Nourish Publication Volume 2: Meat & Poultry Edition

MEAT & POULTRY

nourish VOLUME 2

APRIL TO JUNE 2018

TIPS, TRICKS, AND

DELICIOUS RECIPES

13 WAYS TO

CREATE A WORLD CLASS COCKTAIL MENU LEARN TO CREATE

KILLER KEBABS RIGHT ON CUE

DISCOVER WHAT MODERN BBQ TRENDS RELY ON

GET INSPIRED: BUILD A BETTER

BURGER

Local. Sustainable. Responsible.

Whether you are looking for Real Food, Slow Food, Farm to Table, SOLE (sustainable, organic, local, ethical) Food or are part of the Locavore Movement, we have products to meet your needs. Whether your interest is to support local businesses that give back to the community, or if you are looking for an unsurpassed burger, flavorful chicken, in season local produce or sustainable seafood, we’ve got what you need.

Why choose Performance Foodservice to meet your local and sustainable needs? Our economy of size helps us to negotiate the best pricing possible, while our local autonomy allows us to support the products and vendors that are important to our customers. With so many products available you can have fewer deliveries to supply you with the local, sustainable and ethical products you demand. More importantly, we are leaders in the area of food safety, risk and quality. We worry about the food coming through the back door of your operation so you don’t have to. We work directly with small business owners to ensure they meet food safety requirements which surpass government regulations, assisting in third party auditing procedures when necessary and implementing proper liability coverages.

FarmSmart

Meet our newest Performance Foodservice Brand, FarmSmart. As the name implies, the brand is based on practicing smarter ways of farming, including raising animals and livestock.

This includes delivering cleaner label products with attributes such as; antibiotic-free; humane treatment of animals; organic; grass-fed; all natural and no GMO’s. When you see and hear FarmSmart, you can feel better about the products you purchase.

Our FarmSmart beef program is the first private label brand in foodservice encompassing domestic, organic, grass-fed beef.

FarmSmart Domestic Grass-fed beef is born and raised in the USA, certified organic, non-GMO and entirely grass-fed and pasture raised on family farms.

Sustainable Seafood

In 2017, Performance Foodservice Springfield became an MSC Certified Facility, providing sustainable seafood approved by the Marine Stewardship Council. We have a variety of products available in both fresh and frozen varieties.

Additionally, we have a wide variety of products which meet Monterey Aquarium Seafood Watch standards as Best Choice or Good Alternative. Our branded fresh and frozen farmed seafood also meets BAP Standards. In 2017 Performance Foodservice Corporately achieved the highest rating of any broadline food distributor by Greenpeace, which means we can work with you to create a sustainable seafood program for you.

Red Tomato – Righteous Produce

Established in 1997 and located in Plainville, Massachusetts, Red Tomato is an ambitious non-profit that works its heart out to deliver fresh, great tasting produce while cultivating a more sustainable, ethical food system.

Rooted in fair trade, Red Tomato strives to bring fairness, transparency and sustainability to every aspect of the way we do business — including stewardship of the earth, equitable and safe treatment of farmers and workers, wide access to affordable and healthy food, and the financial well-being of both Red Tomato and the farms in our network.

Performance Foodservice is partnered with Red Tomato to provide scale to local produce so we can offer this to our customers. Each case of Red Tomato produce comes to you with a QR code.

Scan the code and you can see the local farm where the product was grown along with pictures, the history of the farm and it’s owners. Local produce sourced to the farm, every time.

Over 2000 Local Sustainable Fair Trade and Humane products in stock Performance Foodservice carries approximately 2,000 items that are local, sustainable, fair trade or humane. From meats, to seafood, packaging, grains, frozen and canned items, we understand that our market is evolving and customers demand more from their food than just great taste. Our strong partnership with UNFI puts thousands of additional products at your fingertips.

Our Team and Our Home Built with Your Success in mind...

We are committed to providing our customers with wholesome products. Food safety is first and foremost in all of our warehouse operations. Our distribution facility is designed with food safety and operational efficiency in mind.

Geographic Footprint: MA, CT, RI, NY, VT, NH

Total Skus: 11,000+

240,000 square feet of Warehouse and Office Space 51,000 square foot Freezer 1,500 square foot Ice Cream Freezer (-20 degrees) 29,400 square feet Refrigerated (5 temp zones) 28,300 square foot Cooler Dock 67,600 square feet of Dry Storage Backup Generator on Site AIB Plant Audit in March 2017: Achieved score 955 Merieux Unannounced Plant Audit in May 2017: Achieved score 97.6 Total Fleet of Over 100 vehicles PeopleNet GPS Tracking Three Shuttle Depots: New Haven, CT Lawrence, MA and West Bridgewater, MA Fuel and Maintenance performed on site Scan on Delivery for all invoices

Get acquainted with meat...with our morning cup of Joe!

Joe Terrazzano Center of the Plate Specialist It all started when I was in high school... Remember when it was a one room facility with a hitching post out front? Yeah, me neither.

All the same, I would skip class in order to go to the store and learn how to cut meat. Back then, nothing was packed in boxes. It was all hanging beef. Hindquarters and fore quarters needed to be broken down and cut. While chicken came packed in wooden crates and ice, chicken parts weren’t readily available and we’d have to cut our own product. I remember the cold and wet feeling I had during those years, and it didn’t make me a fan with the neighbors. I will say though, all of their animals loved the smell of my work boots!

From the store, I had moved to buying for a distributor. Weekends, where have you been all my life? We were on the retail side and Chinese restaurants served as our main customers.

In this role our main goal was booking products for our clients, which involved strategic forecasting. I learned how to anticipate trends, particularly since we worked with only fresh product. Because we had an office in Boston, I was able to visit Chinatown 2-3 times per week to develop the customer relationship. There was more to it than that: each visit, they would prepare a special dish – and it was delicious and mysterious every time!

For 45 years, I have worked in all phases of foodservice and retail, from owning my own butcher shop to purchasing positions including Center of the Plate buyer, sales and specialist. I’m passionate about buying and selling proteins, and could not imagine doing anything else. The protein complex is constantly changing, keeping me young and on my toes. We’ll break down the industry’s market trends and even suggest new menu ideations for your establishment!

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Volume 2: what’s inside

LAMB

nutrition facts

A Nutritious Choice

American Lamb is a flavorful, nutrient-rich food. Lamb A 3 oz serving of Ameriis an all-natural product, raised without hormones. It’s a can lamb is packed with an responsible choice you can feel good about. array of esential nutrients:

Health Benefits Omega-3 Fats of a 3 oz serving of lean lamb in a 3 oz serving of lean lamb 23g

This is approximately 50% of your daily protein needs. (Protein is an important part of your plate because it can lower the blood sugar impact of a meal.)

170

Packed with hungercurbing protein which is a perfect combination for weight management.

of protein

calories

supports a

strong immune system

>3g

of heart healthy fat

Contains a significant amount of nutrients essential for immune function: zinc, selemium, protein and iron.

Supporting a strong immune system begins with a healthy diet.

Contains 3.3 grams of heart healthy monounsaturated fat. 40% of the fat in lean lamb is heart healthy monosaturated fat.

@FANOFLAMB

100mg omega-3 fatty acid ALA

≼9%

of the adequate ALA intake

5X

more than beef

=to

1 tbs of olive oil or a serving of avocado

Delivers approximately 100 mg of the essential omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).

100 mg of the essential omega-3 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is approximately 6.25 to 9 percent of the Adequate intake for the ALA. Provides nearly five times the amount of the essential omega-3 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) compared to a 3 oz. serving of beef.

47% protein 38%selenium 21% riboflavin 37% vitamin B12 27% niacin 10% iron 30%zinc

Provides about the same amount of the essential omega-3 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) as 1 tbs serving of olive oil or a serving of avocado.

AMERICANLAMB.COM

5

13 ways to create a world-class cocktail menu

Naren Young is a New York-based bartender and journalist who has created cocktail menus for dozens of bars around the world. You’ll now find him behind the bar at Bacchanal, New York, probably sipping on a Negroni.

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Bartender interviews: Alexander Barlow

featured in Drink Magazine

1

Know your audience

Don’t create a menu for yourself or to impress other bartenders. If you work in a high-volume lounge where Vodka & Soda is your most popular mixed drink on a Saturday night, then perhaps that lavenderscented Sazerac with the absinthe foam you’ve been tweaking for the past six months is not the wisest choice. Nothing is more important in business than knowing your audience. Think, what kind of people are visiting your venue? What are they drinking? Do their tastes change depending on what night of the week it is?

