Lessons 13 & 14: Veal stock, Pork, Rabbit, and Lamb

So I was a huuge slacker yesterday because I didn't take any pictures and didn't blog after class. What can I say? It was a rainy Monday after a long holiday weekend.  Well, on Monday we were surprised because Chef Allen wasn't there again!  Chef Lorrie took his place for the day and we got to experience yet another different teaching style by a very different chef.  We started out making our veal stock, which took a lot of time because we got a long lecture on stocks and we actually were more hands-on with making the stock.  

We skipped chopping skills and just quartered all of our vegetables for the mirepoix.  We finally started fabricating pork around 3:00.  We cut and trimmed pork chops, which we later grilled.  We also worked with some pork shoulder and separated the muscles and cubed the meat. Chef Lorrie definitely wasn't as concerned with perfection, but she was still very helpful. During her lecture she gave us a lot of information!  We didn't get to fabricating the rabbit until the last 20 minutes of class, which made us feel kind of rushed. Usually the last half hour is reserved for cleaning up and eating whatever we cooked that day. We didn't even have time to eat the pork chops we grilled, but I brought them home for my dad and he loved them!

Today Chef Allen entered the class a little late (leaving us in suspense as we wondered if he was going to be there today).  I must say I was relieved to have him back!  Class went by soo fast today as we had our last meat fabrication lesson on lamb.  First we worked on boning, trimming, and trussing the leg of lamb (picture on the top left).  It was pretty tough but we got through it okay.. I pricked my finger at one point and Chef Allen told me that baby lambs were going to start growing out of my thumb (oh how I missed his sense of humor).  While we were working on the lamb, some of the guys were straining the veal stock we made yesterday (made with browned veal bones, tomato paste, browned mirepoix, and herbs)  Here's a picture of Aaron straining the stock:

Next, we worked on trimming the rack of lamb (picture on the top right).  I never knew how much work went into trimming the bones.  It took a while, but it looked nice and clean when we were all done.  We roasted 4 racks for lunch and also made our usual par boiled, then sauteed potatoes.  The potatoes were extra buttery today (mmm).  

The lamb was delicious and I was even able to snag one to bring home for my dad to try (along with some extra bread!).  He loved it!

Thank goodness meat fabrication is OVER!!!  It was really interesting to learn how to cut different meats, poultry, and fish..... yet it was a messy/not very fun job!  I'm excited to get into sauces and soups!  Before I know it Mod 1 will be over.. only 1 more week!!!