Is quality deli meat a myth?

At Olliffe we boast about the selection of high-end charcuterie encompassing pig, fowl and beef bits and bobs. But in reality our fresh deli meat counter is a busier hive of activity on any day. Our customers enjoy the simplicity of making their own signature sandwich using deli style turkey breast, black forest ham, Hungarian salami and roast beef. These simple sliced meats are an efficient and economical way to satisfy hunger at any time of the day.

You can be sure that there is a quality difference in the many deli counters across the country. Here are a few quick considerations next time you are at your favourite meat purveyor.

Pre-Wrapped v Sliced-to-Order


Sometimes you are in the situation when a pasta recipe calls for 50 grams of pancetta. However larger stores seem to prefer to portion and/ or pre-wrap their deli meat for whatever reason. We find deli meats that are sliced fresh and to the customer specification tastes better and last longer.


Artificial v Natural Aging


It is important to ask your butcher or meat purveyor if their deli meats are artificially or naturally aged. Many store bought salamis are artificially (chemically) aged overnight which can be an attractive method for some producers to speed their product to market. 
A good Salami should be cold fermented in the traditional German or Italian style and aged for at least six week depending on the taste/texture objective of the final product. Most importantly fillers such as water or starches should never be included and if they are then the retail handlers should be aware of this fact.

In-House Made Product


Rare sliced roast beef, pork loin and fresh turkey breast are a great way to avoid preservatives that are inherently used in deli meats. The best stores rotate their “fresh deli meats” very quickly and avoid spoilage. You want to look for freshness; is the meat drying out? Are the holding trays clean and maintained? Has it been rotated recently? Feel free to ask these questions and expect forthright answers.


Read more: http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/theappetizer/archive/2010/04/23/the-meat-lessons-is-quaity-deli-meat-a-myth.aspx#ixzz11JHLhkKr

A good sausage or burger begins with the perfect grind

At our butcher shop we have been noticing many of our customers are buying small 1hp or less meat grinders for their homes. Quite often the home meat grinders can serve double duty acting as a sausage stuffer as well.

Our butchers are often asked about meat grinding for hamburgers or sausages and they will answer by asking the customer some more questions, such as; Do you like your burgers/sausages to have a bit of chew or less textured? When you find a good burger or sausage is it a little fatty or lot, Which do you prefer? Do you add spicing ingredients or enjoy au naturel?

When making hamburgers and sausages it is quite important to have your own “perfect grind.” Here are a couple of tips on what we find to be our “Perfect Grind.”

It Is All About The Fat

Use coarse ground chuck, also known as shoulder or blade. This muscle sits beside the start of the highly prized rib loin and makes a top-notch base to your grind. This muscle can be fatty so have your butcher trim the fat well and cubed. Better yet, ask to be instructed on how to seam out each muscle. Meat should be your butchers passion, they are usually happy to share their knowledge. Of course you can experiment with your grind mixture by using ratios of chuck, striploin ends, brisket or short rib meat.

At Olliffe, we start the grinding process by including half the meat with all the fat our recipe calls for and passing (grinding) through a fine plate. This disperses the fat evenly throughout the mixture and the small plate ensures the fat is finely ground and not present when chewing. Spicing may be added in to the mixture but this time passed a coarse plate to be finished.

We recommend you purchase hard fat that is trimmed from either the rib or strip at the loin. This hard fat is the best on the animal, flavorful and will stand up to the heat of a hot grill without rendering too quickly. Be generous when buying your fat, it is “trim” and should be inexpensive.

To Kick it Up a Notch, Or Not?

Many people like to add spices, seasonings and marinades to their burgers and sausages. In our opinion, if you are buying excellent quality chuck with hard steak fat for a hamburger then why mask it?

For sausages spicing and seasoning is perfectly acceptable and fun to have that “eureka” moment when all elements combine to make a great sausage mix.

Adding water to your sausage mix is permissible at times if you do not have enough fat, however bread crumbs or gluten should be avoided.

For instance a happy sausage sales person called on Olliffe with their sausage product. We looked at the package and inquired about the baking soda ingredient. The excited salesman replied, “it is the crumbled Soda Crackers that gives you added flavor.” We then cut the sales call short and stated we make all of our own sausages in-house.To help bind your hamburgers use an egg rather than bread crumbs.

Forming and Pressing

Be very careful to not over mix to the point of kneading your burger or sausage mixture. This will result in a dense and compacted cooked result. When forming your “perfect grind” into patties, whether you are using a patty press or not, be gentle and lightly compact to the patty to the point of light resistance.