Find a balance

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Try to create a menu that has something for everybody. You’re never going to please everyone all of the time – but you can get close.

Ask, do you have a good cross section of spirits represented? This, of course, isn’t so important if your establishment specializes in a specific spirit. But I always ensure I have a vodka cocktail, two gin drinks, two to three whiskey drinks, a cognac option, one or two tequila or mezcal cocktails and a couple of rum drinks. Then flesh this out with low alcohol and aperitif options.

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3

Low-alcohol cocktails have become increasingly popular in recent years and it’s a welcome change from the era of strong, spirituous libations.

“Stirred and brown” was a catchphrase that became part of common cocktail vernacular and, personally, I couldn’t wait for it to end.

Thankfully, today, more people are appreciating cocktails made with sparkling wine, vermouth, sherry, port, madeira and beer, not to mention countless amari and other bitters such as Aperol and Campari. Low-alcohol drinks are great with food and make good session cocktails. The profit margins

on them are incredible, too.

Make sure to list no-or low-alcohol drinks

“Avoid overly precious cocktails”

Morgan Schick, Trick Dog, San Fransisco: “We try to avoid overly precious cocktails – we try to inject a little bit of fun into it. We never want our menu to take itself too seriously. Some places a little pretension works in the menu. But it’s not right for us. We try to avoid making the menu too highbrow. I definitely pay attention to what other bars are doing and steal as liberally as everyone else. But I don’t think using an ingredient or a flavor or a technique because it’s trendy always works. But we are definitely sensitive to changes in popular palates. Our guests these days like a drier, more bitter drink than they did in the past so our cocktails are going that way. Our job is to give people something that they think is delicious and so being conscious of what is thought of as delicious is important.”

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Don’t list too many cocktails 8

4

Enormous cocktail menus used to be the norm. One of my favorite bars of all time – Lab, in London – boasted 162 drinks. Is that too many? Of course. But at the time it felt right. But things evolve, tastes change, we learn. How many drinks you have on your menu can also be determined by the kind of venue you are. As The Dead Rabbit’s Jack McGarry explains (see number seven), a big menu is part of his bar’s identity and, for him, 65 drinks is appropriate and manageable. At Bacchanal, a new restaurant I’ve just opened in Manhattan, we have 22 drinks on our list, which by New York restaurant standards

is considered quite ambitious.

6

“Don’t over do it on speciality produce”

Joaquin Sim, Pouring Ribbons, New York: “Firstly, we look at the current menu and decide what’s staying and going. We take into consideration changing seasonality and a drink’s popularity. Once we’ve determined what is off the menu, we start to look at what holes need to be filled – so, shaken-gin-refreshing, or stirred-whiskey-boozy – and try to devise new recipes accordingly. We also take into consideration a balanced array of base spirits, serving styles, glassware selection, ice needs, colors and garnishes. We don’t want too many drinks in pilsner glasses with crushed ice or too many stirred drinks. If we have seven drinks that call for an orange peel garnish then there better be a couple drinks that have orange juice in them otherwise we’re wasting a lot of citrus. Because we have so little back of house space, we also have to be careful to not overdo it on specialty produce or labor-intensive syrups. Our limited amount of storage dictates how many new products we can take in without shedding existing ones. More importantly, make sure you can deliver. Consistency in execution by the staff, no matter who is behind the bar, or what day or time it is, is vital. Your drinks should be identical from staffer X on a Tuesday at 6pm as from staffer Y at midnight on a Friday.”

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Jack McGarry, The Dead Rabbit, New York: “Don’t have a big menu for the sake of it. There has to be a reason for everything you do. Our menus are large and that’s part of our DNA as a venue. There are pros and cons: on the plus side, it’s great PR, and it also makes a good talking point for our clientele: many guests come and work through the entirety of the menu. Cons: it’s a lot for the customer to take on board, which is why it’s absolutely essential our staff are well versed to help each guest select a drink: the success of every menu depends on the staff. Always be sure to have a small insert in each menu for anyone who wants to order quickly. Another challenge, from a bartender’s perspective, is that it’s very difficult to remember all the drinks. But we’ve tried to overcome that: recently, we installed iPads with all our recipes at each bar station. Our approach to creating new menus is democratic. We have a bartender unit that comes from very different backgrounds. Every bartender has their own style of creating drinks and that’s what I love. The menu should reflect different approaches, unique strains and each bartender’s personality.”

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Work out how best to describe each cocktail

The way in which cocktails are articulated by your staff will determine what sells and what doesn’t.

Again, this can be covered in training to ensure they know how to describe each drink’s flavor profile, texture, base spirit or modifiers. The wording on the menu is also key: some bars, such as The Aviary in Chicago, go for the minimalist approach, only using a few words for each drink (which means the floor staff need to be even more versed in how to describe each one). At the now shuttered Bayswater Brasserie in Sydney, we went for a much more poetic approach, where a drink such as a classic Bramble might be romanticized as such: “A hefty pour of Beefeater gin, poured over lashings of crushed ice with freshly pressed lemon and a whisper of sugar, crowned with wild blackberry liqueur and finished with finely grated nutmeg”.

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“No menu succeeds without the staff believing in its vision”

Jas Scott, Bramble bar, Edinburgh: “We change our menu quarterly to adjust to the cost of seasonal ingredients and give ourselves the opportunity to list new products as soon as they hit the market. Not every cocktail generates the same revenue.

We aim for 70 per cent GP. Some fall under that, some over, but we never try to push customers towards higher GP cocktails. We make sure they get what they want – simple.”

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“Not every cocktail generates the same revenue”

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“Top class menus should lead, not follow” Zdenek Kastanek, 28 Hong St, Singapore: “The key to a successful menu is truly understanding the identity and goals of your venue and your guests. At its simplest, we have eight basic spirit categories and two fundamental types of drink: pre-dinner and after-dinner. I’m from the old, European school of bartending so whenever I write a menu I always try to cover those two bases. I don’t mean every drink needs to scream ‘Aperitif!’ or ‘Digestif!’ Give it your own style; make it interesting; innovative but transparent, adventurous but humble and clear to the average guest. I’m all about simplicity. Anything over 25 drinks becomes confusing for the guest and you begin to compromise speed and consistency.

Guests always want their favorite drink to taste the same and be with them as fast as possible.

When I was writing the menu at Black Angels in Prague with Pavel Šima we had 24 drinks on the menu. People thought we were crazy. At the time, other bars in city had 100-plus drinks. But that was our idea and we stuck with it. Now go and look at bars in Prague today. I’ve always been a fan of David A. Embury’s idea of six basic cocktails. Six drinks probably won’t make a world-class menu but, you get the point, simple, well thought-out menus go a long way. Don’t follow trends slavishly. A top-class menu should lead, not follow. With each trend, we examine the practice, evaluate it, and decide if it has a place in our bar. Again, the key is to have a true understanding of your venue’s DNA and the discipline to stick to it. Just because some drink technique is cool, doesn’t mean it’s right for your bar.”

Photograph all your drinks

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Yes, all of them. In this digital age, with magazines such as this one, as well as the increasing number of online blogs and other media outlets, you simply must spend money on a professional photographer if you want to stay ahead of the competition. If you put out world-class drinks across your bar, then there is always someone, somewhere that is going to want to tell other people about it. If you have top quality photos ready at the click of a button, then not only will you look professional, but these publications

will come back to you again as a result.

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13

Don’t underestimate the power of PR

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“Give each drink a point of interest”

Gareth Evans, Blind Pig, London: “A good menu should be short, accessible, easy to understand and fun to look at. We list our drinks with the ingredients and then add a point of interest at the end – something referring to the glass, or serve, something that makes people ask questions. So, for Rye n’ Air, it’s ‘Duty Paid’, for Cuba Pudding Jnr, it’s “Yogurt Powder’.”

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When your menu is finished, use social media to promote it: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Weibo, WeChat – the power of these social media platforms to sell drinks can’t be understated. Try to promote a different drink every day. And, if you’re running any drinks specials, happy hours, promotions or launching a new menu, then these can be very effective tools to drive business to your venue.

Get Inspired for

Cinco de Mayo

Liquor.com’s 10 Essential Cocktails for the occasion Grilled Pineapple Jalapeño Margarita

Blackberry Sage Tequila Smash

This pineapple and jalapeño twist brings a sweet, smoky and spicy element to the classic.

This cocktail takes bold flavors from blackberries and sage for a refreshing sweet and herbal drink that sounds just right for relaxing the day away.

