First, the bad news: A representative at the Solomon’s/Noah’s Ark booth said that they currently have no plans to do any more kills of bison or elk. Since Solomon’s is the only company to produce kosher elk as well as the major producer of kosher bison, this is very disturbing news for the kosher consumer who wants game meat. In a presumably related story, the Abeles & Heymann representative said that they have no plans to bring back their delicious bison hot dogs (which are both lower-in-fat and better-tasting than regular beef hot dogs).

The last bit of disturbing news: First, some background. Whenever I make veal, invariably someone won’t eat veal because the calves are supposedly raised in an inhumane fashion. I always responded with the oft-repeated wisdom that kosher veal is different because R. Moshe Feinsten ruled that veal was not kosher due to the inhumane conditions under which the calves are raised. Since bob veal and free-raised veal are not raised in inhumane conditions (unlike both milk-fed and red veal), I always assumed that kosher veal was all of the bob veal or free-raised veal varieties, in order to comply with R. Feinstein’s position. However, just to be sure, I decided to ask at the OU booth at Kosherfest if the OU imposed any conditions on veal production. I was referred to an unfriendly gentleman in a grey beard. He tried to evade my question. Finally, I was able to get this out of him: “We don’t raise the veal.” So, I asked “You don’t impose any restrictions on how it is raised?” He responded that they followed USDA regulations. So, apparently “kosher” veal is not necessarily raised any more humanely than non-kosher veal. Disappointing.

Now on to the more interesting stuff:

The big news is the “Holy Cow!” kosher beef jerky. Holy Cow! comes in 4 flavors: original, teriyaki, sweet & spicy, and hickory. I tried the sweet & spicy, and it was quite delicious — tasty, but not too hard and dry. I make my own beef jerky and I have also tasted several commercial kosher varieties (including Jeff’s in LA, Prime Grill in NY, biltong from the now defunct kosherheaven.com, and RJ’s–which was also at Kosherfest) and the Holy Cow! sweet & sour that I tasted was definitely the best commercial variety that I have tasted. It was similar to homemade jerky in quality. I should point out, however, that the other 3 flavors appeared to be significantly drier. I also tried RJ’s again at the show, and it was indeed much drier and harder, with a less appealing flavor.

Also pretty exciting was the (very small) display at the booth of A.D. Rosenblatt Meats. Their poster loudly proclaimed “Glatt Kosher American Wagyu Beef.” For those of you who aren’t in the know, Wagyu is the breed of cow that the famed Kobe beef comes from. Kobe beef has to come from Japan, and it is a strictly-controlled name. Apparently, the Japanese government prohibits Japanese Wagyu cattle from leaving the country alive. However, recently Wagyu – black angus hybrids have been allowed to leave the country, so a couple of US ranches raise US “Wagyu” cattle. I was informed that A.D. Rosenblatt has an exclusive contract to do kosher slaughter at one of the two US Wagyu ranches. Anyway, they didn’t have any samples, so I can’t tell you how good it is. The next booth over was Glattbox.com, which distributes A.D. Rosenblatt meats online. They gave me a brochure, which listed Wagyu back ribs for $15.99/lb., Wagyu chuck eye roast for $24.99/lb., Wagyu french roast and first cut brisket for $29.99/lb., and Wagyu rib steak and standing rib roast for a whopping $49.99/lb. Quite pricey, but at least they have free shipping “on most orders.” Their prices on ordinary beef were MUCH better — $7.49 for minute roast is the best price I have seen anywhere, and $10.99/lb. for first cut brisket is also pretty good. However, the small print on the brochure indicated that service is only available in NY, NJ, CT, PA, and MD. Unfortunately, today I went to their website, and it was still under construction with no real information.

A.D. Rosenblatt also produces veal, lamb, and ordinary beef. The representative mentioned that they only produce the highest quality white veal. I assume he meant milk-fed veal, which is consistent with what the OU told me earlier in the day (and they are under OU hashgacha as well as CRC).

Rubashkins, which was recently bought out, was also at the show. The company name has apparently been changed from Agriprocessors to Agri Star. Their booth was sparse, but they were showcasing their pre-made meatballs and chicken wings. I tasted both, and they were both quite delicious.