Read more: http://life.nationalpost.com/2010/07/22/the-meat-lessons-a-good-burger-or-sausage-begins-with-the-perfect-grind/#ixzz11JGQHbiz

The Secret to Beef Striploin

Tissue steak, anyone? Now that’s a tough chew

Definition: Tissue End, beef — The sirloin end of the striploin that contains a half-mooned shape of very tough connective tissue.

We are going to let you in on a little secret. Armed with this knowledge any person can visit a butcher shop and immediately identify the retailer’s philosophy in terms of both product quality, and how they view their customers. Stop by the beef striploin section and look at each steak closely for a half-mooned perfectly shaped white line; if you see this your “red-flag” should go up.

This is called a “tissue” or “vein” steak. It is very tough and will easily spoil a great backyard barbecue dinner.

Most striploins will cut on average 10 to 12 regular sized steaks. The final three or four steaks running into the tougher sirloin can be called the tissue end. Until recently, the primary measure to rate the quality of the striploin was by how tender it can be (the other measure and growing in clout is flavour).

The tough connective vein in the tissue end left a huge problem for butchers and meat sellers as to what to do with up to 25% of tough (and costly) beef.

Tissue end good for steak burgers and kebabs

Nearly all grocery stores stock and price tissue end steaks on their shelves without discrimination. But at the same time, so do some of the independent butcher shops. At Olliffe, we always separate the end and use it in three ways: send to the kitchen for prepared foods, grind and use in big-flavoured steak burgers or make steak kebabs.

Next time you are at your local meat purveyor, have a look at the tray holding the striploin. If you find a half-mooned line in the centre of the steak, you will know how they not only view their product but also how they view you, the customer.

Read more: http://life.nationalpost.com/2010/08/18/the-meat-lessons-the-secret-to-beef-striploin/#ixzz11JF7gB3o

Dinner is On from 5 till 9

Happy Summer! We are experiencing some of the best weather on record for July in Bayfield. The patios in Bayfield are full with people having fun eating and drinking but did you know that Forager Foods at The Martha Ritz has the only patio on the Main Street to have sun from dawn till dusk? Come experience this simple comfort tonight.

Remember our menu is flexible with a great vegetarian option made fresh daily. As well, should you only like one or two courses then you can pick and choose the items you want to enjoy. Bring your own bottle of wine or enjoy ours, see you soon.

Thursday to Sunday, July 15 to 18 Dinner Menu

Salad of Soiled Reputation Bistro Greens

Maple Pecans, Parmigiano Reggiano Shavings, Cider Vinaigrette

or

Vichysoisse

and

1/4 Roasted Barbeque Style Chicken

Rubbed with Smoked Paprika, Thyme, Crushed Bay Leaf, Garlic, Sea Salt and Pepper. Served with a Spicy Barbeque Sauce, Potato Salad, 'Slaw and BBQ Beans. Ask for Dark or White Meat

or

1/3lb BBQ Beef Brisket

Tossed in Championship Sauce, on a Bun with Red Onion and pickle wedge. Served with Creamy Potato Salad, 'Slaw and BBQ baked beans

or

1/3lb BBQ Pulled Pork

Tossed in Championship Sauce, on a Bun with Red Onion and pickle wedge. Served with Creamy Potato Salad, 'Slaw and BBQ baked beans

or

Half Slab of BBQ Ribs

Painted with our Championship BBQ Sauce, Pickle Spear

Served with Creamy Potato Salad, 'Slaw and BBQ Baked Beans

and

Slice of Bayfield Berry Farm Apple Pie

Whipped Cream and Five Year Ontario Cheddar Wedges

or

Fresh Bayfield Strawberries with a Butter Tart

Weekend BBQ Menu July 8-11

Hello Friends, As you know last weekend we started the Forger Foods at Martha Ritz House Southern styled barbeque dinners, and with great success!Over the next few months we are going to shake up the menu weekly, ever so slightly with the appetizers, entrees and dessert on rotation to keep things fresh & new.

It has become clear from feedback from diners last weekend (thanks Tillmans!) that we have a not-to-be-missed prix fixe dinner menu. The menu can be adjusted to smaller or larger appetites as well as dietary needs, just ask us for more information, we love to talk food. Remember that the bar is stocked with great local beer and wine and you can always bring your own bottle.