Grapefruit Tequila Slammer

Mexican Mimosa

Palomaesque

Firecracker

This cocktail swaps out grapefruitflavored Squirt for a lemon-lime soda and adds fresh grapefruit juice for a nice sweet and slightly bitter taste.

This drink is a Bay Area cocktail that’s becoming a favorite beyond the West Coast. You’ll want to make this smoky riff on the classic Paloma at least once on the special day.

Celebrate the occasion with a breakfast cocktail. This drink takes tequila, simple, grapefruit juice and sparkling wine for a simple combination that’s perfect with your morning pancakes.

No tequila here—just vodka. This cocktail combines cucumber vodka, simple syrup, lime juices and watermelon for the perfect hot-weather drink.

Mexican Mule

Milk Maid

Sour Green Apple Margarita

Fresh & Spicy Rose Water Margarita

A mix on a Shandy and a Salty Dog, this cocktail brings together beer, grapefruit juice, tequila and citrus for a refreshing drink that you can have all day.

This drink plays with tartness and spice with jalapeño simple syrup and green apple juice. Grand Marnier gives a nice sweetness to balance out other flavors.

Cream of coconut is joined by cucumber, sugar and lime juices, and the result is a cocktail that’s thick, refreshing and gone way too quickly.

Add some rose water! This cocktail takes on the sweet, dainty notes of rose water and adds some (you guessed it) jalapeño into the mix for some extra depth.

For recipes, visit: https://www.liquor.com/slideshows/essential-cinco-de-mayo-cocktails/1/

BEEF CUTS you can marinate

Marinating beef adds delicious flavor while working to tenderize the meat. Marry one of these cuts to the right marinade for a satisfying, delicious and oh-so-succulent beef meal.

Kebabs

This popular grilling cut is extremely versatile and flavorful.

Skewer alongside vegetables for grilling or use in a stew.

21g calories 140

protein

Grill

Flank Steak

Braise/ Pot Roast

Broil

Lean and boneless with lots of intense beef flavor. Best when marinated and grilled or sliced thin and stir-fried.

23 g 160 protein calories

Grill

Stir-Fry

Broil

Skirt Steak

This cut is known for its robust flavor profile. Marinate and grill hot for fajitas or use for stir-fry.

24 g 220 protein calories

Grill

Pan Broil/ Skillet

Stir-Fry

Broil

Sirloin Tip Side Steak

Boneless and lean, this cut is inexpensive and ideal with a tenderizing marinade before grilling.

24 g 140 protein calories

Grill

Bake

Bottom Round Steak

Pan Broil/ Skillet

Braise/ Pot Roast

Broil

A good everyday cut, boneless and lean. Marinate and broil or grill and slice thin.

29 g 180 protein calories

Grill

Eye of Round Steak

Pan Broil/ Skillet

Broil

A tremendous value cut that is lean and boneless. Ideal for marinating then grilling or skillet cooking.

25 g 130 protein calories Top Round Steak

Grill

Pan Broil/ Skillet

Stir-Fry

Broil

Thick and versatile weekday cut. Typically broiled or slow-cooked to bring out its best.

25 g 140 protein calories

Grill

Pan Broil/ Skillet

Stir-Fry

Braise/ Pot Roast

Broil

KEBABS

TIPS FORKiller Kebabs

BY PIET E. JONES

Japan has Yakitori, China has Chuanr, and Preu has Anticuchos. But they are all essentially the same thing – meat on a stick (or as Turkey calls them – kebabs). The concept is simple and whether at a state fair, a food stall, or a restaurant, they can found across the globe.

So Many Possibilities

The nice thing about kebabs is that it opens the possibilities for layering spices, sauces and char to create a unique flavor profile. For a technique that spans Asian, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines, the sky is the limit. However, here are a few unique ideas that are sure to stand out on any menu.

Baharata

Start your lamb or beef off with a dry rub that is a fragrant combination of Middle Eastern spices including paprika, cumin, coriander, cardamom, and cloves.

Bloody Mary Marinade

Continue the brunch theme with a Bloody Mary marinade.

Use chunks of beef marinated in tomato juice, celery seed, Worcestershire sauce, plus a shot or two of vodka - or you could go a little more exotic by replacing the vodka with Danish aquavit to add a hint of anise to the mix.

Don’t Take the Char Too Far

Anticuchos

Served with a piece of crusty bread at the end of the stick to soak up the juices, this centuries-old Peruvian favorite is made with beef hearts (you can sub top sirloin) quickly marinated in mint, olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, oregano, chipotle powder, cumin, cayenne and salt before grilling.

Chuanr

A Chinese street food, lamb skewers are brushed with dry sherry before being coated with a spice blend of cumin seeds, Chinese chili powder, powdered garlic, powdered fennel and salt and then grilled.

Regardless of your method, one key to the perfect the kebab is choosing the right meat and size to guarantee an even cook. With beef and lamb, you want larger chunks so you get that char but can still manage to keep it medium rare and juicy. Want to avoid tough meat? Try adding some fresh ginger to your marinade. The enzymes in the ginger, especially if given 12 hours or more to work their magic, will help break down the tissues in the meat, basically Mother Nature’s tenderizer.

For chicken and pork, high heat might leave the pieces of meat a little too charred. To avoid burnt and dry chicken or pork, keep the pieces smaller, or try Yakitori. Yakitori is typically chicken, but the same techniques can be applied using pork. Thin slices on a skewer, marinated in a beautifully acidic ponzu sauce or in creamy yogurt with savory spices, then grilled over intensely high heat leaves them crispy on the outside yet moist inside. If you really want to commit, consider building a special grill. To achieve that really high, intense heat you’ll want to use binchōtan, a white charcoal from Japan that is virtually smokeless. The beauty of binchōtan is the heat will sear and cook your skewers rapidly. You can even grill things on your skewers that might not quite work otherwise. Think strips of chicken skin, skewered and then quickly crisped before the delicious fat has a chance to render off and drip onto the coals. Skewers, kebabs and yakitori can be prepped ahead of time, saving precious moments during lunch or dinner rush; or they can be made from in-house trim or less expensive cuts.

Presenting...Skewers

When left on the skewer, the opportunity presents itself to ply with height and get more of that WOW-factor. You also can’t leave off some sort of sauce to accompany your meat. BBQ sauce, aioli, tzatziki, and even chimichurris are all simple options that you might be able to re-purpose from your current menu. Also consider the “bed” for your skewers. Sure you could go with cilantro rice, or go a more unique route with slices of bread and even potato chips. When cooked on mini skewers, you also have an instant shareable appetizer. With all these elements and more, you’ve got a highly desirable dish that is good for your customers and your bottom line.

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right on cue

Modern barbecue trends rely on a secret sauce of authenticity and innovation

By Joan Lang: featured in F lavor & The Menu

Barbecue sure ain’t what it used to be. Yes, you can still find humble roadside shacks and celebrated old-line pitmaster joints, but the face of barbecue is changing. Like other cult favorite foods—think pizza, burgers, breakfast sandwiches—barbecue has come in for a whole new look by an emerging generation of young chefs determined to put their stamp on a classic.

“With the advent of tech information, barbecue is no longer a secret science—the kind of thing you must stay up 24 hours with a barbecue master to learn,” says Stephen Gerike, director of foodservice marketing and innovation for the National Pork Board. “There’s still a great tradition of second- and third-generation pitmasters at the top of their craft, but there are also ambitious younger folks who are eager to do barbecue technically right as well as very innovatively.”

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This has created a kind of parallel universe of barbecue between the traditional and the more forward-looking. “Once you’ve mastered the techniques, you can apply almost any flavor set or concept to it,” says Gerike. This includes:

Iconic signifiers like bark and a proper smoke ring are key goals, but the restaurant also sources hand-selected prime beef from regional farms, heritage pork butts, and Berkshire pork chops, according to Rey Villalobos, corporate executive chef for Ideology Entertainment, parent company of Chicago q, as well as Biggs, La Storia, and the Blue • Deconstructed barbecue, where the elements (low-temperature Door group of farm-to-table concepts. The basic idea is keeping it real smoking, balance of sweet/sour/spicy flavors) are taken apart in terms of authenticity and honesty, but doing it better with top-quality and put back together in a creative style proteins, housemade rubs and sauces, and menu additions like Kale & • Global concepts, including Cantonese, Southeast Asian, Quinoa Salad, BBQ Glazed Salmon, and a whole pork shoulder that is Japanese, Caribbean and South American shredded by hand at the table for a party of 10 to 12.

