MARKET NEWS July 12, 2017 CHEESE TRENDS HIGHLIGHT: Grana Padano What is is, and what it ain t. SPECIALTY INSIGHTS Beyond Salami The secrets to simple charcuterie FROM OUR CUT SHOPS Beef Market Update Decreases for Ribeyes & Strips HIGHLIGHT: Flat Iron An alternative cut that has it all: juciness, tenderness, flavor Fish Market Update This year s first shipment of NC Brown Shrimp has arrived! Local Spotlight Outer Banks Yellowfin Tuna
BEEF MARKET NEWS 7.12.17 Greensboro, NC 336.545.3800 www.southernfoods.com
Beef Market News MARKET UPDATE Tenderloin: Steady Ribeye: Decreasing Strips: Descreasing Ground Beef: Steady HIGHLIGHT: CAB Flat Iron it seems not long ago that the flat iron was all the rage as a brand new cut. In the beef world, new cuts do not happen that often. In my travels, one of the first things I am asked is, what s new? This can be a difficult thing to answer when it comes to beef. But the more I ve explored this question, the more I ve considered what people like about steak, and why they continue to choose certain cuts over others. I ve realized a lot of it is about familiarity and the comfort of knowing what they re going to get. If you re looking for something that will bring them back every time, use cuts they know and never sacrifice quality. Thankfully, with time new, innovative cuts like the flat iron have made it into the mainstream and achieved the status of familiar for many beef lovers. So let s look at the now more familiar CAB flat Iron. It comes from the top blade, which is from the chuck portion of the animal. The IMPS/NAMP # is 1114D. Its aliases are boneless top blade steak, shoulder top blade steak, and boneless flat iron. The Flat Iron is one of those special cuts that has it all, it s well-marbled, tender, juicy and flavorful. Its tenderness is second only to the tenderloin, and it s about half the cost. It s a boneless steak that packs the flavor of a bone-in steak. If you are interested in the CAB flat iron and would like to try it out, ask your Rep. for more info. Beef production last week rose 1.5% and was 3.5% larger than the same week last year. The USDA is forecasting Q3 total protein production to be 3.6% larger than 2016, marking the largest year-over-year gain in the last five quarters. This could weigh on the beef markets. As the market works through inventories, pricing will start to drop. Beef market news provided by: Chris Casey CAB /Protein Specialist ccasey@southernfoods.com
Beef Market News
SEAFOOD MARKET NEWS 7.12.17 Greensboro, NC 336.545.3800 www.southernfoods.com
Seafood Market News Local Cobia, Red Drum, Black Drum, New England Skate, Monkfish, Florida Yellowtail Snapper and Hog Snapper are all part of our seafood mix this week! GROUPER (Mexican) Supply is good with plenty of big fish landed from the Gulf of Mexico. Pricing is up from last week. SNAPPER Yellowtail Snapper is being sourced out of Key West. Whole fish are running 2-4lbs each and fillets are 6-12oz. SCALLOPS Fresh North Atlantic Scallops are in good supply and price will be down for the next few weeks. Expect U-10 s to soften in price and 10-20 s to remain steady. There are cheaper scallops being harvested from the Mid-Atlantic (Elephant Trunk and Closed Area 5). All of our product is sourced from George s Bank and the Nantucket Light ship, all hard bottom areas that produce the firmest and sweetest scallops out there. ALASKAN HALIBUT Alaskan Halibut looks great and pricing is steady. Whole fish are running 10-20lbs each and fillets are 2-4lbs each. Seafood market news provided by: Dave Forcinito Fishmonger dforcinito@southernfoods.com TUNA Yellowfin We have 2G and 2+ from NC this week. See the Local Spotlight below. SALMON Wild Sockeye - Wild Sockeye Salmon is finally showing some relief. The fish are being harvested from Kodiak, Alaska. The quality looks great and pricing is down. Canadian - The market is steady with pricing down from last week but still strong due to summertime grilling demand. Local Catch We are seeing our first shipment of fresh NC Brown Shrimp this week. SUPPLY IS VERY LIMITED so first come, first served! 150lbs of head-on shrimp will be here Thursday the 13th. Talk to your rep ASAP as these will go QUICK! Hopefully this is the start of consistent landings, we will see what our fishermen bring us next week. Local Spotlight: Outer Banks Yellowfin Tuna Local fish are still being caught with abundance, fish are running a bit larger than they were last week, more in the 40-50lb whole fish range. Still very well priced and quality is great; great time to promote Local Tuna for the next 2 weeks.
