Far too often we throw away things or compost what could easily be turned into deliciousness. It’s actually one of the great disasters of the modern food culture. We are taught how to properly clean a chicken, trim vegetables, and generally speaking find the tastiest bits of whatever we’re cooking and pitch the rest. To my mind this is not good cooking. This is bad cooking, and moreover, in the worst traditions of our culinary heritage.
I will quote Kenneth Keisler regarding making music on the podium: "I don't understand the fear." I think it's a bit ambitious, but the point stands: the worst that will happen is you'll order pizza and probably figure out how you screwed up something that could have worked.
I’m going to cover some simple things that are usually wasted, easily requisitioned for more flavor in cooking, but are too often thrown into the garbage like an appendix after an operation. These are not stupid ideas either—these are tried and true flavors that get the absolute maximum out of what’s available to you.
1. Asparagus stems. One of the most wasted vegetables in the world. Generally speaking, the main line of thought is to take a stalk and bend it gently until it snaps. You then take the bottom stalk and chuck it. Total. Shame.
The asparagus stalk can be used for many things. First off, if you are making a risotto, there is absolutely no reason not to chop them up and put them in the risotto water. Another alternative is to slice them into 2mm circles and just throw them in. Instant tastiness. The best part is that you can get two risottos out of asparagus in this way. The first is the tender part, the second is the stalks. Add tarragon to the stalks and presto, instant deliciousness for two days.
2. Pea pods. This is probably one of the single greatest waste of vegetable offal in the universe. If you have never made pea stock, you have simply never eaten well. After you shell your peas, boil them in a small amount of chicken stock and you’ve got the most wonderful, delicious broth that could easily be eaten as-is. One of my personal favorite recipes is quail or game hen in a pea stock and butter broth with fresh spring vegetables and the peas. Unbelievable.
3. Poultry livers and hearts. When you buy a bird, you may not get a heart, but you always get a liver unless you’ve been completely screwed. The liver can be used for many things. The easiest thing to do is simply shove it into the chicken cavity with everything else. It adds no real liver flavor, just some richness.
If you want more, put it in a pan for 15 second a side so it’s still pink in the middle. Add shallots, tarragon, salt, pepper, and blitz into nothingness. Add cream to make a delicious liver mousse. I usually drop it into a mortar and pestle to eliminate any graininess that might come from either insufficient blending owing to its small size, or over cooking. If it’s not pink, it’s going to be grainy.
The heart is actually very tender. Make sure this is the heart and not something else. Often there are some similar organs, but the heart looks like, well, a heart. You can pan fry it in some butter, slice thinly, put on a cracker or toast with some little dollop of savory cream etc., a few herbs and possibly tender micro-vegetables. Extremely effective little starter from thin air.
4. Mushroom stems. For the love of god don’t throw these away. Clean them thoroughly and boil in water until you have a light mushroom broth. Reduce to improve the flavor, and you can add it to absolutely any dish to make it more savory. The mushroom is pure umami, and even if you don’t directly taste it, trust me—your palate and tongue knows.
5. Chicken or, particularly, duck skin. OK, simple crackling recipe. Remove any extant feather quills. Cut the skin into strips and make sure there’s no meat on it. Add any extra fat from the bird that isn’t being used to make the legs and breast delicious and toss it in. Add a cup of water, and simmer until all that’s left is rendered fat, and you will have to add oil for chicken. Once the water boils off, the fat will crisp them up. Salt, toss, and voila: tasty cracklings. You can crumble them into a bloody mary, crumble over salad instead of something else like bacon, or just eat the living shit out of them.
6. Shrimp and lobster shells. Seriously. Do you really chuck these? You should NEVER, EVER buy pre-shelled shrimp. First off, they are more expensive, and second, you are paying someone to essentially reduce the quality of your food. Shrimp shells boiled in water and reduced simply add flavor. No ifs ands or buts. If you eat enough of them, save your shrimp shells in the freezer until you’ve got enough to make shrimp stock, and then make an absolutely amazing Santa Barbara fish stew or bouillabaisse. Make sure you add a touch of tomato paste to the shrimp stock for hearty French stews.
7. A note on chopping onions—I’m totally sure everyone knows this, but just for the record, for a dice it’s slice off a bit of the top end, cut it in half down the root end so you’ve got something to hold it all together, slice to desired width from top to root end on the onion half, and then turn 90 degrees and slice into squares. Make sure you take off everything down to a tiny nub at the root. Also, if it’s a sizable onion or particularly a shallot, a slice 90% of the way parallel to the cutting board from tip to within an inch of the root is a good thing.