• Applying better culinary techniques (such as resting meat), ingredients (niche proteins) and presentation (attention to side There are also many appetizers and side dishes that extend the dishes) to traditional barbecue barbecue experience and help cross-utilize ingredients, including: q • Experimentation with different regional styles Brisket Meatballs; a “flight” of brisket; pulled pork and pulled chicken; • Using barbecue in less traditional ways, such as salads, bowls, Prime Brisket Burnt Ends; and the restaurant’s signature Pitmaster appetizers and bar bites, as well as more elaborate signature Mac ’n’ Cheese; which can be garnished with burnt ends, bacon, pulled sandwich builds pork or pulled chicken.

But these two chefs can still talk the finer points of ’cue with the best of them on the competition circuit. “Rubs are really important—not just One thing that barbecue invariably invokes is a sense of authenticity— for flavor but also because they help break down and tenderize meat,” this is honest food, cooked in a traditional manner. But that doesn’t says Villalobos, revealing that the beef rub is saltier than the pork one mean it can’t be elevated in ways that turn it into a serious dining for a variety of subtle reasons. “Too much salt would make the ribs too bacony, changing the texture as it pulls the moisture in and then experience. pushes it out. This is often overlooked.”

Elevating Authenticity

At Chicago q, a seven-year-old Gold Coast bastion that is “not your ordinary barbecue joint,” the inspiration is competition barbecue served with such high-end trappings as a genteel Savannah-style dining room, a serious wine list and a selection of rare and exclusive bourbons touted to be the best in town.

“Our mission is ‘keep the flavor, elevate the experience,’” says Ian Thompson, chef de cuisine, who creates specialties influenced by the iconic barbecue styles of the Carolinas, Texas, Missouri and Tennessee.

Offerings include two kinds of ribs (baby backs and St. Louis), brisket, pulled pork, both smoked and pulled chicken, and an unusual pulled beef that appears in a sandwich.

Keep the

flavor,

Elevate the

experience

}

If barbecue is only salt, meat and heat, it’s still a science that needs to be developed by trial and error and then managed every day to account for variables in thickness, temperature, smoke and more.

“We’re constantly checking, rotating, feeling, to make sure we always get it right,” says Thompson. Though they try to get briskets of consistent size and marbling, a few pounds’ difference can affect the final product. So can the type of wood available at any given time, as well as the resulting heat. “If there’s not enough wood and you don’t get enough smoke you don’t get the pellicle [smoke ring]. If there’s too much smoke the meat gets overcooked.” In addition, applying certain culinary techniques, like resting meat after it comes out of the smoker, affects the finished quality.

17

Regional Style

their brisket lean, so Wood Ranch uses the fattier point section in sandwiches. Pulled pork, chicken and tri-tip show up in sandwiches, Another big trend in barbecue is regionality. Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill is salads and appetizers like the BBQ Chicken Potato Skins, and the not a barbecue specialist per se, but it is an American restaurant that concept recently added smoked pulled turkey breast to its barbecue features regional barbecue items with a serious commitment to quality. program.

Alejandro Benes, culinary director and partner of the 16-location, California-based chain Wood Ranch, first started playing with barbecue fire in 2009, moving quickly beyond “can’t-lose tri-tip,” (a local specialty that’s also known as Santa Maria-style barbecue) and baby backs to answering customer demand for pulled pork. “That was an instant hit, and gave us the confidence to introduce more smoked meats,” says Benes, who grew up in North Carolina. “If you have the right equipment and the knowledge, smoking meat is really not that difficult— if you’re just one location,” adds Benes. “But for a chain, the challenge is multiplied by the number of units and the number of hands.”

Today the Signature BBQ section of the menu—which generates as much as 50 percent of sales—includes seven different styles of barbecue, including chicken, brisket, the more unusual beef back ribs, plus a BBQ Combo option. Wood Ranch also offers as a special its Giant Short Ribs—a real Texas thing, says Benes, dry-rubbed and smoked over pecan wood for hours as they render fat to blend with the meat and create a satisfying and deep, beefy flavor. While a traditional Texas rib is smoked until fairly dry, Benes aims for a more classic braised, shredding consistency and a sauce treatment that appeals to his customers, in which the ribs are sauced and finished over mesquite for a nice caramelization. “They can choose to have them without sauce, but that’s a small minority. Wood Ranch guests don’t dig dry barbecue—they like it saucy,” he says, highlighting a regional preference in barbecue style.

Noting that traditional barbecue started as a technique for making lower-quality meats and non-premium cuts not only edible but also delicious, Benes says that Wood Ranch is competing with many of today’s boutique barbecue purveyors by sourcing better meats, including Certified Angus Beef. It’s also taking the more labor-intensive route of trimming its own briskets—by far the most difficult cut to work with, according to the chef—from the packer’s cut, which contains both the flat and the point.

“We have to communicate our passion and commitment to quality to our staff. We do get it right most of the time, but it takes a lot of training and experience to produce good barbecue. You have to have people who are willing to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it,” he says.

“If the brisket came out hard, do you lower the temperature? Do you wrap it? Those are the kinds of issues you encounter.”

Now Wood Ranch is taking an even more deliberate move into barbecue innovation with the introduction of The Ultimate, a towering sandwich built of pulled pork, Carolina slaw, brisket, Swiss cheese, spicy grilled kielbasa, charred jalapeño and the concept’s Famous Shredded Onions on a toasted brioche bun. “It really appealed to the extremeeating, Instagramming, hipster-crowd at the Burbank unit where we tested it, but now we’ve got it on every menu.”

Global Influences Taken generically, barbecue exists all over the planet, from Latin America to Southeast Asia—in fact, it could be argued that barbecue is one of the world’s most indigenous foods. Not surprisingly, the barbecue that’s being translated here—with great success— follows the culinary traditions of what second-generation chefs and exploration-minded entrepreneurs are interested in, such as those traditions from Korea and the South American Pampas.

It was the grilling traditions of Argentina that Greg and Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton turned to in 2012 when they opened Ox, their asado-style steakhouse in Portland, Ore. Gabby Denton had spent summers in Quito growing up, and ate a lot of South American barbecue with friends in her hometown of Los Angeles. And both had fallen in love with the flavors and techniques of the wood-burning grill.

Central to their concept, in both the menu and the exhibition kitchen, is the enormous parrilla—a two-sided grill that raises and lowers by means of a hand-cranked system of wheels and pulleys—that is used to produce everything from traditional steaks to veg-centric specialties like grilled cauliflower with tahini-feta purée, fried lemon, arugula and pickled peppers. Their top-selling dish is the Asado Argentina, a combo plate for two that features a hit parade of grilled short rib, housemade chorizo and morcilla sausages, skirt steak and sweetbreads, with fried potatoes and a green salad for good measure.

“This is our interpretation of what Argentina does well: meat,” says Greg Denton, who interned in the dining room of the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Va.

But the wood-burning grill is more than just a place to cook ingredients.

One of the signature touches that has made Ox one of the top-rated steakhouses in Portland is what the Dentons call “black gold,” made The company goes to great lengths to maximize utilization of its from the fat that drains off proteins into channels in the side of the barbecue products. Benes says you need a diverse audience to grill. Like an infinity project, this rendered fat is collected in pans filled support varied barbecue offerings—which include the deckle or point with lemon, garlic, herbs and onions, and used to baste or finish any section of the brisket. Benes says 90 percent of Californians prefer number of other menu specialties—“our unique umami bomb,” says

Gabby. The Dentons use the grill, as well as the coals under it, to prep and cook a huge number of items on the menu, taking advantage of the heat that’s already there throughout the day.

This includes bruschetta for appetizers, grilled broccoli and escarole for a white bean gratin, split artichokes, loose vegetables like green beans in a grill basket, even apples for a tres leches cake. Bone-in halibut is cooked directly on the coals in a basket, while the wood-fired trout is cooked under the firebox in a blackiron pan to create a broiling effect. “We could spend the rest of our lives learning new ways to harness the flavor and power of this cooking method,” says Denton.

red currant gastrique and hazelnuts. His approach reflects a growing theme in foodservice today—one centered around modern American cuisines. There is roasted cauliflower with smoked cauliflower cream, braised greens and brown butter-honey vinaigrette, and the smoked duck breast comes with housemade mole negro, corn-benne fritters, pickled summer peppers and Brussels sprouts.

