Dumbed down, the essence of the movement is to cook with underutilized meats so all parts of an animal are eaten. It's not about eating one entire animal (like a lamb or pig on a spit), but rather eating the offal, organ meat, and other usually discarded meats. Why? First, because every section of the animal can be delicious and (sometimes) healthy if properly cooked. And second, if the animal’s died for us to eat it then we have a responsibility to not let any part of it go to waste.
In Dan world this breaks down to:
Utilize all parts of animals =Try more types of meat
Don’t let any go to waste= More food for me
I’m fairly convinced this was actually designed for me. And not only are there serious tangible plusses to eating more animal parts but there is some validity to the ethical argument as well - having basic respect for what we eat. I love animals, as in I love eating them. But when I take a moment to pause amidst devouring a delicious animal there comes a basic respect for just how good it can be. Our eating habits demand that a ton of cows, pigs, chickens, ducks etc are raised and killed in America for us to eat, and I’m A-OK with that on my conscience! But if we’re going to ensure all those animals are slaughtered for us then I think we need to do a better job of making sure no part of the animal is simply wasted or thrown away. It's a simple deal with nature since they are so freaking tasty. With that siad, here's the obvious disclaimer - this doesn't mean every part of every single animal should be eaten. There are plenty of parts that are simply unsanitary, unhealthy, inedible, and disgusting; those aren't included.
So why am I randomly posting on this?
I couldn’t help but think of the head to tail movement a few times Tuesday night during my birthday dinner at Palena. It’s frankly hard not to appreciate underutilized meats after having the fabulous homemade pasta with oxtail or various house made sausages, pates and terrines. Then I saw this post on the Zagat website Wednesday listing DC restaurants that actually use their extra meats and embrace the head to tail approach.
You might not have tried them before, but head to tail is actually embodied in some of the best kitchens in the country. Take for example, Marc Vetri, chef of Vetri and Osteria in Philadelphia (Vetri is often considered the best Italian restaurant in America). At Vetri, his signature dish is braised pig’s feet ravioli. Imagine that, the best Italian restaurant in America serves pig’s feet in their signature dish. And at Osteria you can have roast suckling pig, which amongst other things comes with pig’s ear. Bourdain would be in heaven.
Some chefs have actually made their name on this process. One of the leading proponents of the method, San Francisco chef Chris Cosentino, explains the process and rationale behind head to tail in the youtube below.
Unfortunately though, there aren’t nearly enough chefs in DC who serve any unique or offal meats on their menus. Nor can you buy most cuts at supermarkets. I counted twelve different types of sausage at Whole Foods yesterday, but not a single blood sausage – it’s sad. It's actually an arduous process to find blood sausage anywhere in DC.
Many eaters I know have never tried offal (or for that matter any underutilized) meats, but they should. They are way more approachable than one might think. For all the French and Italian we all eat, try a tripe soup or stew one time (Or have it in a Pho soup at a Vietnamese place). If you love the grill then go for an Argentinean or Uruguayan style asado and try the sweetbreads, chitterlings or kidneys with some lemon juice on top - they will shock you with their crispy outside and rich inside. Prefer hot sandwiches? Go to a deli and try beef tongue on rye sometime. It won’t bite.
Don’t let any go to waste= More food for me
I’m fairly convinced this was actually designed for me. And not only are there serious tangible plusses to eating more animal parts but there is some validity to the ethical argument as well - having basic respect for what we eat. I love animals, as in I love eating them. But when I take a moment to pause amidst devouring a delicious animal there comes a basic respect for just how good it can be. Our eating habits demand that a ton of cows, pigs, chickens, ducks etc are raised and killed in America for us to eat, and I’m A-OK with that on my conscience! But if we’re going to ensure all those animals are slaughtered for us then I think we need to do a better job of making sure no part of the animal is simply wasted or thrown away. It's a simple deal with nature since they are so freaking tasty. With that siad, here's the obvious disclaimer - this doesn't mean every part of every single animal should be eaten. There are plenty of parts that are simply unsanitary, unhealthy, inedible, and disgusting; those aren't included.
So why am I randomly posting on this?
I couldn’t help but think of the head to tail movement a few times Tuesday night during my birthday dinner at Palena. It’s frankly hard not to appreciate underutilized meats after having the fabulous homemade pasta with oxtail or various house made sausages, pates and terrines. Then I saw this post on the Zagat website Wednesday listing DC restaurants that actually use their extra meats and embrace the head to tail approach.
You might not have tried them before, but head to tail is actually embodied in some of the best kitchens in the country. Take for example, Marc Vetri, chef of Vetri and Osteria in Philadelphia (Vetri is often considered the best Italian restaurant in America). At Vetri, his signature dish is braised pig’s feet ravioli. Imagine that, the best Italian restaurant in America serves pig’s feet in their signature dish. And at Osteria you can have roast suckling pig, which amongst other things comes with pig’s ear. Bourdain would be in heaven.
Some chefs have actually made their name on this process. One of the leading proponents of the method, San Francisco chef Chris Cosentino, explains the process and rationale behind head to tail in the youtube below.
Unfortunately though, there aren’t nearly enough chefs in DC who serve any unique or offal meats on their menus. Nor can you buy most cuts at supermarkets. I counted twelve different types of sausage at Whole Foods yesterday, but not a single blood sausage – it’s sad. It's actually an arduous process to find blood sausage anywhere in DC.
Many eaters I know have never tried offal (or for that matter any underutilized) meats, but they should. They are way more approachable than one might think. For all the French and Italian we all eat, try a tripe soup or stew one time (Or have it in a Pho soup at a Vietnamese place). If you love the grill then go for an Argentinean or Uruguayan style asado and try the sweetbreads, chitterlings or kidneys with some lemon juice on top - they will shock you with their crispy outside and rich inside. Prefer hot sandwiches? Go to a deli and try beef tongue on rye sometime. It won’t bite.
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