ARTISANAL CHEESE TRENDS 7.12.17 Greensboro, NC 336.545.3800 www.southernfoods.com
Artisanal Cheese Trends Highlight: Grana Padano. What It Is, and What It Ain t. Let me be clear. Grana Padano is in no way any of the following: 1. An imitator of Parmigiano-Reggiano 2. A substitute for Parmigiano-Reggiano 3. A poor man s Parmigiano-Reggiano Now that we have that out of the way, let s talk about what Grana Padano really is. Grana Padano is in fact very similar to Parmigiano-Reggiano in that they are both closely regulated Northern Italian cow s milk cheeses and both from the grana genre of Italian cheese. Grana means granular it falls apart on the tongue, like a sugar cube. Padano refers to its origin: a clearly defined area around the Po River in northern Italy where the cows graze. Grana Padano is aged less, and is therefore less expensive than Parmigiano-Reggiano, but that does not mean that Grana Padano is any less of a delicacy. Whereas Parmigiano-Reggiano can be in your face extremely complex and a bit salty Grana Padano has a wonderful buttery perfume with notes of apricot and warm milk. Young wheels (9 to 16 months) are pale in color and mild in flavor. After 16 months, the cheese crystalizes and grows sweetly tangy. Wheels marked Riserva are aged 20+ months and gain a golden color and bigger flavor. At any age, this is a perfect cheese for cooking. Because the flavor notes are warmer and less sharp, Grana Padano is my preference in risottos and in baking applications. I also prefer Grana Padano in meatballs and Brodo. Grana Padano is made with partially skimmed milk so it has less fat. This feature makes it an ideal cheese for finishing soups and broths. Recipe: A Coronation Cocktail GP is also great with wine. Big reds and Proseccos and just about anything bubbly, but I have found that pushing the envelope with some off-the-beaten-path pairings unlock some otherwise hidden nuances in Grana Padano. When paired with a robust Kombucha, a blast of green almonds and roasted peach emerge. Cocktail it up with a classic Coronation Cocktail to unleash a blast of stone fruit. Now that you know what Grana Padano is, take some time to work with it and unlock the centuries old secrets of this incredible Northern Italian cheese. Artisanal cheese trends provided by: Sasha Shreders, ACS CCP Cheesemonger sshreders@southernfoods.com A lovely balance of sweet and savory, this vintage cocktail pairs well with a hunk of Grana and a side of cured meat, like Prosciutto di Parma or Prosciutto di San Daniele. 11/2 ounces Amontillado sherry 11/2 ounces dry vermouth 1/4 ounce Luxardo 2 dashes orange bitters Lemon or orange twist for garnish Stir ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish.
LOCAL & SPECIALTY INSIGHTS 7.12.17 Greensboro, NC 336.545.3800 www.southernfoods.com
Local & Specialty Insights Beyond Salami: The Secrets to Simple Charcuterie As artisans and chefs continue to revel in this era of cured meats and handmade cheese, I reflect on what makes real charcuterie so important. First, it is responsible. By using the bits that might otherwise end up in the bin, you are being resourceful and that will lead to profit. Also, making simple charcuterie teaches you about the essence of flavor more than any other method of cooking. Charcuterie is merely based on meat, fat and salt. Anchoring your technique to such simplicity, without anything unnecessary, will help you to understand the nuances that make quality ingredients so critical for good flavor. Simple charcuterie is not so simple. It can be simple in terms of the ingredients, but the technique is what can be tricky. Terms like emulsification, PH and Penicillium can lead to anxiety, but charcuterie doesn t have to be so scary. Forgo the fermentation, the temperature danger zones and the good and bad mold and get back to old-school techniques. That s right, I m talking about pâtés, terrines, mousses and rilletes! Pâté As Michael Ruhlman puts it, pâtés and terrines, broadly speaking, are essentially big sausages cooked in some sort of mold. Simply, they re a mixture of fat, meat, and seasonings that can be ground or puréed. The grind can vary from coarse to fine, and pork is the dominant pâté meat though I encourage venison, rabbit, duck and elk as well. If you can make meatloaf, with a little practice you can be an ace at pâté. Pâté de campagne, the most common, is a coarse grind of lean and fatty pork with spices and little, if any, liver. Most chefs in the states are using chicken or duck liver as it is more subtle than pork liver. Some more lavish versions are baked in pastry dough (en croûte), in a mold (en terrine), or in skin (galantines and ballottines). But historically speaking, the charcutier s goal is always the same: to use up the excess product offal, trim, fat from a long day of butchery. Pâté is always best made with freshly butchered meat, so save the aged trim and frozen scraps for soup! Pâté de Campagne. Photo courtesy of OurDailyBrine.com
