Previously we’ve sent samples to intrepid food bloggers to see how they would compare them (blogger risotto reviews).  We’ve also written a risotto rice guide based on expert Italian testimony on the subject.

Until now, however, we’ve never actually run our own, hyper-scientific tests (you can tell they’re hyper-scientific because we used an infrared thermometer).  In fact, this was our first controlled test, so please bear with our arborio digression.*

The Method:
1. Cook four batches of risotto simultaneously.
2. Use infrared thermometer (after stirring) to try to get pans at near the same temperature, despite burners of varying size.

3.  Use the same ingredients & quantities.  Three frying pans (carnaroli, integrale, vialone nano) contained 2 cups of rice, 2 tbsp oil, ½ cup of white wine, ½ cup of onions.

* We discovered we only had 1 cup of arborio handy, so the last pan contained 1 cup rice, 2 tbsp oil, ¼ white wine and ¼ cup onions.  The pan was the same size as the others, so we might have seen more evaporation in this one that artificially increased the amount of stock needed.

The Results:

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Risotto Recipes
Rice Recipes

Whole/In The Round: Whole fish or fish “in the round” are being sold completely intact, exactly as they were caught.

Examples: Whole Rockfish, Whole Fresh Sardines

Drawn/Gutted: Drawn fish are whole fish that have been gutted…i.e.  had their viscera (stomach, roe sacks, other guts) removed.  Gutted/Drawn fish generally last longer than fish that are 100% Whole/In The Round, because the guts spoil faster than the meat.

Example: Whole Rainbow Trout

Headed & Gutted (aka H&G): Headed & gutted fish have had their viscera (guts) and head removed.

Example: Whole Pink Salmon

Dressed: Dressed fish have had their viscera, head, tail, and fins removed.  They have also been de-scaled.

Bullets: Head, tail, fins, other pieces and viscera removed, with the skin on.  This term is generally used instead of “dressed” for sturgeon, because they have particularly unusual anatomy requiring more cleaning and the end product is a bit different.

Portioned Sturgeon fillets are generally considered more consumer-friendly than bullets because they are much smaller and can be cooked similarly to other fish fillets.

Browse Whole Fish (most Drawn or Headed & Gutted)

Fish Portion Terms

Portion Types

Steaks: Steaks are portions of fish that have been cut across the body rather than along the sides.  Often, but not always, they include a section of backbone.

Example: Swordfish Steaks

Fillets: Fish fillets are cut along the entire side of the fish, removing the meat from the spine and most of the bones.

Browse Fish Fillets

Butterflied Fillets: Butterflied fillets are two fish fillets in one.  Both fillets are cleaned similarly to normal fillets, but they’re left connected to each other.

Example: Yellow Perch Fillets

Fillet Portions: Fish fillets, especially those from particularly large fish, are often cut into smaller portions to make them more manageable.  A fairly standard restaurant portion weighs 6oz, but larger or smaller filet portions are also sold.

Cheeks: Some large fish have portions of meat on their heads, separate from the fillet, that are of sufficient quality to be harvested and sold separately.

Example: Halibut Cheeks

Preparation terms

The below terms are most often applied to fish fillets.

Skin On: The fish skin is left on the portions.  Skin on fish fillets & fillet portions are often used in pan seared fish recipes, so the skin crisps up, providing an attractive texture and presentation.  If desired, you can remove the skin from skin-on fillets after you buy them.  See how to remove fish skin for the basic technique.

Skinless/Skin Off: Skin removed prior to sale.  Whether to leave round fish skin on is often a question of personal preference, the species being used, and the recipe being used.  Flatfish skin is very leathery and generally considered inedible

Pin Bones Out (aka PBO): Many fish fillets have small, thin, flexible bones distributed along the side of the fillet.  Generally these are removed (usually with a pair of tweezers) prior to cooking and serving the fish.  “Pin Bone Out” fillets have already had the pin bones removed for you.

