Jellyfish
- Jellyfish is found in Asian and Southeast Asian dishes, both in solid form and as powder. In China, jellyfish has been eaten for more than 1,000 years, served in firm, slightly gelatinous chunks and tossed into salads or sliced thin and long like noodles. Now, American chefs are experimenting with it. At Trentina in Cleveland, chef-owner Jonathon Sawyer has used the dried version in risotto. “We grind the jellyfish through the sausage grinder, keeping it no bigger than a grain of rice,” the chef says. “Then we make it just like any other risotto with white wine and mushrooms.” Essentially, he says, the dehydrated, ground-up jellyfish works almost like a flavor packet. In case you feel guilty about eating this magnificent creature, keep in mind that in a lot of places, jellyfish are invasive species.
- In most states, you won’t find elk meat readily available, but if you live in or around the Rocky Mountains, like chef Randy Savala of the Fort in Morrison, Colorado, it’s fairly common. And no, we don’t just mean the elk you hunt in the woods, but large elk farms scattered around the state. People in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho also have a lot of access to this meat, and you will find it in all sorts of restaurants. As for cooking elk, although these animals are large game, the meat is lean and slightly gamey. It’s almost like beef but with less fat and more of a rustic, woodsy flavor. “Personally, I like using elk as a steak or a chop since it’s a little easier to cook and serve in that format,” says Savala. “The only nuance [to elk] is that there is no fat in the muscle, so cooking it doesn’t take as long, and if you want to make a burger or meatloaf, you would have to add some fat to the mixture.” For Savala, grilling is the best way to prepare elk because it allows him to control the temperature and cook the food evenly.
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