Abra

Gack! Here I was worrying about cyber-contagion of molds, and what do I have? Ron's Green Goo! Here's my lardo, after 13 days in the cure, wrapped light-tight, weighted, in the fridge the whole time. Now isn't that gross? It smells just fine, perfectly sweet and neutral, but hey, the little meat strip running through the fat is all green. Now, this lardo was thoroughly covered in fresh thyme as it cured, but the thyme was all on the top surface, not touching the part that is now Ghastly Green. You eat the stuff raw. It's green meat. All I can do is toss it, right?

Thanks, Deborah. It's been quite the vicarious treat!

Wowsers, Chris, that was a beautiful save from a moment of what looked like sure disaster. Congratulations! Ok, next up for me will be peperone. My husband adores peperone pizza. I forget if you guys mentioned above - did you use sheep casings to get it smaller? I swear, pork and beans is one of the world's hardest dishes to photograph. But I wanted to post this here because I knew you guys would get it totally. Rancho Gordo's Ojo de Cabra Beans with Four Home-Cured Porks: Guanciale, Double Smoked Bacon, Tasso, and Pork and Garlic Sausage. I was telling my husband how easy it had been to make dinner tonight, and he said "yeah, but it took you three months to get your mise together!"

That's so true, Pan. I used to make a point of asking for a panino or a biscotto, until I realized that all the servers were rolling their eyes at my lack of education. Those, that is, that weren't actively re-pronouncing it clearly, and with emphasis, in the plural, just to make sure I knew what was correct.

Oh, thanks for checking up for us, Paula! A splendid dish in your honor will be forthcoming, as soon as the rifi arrives.

Ok, I'm bowing to the larger consensus - we'll skip Higgins. What we like is wham! pow! never had this before and it sure is interesting and full of flavor! type-food. I'm making my own charcuterie, so I probably wouldn't go anywhere just for that. Ok, it's looking like Andina, Park Kitchen, Apizza Scholls, Simpatico, Pix, and probably Olea are on the list now. And the Saturday market for sure, if it's still on, even with the parade-foo. I'm so appreciating all the advice!

Jason, in my shot above, you can see 1 1/2 lbs of meat in a 6 quart bowl. I've been making small batches, since we can't eat that much sausage. More would fit, of course, but that might help you gauge the amount that will do well in your KA. This batch was paddled for 2 minutes. I did rinse the lamb prosciutto, by the way, but completely forgot about the soak. I'm not acquitting myself too well as far as following directions goes. Great find, Martin! I never noticed the Search Topic button either.

Wow, Mark and Chris both lost their mold on the same day. Makes me feel like running down to check on my saucisson sec, to be sure their mold hasn't migrated to my house. Today I finally ground and tubed the fresh pork sausage I diced and seasoned...three days ago. I swear, it smelled fine. So now, because I don't have sausaging down yet, I've got to do some more tech support show and tell. But first, a neat little trick I invented just for Susan. A shallow bowl of ice slides right in under the KA bowl as it paddles. You can see the frosty condensation on the KA bowl. Now, to the help section. Last time I think I didn't get the bind right. All of your pictures helped me enormously - does this look right? And several of you commented that my last batch looked overstuffed. Do these look better? They didn't burst this time, but then, I cooked them on ultra-low heat. And last, to the cooked sausage. This time I cooked them very slowly to 150. If anything, they still seem too finely ground, although I did them on the coarse die. Are they over-emulsified? Or is this on target? They weren't at all crumbly, but I wouldn't describe them as exactly juicy. I didn't add backfat this time, because I was using a store-bought butt and it had a lot of fat. I also did lose some juices by temping them obsessively, thereby pricking a number of small holes in them as they cooked. What say you Sultans of Sausage?

Uh, how DO they say croissant at Burger King??? Me, I say cull-inary, unashamedly. What gets to me, even more than chi-POL-te, is when people say or write MAR-sca-pone. WTF, can't people even read anymore? I'm totally rising above expresso and nucular. Beneath comment.

With a support team like Mooshmouse and Canucklehead, you don't need Maidenform! I'd like to trade in my support team for yours, please.

I know it's a bit off topic, but I'm sure chrisamirault wants to know as much as I do - Dave W., please tell us how you did the szechuan pepper/lapsang souchong bacon. I'm just about to make more bacon, and that sounds so good.

The tracking system shows that my order was received, but not shipped. I've sent them an email, but majkeli's post is discouraging me. My lemons have been done for ages - fortunately, they're delicious in other things.

Thanks for the links, Pam! Has anyone been to Olea since November? Just because the guy I know here is a friend of the owner and promises they'll take "fabulous" care of us, I'm thinking of Olea for our actual anniversary dinner. I'd like to get that night right, though.

