[Stubbs]

they aren't really lesser cuts they just require more skill/knowledge to use properly

I meant lesser cuts purely in terms of popularity, perhaps i should have ' '.  I don't think the problem is people like yourself, who are knowledgable about these cuts, but the majority of the meat buying public, who only seem to want 'steak' 'chicken breast' and 'chop' (apart form the roasts, obviously).  I'm a big fan of Hugh FW and he has certainly done more than any of the other TV chefs (as far as I'm aware) to popularise different cuts of meat.

[Houdini]

Oh by-the-by Bon', my quote about ruthlessness was meant in response to LucyA's point directly above what I said, but you hit the nail on the head regardless.

[Houdini]

Mmmmmmm Veal!  Click!

[Falling Down]

for example, you point at something you want it to look at. It does not look in the direction in which you are pointing your finger, it looks at your finger. This really confuses my dog, after quite a lot of waving my fingers around, she gets bored and starts to look around her to see what I'm blathering on about, and eventually goes in the right direction in response to my prompts of affirmation when she is looking the right way. This is a process of elimination, rather than interpreting my meaning and developing a shared interest in what I am looking at...

Are you sure he/she isn't just pretending - I behave like this when Mrs FD points at things that need cleaning or jobs that need doing...

[AndyR]

Moose - I like your 'mental tramp's jumper' - genius.

I feel the same way about octopii - any animal that can rearrange shells into a pretty underwater garden doesn't deserve to be eaten.
I'd like to see a pig do that.

[Duma]

Not just gardeners : thats harder core than expected.

And it's octopuses damn you! Though I'll accept octopodes at a push

[AndyR]

Not just gardeners : thats harder core than expected.

And it's octopuses damn you! Though I'll accept octopodes at a push

Not bad for an animal without a backbone! If sea levels continue to rise, then we'll have to be careful not be mugged by an octopus......

I stand corrected re plural.

[SA Chris]

Not just gardeners : thats harder core than expected.

That's quite amazing. I wonder if has the ability to recognise a shark as suitable prey as they suffocate as soon as they stop swimming, as no water is going through their gills?

[moose]

that video's fantastic... made my day.  I do like octopuses - any creature that triumphs over invertebracy in such spectaular fashion gets my approval: 3 chambered hearts, a beak, suckers, fantastic colour vision, incredibly fast neuro-transmission... and can attack sharks (though I do like sharks too).  They're like an "ultimate cool animal" designed by a hyperactive child with a pack of crayons and a lot of imagination.

NB in case you're wondering the -es plural is because the singular pus ending is derived from the greek for foot, rather than the latinate singular -us ending that takes -i in the plural (e.g. bacillus / bacilli).

[Houdini]

Don't forget the ink, Moose.  Ink shooting is cool! 

However, I remember hurling it (and the previous food that entered my stomach) out after attempting to eat octopus years ago.  That's one gammy texture there...

[Bonjoy]

 Or the chameleonesque fast changing camoflage skin!

[SA Chris]

Or the fact that the giant octopus in Puget Sound (?)have been known to grow over 8 foot long. That's a lot of body for an invertebrate.

[Houdini]

I'm terrified of the ocean, I don't mind admitting it.  I'm a good swimmer, but nevertheless, ever since I was a young boy I've had this image in my mind of the Kraken pulling me under and stashing me in Davy Jones' Locker!

I will not swim in murky water, I just can't!

[SA Chris]

Avoid surfing in Aberdeen then.

[Houdini]

Had me a Hunting First t'other day.   Spearfishing.


Not with gun but by hand, at night, with a lamp.  I've spent the last 3 weeks on a small island in a lake in Finland, and every now and again I'd get all:  "Hmmm, me Bwana!  Me feed tribe." 

It's great - all you need is a rowing boat, a car battery and headlamp, a multi-pronged and barbed spear with a 2m handle, and another hungry keen chap to do the rowing.  We meandered in the shallows where fish are to be found at night, usually above subteranean rocks.  It's important to choose your opportunities wisely - the fish must be of the correct size: too big and you risk losing it after striking - up to 1 KG is sufficient. 

The whole process is very simple.  Slowly mooch till a fish is seen, being careful not to spook it by moving the lamp hither and thither.  Manoeveur the boat till you are almost above the fish.  Depth is crucial - in an ideal world the killing spot should not be over 1 metre - as soon as it is speared you must take your shirt off and reach down for the fish and pull it to the surface while your partner counterbalances the craft.  Pulling the fish up with the spear after striking almost always results in a lost and injured fish as striking rarely kills it.   The spear should be lowered down softly softly till it is almost touching the fishs' 'neck', the spear should be at 90° to the fish, when you are comfortable that it can be done you thrust the spear down sharply, pinning the fish to the rock or lake floor, and retrieve your catch.  If you are after Perch, the spear should be at 45° to the fish as Perch will instinctively move 45° left or right of the spear the moment it feels it.  (Apparently Perch are a delicacy in zee Swiss.)

I had a 750g Bream (a fish I'd never caught by line).  It was baked in it's own juices and went down a storm at Chez Puurtinen.

I wonder what human flesh tastes like...

[webbo]

probably of port

[Houdini]

I drank 3L of port this trip.

Anyone remember that film where the hunters turn into the hunted?  Deliverance?

[GCW]

"Squeel Little Piggy"

Just up your (back)street, Houdini.
James DICKey wrote the original book btw.

[Houdini]

Did you really just call me a toilet trader?

[SA Chris]

I wonder what human flesh tastes like...

Chicken.

[GCW]

Did you really just call me a toilet trader?

"I fuck arses."  Who fucks arses?  Maybe Houdini fucks arses.....

[Houdini]

Hmmm...  GCW, a trend is emerging here.  Though I think you are confusing this thread with the Berkley Hunt thread.


Just to add - I think snaring is a particularly spiteful way to either hunt or eradicate vermin.  Fatboys' mutt looks terrible, though I would add that greyhound/lurcher types do have particularly thin skin which tears and parts very easily, often they look worse than they are.  She does look terrible, mind.  Good luck with her.

[GCW]

Hmmm...  GCW, a trend is emerging here.  Though I think you are confusing this thread with the Berkley Hunt thread.

Sorry , I thought you'd called it See C**t on purpose.   
Hunting?  Snares and dogs I am against.
Blasting deer with high velocity weaponry is fine by me though.

[runt]

Since the moose hunting season just started here, and the forest is full of trigger happy half-cut gunmen, I'm erring on the side of against. But only while bouldering areas are off limits (unless you're brave), also have lots of scared meat on the hoof, increasing the chances of clobbering one in the car, which would hurt.