The Fish Market

Yesterday Jen, Simon and I made the mission out to the Steveston Fish Market.  Steveston, though lacking in Dagon temples, is a quaint seaside village that has a certain Lovecraftian charm.  Boardwalks and fishing boats line the docks, fishcentric installations fill the park, and even convenience stores pay homage to the sea with bright red orca silhouettes stencilled onto store awnings.   Yet where Innsmouth, the infamous town of Lovefcraftian myscatology, is a dilapidated place hostile to outsiders, Steveston is a shiny example of the entrepreneurial village welcoming all those willing to make the trek into her shops and businesses with open arms.  

Releshing in the opportunity to play the role of outsiders, and better yet tourists, and armed with little more than our cameras, we arrived at the market in the early afternoon.  Unfortunately, we were a little too late to purchase any black cod (also known as sable fish), though they still had some heads for sale for those interested in the cheeks, or making stock (the market is open throughout the week, but selection varies by season, as well as between weekdays and weekends).  Anyway, we picked up some surprisingly cheap prawns ($4/pound) and because we were set on making fish and chips, eventually found a frozen fillet of cod as well-in this case the idea of the meal out weighed our concern for quality.  When we got home we had ourselves a fryer marathon to celebrate our bounty.  Here are some photos...

The Butcher Shop: Breaking down a cow

This week we finally started to break down the side of beef that has been in the walk in for the last 14 days.  It was a serious task, and I was pretty excited to participate.  Here is a time lapse of us breaking the chuck section down.  The rib and hind quarter will age for another week at least, so look forward to more documentation.

The Butcher Shop

Three weeks ago I got a job at a butcher, 3P Meats in North Vancouver.  So far the learning curve has been steep, but the rewards great.  To my mind I have come a step closer to understanding what it means to produce, and ultimately what is means to eat meat in an era of industrial food production.  What is more, I like to think that such knowledge can help me to make informed decisions about what kind of meat can be consumed in a way that is morally responsible--ensuring that the animals that I eat are treated well and live pleasant pastoral lives devoid of needless suffering, and don't come from half way around the world.  Anyway, before this starts to sound like a rant about slow-food or why I can be a moral carnivore, I will get to the meat of the post.

Over the past week I brought in my computer to document some of the work we have been doing.  To my surprise, Paul, my boss, was very excited that I was showing such interest in the work and agreed to let me post my recordings online.  Here are a couple to get going.  The first is the breakdown of a number of nice chickens from Polderside farms.  The longer clip is the boning out of a pair of venison legs.  Bon appetite!