collagen (skin also provides flavorful fat).
Connective tissue has two uses. First, in long-
cooked stocks, soups, and stews, it dissolves
out of bones or skin to provide large
quantities of gelatin and a substantial body.
And second, it can be turned into a delicious
dish itself, with either a succulent gelatinous
texture or a crisp, crunchy one, depending on
the cut and the cooking method. Long moist
cooking gives tender veal ears, cheeks, and
muzzle for tête de veau, or Chinese beef
tendon or fatty pork skin. A briefer cooking
produces crunchy or chewy cartilaginous pig’s
ears, snouts, and tails; and rapid frying gives
crisp pork rinds.
Fat
Solid fat tissue is seldom prepared as such:
instead we usually extract the fat from its
storage cells, and then use it as both a cooking
medium and an ingredient. There are two