maher

i would agree that for a terrine very thinly sliced fatback makes sense. ive found caul fat most useful when used almost as sort of a basting element. since it dissolves in sort of thin ribbons as it cooks it bastes any type of roast beautifully.

i have an excellent (dry aged prime grade) whole striploin that i am cooking next week and id love some ideas. i have previously either sliced this into steaks, or grilled it whole and sliced it very thin and rare onto sandwiches. Does anyone have any experience with full striploins, or ideas for something else to do with them, or would that just be a waste of great beef.

the king crab season in alaska is tightly regulated. up until this year, the fishermen made a mad dash in early november to fish as much as they could before the season was declared closed by the alaska fisheries authority. typically the season ran about ten days but occasionally it ran as little as 36 hours depending on how much crab was caught. the crab is kept in live tanks byt the fishermen until they get to shore at which point processing plants cook the crab and flash freeze it for the rest of the year. an excellent documentary was done on this by the discovery channel called the deadliest catch. they have it on repeats pretty regularly so if you are interested it is worth catching. (npi) some quantities are flash frozen for a much smaller period of time, and shipped arond the US (and the world) to be sold as fresh. many suppliers do not even stock this due to the uncertainty of the supply, but i agree with you it is by far the best crab. you should still be able to get high quality frozen crab the rest of the year by sticking to a good supplier, and insisting on the red king crab which is far superior to other varieties that are sold at different times tpically labelled only as alaskan king crab. the key part of the story is that the fishing season was changed for the first time this season (last nov-jan) where each boat was given a quota and an open schedule to fish it, which effectively meant that 'fresh' king crab is now available from late november through february rather than only a two week period, and the frozen crab you get is consequently a lot fresher, having been fished as late as feb instead of nov.

ive done a number of spit roasted lambs and baby pigs, so here are some random thoughts: 1. the absolutely critical part is getting the lamb on the spit right. it has to be very well balanced or it will either stop turning, the spit motor will burn out, or parts will burn while others are raw. you need to think of every cross section of the lamb as a circle around the spit with equal weight on all sides, or at least a good balance between the meat on one side and the spine on the other. spend as much time as you need doing this until it spins freely, and will not swing violently to the same rest position on the spit every time. use plenty of wire to tie to to the spit to get the balance right. i have found that i can help the balance with a couple of strategically placed metal skewers where the weight will not balance. i have also tied some metal bolts, or even an old metal fork or two to help balance the thing out. this part is a pain and takes forever but it is the critical one. 2. make sure you fasten the lamb to the spit very well. if you like your lamb fall off the bone tender, it can end up literally falling apart especially in the rib section where baby lamb is really tiny, and you end up with two pieces hanging off the spit,l or worse, two pieces in the dirt. 3. spread the lamb on as long a spit as you can, (arms forward legs back) to give you a long thin profile, this will allow better heat to all parts and you can control your charcoal, as you need a heavier amount of charcoal at the legs and shoulder where you have more meat, and less at the middle where you have less. as you cook and measure the temperature, you can adjust more charcoal to the areas that need it. 4. i agree with other posts that stuffing is a bad idea, especially for a first effort. also, with a baby lamb, the rib area isnt substantial enough to hold stuffing through the turning and cooking process, and it will leak out and most likely disintigrate. 5. you need some form of fat to keep the lamb moist. when using middle eastern lamb i use its butt fat, but if you dont have access to that i have had great results using caul fat which you can get from any butcher. this is a web like membrane that they get from around the heart and liver of pigs as i understand it and you can basically wrap it around the lamb periodically as you cook. this will melt as you cook and give an amazing flavor. of course if you have a dietary restriction to pork you can use either an oil based marinade or butter. you have to be careful with oil based marinades though as they can make the outside meat burn while the inside remains uncooked, especially in the leg. 6. i would spend three or more hours of the cooking with a low heat (you should be able to hold your hand close to the lamb for a few seconds before it is too hot to keep there) and then finish with thirty mins of high heat to brown. i find if you sear the outside with high heat first you end up with the lower heat not getting through to the middle as well. while i like most of my meat rare, i like spit roasted lamb cooked slow and long (think more like fall off the bone ribs rather than rare steak) if this is what you want, note it the inside will only be cooked through when the thermometer registers close to 200 degrees. 7. if you have access to a caja china, it produces amazing results. i have almost stopped spit roasting i like the caja china so much 8. i find spit roasting works really well when you have brined the lamb for 24 hours or so, and that the lamb needs about three or four days between butchering and cooking. otherwise the meat tends to seize up and be tougher than it should be. i hope this has helped. if you have specific questions id be happy to take a stab at them maher

intelligentsia coffee has a smallish selection of very good loose leaf teas. they tend to buy in batch so the selection is variable, and you have the added bonus of some of the best coffee anywhere. http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com

anything by Green and Black their 70% chocolate bar has more mouth feel than anything ive had, and they have a mint chocolate bar with a liquid mint fondant inside that puts peppermint patties to shame. (just make sure you get the large bar and not the tiny squares, their mint filling is solid and much less appetizing)

not to belittle the emotions all of us felt at the many tragedies of katerina, but hearing the sommelier at Brennan's talking about losing what is one of the worlds top cellars broke my heart.