Ok, brunch at Simpatica is going on the list for sure! We've been to Wildwood, and liked it well enough, but not enough to do again. I have read mixed reviews about Higgins, but I was thinking that for a lunch, it would be good to try, since several people I know really like it. I think we're trying not to get too dressed up and elegant, which is why some of the other well-known and high-zoot places aren't on the list for this trip. (plus ExtraMSG kind of pans some of them on his super-helpful compilation) Will the whole city be mobbed because of the parade? Can anyone comment on Olea?

That's a really cute spot prawn picture - they look really punk, all spiked out. What a feast that was - hard to imagine it being impromptu!

Arggh, eeek! Now that Jason mentions it, I forgot to SOAK the lamb! That's why mine is so much darker than the others, and dried so much quicker, I didn't soak it! But I love it just the way it is, so maybe the soak is optional? So nice to see Susan and Fifi and their enticing sausages.

That's a great service, David, because I use a lot of recipes from your site and like to be able to rely on them. I haven't tried this one but I've had trouble with a couple of her other recipes in the past. They sound good, but I've never thought they turned out well. I don't even try her stuff anymore. It's weird, because she's acclaimed.

The annual Portland Rose Parade happens to be on our anniversary this year, so of course we're going down there. It's not every year you get a giant parade to celebrate your anniversary. We'll be there 3 nights. On my initial restaurant list for this trip are: Park Kitchen Higgins Andina Bewon Pix (and possibly Olea, because I have a little connection there, but I know the reviews are mixed at best) My husband would probably like to see Apizza Scholls and Low's BBQ added to this list, and seeing that it's his anniversary too.... Comments? Suggestions? PM to join us?

Dude, you're a better man than I. Well, that might not actually sound like a compliment...but no way I would have put that green stuff in my mouth. And you lived to tell the tale. That's testosterone for you!

I missed Chirs' butt crack the first time around, but now I see it, and it looks...not as porno as I'd imagined. However, it does look delicious, if slightly undercooked. I'm sure the leftovers were better than the original, although =Mark's sauce can fix up just about any butt there is and whatever ails it. That sauce totally rocks. When I pull mine and wrap in foil I put it in a cooler for a couple of hours, per Col Klink's instructions. That works a treat (although I know your guests would have had to go home hungry last time).

Very pretty, peanutgirl! My rifi still hasn't come after 7 weeks. Maybe I should hold my breath until I turn blue?

Mark, yes, it was at Tulio, which is a very nice place on the corner, downtown. How did you ever guess that? Your sausages are really looking good! For the saucisson sec I started yesterday I hand-diced the back fat, to see if the added definition would be nice. Welcome back, Jason. Thanks so much for that lamb prosciutto recipe - it's a winner.

Mark - I started with only a 3.5 lb boneless leg of lamb piece. I did the 14+7 cure in the fridge, then after just a little over 2 weeks hanging it had already lost 50% of its weight coming out of the cure. Your bigger piece will take longer, I'm guessing. You might consider cutting it in half. The piece I have makes slices that are just the right size for serving, and I'm thinking that a shorter hang time lessens the likelihood of Evil Molds.

Corpse Reviver - great drink! What's the #2 part mean? It looks like we were all productive today. I got a small batch of saucisson sec started, and now it's hanging for 3 weeks or so. I had everything so cold, probably too cold. It still showed below freezing after the grind and paddle. I don't see how that could hurt, but then, sausage is not my strong suit so far. I made skinny links, so they'd dry faster, although the slices won't be as impressive. And I have the pork resting in its seasoning for the fresh pork and garlic sausage. I've got to master the texture thing soon, it's driving me crazy. Tonight I started thinking about how much pastrami and ham my husband eats, and wondering why we buy them instead of making it at home. Space to hang, that's a ham problem. But pastrami, no reason to hold back, right? Has anybody tried it yet? Chris, I'm not understanding the oil part of the smoked salt. You made a slurry with oil? Or did you mean you just oiled the bowl? Ron, I know what you mean about eating the green jowl. I always eat some of whatever the newest cured meat is first. If I don't die, I give some to other people. Green scares me, though. I wonder what that was all about? Does anyone know about how safe it is to taste a mix with DC #2 in it? I cooked up a bit of the saucisson sec mix, just to test the seasoning, but I thought I could taste the nitrate, so I spit after getting the flavor. Now, should I make a joke about spitting instead of swallowing, or a joke about needing corpse reviver #2 after tasting DC #2? I was worried, though, so any science on the subject would be appreciated.

No, Chris, don't throw it out! I read that you should wipe the outsides of the sausage with vinegar, or a vinegar solution, to see if you can get rid of the mold. Hurry, wipe down the remaining ones! You've got nothing to lose by trying.