On the Path of Study: Semester 7: Fire & Smoke
From the Lexicon, Butchery Verbs: Frenching, Butterflying, Tying
FRENCHING: scraping rib bones clean (racks of lamb, tomahawks, crown roasts), pure presentation, honest theater. BUTTERFLYING: splitting a piece horizontally almost through and opening it like a book: even thickness for fast cooking (chicken breasts) or a canvas for stuffing (roulades, porchetta). TYING: butcher's twine at intervals to hold shape. Even cooking, clean slices. SILVERSKIN: the iridescent membrane that never renders; strip it from tenderloins with a knife-tip and a pull. These verbs are where cooking begins before heat exists; a chef who butchers understands the animal a recipe can't teach.
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