In Franklin County, where small-scale farmers are keeping it in the family by selling locally through farmers' markets and directly to restaurants, a man in Millers Falls is doing business on a national basis.
Chef Myron Becker of Myron's Fast Foods sells his grilling and marinating sauces to Legal Seafoods, Joe's Stone Crab, Piccadilly Pubs and other large-scale operations. His specialty is an Asian combination of sweet, hot and sour which he cultivated while spying on the Chinese and Russians when he was stationed in Yokohama in the '60s. His 20-Gauge Fine Wild Game and Fish Sauce is known to wrestle wily wild food to the ground before and during the cooking process. All these sauces can be purchased at area stores.
Valley Locavore: Why do you live in the Valley?
Chef Myron: Like so many others, I came to go to UMass and traveled the country hitchhiking after graduation and then settled in Wendell and never looked back. Also, I can live in a town of 900 people on a dirt road with woods all around me and not see my neighbors and drive 20 miles down to the road to Amherst, or drive two hours away to the salt water to go striper fishing.
Do you hunt also?
I am a better fisherman than hunter. My main form of hunting is with springer spaniels. We have the sixth and seventh generation and have been breeding them for the last 20 years. I do hunt deer, love to eat them. I'm not a trophy hunter. I'm happy with a young buck.
What made you a food guy?
Brought up to love food. Mother and father exposed us, even without expendable income, to a lot of ethnic cuisine. I remember eating whale steak at an early age at a place called the Viga on Route 1 in Dedham. It had a big sea serpent on the roof.
Why Asian spices?
The Asian influence comes from when I lived outside of Yokohama working for the U.S. Navy as a radio intercept operator, working for the NSA spying on Russians and Chinese. When all the other guys were hitting the PX for burgers and fries, I was eating dried squid on the street. I got to travel to the Far East a lot and ate street food. There were always these guys on the corner selling this marinated meat on hibachis that they squatted in front of. A lot of people said it was monkey meat. I don't know, but it was good.
How did you get into the food business here in the Valley?
Somewhere around the early 1980s I had been working in social services as a counselor and also working at restaurants. Started doing some catering with my wife. That grew and I developed an offshoot, a pushcart modeled off the yakaturi stands in Yokohama. Yakaturi means grilled fowl. We had that set up for a few years in Amherst in front of the Unitarian Church late at night when the bars closed. That grew into a festival concession with a 14-foot trailer. That was our summer gig that we did for 20 years at the Newport Jazz and Folk Festival and the Franklin County Fair.
And why sauce?
People asked me to bottle the sauce that we had on the counter. Eventually we capitulated. One thing led to another. Then in 1996, I was doing a demo in Cambridge and saw a chef walking out of the place with 10 bottles of the yakaturi sauce. I said, 'What are you doing, man?' and the guy said, 'Why don't you put this stuff in bigger bottles?' Now about 75 percent of our market share is food service.
Are you a fan of fast food?
I'm a sucker for a Whopper Jr. There is not a better food value out there for a dollar. I have no problem with iceberg lettuce. It's not the finest cut of meat, but who cares?
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Anyone who eats local game has tasted a flavor that is in a class all by itself. The opportunity to eat this food with a sauce made by a local hunter is a rare one and not to be missed. Here is Chef Myron's recipe for an Italian hunter's stew with some old-school, authentic Italian touches. Venison Cacciatore Gremolata incorporates Chef Myron's 20-gauge shotgun sauce, which promises to "turn an old buck's shanks to silken tenderness" but has "the subtlety to provide the perfect counterpoint to a delicate grilled salmon fillet."
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Venison Cacciatore Gremolata
By Chef Myron
"Cacciatore," from the Italian word for hunter, means hunter-style. It typically refers to a dish prepared in rustic or country style in which meats and vegetables are cut in coarse pieces and stewed slowly in a wine sauce which often included carrots, celery, mushrooms and fresh herbs. Use your tougher venison cuts for this dish, such as leg or shoulder meat. Finish it with the Gremolata for delicious authenticity and serve with polenta or pasta.
Ingredients
Venison (or other red game meat), round or shoulder
Salt pork or bacon and/or olive oil
Onions
Sweet red or green peppers
Carrots (optional)
Minced garlic
Portabella mushrooms
Canned or fresh plum tomatoes
Chef Myron's 20-Gauge Wild Game and Fish Sauce
Red wine
Fresh or dried herbs of choice (oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme or sage)
Chopped parsley, anchovies, lemon zest, capers
Directions
Partially defrost meat until possible to cut. Slice into approximately 2 inches by one-half-inch-thick strips while meat is still a bit frozen. (It is easier to cut when partially frozen). Place in a ziplock bag with enough Myron's 20-Gauge Sauce to coat all meat. Toss well to coat; squeeze out all air and seal. Allow to completely defrost in marinade. Depending on age of animal and state of its muscle, marinate from 2 hours to overnight. (Use more 20-Gauge if the animal was older and tougher).
Cut peppers, onions and mushrooms in large pieces or slices (rather than chopping) and place in a bowl. (Remember, this is a rustic, country-style dish). Render minced bacon or salt pork with olive oil in large, heavy pot over medium heat. Fry until "cracklins" (called scrunchins in Newfoundland) turn crisp and golden. Remove "cracklins."
Get fat almost smoking. Put a cup of white flour into a large bowl, dust one piece of venison at a time and add carefully to the fat. Don't crowd the pot and let them brown up, shaking the pot and using tongs or spatula to turn and to keep meat from sticking. Return from pan to bowl. Leave the brown stuff on the bottom (it's called "fond") there. Add a bit more oil or fat to the pot if necessary.
At medium heat, add garlic and all vegetables to the pot and saute until limp and slightly caramelized (light brown). Be careful not to burn. Go light on the tomatoes and smush them between your fingers to add them to the pot. Add 2-4 Tbsps. Chef Myron's 20 Gauge and 1 cup red wine and scrape the bottom with a spatula to get the fond into the mix. Add the meat back in gently and cover with the sauce. Cover. Simmer slowly for several hours until meat is tender.
"Gremolata" is a typical Northern Italian topping that is optional, but it's a classical and delicious garnish. Finely mince parsley, garlic, capers and anchovies. Make 1 Tbsp. lemon zest on coarse side of grater and mix in. Sprinkle on cacciatore just before serving. Serve with polenta (cornmeal porridge), risotto, gnocchi or ziti and, of course, the rest of the wine!"
