Unfortunately, for me, I got "salmoned" out by the age of twelve or so. I won't turn down a well nicely prepared salmon steak when offered but, I won't go out of my way to catch or even purchase one. Sad, I know.
A "berry" bear can be some of the tastiest food one will ever eat. A "fish" bear, for me, is at the opposite end of the spectrum. Fish should taste like fish. Bears should taste like ... blueberries! Yes, a bit like blueberries or some such.
I can be just as picky with beef. A tough, old range steer has more flavor, cooked correctly, and beats the heck out of young one, particularly a mushy Kobe-like yearling, anytime. But, that's my palate, mixed with fond childhood memories of a butcher shop, sawdust on the floor, sides of beef hanging within view, bloody smocks and butchers with a lot of knowledge. Damned near impossible to find a tough, flavorful piece of beef these days, dry aged. It simply costs too much to raise and prepare for market. Less profit in doing it right, easier and cheaper to mount an ad campaign and change peoples eating habits.
People, now days seem to prefer, boneless. flavorless, mushy meat. A purely personal observation based only on observation and other anecdotal information. The bone is seen as waste by many. Same with an abundance of fat (flavor). I don't eat the fat but, it's that's where the flavor comes from while cooking. People desire lean, tender, mushy steaks, over firm textured, full of beef taste and wee specks of fat (marbling) or a decent "fat cap", over flavor.
The bone? Freeze them until you have a sufficient amount, crack them and make stew or a readily available stock. Marrow, yummmm!
We have been trained by the beef producers to think "too young for market beef" as being what we should enjoy. It's why people use gravies such as A-1, H-P, béarnaise, etc. Mind you I'm not opposed to such when called for or desired (rank meat, tasteless meat), I simply prefer a more unadulterated dish.
A "berry" bear can be some of the tastiest food one will ever eat. A "fish" bear, for me, is at the opposite end of the spectrum. Fish should taste like fish. Bears should taste like ... blueberries! Yes, a bit like blueberries or some such.
I can be just as picky with beef. A tough, old range steer has more flavor, cooked correctly, and beats the heck out of young one, particularly a mushy Kobe-like yearling, anytime. But, that's my palate, mixed with fond childhood memories of a butcher shop, sawdust on the floor, sides of beef hanging within view, bloody smocks and butchers with a lot of knowledge. Damned near impossible to find a tough, flavorful piece of beef these days, dry aged. It simply costs too much to raise and prepare for market. Less profit in doing it right, easier and cheaper to mount an ad campaign and change peoples eating habits.
People, now days seem to prefer, boneless. flavorless, mushy meat. A purely personal observation based only on observation and other anecdotal information. The bone is seen as waste by many. Same with an abundance of fat (flavor). I don't eat the fat but, it's that's where the flavor comes from while cooking. People desire lean, tender, mushy steaks, over firm textured, full of beef taste and wee specks of fat (marbling) or a decent "fat cap", over flavor.
The bone? Freeze them until you have a sufficient amount, crack them and make stew or a readily available stock. Marrow, yummmm!
We have been trained by the beef producers to think "too young for market beef" as being what we should enjoy. It's why people use gravies such as A-1, H-P, béarnaise, etc. Mind you I'm not opposed to such when called for or desired (rank meat, tasteless meat), I simply prefer a more unadulterated dish.