Two more types of meat I grew up on that I haven’t heard much of elsewhere:
Ham Steak, which is pretty much just what it sounds like. I see several recipes for it online, but they’re all tarted up with maple glazes and shit. My folks just dropped the big slab of ham into the pan (usually greased with bacon drippings), fried both sides, and put it on the table. Ham cooked in bacon fat doesn’t need any ornamentation.
Round Steak, which is beef round, uh, cut into steaks. I recall some of my wealther friends laughing at me when I mentioned “round steak”, because they thought it was a working class euphemism for a hamburger. Round steak was usually a weekend dinner at our house because it took a while to make. My folks usually made “Swiss steak”, similar to this recipe: Old-Fashioned Swiss Steak Recipe. It was good, but still often a little tough. They probably tried to cook it too fast.
Hah! I see your location is U. City! I grew up in St. Charles County, but my mom was from Overland and my dad from Florissant. You and I probably ate a lot of the same meals! How about a big rope of pork sausage cooked in sauerkraut? Or “Hamburger, Peas, and Rice”, which my mom sometimes called “Depression Chili”? Roast on Sundays with carrots and potatoes?
My dad actually did most of the cooking, at least during the week, since he got home first. He’d get home, open an Old Milwaukee, and start cooking. It may not have been haute cuisine, but it was on the table at 5:30, and it was that or nothing, young man!
I’ve lots of tremendous meat cuts, and it’s always fun to brag about the “exotic” things one has eaten but for straight out taste it’s really hard to beat venison.
I like rib eye too, but it’s available everywhere unseasoned. It’s a good cut, but completely unremarkable. You shop in weird stores if they don’t have Choice or Prime rib eye as standard fare in the meat section.
Hanger steak. ESQUIRE magazine called it “the most flavorful of the cheap cuts.” When a butcher shop gets some good hanger steak, usually a local restaurant will snap it up and pass it off as the more expensive Strip Steak, so get to know your local butcher so he may give you a head’s up when some becomes available. It’s the portion of the underside that literally hangs down from the rest of the cow when she’s standing, and it’s meatier and more tender than you’d guess. It has a pretty short shelf life, so be ready to have a big barbecue for 6-10 people ASAP when you get a line on one.
My sister buys dried “bully sticks” for her german shepherd dog. The dog loves them.
I’ve had beef tendon, and don’t like it at all. Gelatinous goo when done “right”, imo. But I do love me some nice liver, and kidneys and heart are tasty, too.
To me, venison has to be a rare treat. A while back the lovely Mrs. Irruncible came to possess 30 pounds of reindeer meat, and I will say after 6 weeks it became a very long and gamey winter. Flame roast, never pan-fry.
Get a brisket and make your own corned beef. It’s actually quite simple to corn beef - you just have to have the patience to wait 6 days for it to cure. You do need a little curing salt, which you probably won’t find in your supermarket. Homemade corned beef is tons better than the prepackaged stuff.
I had a lamb tongue pita at a Middle Eastern place in Tempe a few weeks ago that was just absolutely divine. I’ve had beef tongue before, but never lamb. Just pure lamb flavor, very delicate texture (like beef tongue), but not greasy like a lot of lamb is (and I love lamb of all kinds.)
Personally, I’ve never enjoyed venison much. Had it many times (my uncle’s family are big hunters and live out in the Yoop). Just not my thing.
