RestaurantSpeak.com

Hiring the right employees can be a challenge. Whether the economy is up or down, good or bad there is no simple way to ensure that the person that you hire is going to ‘make the cut’ in the long run. Other times, you have a long term employee that has developed a bad attitude or a complex that you can’t seem to get past and you have to let them go. Whatever the situation may be, a former employee can still cost you a pretty penny in unemployment compensation claims if you don’t follow the correct procedures when you have to end a working relationship.

True Story… In need of a part time line cook, i was conducting interviews and had settled on a young applicant that seemed like a pretty ‘good fit’ for the position that I needed filled. With a few months into his tenure I was feeling a little uneasy with him based on comments I had overheard about him.

Well, one Saturday evening that I was not on shift, this particular line cook was observed doing what we in the restaurant business call a “whip-it” (Inhaling the gas from a can of whipped cream to get a ‘quick high’). After hearing about this incident from several staff members that witnessed it, I, of course terminated him. Shockingly, I received a petition for unemployment compensation.

With several eye witness accounts I felt there was no way that the unemployment hearing would go in his favor, so I returned the reply form and attached signed witness accounts of what had transpired that evening. Several weeks later, I was informed that the unemployment board had sided with the employee. Their reasoning was that I had not properly warned him that if he were to inhale a can of whipped cream gas to get high, that he could or would be fired for such an action!!!

This former employee was able to collect the full term of his unemployment, costing thousands of dollars in additional payroll costs. – The Moral to this story is – Understand your local unemployment laws to the best of your ability. Learn to protect your restaurant from unjust unemployment claims to save thousands of dollars in avoidable expenses

The change in seasons leads to a rise in activity among typical restaurant pests. Pest prevention and elimination should be a regular part of your sanitation program. Keeping unwanted rodents and insects from entering your restaurant can be time consuming and costly. Not only does it require an involved staff member to monitor and control outbreaks, you could potentially lose product if the infestation goes unnoticed for just a short period of time.

Taking the time to implement preventative measures can save hundreds of dollars that could be put to much better use. It may seem that you don’t have issues with rodents, but be assured, where there is trash there are pests. Adopting a strategy to deal with these intruders BEFORE they are a problem is the best plan, saving hundreds in exterminator fees if you do get infiltrated.

Longer days are coming and with a change in the hours and the warmer weather comes lighter fare. Fajitas are a great way to offer a hearty meal while allowing the diner to choose their portions.

Fajitas originated on the Texas Mexican border in the early 1900′s. This Tex-Mex dish began as a simple way to feed the ranch hands. They would heat a large cast iron skillet over an open flame and add the skirt or “faja” steak and other inexpensive ingredients such as vegetables to the mix. The hungry ranchers would fill corn or flour tortillas with the blend of pan seared foods and have an easy to handle meal – piping hot , delicious and nutritious.

During the 1980′s, South of the border specialties migrated to the United States. Southwestern themed restaurants popped up across America and “Mexican-American” cuisine was born. One mainstay of the Mexican food movement has been Sizzling Fajitas, even more popular today than they were nearly a century ago.

Traditionally, fajitas were served with skirt steak, a tough cut of meat. Slow cooking and proper slicing made the steak tender. In today’s restaurant, fajitas are topped with higher quality ‘center of the plate’ items. It is common to find chicken, shrimp or even sirloin steak fajitas on American menus.

Fajitas on today’s restaurant menu’s are all about presentation. Serve up a piping hot cast iron ‘plate’ topped with sauteed vegetables and cuts of your favorite meats. This should be brought to the table while it is “sizzling” on the platter but not “smoking”. Soft flour tortillas and condiments are traditionally served on the side.

While it’s not traditional in Ireland, corned beef is what most Americans prepare for St. Patrick’s Day feasts. Despite Ireland being a major beef producer during colonial times, most Irish did not regularly consume corned beef. This was due to the fact that the beef cattle were owned by the British colonists and not by the Irish , and that most if not all of the corned beef was exported. The majority of Irish that resided in Ireland at the time maintained a diet of mainly dairy and pork.

During the late 1700′s and early 1800′s, the United States experienced a tidal-wave of Irish immigration. With corned beef brisket being considered a ‘meal of luxury’ back in their home country, the corned beef became a staple in the Irish populations diet in America where it was inexpensive and plentiful. Thus the association with corned beef and St. Patrick’s day celebrations.

Cooking Corned Beef…
There are several methods that can be used to cook corned beef or any brisket. Some chef’s prefer to ‘split’ the brisket prior to cooking while others would cook the brisket whole,  leaving the layer of fat that joins the two muscles together intact. Cooking a whole brisket will take much more time than if you separate the two sides of the brisket.

To split the brisket, lay it on a cutting board with the ‘non-fatted’ side facing up. Look for the ‘deckle’ or fat layer that separates the two sides of the brisket. This layer of fat extends fully between the two muscles. Insert a boning knife into the fat line and carefully run the sharp edge of the blade along that line while pulling back the ‘first cut’ of the corned beef. Continue this until you are completely through the deckle and the flat cut and point cut are apart. Trim away and discard any excess fat.

No matter which course you choose, the rule to follow when preparing corned beef is ‘low and slow’. A crock pot or slow cooker is the ideal appliance to prepare this cut of meat. A large stockpot will also work well. If you are using the stovetop method, fill a large stockpot half full with water and bring to a full boil. Add your brisket and reduce the heat to medium. Split brisket will take about 3 hours at a slight simmer, while whole briskets can take as long as 6 to 7 hours depending on the weight. Remember to save the brine for cooking your cabbage and other vegetables.

To test the ‘doneness’ of your brisket, remove a cut from your stockpot and slice a piece about a quarter inch thick, remembering to slice against the grain. Sample your brisket. It should be tender enough that you can bite through it without falling apart. If you can’t easily bite through the slice then it needs to cook a little longer. Check every fifteen minutes afterwards until you achieve the desired result. When you are ready to slice the brisket, cut each piece in half against the grain and take a piece of each muscle and slice together on a slicing machine against the grain.