there are actually a few more variations than that. First there is the turkish coffee, whose brewing technique was covered pretty well in this thread. It is typically drunk with some sugar, frequently with quite a lot. It isground extremely fine, and the mixture includes roasted cardamom as an optional extra. Most people in the Middle East have their own preference for level of roast, but it typically includes a blend of anywhere between half and 75% medium roast, and the remainder of dark or very dark roast. this gives it both the body and the dark roasted taste that is characteristic of turkish coffee. (i am partial to a mix that is about 60% medium roast, 35% dark roast, and about 5% or less cardamom) Second there is the Saudi Coffee, which is a mix of almost equal quantities very lightly roasted coffee and cardamom. they are ground to a relatively coarse grade (think electric perk), boiled for at least 5 minutes, and then left to steep. the coffee is then filtered out, and typically keeps well in a thermal carafe from which it is poured for up to an hour or so. It is served typically without sugar, and in quite small quantites, about a demitasse at a time. Third is a more conventionally roasted arab coffee, which is prepared in a manner similar to the Saudi coffee, but with a fairly darkly roasted bean. It is prepared in a very similar manner to the Saudi coffee, and is more commonly drunk in the northern arab countries, (Jordan, Syria, Iraq) For any of these types of coffees, the best bean is likely to be one of the red sea region, either yemeni mocha, or ethiopian yergechaffe will work well. Finally, what the Lebanese refer to as white coffee (ahwe baida) isn't actually coffee at all. It is hot water into which is poured a teaspoon of orange blossom water. it is typically drunk at the end of meals, and many in the region believe it acts as a digestif.

oops sorry Richard i havent been on egullet in a while so i didnt see your post. cmc have been a total savior in finding the stuff that i can never seem to get elsewhere. i use them mainly for SE Asian and Middle Eastern ingredients but they have a pretty broad catalog of spices. ive never had a problem with their quality maher What about it? Tell us more. ←

http://www.thecmccompany.com/

i couldnt recommend the caja china more, i have tried it with lamb, pig, chicken, as well as assorted parts like beef short rib and brisket. it does require a bit of care, but i found that by inserting a meat probe with thermometer into whatever is in the caja china i had a pretty good idea of where i was in the cooking process without having to open it all the time.

i would contact one of the well known english dealers. I have had very good luck working with Berry Brothers and Rudd, www.bbr.com and im sure they can help

I picked up some really meaty beef short ribs from my butcher and spent a couple of hours reading different recipes over the net to try and figure out what to do with them. As near as i could tell every single braising recipe involved 3-5 hours of cooking. Being the impatient type i dug out the pressure cooker that has been gathering dust for years in the back of the kitchen cupboard. All i can say is i am reconverted to the glories of this thing. I have for the first time totally fall off the bone ribs, and i got a phenomenal base stock for my french onion soup as an added bonus. to top it all off, the entire process is a one pot, one hour job. ill bet there are plenty of people on this board who have a pressure cooker somewhere in the kitchen (or even storeroom, or attic). Dig it out, brown some beef short ribs in it, with a little oil, brown some whole unpeeled onions as well. then cover with water, add a couple of bay leaves, some peppercorns, cinnamon sticks and a couple of cloves. Lid on, and an hour later you have heaven.

as an avowed hot sauce conoisseur i am horrified, yes, horrified, at this latest silliness!!!!! Hot sauce that is 1. not meant to be consumed, 2. will burn through your stomach lining and onto the floor, and 3. is designed as a collectible??????? i thought this was egullet, not e-hummel-figurines.com! i say force the producer of this stuff to drink his own medicine, and be banished to watching reruns of the 'world of collectibles' on community access tv

i grind to a medium coarse grind, about the same as for a french press as far as the unwanted ingredients ive been pretty happy with the results regardless of stirring and cant really discern a difference between the two

i would try some home roast or at least a fresh roast from a local roaster before making the purchase. i have been using an old very heavy cast iron skillet to roast at home for a couple of years, and i have had great results, all it takes is a stir every minute or so for ten minutes total, and you end up with fantastic coffee. There is something to the open skillet and working withthe beans as they change that appeals to me as well. as noted by others you need to either do this near a window, or outdoors as there will be smoke!! but there will also be the smell of heaven for a coffee lover that lingers in the house overnight

ive never had a problem with the dry grounds, but i also havent detected any difference between when i stir and when i dont (yes i know the instructions prohibit it, but the tinkerer in me couldn't resist, and it made no difference at all) my experience also is that to make any decent body when using this for hot coffee rather than iced, i need to use a much darker roast than i would use with my press. that somehow compensates for the cold brew and the acidity is still very low

thanks ill wait for your feedback, i couldnt make much of the german in it

I was introduced to the glories of something called Friesengeist at a birthday celebration last week. A bottle was produced by a friend that seems to have reduced the rest of the evening to a blur. The liquor comes in a full bottle (70cl) of a clear spirit as well as a small bottle of amber coloured liquid (5cl) I guess that what you do is mix the two together, and light them before drinking? does anyone have any more feedback on this drink? what the traditional technique is for drinking it .... etc?

get the nutella cold in the fridge and place in the middle of a croissant before aking, it melts as the croissant cooks and is amazing! it also works well (though not as well) in hings like the pillsbury crescent rolls. There is a much better version of nutella called nougatina. it is made by Cuba Venchi. The only place i have found it in the us so far is on the zingermans site but its pretty $$$. if anyone knows of other sources please tell. its a much deeper chocolate taste which i prefer

i need a good recipe for hot sauce, any ideas? i have a batch of superhot spanish pilpil peppers that i just picked in the garden. i normally make these into Libyan/Moroccan Harissa, but id like to try something different. all suggestions welcome

have you tried Nougatina? its made by Cuba Venchi and is a darker chocolatier version of nutella. its truly amazing. i have had a hard time finding it but it is carried by zingerman of AnnArbor Mich. If anyone has other internet sources id appreciate it

thanks Dan any chance of getting some of those names? i will certainly be trying as many of the local spirits as i can locate!!

thanks Dan any chance of getting some of those names? i will certainly be trying as many of the local spirits as i can locate!!

thanks Dan any chance of getting some of those names? i will certainly be trying as many of the local spirits as i can locate!!