Scraping the bottom of the barrell...

[ckkphoto]

I was doing some research into curing meat and came upon the origin of that phrase. Scraping the bottom of the barrell...refers to CROCKING meat. In the South, when they slaughtered pigs before refrigeration, they would fry the pig in little chunks. Chunks and boiling grease were steadily added to the crock. When they got close to the top, they topped of with a sealing layer of boiling grease. The whole thing was sterile and would keep for weeks or months depending on conditions. To use it, they scraped out meat and grease, then poured the boiling bacon grease back on top of the exposed meat to re-seal.
Even sterile grease will putrify due to molecular interaction, so after a couple months as you neared the bottom, things didn't taste so good, hence the phrase, Scraping the bottom of the barrell...! :wink:

Hope I didn't bore anyone, but I thought it was quite interesting.

Chris K.

[david]

Not bored at all. It's amazing how many of our sayings come quite literally from food, even if they don't have the same association anymore.

"high on the hog"
pork "butt"

anybody else got any?

[willkat98]

"Butt" munch

[BigAl]

"Butt" munch

Talk about "scraping the bottom of the barrell" :!: :roll:

[willkat98]

What about skirt steak?

Always wondered where that came from. I understand the strip cut name, but skirt?

[BigAl]

What about skirt steak?

Always wondered where that came from. I understand the strip cut name, but skirt?

Lift her skirt and u will see the steak!.....It is expensive! :shock: :D :wink:

[Jorge]

What about skirt steak?

Always wondered where that came from. I understand the strip cut name, but skirt?

Lift her skirt and u will see the steak!.....It is expensive! :shock: :D :wink:

Funny, I always used steak in order to lift the skirt.... :?

[Solidkick]

What about skirt steak?

Always wondered where that came from. I understand the strip cut name, but skirt?

Lift her skirt and u will see the steak!.....It is expensive! :shock: :D :wink:

Funny, I always used steak in order to lift the skirt.... :?

Sure beats the lingering effects of Red Lobster. :!:

[BigAl]

Any way u look at it, it is expensive,,,,,,moist warm sweet meat! :D

[willkat98]

Okay, this thread shot to ****.

I guess I started it, but I really was curious as to how skirt steak got its name.

[Davewey]

It depends on whether you are reading a British or an American recipe.

Looking at a cow from the side, the very lower third of the body (the chest and belly) is basically divided into 3 sections, front to back.
Right behind the front legs is the Brisket
In front of the hind legs is the Flank.
Between the two is the Plate.

Previously, the plate was the source of the skirt steak in Britain and the U.S.
Today in British usage the skirt steak is usually cut from the Flank.
In the U.S. according to the USDA, a skirt steak is one cut from the Plate.

[willkat98]

Thanks Dave

[willkat98]

Wait? One cut from the Plate?

[brdbbq]

If there is two cuts then it's a mini-skirt. :mrgreen:

[jsn1511]

http://www.steaksense.com/about/platecuts.htm this explains what a skirt steak is, as for the origin of the name...i'll have to look that up.