The signature Texas Toast appetizer consists of buttermilk bread grilled with “barbecue butter,” for which Rattray harvests the drippings from his multi-meat smoker, separates out the fat, and then infuses it into butter. First collected on a whim, this smoked meat essence has become a tool for experimentation The Progressive Approach wherever the chef wants to apply smoky The backdrop is San Antonio, the menu includes barbecue flavor into food: added to miso such highfalutin specialties as: smoked octopus for sauce, into brines, as a baste for the with potato, morcilla sausage, chorizo oil and quail or for a hollandaise sauce that’s further pimento; smoked pork shank with barbecued goosed with beer. lentils, fennel and apricot; and Brisket Ramen garnished with smoked shoyu broth, brown ale Rattray runs a low-heat pit (215 to 225 noodles, onsen egg, ’cue shallots and crispy degrees F, versus a more traditional 275 to 325 degrees) that goes 24/7. He also uses an collards. all-purpose rub that puts his own spin on such Welcome to The Granary ’Cue & Brew, a traditional flavorings as chile powder: coffee, dual-concept barbecue spot, where chef-owner cumin, mustard powder and black pepper with Timothy Rattray keeps feathers unruffled with a salt and brown sugar base. All of his meats butcher paper, barbecue plates, and smoked are responsibly sourced, which has led to meats by the pound at lunch, but indulges higher-than-average prices and a bit of sticker his creative side with the likes of grilled quail shock at lunch, but he sees his role, in part, as an educator of his customers. “I’m getting vindaloo and smoked duck breast at dinner. them to realize that there’s no reason we can’t “I’m honoring the tradition of barbecue with do serious barbecue that’s also innovative and Central Texas market-style service at lunch, quality-oriented.” (continued on banner.)

Sides in the Spotlight In the new barbecue game, sides are almost as important as the center-of-plate, says the National Pork Board’s Stephen Gerike. “There’s a realization that with barbecue—just as in everything else— you have to compose a meal that creates the whole experience. You need something fresh and crunchy to counter those rich, fatty, smoked proteins.” Menu examples include: BBQ Fried Rice with BBQ Meats Black-Eyed Peas with Kale Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, multiple locations Fried Brussels Sprouts Jalapeño Cheddar Grits DCity Smokehouse, Washington, D.C. Sweet Potato Tater Tots Fried Pickles with Smoked Aïoli Southpaw BBQ and Southern Cooking, San Francisco, Calif.

Original Peanut Coleslaw Red Quinoa Almond Mix Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill, multiple locations in Southern California Apple Mustard Slaw Sweet Potato Waffle with Walnut, Bourbon and Maple Arrogant Swine, Brooklyn, N.Y.

but looking at the future of barbecue with the rest of the menu,” says Rattray, who grew up with backyard-smoked barbecue but trained at serious restaurants like San Antonio’s upscale Le Reve, Le Bernardin in New York and Schwa in Chicago, before returning home to San Antonio to go into business with his brewmaster brother, Alex.

At The Granary, the chef is all about fusing the techniques of traditional barbecue with the flavors and ingredients of a more innovative approach, pairing crispy, smoked pork ribs with tatsoi and a Thai dipping sauce, and grilled suckling pig with maple spoonbread,

19

Create Custom Condiments

By Piet Jones

Y

ou’ve spent months experimenting with different cuts of beef to get just the right amount of fat content for your grind. Hours with different seasoning combinations. Visits to every artisan bakery within driving distance for just the right bun. Finally, all the components of your signature house burger are ready and you’re going to top it with a dollop of… Heinz ketchup?

No, probably not. Like many other chefs and restaurateurs, you’re going to make your own condiments from scratch. That is what your house burger and specialty sandwiches are crying out for. The nice part, you’re only limited by your imagination as to what you can do.

Traditionally, a condiment is a pickled or preserved food that is used to enhance and complement the flavors of a dish. In America, we’ve narrowed that down to a few. For burgers and sandwiches it’s ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard. Add relishes for hot dogs and then cocktail and tartar sauces for seafood. But there’s a certain sameness to all those and, in the competitive world of dining, you need to stand out.

Fortunately, there’s a way to make condiments that will help you separate from your competition.

Get Started on Yours

texture. Perfect for spring dishes that can use a little color and spark.

Ketchups

Mignonette

Tomato, spices, and vinegar. Not overly complex but you can easily mix it up. A little cayenne can add a spark. Curry ketchups are popular in Northern Europe, especially for fries.

Add a little sweet chili sauce for a Thai inspired ketchup or even a little hoisin, soy sauce, Chinese five spice, and a touch of honey for an Asian flair.

Mayos/Aïolis First, the difference. Mayonnaise is typically an emulsion of egg and canola oil. Aïoli uses olive oil and is typically begun by crushing garlic into a paste with a mortar and pestle. Either one is immensely customizable. Garlic, of course, is popular but so is tarragon - perfectly suited for a smoked chicken sandwich. Yes, you can use Sriracha to spice things up but that is close to being an overdone trend. Instead, try roasted hot red peppers blended to a paste to get the right heat and color you desire.

If you serve raw seafood, you need this condiment. Simply vinegar, fine chopped shallots and fresh cracked pepper, it’ll bring a sharp brightness to clams and oysters that a cocktail sauce simply can’t match. Try a sherry vinegar for just that right amount of sweetness.

Fish Sauce To those not in the know, fish sauce doesn’t always sound appetizing but the flavor it imparts is sublime. Fermenting fish can be a tricky and lengthy process but the end result isn’t fishy and can be something delicate or akin to a Worcestershire sauce. More simple, but equally tasty, is an XO sauce - made with dried shrimp and scallops, ham, garlic, and chilies. Spoon it out on wok-fried fish or noodles for an explosion of flavor.

This is just the beginning. There are tons of other condiments to help enhance the flavors of Remoulade your food, from Basque chimichurris to Bulgarian Similar to mayos and aïolis but often with a little pindjurs. All easily modifiable to match your added relish. Squeeze out the excess liquid from cuisine. the relish or else it could become too runny. Add in Old Bay seasoning for a Cajun flair or mustard That’s not to say there isn’t a time and place powder and turmeric with a touch of sugar for an for commercially prepared condiments. Take Chef incredible dipping sauce for French fries.

Jason Alley, owner of Comfort in Richmond, Virginia. Summer, a slow time for the restaurant, was approaching and a major city project was Mustards The hardest part about making your own disrupting parking and access. To simplify service mustards is finding the right seeds. White, and appeal to diners on the go, Alley switched yellow, and black mustard seeds have their own from his normal lunch time sit-down service, characteristics and can be manipulated with featuring Southern comfort food, to a pop-up toasting and by changing the texture of the dishing up Philadelphia-style sandwiches. grind. Once ground, you mix the seeds with water and vinegar and refine the flavors and heat with To achieve the signature taste of the Philly neutral or more complex vinegars. Initial results sandwiches, Alley eschewed his normal can be a bit harsh but will mellow if allowed to made-in-house ethos and opted for traditional “cheez whiz” and jarred peppers because, as he rest for a few weeks. puts it, “it just tastes right.” Something his diners agree with as his summertime lunch pop-up is Relishes/Chutneys now entering its sixth month of operation.

Relishes are typically minced pickled cucumber(s) and can range from sweet to spicy. Chutneys can Condiments can help you finish a dish, to bring be a little more expansive, including fruits like it to life and complete your culinary vision. Much mango and fresh herbs or ginger. The result is like getting the right tool for the job, here you just often a little brighter flavor and usually a crisper need the right ingredient for the dish.

Get Inspired

featured recipes from Donald Link’s Down South Cookbook:

White Remoulade Sauce Yields 1 cup • • • • •

1/4 cup Minced Yellow Onion 1/4 cup Thin Sliced Scallions 1/2 Lemon Juice and Zest 1/4 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce 1 cup Mayonnaise

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and chill for at least 8 hours to allow the flavors to develop before serving.

Hot Mustard Sauce Yields 3/4 cup This sauce keeps well for weeks, drastically improving lunch hour.

• • • • •

1/2 cup Dry Mustard 1/2 cup Cider Vinegar 1/2 cup Sugar 1 Large Egg, Beaten Well 1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt

1. Combine the mustard and vinegar in a stainless steel bowl. Cover and macerate overnight.

2. Put the mustard mixture in the top of a double boiler over gently simmering water.

3. Add the sugar, egg, and the salt and whisk constantly until the mixture thickens, about three minutes.

4. Remove from the heat. The mixture will be like a thick soup, but it will thicken considerably when refrigerated. Let cool and then refrigerate.

