Historically that has been the case. The costs of people far outweigh costs such as complying with American or European environmental standards, OSHA or the equivalent requirements, etc., but those costs are continuing to escalate and hit some products extremely hard.
Well, to the extent Chem is right about laxer environmental regulation, what does it say about–any–USA company that moves production offshore because the move allows them to more easily pollute?
I remember I was quite interested in the Lodge Color enameled cast iron cookware and even bought two of them. At the time, there were a lot of interests and Lodge rep answered questions about the decision to make them in China. I am going off of my memories as I did not save their answers.
Here are a few posts from older Amazon Q&A and probably will offer the sentiments at that time.
I do remember something about Lodge wants to use a certain enameled coating to give a beautiful color which would either be too expensive (regulation) or not-allowed in USA.
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Correct. i was hoping to find some American made ECI. So, I saw some Lodge stuff I liked and it was all China. Pss on that!
Barley lover here, too. Loved it since I was wee. I like it malted and not. 
Just soaks up meat flavor like no other.
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Thanks to you and Meeka, last night’s dinner included a chicken barley soup that totally hit the spot.
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It always does!!
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When (if) it ever cools down in Austin, I want a leg of lamb for the four meals of great wonder: roast, cold lamb sandwiches with chutney, rice and curry, and Scotch broth with plenty of barley.
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A worthy goal 
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Leg of Lamb!
I didn’t like lamb as a kid - gamy, stinky. Then, I went to college. The Humanities Department arranged an excursion to the Indiana Dunes (we were in Chicago) for prospective majors. (me: dunes?? Indiana??). The wily profs set about roasting legs of lamb on spits over a fire. Yes, just plain spits and campfires. The lamb was sliced and served with some kind of barbecue-ish sauce on big, crusty rolls. Maybe I was just cold and hungry, but OMG it was the best thing I’d ever tasted in my life! Thank you to my teachers and profs, who introduced me to many cuisines all those years ago!
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Can anyone recommend a cookbook that covers braising technique? I’m relatively new to cooking animal protein and avoid bulb allium (green onion, chives and leek are fine). These constraints have yielded some weird results–sometimes I wonder if stew just doesn’t taste good without onion! Wondering if a deep investigation of technique will help.
I thought there was a thread recommending a Paula Wolfort book or All about Braising by Molly Stevens but searching turned up nothing–maybe that was on chowhound.
I have no book to recommend, but my braising rules are (1) a good crust on the meat before it goes in the braising pan, (2) a pan that is not too big, just a little room around the edges and overhead, and (3) a long braise at a low temperature, the oven being more stable. Turn occasionally. Onions are great in braises, but so are leeks and shallots. Don’t think only of hearty red wine braises. Chicken braised with leeks, broth, and white wine is pretty wonderful. Do not be afraid to add anything else you like…parsnips, fennel bulbs, artichoke hearts, poblanos…whatever. Just wait to add vegetables so that they do not turn into mush without character.
All About Braising is a very good book for this subject. There is also Real Stew from Clifford Wright which covers many different (and good) recipes from
around the world with different proteins. A third book would be from ATK How to Braise everything
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Molly Stevens’ “All About Braising” would be my recommendation.
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I make quite a few good stews without onion, when I don’t have any on hand. I often sub leeks, or skip the onion family completely.
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I’d love to hear more about this; I am adding “bunching onions” to this year’s garden.
ETA I am interested in braises for meats that aren’t “fatty”, but still taste good braised. Husband hates the texture of fat and I hate the texture of “dry” meat. Neither of us wants to risk the hated texture!
I’ve tried cheeks in the past, but I don’t recall much about it. I think there was a lot of trimming involved. I have a feeling he won’t appreciate the texture of connective tissue either.
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Cheeks make the best birria tacos!
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I lean heavily on onion and garlic as I enjoy the flavors, so I would miss them.
However there are many ways to enhance flavor with other things like mushrooms (dried especially - porcini, shiitake, etc), tomato paste, cross-cultural additions like miso / doenjang / gochujang / fish sauce, spices, and so on.
This Braised brisket with porcini gravy from the current COTM (Nigel Slater) sounds really good – it has shallots, but you could sub leeks:
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This beef eye of round braise uses a lean cut and relatively little oil (sub vegetable oil for lard) just to brown the roast:
ETA - I like to serve this with farro or similar!
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Cheeks are excellent, not fatty and no connective tissue if you braise them low and slow and long, just unctuous goodness. They are probably the best solution to your Jack Spratt situation.
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