hwilson41

Lucille; It's an acquired taste, I'm sure, like getting used to eating four alarm chili. I loved the hot links, but am told by friends who still live in Texas (I don't any more, alas) that they're getting harder and harder to find. The ones we used to get when I was growing up in Fort Worth spurted (fat, I'm sure) on the first bite, but damn they were good. I started making my own sausage a while back, and am experimenting with a recipe for all beef hot links now. I'm not quite totally pleased with the results yet, but will keep fiddling with the recipe until I get the taste I remember. And if I die of a heart attack, so be it. At least I'll go with a smile on my face . THW

This is mostly directed to Mayhaw Man, but open to anyone who knows more than I do (which is a very large group ). Fifi mentioned earlier about using Aidells andouille in jambalaya. I've never tried it, suspecting that they have muted the fire to appeal to more "sensitive" palates. I grew up in Texas, and made numerous trips to Louisiana from time to time. The andouille I remember was almost as hot (from cayenne, I think) as the Texas Hot Links some of us chili heads loved so dearly. Is this memory incorrect? TIA. THW

Fifi; I'm sure that method would work fine. If you're in a hurry, the way I mentioned works well, but could probably be improved. Usually, I'm just rendering enough duck fat to brown the duck breast and andouille for jambalaya, so it doesn't really matter a lot. It never crossed my mind to start out with water in the bottom of the pan (I use a cast iron skillet for the browning). Your method also fits with the stories my Mom used to tell about hog killing time. They started with water in a huge iron kettle (outdoors) to boil the hog to remove the bristles, then continued on, ultimately getting to the process of rendering the lard. Thanks for the link. THW

Of course. I have two, but the unwashed call them ice picks . THW

It couldn't be easier. Rendering is basically the process of melting the fat. Put a little olive oil (or some other kind) in a skillet, add the fat and skin, if any, and fry over low heat until the fat is liquified. Voila, you have rendered fat. Pour it into some container, and refrigerate or freeze, depending on how long it will be before you use it. The little bits of fat and skin that don't melt will be crusty and crunchy, and under no circucmstances should you ever, ever eat those. Instead, you should PM me and I'll give you my address so you can mail them to me . Just kidding, of course. They're delicious by themselves, or served as "crunchies" on a salad like you'd do with bacon bits, or whatever. If you were rendering lard at hog killing time (like my Mom used to talk about), they'd be called "cracklins". Not sure whether that terminology applies to duck "cracklins" or not, but close enough. THW

Almost anything that you like browned in a rich tasting fat (like bacon drippings) will also be good browned in duck fat. When I make a "duck" version of jambalaya (with duck breast, andouille and shrimp), I brown the andouille in duck fat instead of bacon drippings. It is yummy. I'm hoping Mayhaw Man will sign in on this thread, because the Cajuns do tons of good things with duck fat. THW Edited to upgrade spelling to 10-year-old level.

I use Julia's method but for 15 minutes. I just checked a hard boiled egg I had left over from making chopped liver a few days ago - no iron sulfide ring. Of course, then I had a hard boiled egg that I just couldn't waste...so I made myself a deviled egg . Based on the replies in this thread, it doesn't appear to me that the time is all that critical. THW

FG; My gut reaction is that anything that is being touted for its non-stick qualities probably won't produce anything worth deglazing. THW

I'm not 'expert' enough to add much here except to nominate the above for the funniest line I've read in a long, long time . THW

Ted; Thanks for the help. Internships I know about first hand, and have supervised a few myself. I probably should have made that connection, but until I started reading eGullet, I had never even heard of a stager or stagiere. Anyway, thanks again for the explanation. THW

Dear eG'ers; There seem to be (at least) two distinct 'layers' here on egullet; one is mostly pros and writers who know all the lingo, etc.; the other is amatuers and novices like YHS who enjoy food and cooking at various levels but know about such things only vicariously. Just finished reading loufood's good fortune re El Bulli. All sounds really great (and my heartiest congrats to her). One minor problem. I haven't a clue what a 'stager' is or does. From the exchange, I gather that it is a job that doesn't pay (not my idea of a really great job ), but to be at El Bulli I gather it's worth the 'slave' conditions. Could someone please enlighten one of the unwashed (moi)? 1. What is a stager? 2. What does a stager do? 3. Why on earth would you work for nothing? Any and all help (preferably with a minimum of condescension) would be appreciated. THW

Malawry; I'm sure I'm too late to catch you tonight, but if you find yourself in Clarendon again, you might want to check out Queen Bee on Wilson Blvd (I think). I haven't eaten there in a couple of years, but at one time they had absolutely the best whole fried fish I've ever eaten...anywhere...nothing short of spectacular. Moderately priced and very, very tasty. FWIW. THW

My family is not Jewish, but after reading this thread I was drooling on the keyboard and just couldn't stand it any longer so tried making latkes for the first time for Tuedsday night's supper. I used mostly Rachel's recipe, modified slightly, and Boulud's method with the ring molds, and served them with sour cream and chopped chives. They were pronounced delicious by all (including me ), so I was more than pleased. The next day, my wife told two of her Jewish colleagues about our adventure and they laughed, saying that was how their grandmothers used to make them (grated by hand - I used a food processor), but they just buy ready made stuff (frozen?) at the supermarket. How sad. THW