21

feat

ure

recip Seeking unique applications to an ingredient or wanting a menu refresh? We’ve conceptualized featured ingredients in a cool twist!

d

es

Looking for live product demonstrations? Ask your sales representative about HAT Tours today!

Get Inspired

with Chef Richard C

d...

Camerota

23

- PREMIUM VEAL -

Piancone® Epicureo is Performance Foodservice’s exclusive chef-centric epicurean brand of carefully selected products measured to the highest gastronomic standards. Piancone® Epicureo Premium Veal epitomizes the brand essence of more than six decades of the Piancone® namesake heritage of Italian cuisine excellence.

Piancone® Epicureo Premium Veal is all-natural USDA Choice milk-fed, farm-raised in North America and produced under our trademarked PathProven® supply chain management process. This process is unique in the industry and yields the highest quality veal in the marketplace with unparalleled taste, performance and consistency—truly a delicious farm-to-fork dining experience.

Because Performance Foodservice utilizes PathProven® in bringing to market Piancone® Epicureo Premium Veal, every step is carefully monitored and audited from feed ingredients to the highest levels of humane animal welfare treatment in modern group-raised farming facilities to Level 3 SQF-certified production facilities. The result is every cut of Piancone® Epicureo Premium Veal delivers a dining experience that sets new culinary standards no matter how it’s prepared and plated.

A Farm-to-Fork Eating Experience Like No Other. AllNatural USDA Choice Milk-Fed Veal Sets New Culinary Standards.

ALL NATURAL USDA CHOICE

Veal Short Ribs - PREMIUM VEAL -

Barbecued Veal Short Ribs Servings: 10 Prep Time: 30 mins.

Cook Time: 4 hrs.

Ingredients • 10 pounds veal short ribs • Salt and pepper • 1 diced sweet yellow onion (Peak® #857201) • 2 tablespoons minced garlic (Peak® #275595) • 3 tablespoons olive oil (Piancone® #233302) • 12 ounces beer • 1/2 cup guava nectar (#255556) • 1/2 tablespoon hickory liquid smoke (West Creek® #234882) • 1/4 cup crushed tomatoes (Piancone® #362259) • 1 whole canned chipotle peppers, with 1 tablespoon adobo sauce from can (Contigo® # 522520) • 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar (West Creek® #273746) • 1 tablespoon ground cumin (Roma® #264680) • 1/4 cup molasses • 1/3 cup guava jelly, or 1/4 cup guava paste • Additional guava nectar, as necessary

Photo & Recipe: Catelli Cucina

Preparation 1. Preheat oven to 300°F. 2. Generously salt and pepper ribs. Lay ribs in a single layer, in roasting pan. Cook for 3 hours, turning once midway through cooking time. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Pour off any fat from bottom of pan. When meat is cool enough to handle, cut into individual ribs.

3. While ribs are cooking, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil in large stockpot, until soft. Add remaining ingredients, except molasses and guava paste/jelly and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, reducing liquid by half, approximately 1 hour. Sauce should be thick, but still loose enough to pour.

4. Add molasses and guava paste/jelly to sauce and continue reducing for 10 to 15 minutes until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If sauce becomes too thick, thin with extra guava nectar and/or beer. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Coat ribs generously with sauce. Continue cooking ribs for 1 hour more, or until rib meat is tender and easily pulled from bone. Sauce will thicken and darken on ribs, so turn darker ribs over. Before serving, brush ribs with additional sauce. Serve extra sauce on the side.

Item No.

Product Description

Pack

Size

549588 558562

Veal Short Ribs Veal Short Ribs Frozen

2 2

5 pcs.

5 pcs.

Case Weight 10 lb. avg.

10 lb. avg.

For more information, contact your Sales Representative or call Customer Service at 856-869-9293.

1004

ALL NATURAL USDA CHOICE

Veal Hind Shank Veal Osso Buco

- PREMIUM VEAL -

Servings: 4 Prep Time: 15 mins.

Cook Time: 3 hrs.

Ingredients • 4 to 6 milk-fed veal shanks

• 1/4 cup flour (Roma® #81991)

• 2 teaspoons olive oil (Piancone® #233302)

• 1 onion, cut into 1/4” cubes (Peak® #907426) • 1 garlic clove, minced (Peak® #275595)

• 1 medium carrot, grated (Peak® #867176)

• 1 celery stalk, cut into 1/4” cubes (Peak® #907442) • 3/4 cup veal stock

• 3/4 cup demi-glace sauce (#909125) • 1/4 cup lively, fruit-flavored white wine

• 1/8 cup tomato paste (Roma® #231869) • Salt and pepper to taste

Photo & Recipe: MilkFedVeal.com and Alain Fortier, chef and consultant, Quebec Milk-fed Veal

• Zest from 1/2 lemon (Peak® #259163)

Preparation 1. Preheat the oven to 200°F. 2. Gently pat veal shanks dry with a paper towel. Dredge shanks in flour and shake off any excess flour.

3. In a large saucepan, heat oil over high heat. Brown milk-fed veal shanks for 5 minutes or until golden on all sides. Add onion, garlic, carrot, and celery. Stir while cooking for 2 minutes.

4. Add veal stock, demi-glace sauce, white wine, and tomato paste. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.

5. Bring to a boil, cover and cook in the oven at 200°F for about 3 hours or until internal temperature reaches 160°F to 165°F depending on the thickness of the shanks.

6. Garnish with the lemon zest.

Item No.

Product Description

Pack

Size

Case Weight

544733

Veal Hind Shank Osso Buco 2” Center Cut

5

2 pcs.

10 lb. avg.

544734

Veal Hind Shank Osso Buco 2.5” Center Cut

2

5 pcs.

10 lb. avg.

For more information, contact your Sales Representative or call Customer Service at 856-869-9293.

1001

TASTE - Always Amazing -

QUALITY - A Cut Above -

From the mouthwatering avor of a medium-rare steak to the chargrilled, meaty taste of a perfectly seared burger, whichever Braveheart Beef cut you choose, the avor is unparalleled. This is the result of our careful sourcing and processing.

Careful sourcing, feeding practices and processing practices all go into producing the best tender, avorful beef. From start to nish, we stop at nothing to produce the best quality beef in a humane and responsible manner.

TRIM

CONSISTENCY - Delicious Every Time -

- The Perfect Cut -

Our beef is processed in state-of-the-art facilities by skilled craftsmen who focus on precision. There are no extra tolerances, so you get the true yield you are looking for and the premium quality you require.

Through our pioneering PathProven program, we enforce exacting specifcations to ensure Braveheart Beef demonstrates dependable, premium quality that will keep your customers coming back for their favorite steaks and burgers.

TACO REVOLUTION Next-level tacos know no bounds, capturing the best of modern American cuisine

featured in F lavor & The Menu

A

merican consumers have exalted tacos for decades, happily celebrating this Latin import as part of their food life. Innovation within the taco universe exploded with the advent of food-truck culture almost a decade ago, when Roy Choi demonstrated so masterfully how tacos can offer effective platforms for global mash-ups underpinned by seriously craveable flavor play. Back then, the idea of a Korean taco was cutting edge. Revolutionary. Ingenious. That was then and this is now. Korean tacos are still ingenious, but have been absorbed into taco culture. As a menu category, tacos have continued to stay relevant, creative and popular.

We’re seeing a strong crossover and mash-up of global flavors. For instance, Ima, a noodle bar in Detriot, uses a jicama shell with a mix of traditional and nontraditional ingredients. What are these mash-ups telling us? The rules have changed for the humble taco, and there really is no wrong way to build a taco today. -Erich Chieca Today, something new is afoot. Next-level tacos take inspiration from all cuisines — Latin, Southeast Asian, Indian, Mediterranean.

They are a perfect expression of modern American cuisine, where the global mash-up has morphed into New American.

With that foundation of bankability, chefs are turning up their taco creativity, responding to a marketplace that values shareability, fun, variety and just the right frisson of adventure.

“Tacos check off nearly all of the trend boxes today: small portions, variable portion sizes, This new wave of innovation leans against variety on one plate, plant-forward, global a solid backdrop that makes tacos a cuisine, authentic, fusion, handheld, engagsuccessful platform: they’re the ideal bar bite ing and interactive,” says Maeve Webster, for younger consumers, they boast an ease of president of Menu Matters consultancy. global mash-up adaptation, and they carry a casual, social vibe that fits into today’s more “That’s one of the key reasons tacos progressive menus. continue to be popular with both patrons and operators, and why operators and customers never tire of innovation On The Menu with this format. Every aspect of the Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q, a Southern restaurant in format—carriers, fillings, cheeses, sauces, Atlanta, serves Smoked Pastrami Tacos, with other toppings and finishes—can be smoked Russian dressing and Cheerwine- customized to fit an operator’s focus. They can work as well for an Irish gastropub as pickled mustard seeds on a flour tortilla. for a Korean food truck.”

