have an extra layer, if you will, of fine bones that tend to stay
in the fillets if they're not cut just so.  I used to know an old
fisherman in Windsor CT who could take two fillets off of each
side of a shad - one from above all the bones, and one from between
the two layers - and every year at Windsor's annual Shad Derby,
he'd have a big table set up and teach anyone who wanted to know
his technique.  I was never that good at it, and now I think his
method is gone because he passed away a few years ago.

The reason I mentioned smoking, besides a predisposition to it [g] -
is that the long, slow smoke cooking process tends to make that
fine second set of bones soft and unnoticeable, almost like the
bones in canned sardines.  

At any rate, enjoy and be sure to let me know how it is.


DS> I thawed one of the turkeys I got for 20c/pound last season and I'm
DS> going to smoke it perhaps today.  Gotta make room for fresh turkey
DS> deals with our Thanksgiving rolling around in another month.

JW> Store turkey bottomed out at $0.89 a pound here with no special sales
JW> after the holiday despite a fair remaining inventory at some stores.
JW> They are frozen, not fresh so they will keep and they will probably
JW> move at Christmas when most families get a second bird.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are the two big "bird holidays" here too.
The stores will run various promotions around them, from "free with
$X purchase" to really low prices.  Right after Christmas, grocers
want to get rid of their surplus so that's when the price went way
down.

The 20c a pound was because the birds I bought were at 49c a pound
ticket price and were further reduced for clearance with markdown
labels.  The 22-pounder I'm smoking today cost me about $4.50. When
prices get that low it's ridiculous _not_ to buy multiples and stash
them in the deep freeze.



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