8. Carrot peelings, celery trimmings, parsley stems, and any other vegetable clippings can be used to make either a light, small batch of chicken stock or vegetable stock. Don’t chuck in the compost. Also, parsley stems are a legitimate flavoring additive in any broth, and basically as good as the leaves.
9. Leek tops: Save the biggest ones, wash, and use two of them to form a bouquet garni. Lay them in a cross, fold one over peppercorns, thyme, a bay leaf or whatever else you want, seal off with the second one, and tie off.
10. Chicken carcass: Don’t be an asshole. Pick it clean and make chicken and noodles.
11. Mollusk innards: Don’t be an asshole. Throw these away.
12. Chicken stock vegetables: Save them, chop finely, add chicken if you want, and with a little curry if you desire and stock you’ve got Cornish pasties that are delicious. I use pie crust cut diagonally into two triangles when I’m lazy, sealed with a little egg. Egg wash on top, salt, cook, consume.
13. Egg yolks or whites. The whites freeze brilliantly. The yolks don’t. The best solutions usually involve making a custard or creme brulee with the yolks, merengue or angel food cake with the whites, or Floating Island—the king of custard desserts. Make a creme Anglaise with the yolks, and poach spoonfuls of merengue to add on top. Also, you can use extra egg yolks to add to your pasta, and then use the egg whites for dessert.
This brings up a critical principle of cooking: dinner can inform dessert, or dessert can inform dinner. Particularly when cooking for yourself and you don’t care about continuity, make a dessert or dinner that takes advantage of what the other is going to turn into waste.
14. Poule au Pot: recipe of kings and peasants. This is one of the greatest family-style dishes ever conceived. One French king’s goal for his country was to ensure that every family in France could have this for Sunday dinner. My recipe will follow, and it has a dramatic number of post-meal variations.
15. Bacon fat: Don’t be an asshole. It’s fine and unbelievably delicious. It won’t kill you, and it’s not any more tangibly unhealthy than any other oil if you use a reasonable amount. French cooking 101: cook bacon, fry stuff in the rendered fat. Then enjoy your life that has not been shortened even a single second despite what stupid health freaks who want your money would have you believe.
16. Fennel fronds: Soup. Stock. Garnish. Same for celery leaves. The Egyptians threw the rest of the celery away, and they invented the idea that God lives on earth.
17. Kale, chard, and other green stems: See asparagus trimmings. These can be diced finely and cooked down to serve as a tasty base for many, many dishes.
18. Beet greens: Like kale, chard, and other vegetable offal, embrace the earthiness. Use your brain to do something good with the flavor rather than throw it away. The internet is a big place.
19. Lemon, lime, and other citrus zest: It’s not like people don’t know to cook with it, but they freeze really well. Most people either juice and chuck, or zest and let the fruit wither into nothingness. See creme Anglaise for a delicious every-fruit vehicle.
20. Potatoes that are about ready to die: We have all bought them and let them rot despite our best intentions. For godsake, make gnocchi and freeze. All you need is flour, egg, boiled potatoes, and nutmeg if you’re feeling frisky. It’s 1,000 times easier than pasta because you don’t need a machine.
21. Leftover rice: Deep-fried rice balls, rice pudding!!!!!, fried rice (use your extra carrots, celery and onions), and a million other things.
22. The dreaded store-bought box of herbs: Don’t let this stuff rot. Please? You can put herbs in anything for almost no reason. Heck, you can even let thyme dry out to shit in your fridge and just strip it.
23. Uncooked bones from any animal: If you don’t make stock, you are basically throwing away the part of the animal that is the most useful...
24. The internet: Most wasted food ingredient ever. Google your leftover whatever and you’ll find something. If you’re a good cook, you can make a silk sauce out of a sow’s ovaries.
25. YOUR IDEAS!!!!!!!!!: If you go to the Submissions and Comments link, I will add to this list and credit you on the site!
Arts and Culture, Food: The Game Birds—The Quail
Arts and Culture, Food: The Game Birds—An Introduction
Arts and Culture, Food: Odd Food—Escargot
Arts and Culture, Food: Odd Food—The Oxtail
Arts and Culture, Food: Odd Food—My Fridge Full of Crap
Arts and Culture, Food: Odd Food—The Compost Bin
Arts and Culture, Food: Odd Food—Pig Trotter pt. 3
Arts and Culture, Food: Odd Food—Pig Trotter pt. 2
Arts and Culture, Food: Odd Food—Pig Trotter pt. 1
Arts and Culture, Food: Odd Food—Squid Ink
Arts and Culture, Food: Odd Food—The Octopus