At TLT Food, a New American restaurant with two locations in California, diners can order The “Taco Tavern” the Mr. Potato Taco, with crispy pee wee Of course, tacos have always carried a casual potatoes, pico de gallo and chimichurri. vibe. They even boast a bit of swagger, thanks Velvet Taco, Front Burner Restaurants’ to their street-food credibility and general globally inspired fast casual, menus a Fish awesomeness. Tacos are cool—always have n’ Chips Taco, starring beer-battered cod, been, always will be. curry mayo, malted French fries, lettuce and pea But a new “taco tavern” sensibility is marking tendrils, all tucked into a flour tortilla. the opportunity here. It’s taking the idea of Turn Up Your Taco Creativity shareability and coupling it with a significant value of modern diners, particularly younger It’s worth noting that none of these concepts ones—clever, confident builds almost thumb claim authenticity in the Latin American taco. their noses at boundaries. It’s the spirit that They don’t need to—the modern opportu- brought us the mash-up in the first place, nity is built around the notion that tacos are and now resides successfully in New American proven carriers. Diners understand them, love cuisine. them and seek them out.

AMERICAN TACO

By Chris Koetke I think that this is indeed the result of regional Mexican fare, where authenticity was supreme. The Korean taco was born, and the net result was the start of the Americanization of the taco. It is what we do so well in the United States: We take a great ethnic idea and then break all the traditions surrounding it. In the process, we create something new-which then gives Americans more dining options: the traditional and the very nontraditional.

This further demonstrates how Mexican food is a part of our food culture in the United States. The future taco could well become yesterday’s grilled cheese: iconic American comfort food.

29

The advent of the taco tavern is an interesting phenomenon that is both driving innovation and setting consumer expectation. These modern versions of pub hangouts for younger consumers are one reason tacos are making such big moves.

At Bartaco, a “beach-culture inspired” restaurant brand based in Norwalk, Conn., with 15 locations mostly on the East Coast, guests can order trays of tacos to share, from a Yucatan Redfish Taco to a Falafel Taco.

Just as Japanese pubs, or izakayas, moved craveable, bar-friendly food Taco taverns like these are capturing the huge opportunity that like tonkatsu and tsukune into American adaptation, taco taverns are modern tacos offer, and are making it their brand signature. Guests showcasing how tacos are now part of New American cuisine. are responding voraciously, seeking out next-level tacos on bar-bite menus, shareable menus, lunch menus and more.

In this exciting new world, global mash-ups are welcome. Riffs on flavor systems, like Buffalo chicken or banh mi, are encouraged. And “The tortilla is our flavor delivery system,” says Jonathan Rohland, veg-centricity has found yet another happy place to play. culinary director for Bartaco. “It’s all about the experience—you come in, you order a bunch of tacos for the table. And one taco tray can have Velvet Taco touts itself as a place that serves “tacos without borders.” six to eight distinct flavor profiles. You can go from the Latin vibe of our The vibe is casual and fun, inviting experimentation through familiar pastor or lamb barbacoa to the bright, vibrant flavors of Thailand with flavor profiles. our shrimp banh mi taco.”

30

That variety, along with thoughtful execution, helps make Bartaco’s menu a standout. And it’s the inherent nature of a tacocentric menu like theirs that makes a concept a destination—its vibe is thoroughly modern with a casual, convivial atmosphere. Mindful builds with craveable layers of both flavor and texture are key, of course, and are seen throughout the menu.

menu strategy, maximizing the inherent craveability of a proven build by delivering it in Authenticity of experience is still import- unexpected places. Nowhere is this an easier ant — even in this crazy mash-up world. fit than in the modern taco.

“Because the elements come together in their purest form, in that they don’t need “The taco format encourages flavor play,” to be blended to the point of being says Louis Maskin, senior strategist at The unrecognizable, each element maintains Culinary Edge. “Brands can adapt tacos to its individual authenticity despite how the their identity and then explore countless overall item is pulled together,” says Menu flavor systems around that, like butter chicken or Korean barbecue.”

Matter’s Webster.

Authenticity of experience

That mindfulness is front and center at Velvet Taco, too — as is an unabashed celebration of inauthentic taco builds.

Although elements need to be true to form, riffs and spin-offs are encouraged. Tacos have “I look at tacos as a holder of anything we indeed reached a status in food culture that want to feature,” says John Franke, corporate allows them to be proudly inauthentic. chef with Front Burner Restaurants, based in Dallas. “We want to keep it in the $5 range, “Korean kimchi paired with a blackened several bites that are memorable and full of shrimp is as recognizable as if it were flavor. We don’t restrict ourselves to Latin. offered in an authentic Korean dish. But by We want to serve up global flavors, familiar combining these authentic elements in unique flavors—all in the much-loved taco format.” ways, an operator can create a completely unique experience,” she adds.

The key, he says, is paying a lot of attention to each and every component. “We want This point can’t be overstated — it’s perfectly our guests to be able to recognize each acceptable and encouraged, even, to serve layer—the main part, the garnish, the up a tikka masala taco. But the tikka masala crema, the slaw,” he says. “If you don’t spend on the taco needs to carry the torch well for time making those really flavorful and that distinct flavor profile. intentional, then you’ll get a jumbled, ‘muddy’ taco experience.”

Flavor Systems at Play The evidence — and the opportunity — Innovation within flavor systems is a smart stretches across foodservice. At Takito Kitchen, a modern cantina in Chicago, the Pork Belly Taco combines a sesame tortilla with crispy potato, house ricotta cheese, slaw and tomatillo-pineapple salsa.

Scott’s Kitchen serves its authentic Kansas City barbecue in taco form for easy eating: a pulled pork with red chile salsa, jalapeñoapple slaw and ghost pepper Jack cheese is just one of its offerings.

Torchy’s Tacos, a street-taco concept based in Austin, Texas, recently served a limited-time offering of the Turkey Mole Taco: fried turkey breast with Oaxacan mole sauce, avocado, Cotija and cilantro on a flour tortilla.

At Cast Iron in Atlanta, Buffalo chicken is reimagined as Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos, with Buffalo verde, buttermilk dressing and street corn.

Digging into flavor systems and wrapping them up into a signature taco experience is a theme at Velvet Taco, with offerings like the Nashville Hot Tofu Taco (crispy tofu, lettuce, buttermilk ranch crema, house-brined pickle) and the Spicy Tikka Chicken (crisp tenders, spicy pepper sauce, buttered cilantro basmati rice, raita crema, Thai basil).

“Our goal is that profiles like these take our guests back to an experience they had,” says Front Burner’s Franke. Certainly, leveraging familiar flavor systems buys recognition and possibly nostalgia—big keys to craveability when executed well. (cont.)

Tacos provide food service operators with the opportunity to push the flavor mash-ups through flavorful and playful creations like: Thai sausage taco with red curry mayo and a carrot-radish slaw; or kimchi and short rib with gochujang; or friend chicken with slaw and Creole mayo.

- RON DESANTIS

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MOSAIC OF HERITAGE

By T.J. Delle Donne

The United States can no longer be looked at as the melting pot; it suggests that everything is cooked down into something that isn’t quite recognizable. That certainly is not the case. The United States is a cultural mosaic: One piece of artwork comprised of millions of tiny pieces of glass and mirror that represent the cultures that exist in this fine country.

Neighbors of cultures living adjacent to one another gave rise to the Korean street taco, but the authenticity we are seeing in the street foods that have since permeated mainstream restaurants is there because of the pride we take in where our heritage comes from.

There isn’t one thing that makes food better than those cooking it feeling proud. Authentic flavor from the heart is some powerful stuff. Foodservice operators can capitalize here by paying attention to what’s bubbling up from the street corners and unassuming shops around the country.

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The goal of the Picnic Chicken Taco, he says, is to transport guests back to family picnics—bringing those happy food memories to life. That build includes fried chicken, warm honey-Dijon potato salad, avocado crema and crispy chicken skin—tapping into the flavor system while making it uniquely Velvet Taco’s.