Menu Thursday July 8 to Sunday July 11

Salad of Soiled Reputation Bistro Greens Maple Pecans, Monforte Toscano Shavings, Cider Vinaigrette

or

Vichysoisse

and

1/3lb BBQ Beef BrisketTossed in Championship Sauce, on a Bun with Red Onion and pickle wedge. Served with Creamy Potato Salad, 'Slaw and BBQ baked beans

or

1/3lb BBQ Pulled Pork Tossed in Championship Sauce, on a Bun with Red Onion and pickle wedge. Served with Creamy Potato Salad, 'Slaw and BBQ baked beans

or

Half Slab of BBQ Ribs Painted with our Championship BBQ Sauce, Pickle Spear

Served with Creamy Potato Salad, 'Slaw and BBQ Baked Beans

and

Slice of Bayfield Berry Farm Apple Pie Whipped Cream and Five Year Ontario Cheddar Wedges

$29.95 Per Person

Reservations: 519 565 2325

Ps, The must-try on the menu is the beef brisket!

Did you Know? Olliffe, the finest butcher in Toronto is supplying Forager Foods with grass fed and potato finished beef. Finishing cows with grass is not only hugely beneficial for the animal but also nutrient dense for you. With 5 weeks of age on the striploins and rib eyes you can ensure huge flavour and extra tenderness.

Low & Slow Southern Barbeque Dinners

Hello Forager Friends,

We are pleased to announce the start of the Forager Foods at The Martha Ritz House weekend barbeque dinners, starting this Thursday. The Canada Day "Low and Slow" BBQ dinner will run all weekend till Sunday night.

Dinner will be served in the dining room or our garden patio starting at 5:00pm and going to 9:00pm. The Prix Fixe menu will be $29.95 per person. Coming up late? Call ahead and reserve or we can set you up with a Southern barbeque feast to take home.

Of course all of our true Southern Barbeque styled ribs, brisket and pulled pork will be available to take home with you during the day. We have vacuum packed portions for you ahead of time. Heating up is as simple as dropping the sealed pouch of delicious barbeque into boiling water for 12 minutes. We love to talk food, ask us for further instructions or accompaniments.

Remember that The Martha Ritz House is fully licensed for beer and wine. We have great local beers and wines plus excellently valued wines from Niagara.

As well, you can Bring Your Own Wine, corkage is $10.00 per bottle (please present to host at check-in). To celebrate Canada's birthday and the long weekend we are offering free corkage this Sunday.

We hope to see many of you this weekend, the forecast looks promising. Be the first to enjoy the first Low & Slow Barbeque Dinner!

Canada Day Weekend Prix Fixe Menu

Thursday to Sunday, Starting at 5:00p

Quartered Iceberg Salad

Peppers, Red Onion, Buttermilk Dressing with Crumbled Benedictine Blue Cheese or Forager Miso Vinaigrette

and

1/3lb BBQ Beef Brisket

Tossed in Championship Sauce, on a Bun with Red Onion and pickle wedge. Served with Creamy Potato Salad, 'Slaw and BBQ baked beans .add 1/3lb $4.50

or

1/3lb BBQ Pulled Pork

Tossed in Championship Sauce, on a Bun with Red Onion and pickle wedge. Served with Creamy Potato Salad, 'Slaw and BBQ baked beans .add 1/3lb $4.50

or

Half Slab of BBQ Ribs

Painted with our Championship BBQ Sauce, Pickle Spear

Served with Creamy Potato Salad, 'Slaw and BBQ Baked Beans .add 1/2 rack ribs $9.00

and

Slice of Bayfield Berry Farm Apple Pie, Whipped Cream and Five Year Ontario Cheddar Wedges

Please call Forager Foods at 519.565.2325 the day of booking to find out the Vegetarian Special

$29.95 Per Person

Southern Barbeque is slowly made hours ahead of time. Seatings will be limited. We recommend and appreciate reservations.

519 565 2325

www.foragerfoods.ca

Foragers is Moving!

Happy Spring,

Some of you have been asking and now you are the first to know that Forager Foods is moving to a new location at 27 Main Street in Bayfield, also known as the Martha Ritz House.

With some work, redesign and touchups, the new Forager Foods should be open for the season by mid to late April (fingers crossed).

At the new location you can expect the same great offering of local meats, cheese, prepared foods and pantry items. There will also be changes for the better. With a kitchen and licensed locally sourced wine and beer bar you can expect a market of fresh foods coupled with a snack bar of fresh sandwiches, soups and salads. Also on offer will be cheese and charcuterie plates(enjoy with a glass of wine!) our well known prepared foods such macaroni & cheese, chicken and steak pies as well as a special nearly every day.

For more information and suggestions, send us an email. We are looking forward to seeing all of you shortly and eating some great local food.

foragerfoods@gmail.com

27 Main St S

Bayfield, On

N0M 1G0