Frozen At Sea (FAS): Is a term for fish or fish portions that have been frozen within hours (usually 5 or 6 hours) of the fish being caught.  The fish are cleaned, processed, and frozen on the vessel that caught them.

Frozen at sea fish has a reputation for being much higher quality than fish frozen much later, and even some fresh fish depending on how long it has been out of the water.

In addition, FAS fish may be more environmentally sustainable because it can be transported more slowly than fresh fish (and thus usually using lower-carbon methods – i.e. trains instead of jets).

See Can Chefs Cozy Up to Frozen Fish? (Washington Post, 2008) for more info about FAS fish.

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Culinary Tips & Techniques
Seafood Recipes

UPDATE:  We have selected our participants for this review and mailed out the goods.  Please stay tuned for future recipe challenges and other blogger opportunities.

We’re looking for six food bloggers to try our new butternut squash seed oil and delicata squash seed oil (1 bottle of our choice to each blogger) and write 100% candid reviews with dish/flavor pairing suggestions.  We think these products are amazing, but we want to know what you think.

We are looking for everything from flavor profile articulations to pairings to criticisms to recipes.  If you want to try a bottle and put it through it’s paces, send an e-mail with your name, mailing address & blog url to Katie at kwallace (at) marxfoods (dot) com by February 10.  We’ll pick six people and get the oils on their way soon thereafter.

Just to make things more exciting and encourage you guys to go all-out, we’re offering a prize for the most thorough & honest review, with the most inspired pairings, published by March 4th.  The blogger who provides the most honest, thorough and useful product review will receive their choice of a six-pound box of either butternut squash ravioli or pumpkin & sage ravioli!

Let the games begin!

FTC Regulations for Bloggers

A lot of light batter recipes rely on the use of carbonated beverages to help make them extra light.  Of course, this means you have to use the batter immediately after making it.  This recipe uses a different method: loading the batter into a cream whipper, which allows you to make the batter 30 minutes before you plan on using it.

If you don’t have a cream whipper handy, you could substitute a more traditional beer batter or tempura batter recipe.

Drink Pairings: lemony Pinot Gris

Ingredients:                                     Makes 4 Servings
2 Halibut Cheeks per Serving
1 tsp Meyer Lemon Zest     (could substitute conventional lemon)
1 tbsp Brined Capers, rinsed
Italian Parsley for Garnish
Lemon Juice
Rice Flour
1 gallon Oil for frying (peanut, canola, etc)

Batter:
1 cup All Purpose Flour
1 cup Rice Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tbsp Honey
10oz Vodka (we used Smirnoff)
10oz Beer (we used Dos Equis)
3 N2O Chargers

Couscous:
2 cups Chicken Stock
1 cup Middle Eastern/Israeli Couscous
1 Bay Leaf
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pinch of Salt

Parsley Sauce:
1 cup fresh Italian Parsley Leaves
1 clove Garlic, peeled
Zest & Juice of 1 Lemon
1/3rd – 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tbsp Chicken Stock

Special Equipment:
Cream Whipper

Directions:
1. Make the Couscous: Bring the stock, salt, and bay leaf to a simmer on the stove in a small saucepan.

Stir in the couscous. Simmer 8-10 minutes.  Strain any residual stock out of the couscous & toss with extra virgin olive oil to coat.

Spread the couscous out on a pan or in a wide container to cool.

2. Make the Parsley Sauce: In a blender combine the parsley leaves, garlic clove, lemon zest & juice.  Blend briefly to chop, then drizzle in the olive oil while continuing to blend.  Add just enough oil until there’s enough liquid for the blender to start blending the parsley.

Stop the blender, scrape down the sides, and add the chicken stock.  Blend to puree.  Add additional salt & pepper to taste.

3. Add five tablespoons of the parsley sauce to the cooled couscous & stir to combine.  Refrigerate the couscous & reserve the remainder of the parsley sauce for other recipes.

4. Make the batter – Combine the flour, rice flour and baking powder in a bowl.  In a separate bowl mix together the honey and vodka.

