BS: Squabs Thread

Subject: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Peace
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 10:23 PM

It's time they had a thread of their own.

46

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Rapparee
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 10:38 PM

MMM-mmm, GOOD!

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: number 6
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 10:48 PM

Don't eat them in August though ... that's the time of the year they molt and then they can be highly toxic.

sIx

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Azizi
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 10:51 PM

Okay I'll bite-

What are squabs?

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Peace
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 10:53 PM

They are pigeons.

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Peace
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 10:56 PM

They fledged shortly after this photo was taken.

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: number 6
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 10:56 PM

They are?!?

I thought they were tiny octipi.

sIx

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: number 6
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 10:57 PM

Cute little buggers ... I bet they molt in August though.

sIx

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Azizi
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 10:58 PM

UGH!

You eat pigeons??!!

Okay okay. My mama always told me "Don't tal about other people's food".

She also said "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything".

So you see how much I have listen to what my mama said.

Eating pigeons??!!! UGH!!

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Peace
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 10:59 PM

Genetically altered squabs.

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Azizi
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 10:59 PM

tal-talk

[but you knew that, right?] or should I have said "eh?"

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: number 6
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 10:59 PM

When my wife was a girl growing up in Scotland pigeon pie was served regularly.

sIx

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: number 6
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:01 PM

Those are marine squabs Peace .... sorta what I originally thought you meant in the thread.

sIx

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Peace
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:02 PM

I'm gettin' close, right?

brb

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: number 6
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:03 PM

damned right you are ... in fact I think those marine squabs in the pic might just be molting.

sIx

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Azizi
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:03 PM

My lips are sealed.

[And someone can mention chitlins [chitterlings] if they want to.
I never tasted chitlins, regardless of whether people consider them soul food or not.

Have you ever smelled chitlins cooking? The smell is a definite turn off for me...

So okay, I'd eat a pigeon pie before I'd eat chitlins.

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: number 6
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:04 PM

What exactly is a chitlin Azizi?

sIx

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Peace
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:04 PM

41

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: number 6
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:06 PM

Is this number thing I see goin' around in the posts some sort of mudcat bingo game that I'm unaware of?

sIx

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: number 6
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:08 PM

I just googled chitlins .... I'll pass, and I also passed on the pigeon pie.

sIx

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Peace
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:09 PM

Beats me.

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: number 6
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:15 PM

I had cornish hen once in some Greek restaraunt on the Danforth in Toronto ... they reminded me of little bats .. gawd awful stuff.

sIx

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Azizi
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:18 PM

Since you asked, here's some info on chitlins:

"Let us consider what chitlins are - they are hog intestines or guts. Some people turn up their noses at the mention of chitlins; other leave the house while they are cooking, driven away by their odor. However, the volume sold for New Year's dinners, with Christmas and Thanksgiving not far behind, attests to chitlins popularity in the United States. Chitterlings is the more formal name, but most people call them chitlins. They are usually part of a larger meal that includes collard greens, fried chicken, and other traditional Southern foods. Chitlins are not for the faint of palate or smell, which is why traditionally they were cooked outdoors at backyard hog killings in winter. They are a food that you either love or hate!

Chitlins take a lot of time and effort to clean. They are partially cleaned when they are sold, but require additional hand cleaning before they are ready to eat. The secret to good and safe chitlins is in the cleaning, not in the cooking. they are available in supermarkets in African-American neighborhoods, especially during the holiday season. they can also be ordered from a butcher, but be prepared to buy 10 pounds of chitlins to get 5 pounds to cook.

Animal innards have long been treasured foods around the world. Scotland's national dish is haggis (sheep's stomach stuffed with the animal's minced heart, liver, and lungs). Throughout Europe, tripe (cow or ox stomach) is popular, and French chefs in upscale restaurants serve dishes based on cow's brains and kidneys.

In 1996, the town of Salley, South Carolina, inaugurated the annual Chitlin' Strut. The first festival attracted about a hundred people. today the festival draws about 70,000 people. It is estimated that more than 128 ,000 pounds of chitlins have been eaten during the festival's history.

Eating chitlins in the rural South is not as common as it once was. In colonial times, hogs were slaughtered in December, and how maws or ears, pigs feet, and neck bones were given to the slaves. Until emancipation, African-American food choices were restricted by the dictates of their owners, and slave owners often fed their slaves little more than the scraps of animal meat that the owners deemed unacceptable for themselves. Because of the West African tradition of cooking all edible parts of plants and animals, these foods helped the slaves survive in the United States"

****

For more information, click http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/ChitlinsHistory.htm

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Peace
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:19 PM

Ah, but you try Cornish hen stuffed with garlic. The whole cavity stuffed with garlic. Lots of garlic. Then ya got someting. But sit beside the dog if ya need to fart during the next two days.

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Peace
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:21 PM

I like chitlins (chiterlings). Takes lots of guts to make a good meal of the things.

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: number 6
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:22 PM

It probably isn't that bad Azizi ... I think I'd give it a try ... after all I do like sausages, blood pudding and haggis.

Funny how people would get turned off by that, but then they would think nothing of eating a rump roast.

Now ... where would I get chitlins in the maritimes ... Six's next culinary quest.

sIx

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Azizi
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:30 PM

rump roast-no thanks

I'd send you some chitlins, but they might go bad before they got to you...oh right, they already are bad *

*"bad"=bad not "bad"=good

[that said, I do respect the fact that chitlins and hog maws helped supplement the meager diet of my ancestors who were enslaved..so I'll stop rippin on them].