Veg-centric Tacos It’s no surprise, really, to see veg-centric making moves into modern taco builds. This long-lasting trend, which sees chefs paying loving attention to the cooking and flavoring of produce, is really finding its way across menus. Tacos offer a snug carrier for delicious, flavor-forward builds.

Vicia Restaurant in St. Louis, known for its vegetable cookery, serves a seasonal vegetable taco. A recent offering combined purple-top turnips, shiitake, charred vegetable mole, tomato hot sauce, black beans, pickled onion and fajita peppers.

traditions of our neighbor to the south.

Puesto celebrates Mexico City’s urban, authentic take on tacos, with offerings like Zucchini & Cactus Taco and Lamb Barbacoa.

With that celebration of authenticity comes a discovery of flavor and texture, combinations that are unfamiliar and exciting to American diners. Katy Smith, Puesto’s executive creative chef, features an authentic technique that brings insane craveability to the taco: She puts queso Oaxaca on a plancha, cooking it until thin and crisp, adds the taco toppings to that cheese round, then lays the crispy cheese with its toppings onto the tortilla. “They do it in Mexico and it’s so delicious, adding savoriness and great texture,” she says.

From deeper exploration of Latin America’s taco traditions to free-thinking flavor combinations, the taco offers grand opportunity for menu innovation. “The taco could really be thought of as the Petty Cash Taqueria in Los Angeles plays most perfect item any operator could with the classic pastor profile in its consider, because they can make that Carrot Pastor—ancho chile-rubbed farmers’ Mexican format entirely their own without doing the format any injustice at all,” says market carrot, pineapple and avocado.

Webster.

Puesto, a Mexico City-style taqueria with three locations in Southern California, serves American consumers have a deep affection a Mushroom Taco: garlic-braised seasonal for tacos. “As taco innovation has blown up, mushrooms wrapped in crispy melted so has the consumer expectation for high cheese, topped with stone fruit-jalapeño quality, high flavor and high creativity,” says Rob Corliss, chef/founder of the consulting salsa, pickled onions and microgreens. firm ATE (All Things Epicurean).

At Espita Mezcaleria in Washington, D.C., Robert Aikens, executive chef, menus a “The consumer’s love for casual food with Roasted Brussels Sprouts Taco with smoked vibrant regional and global nuances remains almond, hazelnut and sesame crema. stronger than ever. Add to this the ability to “Why not put sprouts in a taco? Just make feature seasonal ingredients or capture an them delicious with carefully considered occasion, and tacos deliver a strong menu category. Today’s table stakes for tacos: ingredients,” says Aikens. memorable combinations, multiple flavors and textures, and quality ingredients—where A Word On Mexican Tacos every ingredient contributes heavily to the Although today’s taco opportunity is rooted overall experience.” in a free-spirited exploration of flavors and textures, all tucked into the mighty taco, there is still significant flavor discovery from the rich

DECODING THE LABEL: KNOW YOUR BEEF CHOICES Like the farmers and ranchers who choose how best to raise their cattle for beef, you have choices when it comes to the beef you buy. Cattle are raised responsibly and beef is safe, wholesome and nutritious – but you may see a variety of statements that reflect different production practices on beef packages in your grocery store or on a menu. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approves these labels for beef based on specific criteria.

GRAIN-FINISHED

GRASS-FINISHED OR GRASS-FED

THIS BEEF COMES FROM CATTLE THAT…

THIS BEEF COMES FROM CATTLE THAT…

(most beef is raised this way and likely doesn’t have a specific label claim)

• Spend the majority of their lives eating grass or forage • Spend 4-6 months at a feedyard eating a balanced diet of grains, local feed ingredients, like potato hulls or sugar beets, and hay or forage • May or may not be given U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved antibiotics to treat, prevent or control disease and/or growth-promoting hormones

• Spend their whole lives eating grass or forage • May also eat grass, forage, hay or silage at a feedyard • May or may not be given FDA-approved antibiotics to treat, prevent or control disease and/or growth-promoting hormones

NATURALLY RAISED

CERTIFIED ORGANIC

(may be referred to as “never-ever”)

THIS BEEF COMES FROM CATTLE THAT…

THIS BEEF COMES FROM CATTLE THAT…

• Never receive any antibiotics or growth-promoting hormones

• Never receive any antibiotics or growth-promoting hormones

• May be either grain-or grass-finished, as long as the USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) certifies the feed is 100% organically grown • May spend time at a feedyard

• May be either grain- or grass-finished

DID YOU KNOW?

91% 80%

• May spend time at a feedyard

100%

of U.S. cattle farms and of feedyards are family-owned.

Cattle eat grass for most of their lives.

of beef processed in federally inspected packing plants is overseen and inspected by the USDA.

All cattle are commonly fed vitamin and mineral supplements to balance their diet.

You will likely come across other beef labels. For example, USDA labels like “beef raised without antibiotics” (cattle have never received antibiotics but may receive growth-promoting hormones) and “beef raised without hormones” (cattle have never received growthpromoting hormones but may receive antibiotics). All USDA labels must be approved through a formal submission and evaluation process. You might also see other claims on labels, including references to cattle breed, where cattle were raised and welfare.

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References: U.S. Department of Agriculture ‘Choices of Beef Definitions,’ October, 2016 and USDA 2012 Ag Census Cattle Industry Highlights, February, 2015

PROUDLY HONORING

WISCONSIN CHEESE CHEESEANDBURGER.COM

The Casanova

The Casanova will have your taste buds at “Hello.”

Fully stuffed with more flavor than it knows what to do with, this robust cheeseburger can satisfy the hungriest of bellies and the most discerning of palates. If you’re craving a little burger and cheese romance, it’s time you spent some quality time with The Casanova.

The Toppings & Fixings: Wisconsin Swiss Cheese, Beef Patty, Ham, Sautéed Mushrooms, Dijon Mustard, and Mayonnaise on a Potato Roll.

The Uncle Sam

The Uncle Sam is looking to recruit a few good eaters.

This All-American cheeseburger will have your taste buds singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” after just one bite.

Yes, it’s finally time for hot dogs and apple pie to quietly step aside as America’s signature foods. Because The Uncle Sam is ready to serve this country from sea to shining sea.

The Toppings & Fixings: Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese, 2 Beef Patties, Iceberg Lettuce, Tomatoes, Bacon, Mayonnaise, Ketchup, and Sliced Red Onions on a Burger Bun.

The Miss Daisy Wholesome and well-mannered, The Miss Daisy is a country girl at heart. She was born and bred where the air is fresh and the soil is fertile. Where a birch tree carries on a conversation with a babbling brook. Despite The Miss Daisy’s delicate ways, she’s a cheeseburger that can satisfy the strongest of appetites.

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The Toppings & Fixings: Wisconsin Brie Cheese, Beef Patty, Apple Butter, Dijon Mustard, and Spinach on a Toasted Brioche Loaf.

PROUDLY HONORING

WISCONSIN CHEESE CHEESEANDBURGER.COM

The Firehouse

If you smell smoke when taking a bite of The Firehouse, don’t be alarmed. It’s just your taste buds going up in flames.

This hot and spicy cheeseburger should only be eaten under the immediate supervision of firefighters wearing flameretardant clothing. The Firehouse is not recommended for anyone using a pacemaker.

The Toppings & Fixings: Wisconsin Havarti Cheese, Wisconsin Provolone Cheese, Beef Patty, Capicola or Spicy Ham, Pickled Jalapeños, Pepperoncini, Ketchup, Mayonnaise and Fresh Dill on an Italian Roll.

The Highwayman

He’s a drifter. A nomad with ties to nobody except the road on which he travels. Chances are, you’ve encountered The Highwayman at a roadside diner, a truck stop café, or some burger joint off the beaten path. He’s not one for words, but what he lacks in conversational skills, he makes up for in other ways.

The Toppings & Fixings: Wisconsin Brick Cheese, Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese, Beef Patty, Ham, Fried Egg, Onion Rings, and BBQ Sauce on a Toasted Knot Bun.

The Honky Tonk A smoky bar and an ice cold beer. Some live music and a mechanical bull to boot. If this is your idea of a night on the town, then The Honky Tonk is the cheeseburger for you. This good old boy is loaded with the stuff that can turn a boy into a man and a man into a living legend that songs are written about.

The Toppings & Fixings: Wisconsin Brick Cheese, Beef Patty, BBQ Sauce, Peppered Pork, Onion Rings, Boston Bibb Lettuce, and Mayonnaise on a Toasted Sesame Burger Bun.

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