Showing posts with label hot dog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hot dog. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

More Fun Playing with Food From Mister Brisket

As you know from my two most recent posts, we've been playing with a bunch of items I picked up at Mister Brisket last Friday. I can't leave the subject without showing you two more meals.

We planned to start on the hotdogs for dinner on Monday. Bob went to Mustard Seed Market to pick up hotdog buns, and since I'd be at the office and he'd be gardening all day, I suggested he pick up a ready-made side dish from there. Well, I was glad he didn't. He had coleslaw on his mind - and since we had fresh made mayo - why not?







He shredded some cabbage, added my mayo, a serrano chile, garden basil, salt and black pepper - and a wonderful side dish was born!



My favorite way to eat a hotdog is from a charcoal fire. But we weren't about to fire up the Weber just to cook 2 hotdogs. So Bob fried them in the cast iron skillet, to get that crispy casing we both adore.


Mister Brisket's Famous All Beef Hotdog

This sheep casing frank is sourced from a New York company that has been in this business for generations. It had huge beef flavor, a great snap, and lots of juice. No photos of the inside - I was too busy eating it.



I'm a purist - just a bit of spicy brown mustard (Bertman's was in the fridge) and a bun. That's all I need.

The final item I procured last Friday that I haven't yet shown you is the turkey breast, made from scratch at Mister Brisket's market. Just looking at this product, nestled in butcher paper, takes me back to my childhood.



My mother never bought any meat products at the supermarket - only at V&F Butcher shop on Larkfield Road in East Northport (unless it was a Jewish Holiday - in which case she went to Commack Kosher). V&F still exists, though it is on the third or fourth owners since then. The memory trace is very strong - the smell of sawdust, which was all over the floor (and which is still on the floor to this day, although much less), and the smells of all the meats and prepared items. And my very favorite of all of those things: fresh roast turkey breast. No Sodium Fill-In-The-Blanks, phosphates or fillers - just turkey and some seasoning. And more often than not, it was a turkey breast sandwich mom packed in my lunchbox. Turkey that came out of butcher paper, not shrink-wrapped plastic.

In those days (the 1970s), many delis made their own meats, especially in New York City. So even when I left for home for college, I could still get real turkey breast. Alas, no one makes their own turkey breast anymore - one deli owner recently told me that he couldn't make it for less than he could buy it from GFS (food service). And to be fair, the food service products aren't horrible - but they taste artificial and salty to me.

Thank the heavens that Mister Brisket, together with his talented associate Hank, decided to make deli meats! As wonderful as the corned beef and pastrami are, though, I think I love the turkey the best. It is exquisite in its simple goodness.

So, due to the interruptions of lunch dates yesterday and today, I decided to have a turkey sandwich for breakfast today (because there are no preservatives in this - so you use it or lose it!).


Fresh Rye Bread from Appetite



A layer of my mayo on each slice, then the turkey slices, then a little bit of ketchup (kind of makes a French Dressing thing, my mother always said). Simple and delicious. And they say you can't go back!



Mister Brisket certainly gave us plenty to play with these last few days. And the hotdogs and sliced meats will last us at least a few more days. Now, if only he could get some more of that salmon!