Jerry Hirschman, CEO of Synergy Delivery System (SDS), had a booth exhibiting both pure sucralose (the active ingredient in Splenda) powder and sausage-making equipment. They were showing the famous Devro kosher edible sausage casings (previously mentioned here and here), which are made from natural collagen! Apparently, they are the US distributor for the Australian Devro. Unfortunately, they are only distributing two sizes — 22mm and 30mm, which are both too small for real salami (which should be at least 40mm and preferably 50 or 60). But, these sizes are quite suitable for sausages. They also showed a sausage stuffing machine. The sausage casings cost $150 for a box of 24 rolls of casing, each roll having 50 feet of casing. He also claimed to sell a kosher starter culture suitable for fermented meat products, so I hope to acquire some for my next attempt at salami making. By the way, if you want to purchase powdered sucralose, they also sell a 10kg drum for the low low price of only $1800.00. Of course, 10kg of sucralose provides the same sweetening capacity as over 6 TONS of sugar, which works out to be be about 3.5 times cheaper than sugar at retail (based on the $0.50/lb best price for sugar at my local supermarket), So, if a couple dozen people want to split a drum with me, I would totally spend $80 on a pound of sucralose powder…

Very exciting was that one company was showing imported kosher Hungarian hard salami! This is real fermented salami! No taste tests, but it appears to be a French company callled Les Delices de Mathias with a product called Les Quatre Saisons Salami (The Four Seasons Salami). You can see some pictures below. The product does not appear to be on the market yet, however.

There were also several producers of kosher chicken (and a few of beef as well), but nothing too exciting.

Bloggers and tweeters are encouraged to register in advance as press. When you arrive, inquire at the press room where to find the meet-up conference room.

There’s no set agenda, but it’ll be nice to put some faces to the screen names and share our impressions of the event. Maybe we’ll even live-tweet. Please comment here or tweet @kosherblog to let us know you’re coming. Otherwise, see you there!

This grand event will be held on Sunday October 25th at Brooklyn Burger Boyz, 533 Kings Highway in Brooklyn between the hours of 1 & 2PM.

The Hot Dogs will be supplied by A&H – Abeles & Heymann Franks, held to the strictest Kosher standards while our buns will be supplied by Pas Yisrael. A large percentage of our proceeds will be donated to food relate causes.

It will $10 to enter and each contestant will be given 5 minutes to see how many hot dogs he can eat in that time. The first 5 winners will receive a free Brooklyn Burger Boyz meal for 2 – $25 value, plus a $300 cash prize for whoever come in first. So come Sunday October 25 and enjoy a feast of the greatest Kosher Hot Dogs

Is this an appropriate event for a Kosher audience? I’m not sure. In the spirit of full disclosure, I have participated in a Kosher eating contest before, but something about this bothers me. Maybe it’s the “wasting” of bread? Maybe it’s the chance of a “reversal”? What’s your opinion?

WHAT: From 9:00am – 10:00pm on Wednesday August 19th, the gourmet kosher store known as POMEGRANATE will celebrate its first anniversary on Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn with a host of special events for kids and adults alike.

WHEN: Wednesday, AUGUST 19 ( 9:00 AM – 10:00 PM)

WHERE: 1507 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 718-951-7112

EVENT LINE UP:

• First 1,000 customers will receive a gift valued at $10.00; Clown with balloons for kids
• Anyone who makes a $50.00 purchase is eligible to win the grand prize of two round trip tickets to Israel
• Tastings & Samplings all day from bakery, deli, take-out and all departments
• Anyone celebrating a birthday on Aug 19th receives a $100 Pomegranate Gift card
• 4:00 PM- Community VIP’s
• Assemblyman Alan Maisel
• Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz
• Borough President Marty Markowitz
• Councilman Michael Nelson
• To be confirmed: Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson
• 7:00 PM – Ventriloquist Show
• 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM – Country Yossi Live Radio Broadcast/webcast from Pomegranate featuring singers, entertainers, interviews with customers & more
• 10:00 PM- Grand Prize winners announced

Project Mazon is a program in which families who cannot afford groceries, receive a weekly $50 credit at local grocery stores towards their orders. The objective of this program is to unite as one community and pool our resources so that we can help all families, that are in need, both those who daven in your shul, and all the other Marine Park shuls.

