Butcher in L.A.

Butcher Excellence at Lindy & Grundy

There's nothing like a good local butcher like Lindy & Grundy. "Great meat and great service," says JudiAU.

The shop's fine points aren't disputed. "Lindy & Grundy is great," says LATrapp. "The service is friendly and warm and invested in your satisfaction. The downside is that if you want to run in to grab a quick chicken or whatever, you might be waiting a bit while they are having a friendly chit-chat with the current customers. The good news is that once you are up, you might as well fire away with the questions—they are happy to help with cooking tips."

Lindy & Grundy is a whole-animal butcher, and the inventory is ever-shifting. Some days the offerings are beef-heavy, and on other days there's lots of rabbit or pork. There's also a small but nice selection of cheeses and a few nonmeat items that might come in handy during meal preparation.

And then there are the nice touches, like serving a pig's ear to the canines that accompany customers. "They even take the dog bones seriously!" says perk. There's also free parking in the back.

But excellence doesn't come cheap. "Quite expensive, as you would expect for pastured meat," JudiAU observes.

Lindy & Grundy [Fairfax Village]
801 N. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles
323-951-0804

Discuss: Lindy & Grundy on Fairfax

Fall in Love with "The Bird", All Over Again...

This post is meant to revive your love for chicken. If you are one of the many people that have come to the conclusion that chicken is a boring bland meat, I have something to say to you. Your wrong. And to prove it, I'm giving you one of my all time favorite chicken recipes to try. One bite of this sweet and spicy chicken, and you will never bad mouth the bird again. If you are interested in rediscovering chicken, and want to learn how to give it some razzle dazzle, sign up for my Fabulous Chicken for Every Day cooking class coming up on June 30th. Just go to Amandacooks.com to register. Or make this recipe at home and let the food do the talking. Either way it's a win win situation.

Happy Eating!


Sweet and Spicy Sticky Chicken
Serves 4

Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tb. lime juice
½ cup soy sauce
1 Tb. minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
8 chicken thighs or 4 breast halves with the skin and bone
Salad:
2 large carrots, peeled, julienne
1/2 daikon radish, peeled, julienne
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
Cilantro sprigs, garnish

Procedure
1. Whisk together the sugar, lime juice, soy, ginger, garlic and chili flakes in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and saute the chicken skin side down until golden brown about 10 minutes. Turn over and sauté the other side for 10 minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside. Discard the fat.
3. Meanwhile combine the carrots and daikon radish in a medium bowl, add the vinegar, sugar and salt and toss well. Chill if possible for twenty minutes
4. Add the sauce to the pan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Simmer until slightly thickened about 3 minutes.
5. Return the chicken to the pan lower the heat to medium low, cover and cook until done, turning a few times about 12 minutes for dark meat and 8 minutes for breasts. Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with foil. Heat the sauce to boiling and reduce the sauce until syrupy about 3 minutes and then pour over the chicken.
6. Surround the chicken with the carrot salad and garnish with cilantro sprigs.

Hoisin Ginger Chicken Skewers with a Mango Mayo Sauce

These chicken skewers are delicious and great for parties. I love marinating these the night before I plan to serve them. That way half the preparation for the dish is already done and I can relax before the dinner guests arrive. This makes my life a whole lot easier and yummier!

Skewered Hoisin Ginger Chicken with Mango Mayonnaise Sauce

This recipe makes 25 to 30 skewers

Ingredients

1/3 cup hoisin sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon minced ginger

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

3 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 whole, boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

25 to 30 bamboo skewers

Mango Sauce:

1/4 cup mango chutney

1 lime, juiced

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped

1 Tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted, garnish

Cooking Instructions

1. Combine hoisin sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and rice vinegar in a medium bowl and add the chicken. Turn to coat and marinate at least one hour or up to overnight, refrigerated.

2. Heat the oven to 400F. Meanwhile make the dipping sauce.

3. Combine the mango chutney, lime juice, and cilantro in a food processor and puree. Transfer the puree to a small serving bowl.

4. Skewer the chicken two pieces to a skewer and place on two baking sheets. Bake until cooked through about 7 minutes. Serve on a platter sprinkled with the toasted sesame seeds and the dipping sauce.

The chicken skewers can be made ahead and frozen. Wrap the entire baking sheet in plastic wrap and freeze for up to three months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Cook as above.