Recommend a cut of meat I've never had before

Denver steak, from the chuck area. I’ve not knowingly tried it but, properly cut and prepared, it sounds good.

Another chuck-area steak I have tried is the flat iron. A restaurant some distance from home but we pass by occasionally on the way somewhere else offers it and it was pretty good. OTOH a seafood restaurant nearby has it as one of their few beef dishes and the last time we were there, DesertRoomie – who detests seafood – ordered it and it was pretty wretched.

Fish heads. They are typically cut off just behind the pectoral fins, and on a larger fish like a salmon or striped bass there is a significant amount of meat still on it. Dirt cheap, possibly even free in some markets. Great roasted or for making broth or soup.

The flat iron cut is, hmm, more iron-flavored maybe? than most cuts. I got it once, and my husband thought it tasted like liver, and disliked it. I like liver, and also liked the flat iron steak, but I agreed with him that the flavor was more different than other cuts than most other steaks are from each other.

That reminds me. Halibut cheeks are one of the most delicious parts of the fish, with a completely different texture. Almost like crab meat. King salmon also have pretty good size cheeks.

obligatory song link.

The best breakfast sausage I ever tasted was ground venison scraps mixed with a good spice mix and enough pork to counter the dryness.

Smoked ham-hocks.

When I make navy bean or split pea soup, I always throw a couple smoked ham-hocks in the pressure cooker (one for me and one for the dog). Flavors the soup great and the meat is delicious. Picking the meat off the bone is my exercise for the day.

Salmon collars are great!

Oxtail stew is a Swedish classic. There are hundreds of recipes, but most would contain bay leaves, black pepper, allspice, thyme and carrots. (Personally, I like to add a few chilli peppers.) Cut the tail between the joints (this takes some practice!) and boil for several hours, until the cartilage turns into glue-like jelly. Let it set and cool on the porch (it’s mostly a winter dish) or in the fridge, and lift off the cake of solidified fat. Re-heat, and serve with boiled potatoes! Delicious!

I once had a broiled pig’s ear in Minsk, and it was pretty close to oxtail in taste, except it was slightly more salty and spiced with garlic too. They weighed the plate at the counter, so you were sure not to pay for more than you got! :slight_smile:

Do you leave the bones in the dish? I sometimes make oxtail soup, and it takes a while to pick the meat off the bones. (Then I chill with the meat in the broth, and similarly remove a cake of solidified fat.)

You could do it either way, but I prefer to suck the tender meat from the bones, and then gnaw them dry. Aaah…! :slight_smile:

Should have remembered that: similar to tongue, usually cheaper, often more tender, much easier to clean. Good call.

I really like beef neck bones, although since they’re usually saw-cut you have to be prepared to strain everything carefully. Roast them, then you drain off the tallow and save it (my mother canned it and didn’t bother to refrigerate it!) because it’s ten times better than bacon fat and almost as good as chicken fat, then pull off the meat that comes easily and use it for whatever purpose you have in mind, then boil the roasted bones and meat for stock. You don’t get much meat for your money, but add in the tallow and stock and what a bargain.

Sounds really good. Actually in Bavaria I once had a very good dish called jagerbraten where it was roast and served in a creamy sauce with champignons.

Maybe I’ll give it one… more… try. A winter full of the same few venison dishes tends to put a person off it.