Local & Specialty Insights Terrine I always feel pretty outdated when I bring up terrines, but the truth is they can be outrageously tasty and absolutely have a place on any charcuterie board. Terrines can be tricky though. The layers of ground chicken, creamy foie gras, and boozy Armagnac-marinated prunes in Terrine des Trois Rois ( three kings ) make a killer traditional meat terrine, but the consistency of each layer must be perfect or you end up with a three-layer dip instead. Foie gras is also used often in terrines most notably in Photo courtesy of FineCooking.com a foie gras torchon. Torchon means dish towel, though these days many chefs use cheesecloth, twisting the ends of the fabric tightly together to force out excess air and create a uniform texture and shape. This is perhaps one of the simplest forms of Charcuterie. Mousse Mousses, like pâtés, can be made from a variety of meats. The difference is a mousse is much more finely ground, yielding a smooth texture. Though liver is used in both pâté and mousse, the percentage is typically much higher in mousses, giving them their famously creamy consistency. Photo courtesy of food52.com The transition from liver to mousse typically starts by soaking livers in cold water. This will remove some of that iron-y flavor they may have. Once soaked, they re puréed in a food processor, passed through a fine-mesh sieve and enriched with cream while hot and don t forget the butter! I use a 1-1 ratio of liver and butter. Rillettes Though rillettes can be made from meat simmered in stock, the most traditional iteration starts as confit meat that s been heavily salted and cooked in its own fat. Confit is then presented whole, whereas rillettes call for finely shredding or chopping the cooked meat and folding it back into its fat. You can then pack them into a small container topped with a thin layer of fat to keep air out and extend shelf life. Pork is considered the standard choice for rillettes due to its relative affordability, but duck and rabbit are often used as well. An amazing rillettes will be spreadable, soft, and rich, with a slight chew from the lightly seasoned meat. Photo courtesy of Phaidon.com
Local & Specialty Insights Boudin Boudin means pudding, but these savory sausages are made from ground, spiced meat packed in natural casings and then boiled, poached, or blanched. The two most common varieties are blanc and noir (white and black, respectively). Boudin Blanc is more of a holiday sausage, usually served around Christmas. Combining the ground pork with cream, bread crumb and chestnuts is typical, but you can raise the bar by braising in brodo, cheese broth or even a rich stock finished with bourbon. Boudin noir is named such for the addition of pig s blood to the sausage, which gives the final product its signature deep, dark red color. Piment d espelette and apples make a great addition to the ground pork, cream and bread crumbs. Jambon The easiest way to get your charcuterie fix is to buy a hand-crafted ham from a trusted artisan. There are so many to choose from! Spanish Hams, Italian Hams, Country Hams from the US, and more. But for the simplest choice, consider French hams. Jambon de Paris is a three-muscle, lean, low-fat ham wrapped in its own skin and cooked in its own juices. It s flavored with nothing but salt, so with little else to distract from that flavor it s important that the meat be high-quality. Jambon de Paris is the perfect slicing ham, typically cut thin and served with butter on baguettes, or on croques monsieurs and croques madames. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia,org Jambon de Bayonne is the quintessential French cured ham, the country s equivalent of Italian prosciutto di Parma. It comes from the city of Bayonne in southwest France, a city cut in two by the Adour River which sits in the shadows of the Pyrenees Mountains. The ham must be cured with salt from the Adour River basin only and until spring of last year this ham had never been available in the US. Jambon de Bayonne Charcuterie can be easy if you think of it as a labor of love. This approach can be invigorating and rewarding, but it must be practiced and you must be disciplined. The pork that you used last week for rillettes will not taste the same with a different pork this week. Finding time to appreciate the simplicity, nuanced flavors and intricate details can give you a deserved break that will leave you feeling accomplished, happy and proud. Local & specialty updates provided by: Bobby Zimmerman Southern Foods Brand Manager bzimmerman@southernfoods.com