Let me know how the “squirrel” and “rabbit” turn out.

Thanks for the email tip. I sent it to kitchenSJ@stjohn.com, but I’ll try the manager too. Do you know him personally?

As for the how/why question: if it is the fat and gelatin, it’s interesting, since it’s hard to think of another concoction that would have the same profile (other than another animal foot – one of my fellow t cooks used to work at Bouloud, where they made “calves trotter gear”, which was used in an almost identical way.

The TG I made yesterday is ready to use, but I probably won’t have a chance to play with it until next week. I think I’m going to start by cooking a few recipes right from BNTT, including the Braised Squirrel (using a chicken squirrel), and Fried Rabbit (using a chicken rabbit). I’ll keep you posted. My fave side benefit of TG? The 16 quarts of extra stock it produces. That stuff is liquid gold.

As for whether anything will come of this, at best I might get to mention TG as a starting point for something more prosaic, like adding 10 packets of gelatin and a slab of pork belly to a braising liquid. But I’m going to do my damnedest to make it happen. (At worst, I get a bucket of TG and TG stock for my personal use.)

/aj

I think the fat content of the TG (and there’s a lot of fat) confers the “protective” benefits, not unlike the way you can hold cooked lobster in beurre monté. If that’s correct, the strained version should work just as well as the version with the meaty bits in it. I’m sure the gelaitin component makes a contribution as well.

If you can get a Kitchen Note about TG into Cook’s you’ll be my hero.

I tried emailing Fergus, but haven’t heard back yet. What is your take on the “protective” benefits of TG, rather than its sauce-enhancing unctuousity? In several recipes in BNTT, he suggests that braising in the presence of trotter gear protects the meat in some way (from drying out?toughening?), but it’s not clear to me how and why it’s so, nor whether its the soluble or insoluble portion that is most important (ie, whether strained TG stock is equally effective.)

Naturally, I’m putting it to the test in the test kitchen, which also gives me the excuse to cook up a double batch of the stuff at work today. It’s a bit outré for our readership, but I’m going to do my best to get a Kitchen Note about it in the mag.

It would also work as a base for gravy to serve with a pork roast. Pan drippings, totter gear – probably wouldn’t need any flour thickener.

@ Andrew, I’d suggest Bread and Wine anyway. Since you are eating alone it offers more “small plates” type of things. It is also just around the corner from a main train stop, easy access from Heathrow.

The next batch will be made with white wine, for the same reason you state.

I can only assume your layover will give you time to eat at St. John, the only question is whether it will be the main restaurant or St. John Bread and Wine.

Oh, and on my way home from Italy in April, I have a 6h afternoon layover in London. Guess where I’m going.