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Peace
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:30 PM

Ask for the large intestine of a pig. Wash it well both inside and out. Cook it up. You'll need more than one, BTW, if you intend to make a meal of it.

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: frogprince
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:30 PM

Some people eat beef tongue, but I wouldn't eat anything that comes out of a cow's mouth; I much prefer eggs...

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Peace
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:31 PM

LOL

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: number 6
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:32 PM

Good point frogprince.

sIx

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Peace
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:35 PM

Now, imagine caviar . . . .

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: number 6
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:38 PM

No thanks for caviar.

Steak and kidney pie is good.

Tourtiere pie, the French Canadian classic is good ... a proper one should include rabbit (I'll pass) but I also heard it originally included some local bird that is now extinct.

sIx

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: frogprince
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:43 PM

Actually, I don't eat either eggs or caviar because of my right-to-life convictions...

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Peace
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:44 PM

Cool by me, FP.

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: number 6
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:45 PM

I'm pretty much a vegetarian myself ... tend to fall off the wagon every now and then much too often lately.

sIx

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Peace
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:47 PM

vegetarian.about.com/

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: number 6
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:50 PM

Actually my wife could make ya a stew or chili Peace and you would think there is meat in it.

sIx

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:54 PM

Chitlins are like haggis without the oatmeal only made from pig instead of sheep and fried instead of boiled. Chitlins are also very hard to fling long distances with a trebuchet, while that's pretty much the only thing a haggis is really good for.

47

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Peace
Date: 15 Mar 06 - 11:56 PM

92

LOL

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 06:08 AM

Well the Greeks have a dish which sounds as though it is a first cousin to chit[ter]lins, but I'm damned if I can remember what it's called. Anyway it doesn't matter I like it, and I've watched it being prepared. They flush water through the intestinal tubes, before they plait them up into a bunch and seaon them, then they cook them up with some other bits and pieces, yummy!
Azizi you OK?
G.

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Azizi
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 07:54 AM

Just barely. Thanks for asking.

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Azizi
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 08:04 AM

I guess reading this thread means that I'm a glutton for punishment.

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Paco Rabanne
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 08:26 AM

Pigeons are fab. I went shooting with a farmer friend a while back, between us, we shot 45 of them, then had a pigeon barbeque in the afternoon. Equal rights for vegetables!

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Windsinger
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 09:22 AM

Grandma must have been an unusually epicurean hillbilly; she kept a dovecote on the farm, so there'd always be fresh squab whenever she had a craving for it.

Squab's not just pigeon, BTW: it can also be wild dove. But since the two species are kissing-cousins, you utilize whichever you've got handy. (I wouldn't recommend the city-dwelling versions of either. They do NOT feed upon nice things, also their flesh is probably laced with carbon monoxide and other pollutants.)

The butcher's aisle of our local Wegmans features a good supplier of farm-raised game meat. This last visit it was just duck, pheasant and rabbit available; but sometimes they carry squab. Been meaning to bring home a couple and roast them up sometime.

Slán,

~Fionn

www.geocities.com/children_of_lir

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Rapparee
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 09:50 AM

Ever eat alligator? Or snake (rattlesnake's usual, but you can eat any of them)? Or frog legs? Or raccoon? Or rat?

Now for a great recipe for Son-Of-A-Bitch Stew (you gotta use a calf or the marrow gut's no good):

Kill a fat calf, and while it's still warm take out the heart, liver, tongue, marrow gut, some pieces of tenderloin, sweetbreads, and brain. Dice some of the fat and while you render it in a kettle, cut the heart into small cubes and add it to the fat -- always do the heart first, 'cause it's the toughest meat. Then skin and cube the tongue and add that. While they're coooking, cube the tenderloin, sweetbreads, and liver -- don't use very much liver or the stew will be bitter. Toss it all in. Cut the marrow gut into small rings and add that. (NOTE: it's best to add these a handful at a time instead of all at once.) In between adding the ingredients, de-membrane the brain and clean it of blood -- cook it seperately until it gets "beady" and then add it to the stew; you can cook the brain with a little flour for thickening if you want. You can add an onion to the stew if you'd like, but that's the only vegetable. Season with salt and pepper. Keep the ingredients covered with water and DON'T let it scorch.                     

(from Ramon F. Adams, "Come and Get It: the story of the old cowboy cook" (Norman, Oklahome: Red River Books [U. of Oklahoma Press]), 1952.)

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: MMario
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 09:59 AM

Grandma must have been an unusually epicurean hillbilly

It's another case of what was the poor man's food becoming the food of the upper crust - as has happenned with lobster, various shellfish, and such things as ramps, fiddleheads, etc.

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Peace
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 10:02 AM

Fiddleheads and lemon, bit a butter and salt.

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: Windsinger
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 10:45 AM

Ever eat alligator? Or snake? Or frog legs? Or raccoon? Or rat?

No, but I make one BITCHIN' rabbit-stew. ;) Also fire-roasted rabbit and/or duck (marinate: white wine, drizzle of olive oil, lots of fresh-minced garlic, herbes de Provence and a little fresh dill.)

MMario, I've certainly had ramps (even ramp wine -- ugh, I don't know WHAT that dude was thinking!) but...fiddleheads? You can eat baby ferns?

Slán,

~Fionn

www.geocities.com/children_of_lir

Subject: RE: BS: Squabs Thread
From: MMario
Date: 16 Mar 06 - 10:57 AM

fiddleheads

The baby ferns are much more tender then the wooden ones on violins.