Punaweb Grindz

[Guest]

Whatchu guys cooking ?

Please show off your recipes and techniques + include ingredients, amounts and where you buy them locally.

Have fun and save some for Rob.

aloha,
pog

[TomK]

After making the lamb pasanda I mentioned in another thread, I'd like to do another Northern India dish - Mughal lamb. Never made it before but think lamb is the best for curries (chicken can get a little dry). The problem is lamb is not the easiest meat to get here. Lamb fillet is perfect but never seen it here, but leg of lamb works well, it just needs a little longer to cook to make it tender.

Where is the most reliable place to buy lamb? It seems hit and miss in most supermarkets and incredibly expensive.

Next project after that is shrimp Baadsha. Never cooked a seafood curry but this was apparently served to Indian kings and princes (baadshas). It uses jumbo shrimp, but at least I know where to buy that stuff here!

I've one or two recipes for classic tuned-up English dishes if anyone is interested. No chips, gravy or sprouts cooked for 24-hours involved...

[TomK]

Anyone know if it's possible to get venison here? Or pheasant?

How about duck breasts? I've seen whole duck for sale at Safeway (frozen) but I'm not a skilled butcher. I want to try cooking duck breasts as it's my favorite protein and want to see if my skills are up to cooking them properly (skin crispy, meat medium-rare).

Thanks!

[shockwave rider]

Someone sells axis deer meat on craigslist on and off, I think it was in the farm and garden or household goods for sale section.

[Carey]

Tom, Safeway has had lamb the last couple of weeks (heck 1 1/2 weeks ago it had boneless leg of lamb on its' $5 Friday list)

There are also a number of local growers & sometimes you can get fresh butchered at Kulana Meats off of Kawaiani St in Hilo...959-9144 (hard to find, but worth it for fresh meat...

[Lee M-S]

I tried to find leg of lamb for christmas a couple years ago.

Only 2 stores could help:
Safeway could include me in an order to be available a few days before xmas. I think it was $12/lb. Might have been fresh rather than frozen, I'm not sure.

KTA had some in the freezer for I think $6/lb.
I went with the get-it-now frozen.

><(((*< ... ><(("< ... ><('< ... >o>

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

I like the something-for-everyone aspect of the most recent recipe in last months HELCO newsletter:

Paleo Stuffed Portobellos*
*This recipe is based on the Paleolithic diet.

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." -Annie Dillard

[TomK]

Shock - thanks for that. Never thought of checking Craigslist for meat. I've never cooked venison before but want to try because it's supposed to be very hard to get right (a bit like duck). Plus I love the taste!

Carey - I bought the last piece of lamb at Safeway late last week. They often have lamb, but it's unpredictable. Sometimes they have it in the butcher section, sometimes in the meat section. I love lamb chops but the meat section either sells enough for one or a family of twelve.

Keaau Foodland does lamb occasionally, but often just bits of meat attached to bones. On the plus side, they often have minced lamb, which is great for shepherd's pie or Greek stuff I don't know how to cook (sorry, Kenney, but I do love Greek food!).

Lee - didn't think of checking KTA or Foodland's freezer section. I normally avoid frozen meat but occasionally it works, especially in a curry. Keaau Foodland under its previous management (I forget what it was called then) had some very hard-to-find meat in the freezer section (alligator, buffalo, quail etc.) and although it was frozen it was fun to experiment with the proteins!

[Kenney]

That was the old Sure Save Tom. Carl brought in some really exotic meats before their corporate demise.
Did you ever try the ground Bison in Safeway? We like it.
We get most of our meat from friends/ranchers/hunters/fishermen. My Welsh friend supplied fresh lamb til she moved a couple years ago. We lost 1/2 lamb after
Izelle when the freezer was out for 3 weeks. We cooked from dawn to dusk and fed everybody within a block but just couldn't cook all the meat before it went bad. We don't fill the freezer to the brim anymore. Learned our lesson. It really hurt feeding so much meat and fish to the dogs, cats and hens. FYI, chickens don't like shrimp. Picking it up off the ground after a day or two was no fun chore.
I'm on the prowl for another lamb supplier now. Will let you know if I find some.

[TomK]

Thanks for the response, Kenney. Never tried the ground bison at Safeway. Do they still have it? Not sure what I'd do with it, perhaps a spruced up cottage pie. Do let us know if you find a good lamb provider. Even mutton would be good despite it going out of fashion. A decent Irish stew needs mutton!