The Future of Garde Mangier in America

Aspics, terrines, choid froids, does anybody in America make money off of this stuff. Are they lumbering dinosaurs that exist only in compition? In short, where is Garde Mangier(sp?) heading?

By debord on Friday, June 29, 2001 - 07:55 am: Edit

It definately doesn't exist in the Chicago area country clubs. First they don't employee people with culinary educations that have any understanding of Garde Mangier.

Thin slices of colored peppers around the platter are as elaborate as it goes. Actually most aspic work is pretty dated and not well liked by the public...but that's not to say I don't think it can be done well and that it is a art that shouldn't be lost.

My chef makes his own terrines but they taste horrid...only the oldest customers with burned out taste buds eat them.

You must not being seeing it used either?

By Peachcreek (Peachcreek) on Friday, June 29, 2001 - 05:07 pm: Edit

We went skiing up at Whistler, B.C. two years ago. They had one of the best supermarkets I have seen in a while. The best part was the deli. Talk about cool stuff. They made at least a dozen different sausages, the made pate, they had terrine, the imported sausages and meats were spectacular. They had what looked like 6-7 people back there COOKING! Not just taking it out of a carton. They were MAKING the stuff. Those guys are lightyears ahead of us in this regard. It was enough to make you want to hang out at the counter and talk about food, but we were there to ski.

By Chris on Friday, June 29, 2001 - 05:14 pm: Edit

We have the CIA garde manager book here and every week we (my staff and I) take turns picking 5 random numbers between 60 and 200. What ever is on those pages we do the next week for specials.

By fodigger on Monday, July 02, 2001 - 03:37 am: Edit

cool idea Chris

By debord on Monday, July 02, 2001 - 08:16 am: Edit

In my small way I do that in my work. I constantly set myself up to work new recipes when I could easily ride off the ones I have for a LONG time. When the books got easy I switched to working out of professional French books.


I think it's really the only thing that's kept me in the same job for the last 3* years. I've kept myself busy learning and growing...it helps take your mind off the crap and in the end I'm a huge winner because I'm a better pastry chef then when I started (plus I got paid while I was learning).

By Peachcreek (Peachcreek) on Monday, July 02, 2001 - 09:35 am: Edit

I had a job running the kitchen of a brewpub in the late 80s'. The owner picked up a small commercial smoker at auction, cheap. So it was up to us to use it. I picked up a book called "Great Sausage Recipes"(I think) and started out making simple sausage. I had a guy who was a CIA grad who was shown a little method in school was helping me. We got pretty good at it after a while. When you start getting the recipes working well the product is so much cheaper and superior to most of what you can get delivered. I still make pate a few times a year, usually around Autumn.
I'm sure I'll do it again in the future. I've spent my culinary career trying to learn old-time methods and practice. It doesn't hurt to look backwards.............Peachcreek.

By Peachcreek (Peachcreek) on Monday, July 02, 2001 - 10:02 pm: Edit

What most I got from sausage making was the use of spices. Not just herbs- things used everyday in stocks and sauces, pasta and such, but seeds. Pungent seeds. Coriander, peppercorns, nutmeg, cardamon, allspice, fennel. Mixing and grinding these things up for my blends. I got really familiar with those fragrances. You can see relationships between herbs and spices like with nutmeg and thyme. Caraway seeds for freshness. Cumin for its musk. The lingering of celery seed. The difference between fresh leaves, cilantro, and the dried seed, coriander. These days I spend my time making a lot of soups, and that experience is coming in handy.

By debord on Tuesday, July 03, 2001 - 07:29 am: Edit

One thing good thing I can say about the chef I work for is he does make the salad guy smoke his own salmon (it's sooo easy)and it's truely fabulous!

I had a girlfreind whos' family owned a butcher shop...you couldn't compare their sausages to the stuff you get in the grocery stores! The seasoning is an art.


You broaden your knowledge and it really makes you feel good about your work and what your capable of.......

By bratgirl on Tuesday, July 03, 2001 - 09:35 am: Edit

My husband's family owns a pig farm in germany and they make their own wursts in the fall...I don't like to be around when they slaughter the poor piggie or start the cleaning process...but once they being making the different sausages and wursts wow! they are very very creative..they make traditional stuff, but then they start creating! wow wow wow...I wish I spoke more german. I go around sniffing all the spices and herbs they use..wines and beers to get a handle on what they are putting in...at the end of the day my nose is dead..my shoulder is sore from being shoved away!! but I've learned lots! Viva the Pig!

By rc_fleming on Tuesday, July 03, 2001 - 05:07 pm: Edit

Charcuterie is where its at. Its one of those things that gets you in with the food. I think that cooking should be more about making things from scratch. I love doing stuff like that. Thats one of the reasons I am hot to learn how to bake.

Anyone got some good book picks for Charcuterie.

Peachcreek, I started learning about spices from cooking Indian. I think thats really neat how you learned about them from sausage making. Weren't spices used on meatproducts like that for their preservitive qualities as well as there flavor. I know I read a similar thing about smoking.

Back to aspics, terrine, and pates...The biggest problem is that with all their jelley they kinda remind me of canned catfood. As for the taste, I've only seen pictures, but I understand it is diffulcult to get the right tasting stock with the right concentration of geletin.

How do liver pates do for you guys?

yours,
Rick

By peachcreek on Tuesday, July 03, 2001 - 05:32 pm: Edit

I make pate in the Fall, when the weather cools down. I try to get enough customers commited to buying before I make a batch, so I can usually pre-sell the whole thing. Since it difficult to find decent pate and liverwurst, mine goes quick.
I make two common varieties, a traditional baked terrine, and a mousse-style liver pate. Its great with fresh baguette. It is also a good markup item, since the price of raw chicken livers, the main ingredient, are so cheap. My daughter sitting here got grossed out as I explain the method of grinding raw liver. I guess I forget about the raw meats part. Explaining Zamponi (stuffed hog legs) will have to wait!

By panini on Tuesday, July 03, 2001 - 09:01 pm: Edit

pate's and sausages are still pretty popular here in texas.Of course we have all the local Venison,wild boar, etc. Last night we had Venison and blueberry sausage. served over assorted wild mushrooms. The chef charred balsamic vinegar and challots and deglazed with cider. It was very good!! this was an app.

By rc_fleming on Wednesday, July 04, 2001 - 05:39 pm: Edit

I think I found the info on that book you where talking about....

Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing (1984). Rytek Kutas. Self published. Can be obtained from the author at The Sausage Maker Inc./ 26 Military Road/ Buffalo NY 14207. (888)-490-8525.

Does that sound right to you?

yours,

Rick

Panini that sounds like a great sausage app. I think I'll give it a try with the chicken apple sausage they have in the markets.

By peachcreek on Wednesday, July 04, 2001 - 06:46 pm: Edit

That is the book. Its a good place to start. Some of the information is dated since there are some new curing products on the market. I haven't seen it in many years, maybe its been revised.
The stuff you get in the stores is a pale comparison to what someone with a little practice can make. Anybody can practice making fresh sausage from ground pork shoulder available at the grocery store. You don't even need to invest in a grinder, stuffer, smoker to make a salable product. I would'nt advise using Kitchenaid mixers for the tasks of grinding and stuffing. Grinding semi-frozen meat in any quantity is hard on the motor. I didn't like the way their stuffer attachment worked. I prefer a piston-type stuffer instead of the worm-gear type. But thats just personal preference.
All this sausage talk makes me want to make meatloaf for dinner.
Nah, too hot.