lancastermike
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Posts posted by lancastermike
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Cool trip, Klary. I'm from the wrong part of the US to help you with tips, but I know you will have fun. All of us USA E-Gullet folks love reading and seeing about your life and eats in Holland. Glad you are able to make this wonderful trip
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Skip the LeBlon. Mae de Ouro is now available in PA as an SLO, curiously also carried by Southern Wine & Spirits. Way smoother and makes a righteous caipirinha.
I'm happy to say I was able to help make this happen. There's hope if you're really determined.
katie,
We have been using "51" with good results, really has become our favorite summer drink. The Mae de Ouro is worth the SLO you think? I'll be placing a SLO for some other items soon and maybe I'll try this as well. What are they getting for a bottle?
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I've never been a fan of Kingsford, either. I greatly prefer lump and generally use Royal Oak brand. It burns hotter and faster than briquettes but has a much "cleaner" flavor, for lack of a better description.
=R=
I have used both lump and Kingford. For grilling the lump gets hotter and is great. In the smoker I think the lump can get to hot. Can you really taste a difference Ron? I know for meat smoked with hardwood added to the charcoal I cannot. I won't argue the point, perhaps my palette is not discerning enough. Lots of BBQ contests have been won with Kingsford. I'll use whatever works, I am not wedded to Kingford,but it does the job for me.
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Does anyone else think the new Kingsford suck?
Over on the Weber Virtual Bullet site they are all but apoplectic about this. Frankly, I don't see the big deal. It certainly starts faster. A chimney of the new is ready much sooner than the old. I have had no trouble at all maintaining a good temperature.
And I have not seen a reduction in total time that the fuel lasts. Yesterday when I took the pork off the WSM after 10 hours I still had time left. It would have gone for another couple of hours without re-fueling.
So to me, it has been a non issue. I know others feel it has made a big difference in long cooks
The country ribs I just whacked up into individual ribs. Not like eating spares. Tasted much mor like the butt than spares. Very good stuff though.
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Never used cheesecloth on pork. I have used it on a turkey breast and it may have helped it brown nicely. Sort of a pain though.
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When it falls apart on the way from the WSM to the kitchen it is a good sign
Pulled and ready to eat.
I guess Abra is right. These butt pictures look alot like my other butt pictures. Still, I love making it, eating it and talking about it. Wonderful stuff that butt
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My wife went out of town on a big shopping trip. Alone at home, except for the dogs, what to do?
Butt, that's what!
A foggy and humid morning to start
On the top is a six pound boneless butt. The bottom rack has two hunks of "country style ribs" I went to my localmarket this morning as they had spares on sale in the "value pack" However, they had none value packed at that early hour. The meat guy offered me these at the same price. As far as I know country style ribs are just a cross section cut of shoulder. Pretty much the same as butt. However, it was a good price and the guys there really are square with me so I got them
A little smoke and a lot of fog makes this tough to read, nice smoking temp. The WSM will hold this a long time
188, this boy is out of the stall and almost done
looks pretty good as well
These are the country style ribs. I took them off and they are currently resting in some foil. I left the butt on for a little while more and when it comes off and I get it pulled I'll show some more pork
Goofy gratuitous dog picture, Arlo the dog at leisure
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My wife is coming to San Diego for the ESRI convention the second week of August. I am coming along as her guest. I really have read the San Diego threads and there are some places that sound nice.
When I first heard we were coming I thought that we could find real Mexican food. It simply does not exist were we live. From reading your posts that does not seem to be the case in San Diego as much as I had hoped for.
Your posts are great. The thing for us travelers is being able to understand where places are located. We are staying at the Marriot right at the convention center.
Anyplace good that is within walking distance? If not, reachable by the trolley?
I guess what I was looking for is tips more by area and how to get to them. I love the cheap eats thread and lots of those places sound great.
Thanks to all
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Ahem. Time the Kettle Queen chimed in. My Weber Kettle One-Touch (22" version) is 25 years old and going strong. I can grill, and I can smoke on this thing, like a pro, and have taught many other's to do so. This piece of equipment is almost indestructable -- it has spent 25 winters sitting on a Minnesota patio or deck. We have replaced the wood handles (I think they now have plastic handles) and we did need to replace the damper inside this summer ($9.95; the wood for the handles was "inventory" in the garage as were the screws).
I use a chimney and Kingsford. I can get the temp inside this baby down to about 160 degrees and can go very high. Oh, and I did break down, once I started smoking meat and got a hinged grate, which made it much, much easier to add charcoal and wood.
