Welcome to the third guest post! I’m letting anyone who wants to show off an offal dish submit a post with pictures. Want to show the world you’ve got a real talent with ox-tails? Are you crazy about cracklins? Let me know and we’ll post your hard work here! The guest post comes from Camille Malmquist owner of Croque-Camille, and a pastry chef by trade.
No fridge should be without its jar of Trotter Gear.
Such is the introduction for this very useful bit of mise en place outlined in Fergus Henderson’s Beyond Nose to Tail. When I found out that Ryan was opening his blog up for guest posts on offal and the like, I knew immediately that I wanted to participate. And that I wanted to make Trotter Gear.
I’ve recently become enamored of pig’s feet, which fortunately, are readily available at French and Chinese butchers here in Paris. Trotter Gear seemed like it would be right up my alley. The recipe suggests boiling the trotters for 5 minutes to rid them of the initial scum, which is plentiful.
1. First boil, 2. Boiling off the scum
Next comes the braise. I took the drained and rinsed trotter pieces and put them back in the pot. Onion, carrots, celery, leeks, garlic, thyme, peppercorns and white wine went in with them. It was supposed to be Madeira, but I walked all over my neighborhood only to discover that every single place that sells Madeira was out. What? Welcome to my world.
I then covered the feet and aromatics with chicken stock, a step that my husband, Nick, found to be over the top, and brought it to a simmer. Once simmering, I slapped a lid onto the pot and placed it in the oven for a few hours. When the trotters were completely tender, I took the pot out and let it cool until I could handle the jiggly bits. I pulled the fat and skin from the bones (which I discarded) and put them in an old, spotlessly clean Nutella jar. This part was made easier, I think, by the fact that I had had the butcher cut up the feet for me beforehand.
One can sense its potential even now.
The question is, now that I have the Trotter Gear (and it should be noted that it feels very good to have that jar in the fridge), what do I do with it? Flipping a few pages forward in the book reveals several recipes which utilize the Trotter Gear. As tempted as I was to try the deep-fried rabbit, I couldn’t not try to replicate the Chicken and Bacon Pie I loved so much when I dined at St. John Bread and Wine last spring.
One of the things I love best about the Nose to Tail books is the way they encourage you to COOK, as opposed to mindlessly following a recipe. That’s why I’m sure the authors would have no problem with me taking some creative liberties with the pie. I thought I should try some game, since, well, ‘tis the season, and I found a little pintade (aka guinea hen) at the store one day after work. I wanted that pie badly enough to make it on a weeknight, if that tells you anything.
1. Pintade/Guinea Hen, 2. Browned, 3. Trotter Gear, 4. Pintade Pie Filling, 5. Placing the Crust, 6. Pintade Pie
So upon arriving home from work, I commenced butchering the pintade. I browned the pieces in a Dutch oven and saved the carcass to make stock at a later date. Next into the pot went some sliced shallots, to pick up the delicious fond, and a healthy amount of red wine. The pintade pieces (sans skin) went back into the simmering wine along with about half the jar of Trotter Gear, and a bay leaf for good measure. I let it cook until the meat was falling off the bone, at which point I pulled out the bones and poured the stew into my new pie dish, purchased just for the occasion. (Wait, you say. After working a full day, you went food shopping and then hit up the BHV kitchenware sale to get the ruffly Emile Henry pie dish you’ve had your eye on forever? And then you went home to butcher, braise, and then bake a game bird? Yep. This is why we eat at 10 pm.)
While waiting for the pintade braise, I made a quick pâte brisée, using half lard and half butter. Once the stew was ready and in the pie dish, I rolled out the pastry, cut a hole in the center, and carefully placed it over the dish. I crimped the edges, cut a few more vents, and into the oven it went. The resulting pie was everything I had hoped for. Braised meat is always good, but the Trotter Gear added a mysterious additional level of deliciousness. I actually have a tendency to be squeamish about texture-y things, but I gobbled up my portion with no hesitation and no problems. So I am a firm convert. Trotter Gear is a thing of beauty.
Thank you Camille!
5 Comments to “Guest Post – Trotter Gear by Camille Malmquist”
November 16, 2009
I love the idea of guest posting, great job… Afraid I won’t qualify for a bit (but just got a turducken…would that count?
November 17, 2009
How long does trotter gear keep in the fridge? I made a big batch & used half of it already, and I want to use it this weekend. However, it’s been in there for a couple of weeks. Should I just make another batch? I would hate to waste it!
November 17, 2009
I generally judge these things by smell. If it smells like it should, go ahead and use it!
November 19, 2009
MYOTG, sorry boss. I love the over-the-top insanity of the Turducken, but it’s not technically offal. :)
Maybe you could grill some marinated calf heart strips?
pronce, I gotta agree with Camille on this one. How’s it smell?
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