Whisk together the flour mixture and the vodka mixture.  Stir in the beer until combined, then immediately load the batter into a cream whipper & charge with all three chargers.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

5. Heat the frying oil in a large stock pot to 400 degrees.  Dust the halibut cheeks with rice flour & remove the batter-filled whipper from the fridge.

6. Put some of the parsley couscous on each plate.

7. Shake the whipper, hold it with the nozzle pointing straight down & spray the batter into a deep container.  Dip a few of the halibut cheeks in the batter and then place them in the oil (being careful not to splash or crowd the pan).

8. As the cheeks begin to form a crust, lift them above the surface of the oil and spoon extra batter onto them (this adds volume to their crust), then lower them back into the oil to finish frying.

9. Once the cheeks are golden brown, drain them on a towel and plate them atop the couscous.  Top the cheeks with the capers, parsley leaves, and a small drizzle of lemon juice.  Serve.

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Browse More:
Fish Cheek Recipes
Couscous Recipes

You could also use it other grassfed beef cuts, Kobe beef, kurobuta pork, and a host of game meats.  It would probably also work well with seafood.

Ingredients:
5 tbsp Yuzu Juice
4 cloves of Garlic
2 tbsp grated Fresh Ginger
4 tbsp Mirin
1 tbsp Oil
Cracked Pepper & Salt to taste (we made ours rather salty)

Directions:
1. In a zip top bag, coverable bowl, or lidded container, combine all the ingredients.

2. Add the meat to the marinade.

3. Cover the container/close the bag & marinate overnight.

If you don’t have enough time to marinate overnight, put the mixture in a zip top bag and marinate several hours, flipping the bag every half hour or hour to redistribute the marinade.

4. Remove the meat from the bag and pat it dry to encourage browning.

5. Grill, broil, roast or otherwise prepare as you normally would cook that cut.

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Browse More:
Yuzu Recipes
Basic Oil Marinade Recipe
Meat Recipes & Techniques

1. Remove the Head & Collar

Grab hold of one of the fish’s fins by the head and pull up, using it to lift the flesh up to make cutting easier.  Cut down into the fish with the blade angled towards the head.  Stop when your blade hits the backbone.

Flip the fish and make another similar cut down to the backbone.  Cut through the backbone and remove the head & collar meat.

2. Cut Above the Backbone to Remove the First Fillet

Turn the fish so that the gutted belly is towards you.  Place your knife at the head end, just above the backbone.  Angle the blade of the knife slightly up (away from the backbone).  Run the knife through the body of the fish from head end to the tail.  You should be able to remove one whole fillet (belly fat & bones still attached).  Set it aside.

3. Cut Below the Backbone to Remove the Second Fillet

This cut’s a little trickier.  Return your knife to the head end of the fish, this time just below the backbone.  Angle the blade of the knife slightly up (towards the backbone), but not so much that you cut into the backbone.  Run the knife through the body of the fish from head to tail.  You should be able to remove the backbone & tail.

4. Cut the Belly Fat/Bones From Each Fillet

Take one fillet at a time.  Hold your knife at an angle fairly close to the curve of the fish’s belly meat, make a flat cut across the belly, just under the bones and fat to lift them off & remove them.  Make one final cut straight down at the bottom of the fillet to remove the bottom skin & fat.  Repeat with the other fillet.

If you want to take the skin off of your fillets, see how to remove fish skin for tips.

You’ll want to use a different technique for flatfish (like halibut).

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Browse More:
Seafood Tips & Techniques
Seafood Recipes

Ingredients:       (Makes 1 Drink)
1 oz Elderflower Syrup
Dry Sparkling White Wine
Orange Twist

Directions:

1. Add elderflower syrup to champagne flute.

2. Fill the flute with sparkling wine.

3. Garnish with an orange twist

Buckwheat Crepê Sausage Rolls with Pheasant Cognac Sausage, Crème Fraiche, Caviar, and Dill

This gourmet version of sausage rolls, or “pigs in the blanket”, uses buckwheat crepês as a wrapping around the sausage. These become even more upscale when topped with crème fraiche, caviar, and dill which pair nicely with the smoky and sweet aromatic pheasant cognac sausage.