Should you be interested in smoking meat, please check out these topics:
Smoking Meat at Home (there is an accompanying Q & A).
And my personal favorite -- Behold My Butt. This one will make you run -- not walk -- to get a Weber Kettle and a big ass bone-in butt.
Just go and buy a Kettle! (Weber really should pay me!)
I tried to warn them, Susan
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I have eaten lots of BBQ, even been to friends homes who have BBQed, I even owned a habachi for fire escape BBQing until my landlord threatened to have me and it removed forcefully. But, when it comes to the real deal, i'm clueless.
Okay, but be aware that a Hibachi or a Weber grill is not "BBQ". It's OUTDOOR GRILLING. Which is one of my favorite things in the world to do, but lets call it what it is.
"BBQ" like you would get at a barbecue restaurant requires low temp and slow cooking over hardwood and fruit wood smoke. Totally different animal.
For books I reccomend The Big Book Of Outdoor Grilling and Entertaining. They did a few of the BBQ seminars/demos at the Big Apple BBQ Block Party and are very knowledgeable. The book covers traditional, low temperatrure 'Q and also outdoor grilling methods. Its over 500 pages long and has TONS of stuff.
I will run for cover when Susan reads this, Jason. She makes wonderful BBQ using her trusty Weber kettle. Some of us have tried to talk her into a WSM to no avail. You CAN do some smoking with a kettle, but it is a learned technique
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A basic kettle style grill and a big chimney starter are all you need to do lots of things. A good solid pair of tongs and a long handled metal spatula are nice as well.
And I think plain old Kingsford is fine. If you study this subject you will finds lots of talk about lump charcoal. It is wonderful stuff, but can be finicky.
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Into the wilderness Marlene went,
You're kidding, sleep in a tent,
A princess at night,
wants not bugs that bite,
And breakfast in bed to be sent
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Feeling of fine fettle,
Susan Fahning fires the kettle,
Sausage, turkey, bacon or butt,
She knows keeping that lid shut,
Brings results that deserve a gold medal
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I believe that it has to have a sugar rim and a whole orange peel to be a crusta, at least according to the old recipe. However, I agree the sugar rim is too much for the borboun. Rye is better as is brandy. The only brandy I have used is just plain old Christian Bros.
Other bases that may work? Gin certainly. I wonder about tequilla. Have never tried it.
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Thanks for the wine tips. I also smoke alot of meat, mostly pork. And I too enjoy wine.
However, I find the best beverage match for smoked items include barley malt and hops, not grapes.
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I thought I'd chime in here and link the purpose of this topic that I started with the question Mike raises here.
I've had the same "Why bother?" thought in the past about other sorts of cooking and food prep. For me, it comes down to a few different things.
The first is learning. When I bought David Thompson's Thai Food, I read it cover to cover, because I was fascinated to learn about a cuisine that I had enjoyed at restaurants, that I knew very little about, and whose foundations were so utterly different from those of the Western cuisines that formed my own basic cooking knowledge. I haven't repeated that experience until getting Charcuterie, when I immersed myself in matters and methods (curing, smoking, waiting, fermentation, humidity, temperature and, yes, sanitation, bacteria, and mold) that were utterly new to me.
That learning has changed the way I approach those foods outside of my own kitchen. I have a far more developed sense of meat quality, of the relationship between moisture and texture, and of smoke as a flavoring agent and preservative, say, than I've ever had before. That appreciation carries over to my pleasure in eating a perfectly cured and well-defined slice of crespone, and makes me appreciate the decisions a chef has made concerning fat:meat ratios, the fineness of the grind, and spicing in a delicate rabbit sausage.
Finally, while I'm sure that there are artisans out there who make better sopressata than I do (and manage to eat most of it instead of throwing it away
), I have to say that I make better bacon, sausage, and barbecue pork than anyone around these parts. If I had unlimited (instead of severely limited) cash I could spend a few bucks extra per pound and get higher quality stuff via the mail, sure, but what's the point? I'm learning, I'm making great stuff which I share with family and friends, and I can tailor everything to my own tastes. And with the additional information in this topic, I believe I can make safer, better quality product with more consistent results. Why bother? Well, to me, it's the furthest thing from a bother that I can imagine.
