Buffalo is a damn fine meat and that soup looks amazing.
It is that. I'm super happy with the meat quality, and I've not started in with any of the prime cuts yet. Thanks.
Norm, I've read a bit trying to understand exactly why anchovy brings out flavors so well. It's obviously salty, but is absolutely not like just adding salt to a dish. Many Mediterranean countries, both Euro and African, use it as a staple ingredient.
'Anchovies are also slipped into recipes by cooks who promise that they will disappear (“melt”) into the dish and that “you won’t taste them.” They do this is because anchovies are loaded with glutamates (also known as umami) which are widely believed to make food taste delicious or savory. The theory is that the anchovy flavor works in the background, adding depth of flavor and enhancing savoriness. This trick is often used in strong, tomato based sauces and is why fish sauce (often made with anchovies) is an elusive, but essential, ingredient in many Asian dishes. But again, anchovy haters can sniff out this deception at twenty paces.'
I am also reminded of the SE Asian fish sauces used in so many of their amazing dishes. Nuoc mam from Vietnam, for example. Alone, it's a fairly horrifying thing (especially when you learn how they make it!) but in dishes it has been added to, it just works to enhance flavors really well. Many Japanese dishes also often utilize a fish-based backbone (bonito flake/katsuobushi is a standard) flavor.
2ndwind, that's funny about you and the wife. I don't make it often, but I occasionally have pizza with green peppers, onions and anchovies. A little sweet, a little salty, a lot delicious.
