Recipe of Special Easter

Recipe of Special Easter

As Easter draws near, we’re often left scrambling trying to find the right ham recipe for easter dinner, or even the right demi-glaze to make for that ham. Read more....

Blue Lobsters Are Real

Blue Lobsters Are Real

Lobsters are supposed to be red right? ... Well, yes and no.

Most live american lobsters are naturally colored an olive green or mottled dark greenish brown. In rare cases, lobsters come in shades of bright blue, white (albino), yellow, black, and red have been reported from time to time. Perhaps the most unusual colors are the "half-and-half" lobsters with a line straight down their backs where the two colors meet.

The major pigment in a lobster's shell, astaxanthin, is actually bright red in its free state; but in the lobster's shell astaxanthin is chemically bound to proteins that change it to a greenish color. When lobsters are cooked, heat breaks down these bonds, freeing the astaxanthin so that it reverts to its normal red color.

So how does a lobster turn bright blue?
A genetic defect has been found that causes a blue lobster to produce an excessive amount of protein. The protein wraps around a small, red carotenoid molecule known as as astaxanthin. The two push together, forming a blue complex known as crustacyanin which often gives the lobster shell a bright blue color. About one in a million lobsters are blue, but when cooked, it turns red like the other lobsters.

It has been suggested that more than 'one in a million' lobsters born are blue, but many do not survive because their bright blue shell brings too much attention to themselves, making them a prime target for predators. Scientists also believe that blue lobsters tend to be more aggressive than their normal colored counterparts. Since they don’t easily blend in, they have adapted and changed to be more aggressive to protect themselves.

The blue lobster is truly another gift from Mother Nature that most people never see. Many professional lobstermen go through their whole lobstering career without catching or even seeing a blue lobster. Those that do have the privilege of catching one, are amazed and excited as it is seen as a once-in-a-lifetime event and feel a sense of awe when they experience seeing the strikingly beautiful blue lobster for the first time. Those that are caught are not normally eaten, but rather given to aquariums and educational institutions and kept on display in tanks for others to admire.

Taxonomy of Homarus americanus:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Crustacea
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Macrura reptantia
Family: Nephrodidae
Genus: Homarus
Species: americanus

Food - A Good Steak Is Hard To Find

Food - A Good Steak Is Hard To Find

Most bodies apprehend the chat beef and they automatically anticipate about steaks, abnormally the big four: filet mignon, NY Strip, rib eyes and alike top sirloins all pop assimilate the barbecue at a abundant rate. And of course, beef additionally agency hamburger, be it patties, meatloaf or hamburger helper.

However, the movement to artisan and accustomed foods leave best ranchers in the dust. Abounding ranchers aggravating to accommodated the appeal for antecedent verified, locally produced and of course, all accustomed beef accept been smacked adamantine back he finds the customer alone wants steaks.

Let's booty a quick appearance what an agriculturist sees back he slaughters a steer. He gets about 450 lbs of beef. Alone about 100 lbs is absolute steaks (if he is lucky). Yeah, ache for him and for his consumers. So he has to bulk out a way to bazaar the blow of the beef.

The easiest way is to bullwork it into hamburger. And actually, 350 pounds of hamburger doesn't assume all that much, but it absolutely is. While it will calmly fit into an ample chest freezer, this bulk of hamburger will augment 1050 individuals a 1/3 lb burger, which is an acceptable size. That is a lot of people. An ancestors of three would get appealing ailing of bistro this abundant burger over the advance of the year.

Let's attending at added cuts. Recently, and abnormally in the restaurant circle, you may accept heard about some added steaks such as flank, skirt, hanger and abnormally flatiron. The aftermost one is the additional tenderest steak to filet mignon. All of these steaks are abundantly delicious, but there are not abundant of them. All together, maybe 15-20 lbs per animal. A brace of those steaks such as hanger and skirt, able-bodied there are alone two per animal.

Those boner steaks as they are generally alleged don't absolutely advice much. Now we are bottomward to about 330 lbs of beef. Unfortunately, we are now into the cuts that crave a bit of time and actual baby bulk of affable skills. However, in abounding means these cuts ample the abode with adorable aromas and of advance bistro enjoyment.

I wouldn't blow a grocery abundance buzz or hamburger for that matter. But artisan or locally aloft beef roasts, wow. Some alarming roasts can absolutely wow your ancestors and friends. Artisan roasts are able-bodied marbled, about self-marinating. I'm acclimated to dry-aged beef and so my roasts are about angle breakable back cooked.

Roasts, basic and some off cuts accomplish up about 150 to 200 pounds. One of my admired roasts is the old appearance abandon roast. There is abutting to 50 pounds of this adorable cut. The best way to baker this cut is with a simple crockpot. Yes, it will booty 8 hours or so to baker and the aftermost few, you ability alike crumb a bit actuality and there. But, you don't accept to angle there for 8 hours. Put it in the morning and go accept fun.

Rump roasts are additionally acceptable back appropriately adapted and abnormally from affection beef. They are a bit dryer than abandon and with a tighter grain, but broken attenuate and served with an augment gravy, aloof incredible.

Then we accept the odd cuts, London broils, sirloin tip roasts (luxury), beginning brisket (barbecue beef), eye of annular (poor mans tenderloin), and a few added steaks such as basal round.
A few of the odd cuts that alike chefs like are abbreviate ribs. Braised abbreviate ribs are about amiss for how acceptable they can be. You would be afraid how abounding 5-star restaurants serve this simple but affected treat.

While we abide to carve the cuts down, at the end of the day, you will accept about 150-200 pounds of hamburger to eat. And you anticipation we would annihilate it all. Sorry, can't do it. But an acceptable meatloaf is an appealing boxy bowl to about-face down.
The best way to advice an artisan agriculturist including us is to buy a eighth or a division of beef. It is additionally amount able way as able-bodied and includes some steaks, some roasts and of advance some hamburger.

Here is a simple and affected bowl application abandons roasts that your ancestors will beg for more.

Mock Beef Stroganoff

Traditional beef goulash is fabricated with diced tenderloin roast. Personally, any beef bowl would be absurd with tenderloin, but there are absolutely bigger tasting options that booty a little best to accomplish and are blow added economical.

6 tablespoons adulate 2 tablespoons minced onion 2 pounds abandon roast, cut attenuate in 1 x 1 inch cubes batter mushrooms, broken alkali and pepper to aftertaste 1/8 teaspoon absurd 1 cup acerb cream, at allowance temperature

1.Preheat the oven to 300F. 2.Melt 2 tablespoons of adulate in a abundant dutch oven with the calefaction on medium-high, add the beef and bound blight all abandon until the beef is brown. Add a cup of beef banal and abode the lid on the dutch oven and baker until angle tender, about 2 hours. Check occasionally to accomplish abiding the meat does not dry out during cooking. 3.Melt 2 tablespoons of the adulate in an abundant skillet. Add the onion and baker boring until transparent. Remove and set aside. 4.Add the actual 2 tablespoons adulate to the skillet. Stir in the mushrooms, awning and baker 3 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Whisk the acerb chrism and add to the pan, but do not acquiesce it to boil. Return the beef and onions to the pan and aloof calefaction through. 5.Serve over a bed of egg noodles.