Very well stated, chris. Although I am not involved in this particular effort, your passion for what you do reflects that of many of the E-Gullet cookers. I LOVE to smoke meat. I post about it often. There are places I can go and get it without spending 20 hours tending the smoker. I still do it because I learn about it every time. And as you say, serving delicious food I have made to my friends and family gives me great joy.
That's tellin' them Chris
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As many have already said, overnight in the fridge and your stone or oven as hot as you can make it are the keys to making pizza. Also, easy on the toppings, a little is all you need.
Any of the recipes above will work fine. Although the one with the cake flour sort of baffles me. I like Peter Rinehart's in American Pie. He has diferent recipes for different kinds of pies.
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We were in Saturday morning July 8 as well. Got some limes at Iovines at 10 to a buck. I have the sugar and the cachara. Breakfast at Down Home diner was good. They make great pancakes. The servers seemd a little stressed, as if someone did not show up, but it was really pretty good.
Got some bread at LeBus to take home. Did not do a whole lot of shopping as this was early after a long night on Friday.
However the RTM is a treasure. Every time we come to town I have to at least stop in.
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We were at the game on Friday 7/7. We had Schmitters, which is a real good sandwich. Plenty of grease to go around, in fact my wife had hers go flying all over her on first chomp, she had a shirt that would make Holly Moore proud.
I believe Chase Utley had one right before the game started as the dead double play ball he dropped and than could not pick up in the first made it appear his glove had a Schmitter in it.
The Tony Luke's line was so long I did not even think about it. Rick's was not much shorter. Our wifes wanted Chickies and Pete's crab fries. That line was long as well but moved quickly. They were really not to bad, however whatever is in essence of crab that they sprinkle on the fries I really do not care to know.
My seat was on the aisle and I watched a never ending parade of folks coming back from the stands with all sorts of stuff. Somebody made a pile of money on Friday night selling food and drinks.
I almost always have a hot dog at the game. I did not this time as the Schmitter and the fries filled me up.
I have had much worse sandwiches and fries at places other than a ballgame
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We have a "luau" every May long weekend (Victoria Day), and have been doing pulled pork and various other smoked pig items the last couple years. We ALWAYS end up with at least 2 or 3 lbs of extra pulled pork.
IMO this is not a sickness, just really good planning since neither my wife nor I gets much of a meal during the party as we're the hosts. Absolutely nothing wrong with leftover pig
A.
I'm on board the same boat, Arne. When I fire up the smoker I hate to waste all that heat and smoke on just enough pork for the two of us. There is always plenty of extra pulled pork when I do butt.
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We just finished the ribs and they were really good. The lucky couple joined us for dinner. The bride to be, Jamie, said as she was eating her ribs, "I love the hog."
Well. Them's marryin' words if I ever heard them.
As discussed above, I'm still not really sure whay the ribs were so good today,and other times they are not. They did get almost a full hour in foil after they came off this time. Cook's Illustrated says this is a big deal. Ribs remain a mystery to me, but today they were great
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It was spares on the WSM today.
two full racks of spares
A nice sunny day for me to smoke. A rare occasion it seems for me
Guess again, smokeboy. The WSM as a big thunderstorm rolls through
The WSM is a trooper as the temp holds steady through the storm. It rained and boomed pretty hard for about 15 minutes, but all was well with the cooker and the ribs
They are done and are now foiled and waiting for Maggie and her almost daughter in law to get home for dinner after another long day of wedding preparation.
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Last night I had my last Rolling Rock (unless I see some on sale this weekend). I'm concerned because A-B just bought the brand and allegedly bought the recipe, but I've always seem to find when a big brewery buys a little brewery, what starts coming out in those boutique bottles is the same flavor as everything else in their portfolio. I hope I'm wrong, because I've always enjoyed picking up a "box of Rocks" in the summertime.
But being a holiday weekend and all, I think on the way home I'm going to go looking for that Sam Adams collection, or barring that, maybe some Boulevard from Kansas City. My brother's got me hooked on them.
We had pizza last night and my wife asked me to bring beer home. I got a six-pack of Rock. I had some of the same thoughts. Will this be the last I drink it? A-B making it just can't be a good thing
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It is 10AM and I am reading this at work. My mouth is watering. So much beautiful butt! Great job everyone!
Susan, my freezer is also devoid of butt. That urge is coming to me again. A Fourth of July butt? Maybe, oh maybe.
In search of maple sugar candy...
in Pennsylvania: Dining
Posted
The guy who sells maple syrup at Lancaster Central Market has it as well. His product comes from New York state. I agree maple candy is wonderfull stuff