[janlouise]

hello!

2 questions from an american now living in paris...first up, does anyone know the translation for hamhock? it's a very inferior part of the pig but in the US we use it often to flavor soups. it's a big bone with some meat on it. i could always just look around the case at the boucherie for something that looks similar but i like to make a small effort to speak "boucherie" before actually going there.

and the second question, also related to stock/soup making and boucherie, is it possible to buy chicken necks at a boucherie? i live in the 19e and have asked at 3 different boucheries, explaining that it's the part of the chicken that i find makes the best chicken stock. they all said no, they never sell such a thing. and yet there were many headless/neckless chickens for sale at these same boucheries. so i'm wondering what happened to all of those necks and why can't i have them?

merci pour votre conseil...

[simona]

Hi, try "kosher" (jewish) or "halal" ( moslem ) "boucheries".
What do french people know about a real chicken soup, made with
chicken necks ? Try to buy also a turkey neck, it will do wonders to your soup. Throw in some chicken or turkey wings too.
Bon appetit!

No more war, give us chicken necks instead !( it's sounds kind of morbid...methinks..)

[Debbie]

I am just next door to you in 18th.... and I have never been able to get chicken necks either. sigh.

I usually buy a whole chicken and debone it. Use the meat for different dishes and then the carcasse for stock/soup.

If you go into a supermarket (a bigger one not a tiny shoppi etc) you can buy the pork. I get mine from the Champion - which has now changed into a Carrefour market. It is called a jambonneau or sometimes a jarret (although jarret is actually the term for the same cut in veal). Check that the jambonneau has the bone as most times it doesn't. You will find that it is a more meaty cut here, rather than being the bone with a bit of meat.

If you go to the American Church in Paris, they have a session called Bloom Where you are Planted. It is actually on next week. You can also buy the Bloom book which will show you diagrams of the french cuts of meat and give the translation for all types of foods etc. A handy tool to have on the bookshelf for moments like this.

Hope that helps.
_________________
If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.

[janlouise]

simona and debbie...thanks so much for your suggestions...do you also give advice on other life problems outside of cooking? if so, i know where to come if i have a problem with the french boyfriend.

i don't know why i didn't think of the kosher boucherie. first of all, as an american splitting time between philadelphia and new york, i know all about a good jewish chicken soup. and my street in the 19e is almost exclusively kosher shops. so i have no excuses for not finding my chicken necks here in paris.

the american church in paris is something i heard about but never checked out. i'll put it on my list.

thanks again!

[rig]

Hi,
You can easily get a chicken neck (if you buy a whole chicken!) at the market in Riquet (Sunday mornings and Thursday mornings). The stall just opposite the rotisserie sells alls sorts of pork related products, you can get jarrets, and probably they'd give you the bones.
Hope this helps!