I don’t give my dad props very often. So here we go. I was looking at this picture from a couple nights ago thinking: “I think nothing of doing my own butchering of fish, fowl, and game. If if were not for my dad, I would not have these skills.” Not a big deal if you’ve been exposed to it, but if I were to ask a room full of friends ‘who can gut and fillet this fish’, I don’t think I’d get many takers.Which is a shame really. It’s one of those skills that keeps you connected to your food. Not only that – meats are cheaper if you buy them ‘less prepared’. Less labour costs to butcher it, means less cost, that simple.
I feel really lucky to have the opportunities I do with local fish and game meats. I used to feel hard done by about it. Not anymore. Completely the opposite. It’s local, it’s fresh, I know where it came from, it would very likely qualify as ‘organic’, I know who’s touched it and the care involved, it’s generally very healthy, and prepared well it’s damn good food. Oh. And more often than not, because my dad’s passionate about it, it’s ‘free’. So thanks dad.