I have heard of those kits. I think they were sold at the Costco’s, BJ’s, and the like. Have not had a membership there or I would have tried them. So I had no choice but to purchase a 5 pound box of the pre-sliced gyro meat online. Expensive but worth it for the taste. They shipped it frozen in an aluminumized bubble wrap with about 6 packs of those frozen cold pack gel bags. It worked, still solid as a rock when it arrived. Had to let it thaw some so I could make 1 pound ziplocs and keep the remaining in the deep freeze.
I ordered one of those blocks several years ago. It arrived completely thawed. I had to throw it out.
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Sorry to hear that. I think they improved the transport these days. I think it was also required 2 day shipping, and could have even been overnight. That is why the shipping almost cost as much as the meat. Will have my last one of the pound tonight for dinner. I got 3 pounds left to go in the deep freeze.
Lobster and oysters were both abundant in the Northeast until the late 19th and early 20th century.
Lobster was so abundant that it was fed to prisoners and servants. Sometime around 1880 it was marketed as “fine dining fare” in Boston, NY, Philly and it took off.
Oysters were once the pizza of NYC–one could get them for a penny a piece (or less) in the late 1800s. Alas, sanitation problems and overfishing put an end to this by 1910 or so. Who knew that you couldn’t eat oysters that grew in raw sewage?
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My southern (Montgomery AL) grandma would fry chicken in lard, but never potatoes. And she used lard in pie crust. You’ve got me thinking here @Phoenikia
I know you are in Canada–are horse fat fries common there? I don’t recall seeing them here in the US, and I’m not sure horse fat is even allowed for cooking here.
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My problem with lard is that I have to seek out a Mexican market or independent butcher (nothing local) to get properly rendered lard. The stuff in the supermarket is hydrogenated, unhealthy, and tasteless.
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Agreed on the properly rendered lard. As a girl she lived on a farm where they raised pigs and chickens, so that was no problem. And when she moved to NYC in the 1940s, she made sure her local butcher could get her fat that she could render herself.
I’m fortunate to have proper Latin markets here, and a close family friend runs two Mexican restaurants so getting the good lard isn’t difficult. But yes, that block of hydrogenated fat in the supermarket is not worth it.
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Correct ! Armour lard in the stupidmarkets is hydrogenated and you need to avoid that. Buy it online from a supplier that renders it traditionally. I will next be buying natural beef tallow. Just got a deep fryer recently.
Horse fat fries are very very rare LOL. I have not seen them offered on any menus in Canada.
I had some Chowhound friends who rendered some horse fat, specifically to fry some fries in the horse fat, back 12-15 years ago.
I didn’t try them.
There was a restaurant that offered Quack and Track, but I wasn’t tempted to try it. One sushi restaurant served horse sushi in Toronto.
I won’t eat horsemeat or horse fat. LOL.
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Oh, the thought disturbs me!
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Famous Belgian frites are twice cooked in animal fat, bovine or equine or a mixture.
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You don’t really need to do them in pure tallow or lard. Adding some beef tallow (or even BTB beef base) to the oil can give you that extra flavor.
For the flavor enhancement - yes. But that will not prevent the oil absorption into the food like all tallow or all lard will achieve. Ever notice how greasy the fries are from five guys? They use peanut oil. Not really a bad oil but still soaks into foods. I might as well go all out and not halfway if I am going to fry my own chicken, fries, and the like.
Yes, I’ve had Belgian frites, as well as British and Irish thrice-fried chips.
It is possible to get twice-fried frites at some bistros in Canada, and the type of fat depends on the kitchen. All our Belgian restaurants in Toronto have gone out of business, as far as I am aware. I celebrated my 26th birthday at a Belgian restaurant in Toronto many decades ago. I spent a couple nights in Belgium around 15 years ago. So- most of the frites I’ve ordered have not been Belgian!
I haven’t knowingly eaten frites fried in equine fat.
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I think you are among my “most liked” and I appreciate you creating the poll, but I don’t really eat fries (eta unless traveling in France or the Netherlands) so I didn’t vote.
P.S. I am waiting for my fight from Rome. 
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Well I made onion rings, however not fried. Baked them. Had to use up a red onion I did not need. Coated them with olive earl, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, oregano, rosemary, basil, parsley, Italian seasoning, but no salt. I also cooked chicken thighs marinated in NOH powder from Hawaii, and bbq rubs cooked in the Ronco rotisserie.
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not burger king, tastes like they came out of a test tube, back of throat feels like it was sprayed with wd-40. nathans fries are good but oh so greasy in a good-ish way.
. i like five guys fries but completely dependent on who is manning the fryer. i like to watch them make an order or two, see what they look like on tables before ordering. and if they are limp and soggy, i’m not above asking for money back cause i ain’t eating them.
one time i brought them up to the cashier, before i could say anything he apologized and yelled “hey, ralph, make this guy some fries”. they were perfect.
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Count Boules Bites Bar in Amsterdam
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Just thought I’d weigh in on the best fat for frying discussion by sharing my favourite bowl, given to me by a (formerly) local brasserie which had a phase (maybe still does) of giving us our choice of fat for our frites. There was also goose, olive oil (meh), and horse (which I never tried, not for the usual reasons of avoiding horse, but also because my mother couldn’t fathom why you would use the fat of an animal not known for its tasty fat).
If I were to go vegetable fat, probably peanut oil. I think about this as I find it harder and harder to eat animal products. I’d eat it out of this bowl though. Everything tastes better out of this bowl.
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