Nose-to-tail 2.0
Chris Pandel, chef-partner in two meat-centric restaurants in Chicago’s Boka Restaurant Group, butchers whole animals in-house to reduce waste. The center cuts go into the steaks at upscale Swift & Sons, while the trim is upcycled into sausage and pasta sauce. Pandel’s meat supplier also sells him trim at a much-reduced price that he upcycles into a Chicago hot dog; it’s on the menu on Cubs game days at Dutch & Doc’s, his restaurant across from the pro baseball team’s home, Wrigley Field. “We shave 1 to 2 points off food costs by utilizing all the trim,” he says.
But nose-to-tail cooking no longer applies only to four-legged animals. Pandel also does his own fish butchery and works with seafood suppliers to “send all” instead of ordering just fillets. “When you spec ‘send all,’ they will give you the head, bones, skin and trim, which I can turn into fish soup, appetizers and more,” he says. Saving even more, one of these dishes may get drizzled with roasted lemon vinaigrette, which Pandel makes from juiced lemon halves rescued from the bar.
Photo courtesy of Swift & Sons