February Carib Bites

U.S. Meat Export Federation

Liz Wunderlich from the U.S. Meat Export Federation sends out a wonderful trends newsletter for its Caribbean members. Each issue has so much information on market trends. However the following is loaded with great tips. I appreciate that Liz said we are free to use her content.

Chefs share their favorite tips to Bon Appetit magazine:

Bobby Flay, Mesa Grill: Season (salt, pepper, etc) before you dress them for more a much more flavorable salad.
Dan Barber, Blue Hill: Use 10x the amount of vegetables in a braising recipe and thoroughly caramelize them.
Daniel Boulud, Daniel/DBGB: An omelet must have the consistency of, how do you say, baveuse? Or Dog Slobber.
Mario Batali, Babbo: There’s almost nothing I wouldn’t put homemade breadcrumbs on.
Ruth Rogers, The River Café: Big party, small table. Better ten at a table for five than five at a table for ten.
Rick Bayless, Frontera Grill: De-flame your onions for salsa, etc. by placing chopped onions in a sieve and runningboiling water over them, taking the “flame” out of the onions.
Mitchell Davis, James Beard Foundation: Salt it like the road. Always season aggressively.

· Social media campaign brings bacon cheddar potato wedges back to Jack in the Box

The side dish, first introduced in 1995, which consists of potato wedges topped with melted Cheddar cheese sauce, shredded Cheddar and diced bacon, was removed to make room for new dishes, but returned after facebook fans posted hundreds of comments and started an online petition.

· Study: Vegetables complement red meat digestion

Scientists in New Zealand investigated the effects of red meat consumption with and without fermentable carbohydrates (including most fruits and veggies) and found that meat with fruits and veggies have less harmful by-products, can influence the metabolism of microbiota in the gut, and are therefore better for bowel health.

· Consumers want to eat healthier breakfasts
69% of a survey’s respondents consider low cholesterol or heart healthy claims important when selecting breakfast

packaged foods. About the same, 65%, think low-fat and high-fiber are significant health-related attributes.

· Tyson Foods’ Fresh Meats Announces new marinated Pork Shoulder for Carnitas Pre-seasoned pork is packaged in a ready-to-go, cook in bag with instructions for cooking either in a slow cooker or oven.

· More college students spending more dollars at C-stores

Visits to convenience stores by college students have grown across virtually all spending categories and actual spending is up 15% from a year ago. Nearly 32% of the items picked up by college students are impulse buys, significantly higher than the nearly 23% of purchases by other shoppers who visit these stores. For those islands with universities…here is an opportunity! [Note: my son, who is a sophomore in college, buys his breakfast burrito from a gas station C-store en route to classes almost every day.]

· Aporkalypse! Bacon Fanatics running rampant!

With bacon-obsessed eaters, restaurants have upped their bacon intake in recent years. Denny’s and Jack in the Box now offer an order-if-you-dare bacon milk shake. LongHorn Steakhouse wraps its sirloins and potato wedges in bacon upon request. Bacon tops everything from doughnuts to cupcakes to milk shakes to steaks. Go ahead, Google “Peter Luger Bacon.” Seriously…Do it and enjoy the u-tube.

· Researcher develops new method to detect boar taint

Called Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC), the method measures three substances–androstenone, indole and skatole—known to cause boar taint (note that if your pigs are castrated, like in USA, there is no worry about this off flavor in the meat). The researcher at a Belgian univ. developed the new method which is measured in the animal’s fat.

· Ball Park launches two new lean hot dogs
Both the Ball Park Lean Pork Franks and Lean Beef Franks meet USDA Lean requirements and are made with 100%

beef and 100% pork, as well as no artificial colors, flavors, and no by-products; each is 80 calories, 5 gm fat, 6 gm protein.

· USMEF Caribbean Happenings: February and March
· February 23 – March 1: Caribbean Retail team to Annual Meat Conference, Beef & Pork “101” and plant tours.
· March 3 – 4: Bermuda chef team to DeBragga & Spitler New Jersey
· March 5 – 7: Training in Bermuda and attend Viking reception.
· March 18 – 21: Butterfield & Vallis food show in Bermuda.

Elizabeth Wunderlich — U.S. Meat Export Federation — Tel: 830.997.6319 — Text: 830-456-5560—E-mail: wunderlc@hctc.net – Web site: www.usmef.org