Cheap cuts plus clever cooking

Are chefs overlooking the cheap and cheerful cuts of yesteryear, or the more unusual  by-products that with creative flair can become delicious menu stars?

While modern westernised consumers may have forgotten these cuts, they can still be found in many traditional cuisines.

BISTRO interviewed two head chefs who are passionate about cooking with different cuts and by-products.

Johnny Triscari is head chef of Chloe’s Restaurant and Function Centre in North Adelaide. Established in 1985, Chloe’s Restaurant has set a benchmark for dining excellence in Adelaide. The quality food, fine wines, personalised service and refined ambience have resulted in Chloe’s Restaurant receiving many awards since opening.

BISTRO: There is no usual ‘steak’ on the menu. Why?

Johnny Triscari: If you look at the best restaurants in the world you will notice chefs are using non-prime cuts, pushing their skills to produce a dish of higher standards, rather than just relying on that expensive tender cut. A lot of these less expensive cuts require ‘slow’ cooking techniques, which are in vogue at present, such as [the vacuum cooking style] sous vide.

The meat item we have on the menu at the moment is a Wagyu rump with a marble score of 6-7. This is because flavour in the rump surpasses tenderloin. The stronger flavour enables me to match the meat with parallels such as hazelnut, which may be out of place with another cut.

BISTRO: How popular are unusual meat cuts and poultry parts (pork hock, pheasant leg etc.)? How profitable are these dishes?

Johnny Triscari: Pheasant is almost a rarity in restaurants today, so when we do have it on the menu it is one of our best sellers. Our customer is knowledgeable on food and knows the taste difference between pheasant and chicken. For us to feature this dish we must make money on the whole bird, incorporating different cooking techniques for different parts and thus getting more variety onto the plate.

BISTRO: Can you give other examples of how ‘smart’ menu items and smart ways of using produce can stretch your food dollar?

Johnny Triscari: When I fillet snapper for a steamed snapper with saffron and herbs, the wing and head meat is removed to make snapper ravioli or a terrine or snapper cakes, and to do this I poach it in wine and herbs, so I have a stock also to make the broth. So if I buy a fish I can feature many dishes from the one product.

BISTRO: On one of your menus you have very unusual ravioli. Pork rib ravioli with rare seared yellowfin tuna, Madeira sauce and apple compote. What was the reaction to this unusual dish? Was it a profitable dish?

Johnny Triscari: The pork rib ravioli is exactly what we have been talking about being smart using produce. I take a by-product such as pork ribs, cook it slowly till red and flavoursome, place it in a ravioli, and then tuck a slice of rare seared tuna on top, and match the two with apple and Madeira. It has been one of our most innovative dishes so far. Our experience and skill enables us to cook in this way and it was a very popular entrée.

BISTRO: What is your advice on how to use different types of meat and meat cuts?

Johnny Triscari: I would encourage the use of different cuts that have flavour and when prepared in the correct manner will add value profit and interest to your menu.

Adam Clarkson is head chef at the Mrs. Top Restaurant in Sydney’s Neutral Bay. The restaurant’s French Provincial cuisine has been popular for thirty-five years.

BISTRO: Being a French cuisine, you offer some traditional meat dishes, such as fried calf’s liver, duck liver pate, beef cheeks, that might be less  familiar to Australians. We know they are cheap meat cuts, but how much extra labour do you need to produce these dishes? Are they profitable at the end of the day?

Adam Clarkson: Yes, these dishes do need more time to prepare. Livers have to be cut, cleaned etc. The preparation of traditional recipes does require time and skills. But even after adding labour cost to the cost of produce, it is only 20% of the price of the dish. I think it is a very high margin.

BISTRO: How do you get the most out of your fresh produce?

Adam Clarkson: We try to use all parts of the bird, fish or animal we buy. For example, white rabbit delivered fresh: we joint it here and all the by-products can find the way on the plate. We prepare confits, make our own stocks etc, to use up everything.

Mrs. Top Restaurant has been around for thirty-five years, so most of our clients are regulars. I know how many people I am feeding on the day. There are some walk-in clientele on the night, but most of them are used to booking in advance. This lets me buy all my fresh produce on the day and be really accurate.

BISTRO: What is your advice to other chefs on how to use different types of meat and meat cuts?

Adam Clarkson: There are a lot of authentic recipes, which use cheap meat cuts. After you’ve perfected the cooking techniques, these dishes become a real gem on the menu.

For example, our duck liver pate – very popular and profitable. It is well worth your while to have a good look at traditional kitchens and their dishes.

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