For more info, visit their website.

Please refer to original posting for comments.

On September 7, 2008, Anshei Sphard-Beth El Emeth Congregation (ASBEE), a Memphis, TN Orthodox congregation, will host the 20th annual ASBEE-Kroger Kosher BBQ Cooking Contest and Festival. The festival will take place from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. on the grounds of the synagogue, and features teams from Memphis and around the country vying for top honors in the world’s largest kosher BBQ contest. Prizes are awarded for the best beef ribs, beef brisket, beans, team name and team booth. It’s a major family event which includes children’s rides and games, food for sale by the ASBEE Sisterhood gourmet cookers, the ASBEE-Grizzlies 3-on-3 basketball tournament and the 6th annual pickle eating contest. Last year, the festival hosted 40 teams and more than 2,000 attendees. For details on team and event registration, sponsorship opportunities and general information, go to www.asbeekosherbbq.org, or contact the synagogue at 901-682-1611.

As you know, I competed in the ASBEE BBQ last year, and I’m going back this year. It’s all about thousands of people coming together for fun and Kosher BBQ. This year is a special one for the ASBEE BBQ and I encourage all the BBQ enthusiasts out there to come out and compete. Teams should be in Memphis starting September 4th, for orientation and meat selection. Shabbos accommodations will be available for any Shomer-Shabbos contestants. I’ll answer any questions posted in the comments, or you can contact ASBEE directly at the website or phone number above. Let’s make the world’s largest kosher BBQ contest even bigger!

• Evan Levy from Danville,CA, Southwestern Potato Kugel
• Joy Devor from Far Rockaway, NY, Fantastic Flounder Rolls
• Joe Carver from Philadelphia, PA, Falafel Pizza
• Julie Hession from Las Vegas, NV, Beef Tenderloin with Marsala Mushroom Sauce
• Greg Fontenot from The Woodlands, TX, Chicken in Balsamic Cherry Sauce
• Tracy Rapp from Memphis, TN, Southern Smothered Burgers

The rules for the cookoff were simple:

Recipes must be developed for a main course or soup, must be original, must be Kosher, must include at least one Manischewitz product and have no more than a total of eight ingredients, including any garnish (water, plain salt and pepper are not counted). Recipes may not include any branded products as ingredients which are competitive with Manischewitz products (including but not limited to Streits, Golds, Muellers and Pennsylvania Dutch). All ingredients must be listed, together with exact flavors/measurements/weights (in standard U.S. measurements). Complete preparation instructions must be given including specific types and sizes of any cooking equipment used. Recipe must be for an easy-to-make dish, able to be completely prepared and ready to serve in no more than one hour. Each recipe must be an original recipe, created by entrant that has not previously been published nor won a prize or award.

Got that? The contestants had 1 hour to prepare their dishes, followed by presentation to the judges. The winner was Joy Devor, a housewife and substitute teacher from Far Rockaway, NY. It was a busy week for her – her daughter got married 3 days earlier.

I’m going to attempt to predict some of your questions:

• I didn’t get taste all of the entries. There was a catered fleishig lunch, so by the time the entries were done, I couldn’t try them all. The ones I tasted were quite good.
• 2 of the contestants weren’t even Jewish. Julie and Greg. So what? Last year’s winner wasn’t Jewish either.
• Yes, many Manischewitz products are sodium laden, and have trans-fats in them. The winning entry was primarily stuffed with Tam-Tams (a big trans-fat offender). Understandably, no one mentioned it, although Evan sheepishly admitted to me that he had no idea the potato latke mix had trans-fats, and that at home he makes the whole recipe from scratch.
• Julie’s recipe was made with sliced prime-rib, not tenderloin.
• Everything was Bishul Yisroel. Rabbi Chaim lit all the ovens and burners. He was also responsible for making sure that the dishes were served from Dairy to Pareve to Fleishig, for the Kosher judges. And sharp cheeses were replaced with less-sharp cheese, so that the Kosher judges wouldn’t have to wait six hours.

Manischewitz products may not be the best that kosher food has to offer, but they have an important place in the kosher food landscape. And I’m still planning on entering this contest, one of these days. I just haven’t come up with my perfect recipe yet. You can see my pictures from the event here.