Ingredients:

1 cup Buckwheat Flour
1/4 teaspoon Salt
2 Eggs
1 1/3 cups Milk
3 tablespoons Melted Butter
Additional Butter for frying crepes

4 Pheasant Cognac Sausages
Crème Fraiche
Caviar (Salmon Roe or other)
Fresh Dill

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, eggs, milk, butter, salt using electric mixer until smooth.

2. Make the Crepes – Melt butter in a large crêpe pan. Pour 2/3 of the scoop of batter into pan and turn the pan gently to spread the batter around the whole pan. Cook until edge of crêpe turns light brown, about 1 minute. Loosen edges gently with spatula and turn crêpe over. Cook until bottom begins to brown in spots, about 30 seconds. Transfer to plate and cover with foil. Repeat with remaining batter, spraying pan with oil spray as needed and keeping the crêpes warm.

3. Fry or grill sausages, turning often, for about 10 minutes or until browned and cooked through.

4. Place one sausage on one end of a crêpe and roll the crêpe up tightly. Slice into 1-inch rounds with a sharp knife.

5. Arrange the crêpe sausage rolls on a platter. Top each roll with a dollop of crème fraiche, caviar, and dill.

Recipe Development & Photography by Natasha Price, 5 Star Foodie

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Browse More:
Sausage Recipes
Roe & Caviar Recipes

We made this version using ground kobe beef, but you could easily substitute ground grass-fed beef, ground bison or even ground kangaroo.

Ingredients:   (Makes Enough for 4 Servings of Pasta)
1 cup chopped Onions
1/4 cup minced Carrot
1/4 cup minced Celery
1lb Ground Kobe Beef
1/2 cup White Wine
1/2 tsp Fennel Seed
3/4 cup Beef Stock
One 6oz can of Tomato Paste
1/2 tsp Salt
Generous cracking of Pepper
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1 Pinch of Dried Thyme
1 tbsp Fresh Basil, chiffonade (thinly sliced)

Directions:
1. Heat some oil in a large pan and sweat the carrots, onions, and celery until tender.

2. Remove & reserve the vegetables, then add the beef to the pan.

3. Brown the beef, then drain off most of the rendered fat.

4. Return the vegetables to the pan along with the white wine, oregano, thyme, fennel seed, tomato paste, beef stock and salt & pepper.

5. Simmer gently for an hour or longer, stirring occasionally.

6. Just before serving, stir in the basil.

7. Serve atop pasta finished with grated parmesan cheese (ideally parmigiano reggiano).

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Browse More:
Pasta & Pasta Sauce Recipes
Ground Meat Recipes
Kobe Beef Recipes

One of the reasons why we love Asian cuisine is that there are so many different and unique flavors and ingredients to experience. Our newest recipe challenge will take your kitchen to the East and features a tasty array of Asian ingredients to experiment with.

We’ll send you samples of Adzuki Beans, Dried Maitake Mushrooms, Mochi Rice, Dried Star Fruit, Organic Millet, and Hijiki and your task will be to create TWO original recipes using at least four of the ingredients. The extra twist in this contest is that you have to create one recipe for an appetizer and the second for a main course.

Feel up to the challenge? Here’s how it works:

1. Send your name, mailing address, blog name and URL to Katie at kwallace (at) marxfoods (dot) com by 1/20. Several participants will be chosen to participate.
2. Create your original recipes for an appetizer and a main dish and post both recipes in a single post on your blog by 2/19. Don’t forget to send the link to Katie!
3. All of the recipe submissions will be published on the Marx Foods blog and be put to a vote.

Two winners will be chosen for this contest, one through the public vote and the other through an internal poll of the Marx Foods staff and the participating bloggers. Both winners will be announced 2/24.

The stakes are high for this challenge! Each winner will receive their choice of either 4 Kobe Tomahawk Steaks or 5lbs of sushi grade Yellowfin Tuna.

Get hungry and go East!