I'm with the colonel on this one. We have a 12" cast iron skillet that we've had so long I can't even remember not owning it (wedding present, I think). After reading over and over about the wonderful properties of cooking on heavy copper, I decided to spring for a 12" 2.5mm copper Mauviel fry pan bought from these guys (click on the "copper cookware" link on the home page). I use both, but if I were forced to choose, the cast iron would get the nod hands down. And it gets used about 10:1 over the copper. As an aside (no, I'm not on their payroll ), the folks at Country French Collection are very nice. Visited their shop near Reading on a Saturday, and the owner showed me their entire Mauviel collection. Very good prices too, from what I've seen. Perhaps a buck or two more expensive than some, but you can go and see what you're actually getting before you write the check, which is worth something to me. THW

In the early 1970s I was a grad student at UNC, and there was a Fowler's grocery on Franklin St, just west of the "main" part of downtown. At the time, it was the closest thing to a "gourmet" store Chapel Hill had to offer (we could only afford to shop there on payday ). They are long gone now (no idea how long), but is the Fowler's in Durham related to the old one in Chapel Hill? THW

OK Fifi, fess up. When I make Texas caviar, I use black eyed peas. How about a recipe for the hominy version? TIA. THW

OK, I won't ask...but you already knew I was lying, didn't you ? Any chance that yellow hominy didn't get the lye (or alkaline) treatment? That might explain it. And following that notion, were the kernels oversized like the old fashioned hominy I knew? If you've got to be in a vortex, surely the grits one is the place to be . Thanks for the reply. THW Edited so I don't appear quite so dumb. Read first, write later .

And just for a minor PS, why does the time stamp on my last post show up as 7:38 when it's only 6:40 Eastern time ?

Could one of the more informed participants please recap for me? I haven't the faintest damned idea if we've settled anything or not . For what it's worth (possibly very little) my experience is this. I grew up in Texas, and we ate hominy AND we ate grits (yes, I already know about the nomenclature debate from the Charlestonians). Both were white...invariably. And I never in my life saw a corn kernel that was as large as the hominy kernels we ate regularly. For that matter, I've never even seen yellow grits. I was told by old heads that hominy was produced by soaking corn kernels in lye. The end results were (1) the hulls were removed; (2) the kernels swelled up to about five times their earlier size; (3) the lye bleached them to white even if they had started out yellow. Is this wrong? Why do I feel like I'm stumbling around in the dark looking for a light switch ? THW

It (andouille) is also a nice kick in the butt for bland scrambled eggs . One item I've tried in jambalaya with great success (to me) is duck breast instead of chicken. Usually, I use bacon drippings for browning the andouille, but duck fat adds a whole new dimension to the sausage and shrimp. And the contest over who gets the leftovers has been known to incite minor riots . THW

Essentially the same dish made with veal instead of chicken is pretty damn good too. I usually buy Florio dry (Fine), but others more knowledgeable may tell me it's rotgut. Taste is quite pleasant, but then if you start out with a supreme (or veal scallop), mushrooms, wine and cream, how far wrong can you go ? THW

You should be studying pure math (as opposed to applied math). Some of it is basically intellectual masturbation, but the answers are exact .

Wesza, since you seem to be a pro, is there anything affordable (more or less) that we home cooking amatuers could use to age our own beef? The reason I ask is that I am able to buy (at the right time of year) fresh bacon slabs, hams, etc., from hog farmers down in Southern Maryland, and expect I could cut a similar deal on sides or quarters of beef with some of the cattle farmers in Virginia if I knew what to do with the beef after I had it. TIA. THW Edit to correct stupid spelling mistakes.

Several years ago, I used to be able to get Pommery's Moutarde Royale at the Bloomingdales in Tyson's Corner, but then it disappeared. It is a coarse mustard, slightly sweet but still very "mustardy", flavored with Cognac, and IMHO the best I've ever tasted on a rare roast beef sandwich. I sent the folks at Pommery an email, and learned that sometime in the last few years, one of the geniuses in DC decided to slap a 100% tariff on French (the country, not the brand) mustards. Why, I have no clue, because I don't recall ever reading anything about the French "dumping" mustard on the US market . Does anybody know of a source, maybe in Canada, where Pommery can be ordered without having to pay an exorbitant price? TIA. THW FWIW, Pommery said they were hoping to set up a new distributor in FL in the foreseeable future, but I've heard nothing subsequent from them on that topic.

No, you're not [the only one who thinks of sauces that way]. I agree that your categorization by "process" makes a hell of a lot more sense that worrying about who is the mother, who is the step-mother, and who is the red-headed step-child . Like you describe, I'm also a home cook, and I usually have on hand butter, eggs, chicken stock, beef stock, tomato sauce (storebought, unflavored), and a few other basics. And when I start thinking about making a sauce, I think about the process, not the genealogy . THW