Jaymes

I boil mine every night. Like Darienne, I put the wet sponge into the microwave. I nuke it on 'high' for 90 seconds, which boils the water inside of it. This is beyond easy to do.

Speaking as someone that has done that a couple of times, yes you can get sausage and sides and whatever you want. But be advised that you have to order pretty far in advance. Go to the website, then to the pre-order calendar. https://franklinbarbecue.com

Turned out just great. He even sent me a photo and it looked wonderful. He asked me to thank you for him.

I don't think it's because you smoke things other than brisket more often. Every single pitmaster with whom I've spoken says that brisket is indeed more difficult to get right.

Thanks for the compliment, but I'm not sure that's terribly wise of you. There are definitely a great many folks here on eG that know more about Mexican food than I do. But, like I said, thanks.

I'm no food historian but I strongly suspect that, for a variety of reasons, when the nuns of Puebla first created the dish, they probably used pork.

And regarding the pomegranate seeds - they definitely add something to the dish. In addition to being so beautiful and representing the red in the Mexican flag, they're crunchy and tangy and sweet. But they are basically just a garnish and I've had Chiles en Nogada lots of times without them, including at a cooking class presented by Susana Trilling. She said she was unable to source them in time for the class so she used dried cranberries instead.

The chiles are stuffed with picadillo which is basically a hash. There are a great many recipes for picadillo and most of the ones with which I am familiar do use a bit of sweet fruit but raisins are, in my experience anyway, the most common. You definitely don't need to use pears. I'd suggest you begin your Chiles en Nogada adventures with making a picadillo that you like. Picadillo is a wonderful thing all by itself and is something that I often served in a chafing dish as a hot dip with tortilla chips. Here's a previous thread: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/144227-picadillo-my-first-try/ As far as the walnuts go, I've made it many times with regular walnuts. The most important thing is to have the walnuts be as fresh as possible, but we often have to just make do with what we have. I'd definitely advise you to do that - just soldier through with what you have, rather than abandoning the effort. I've eaten a lot of Mexican food throughout the years and, if I had to pick one dish as my very favorite above all others, it would be Chiles en Nogada. Just keep doing research until you find a recipe/ingredients/method, etc., that works for you. .

So, Shel, I did give your info to my son. That particular Smart & Final is about an-hour-and-a-half away from him but he called the one that's closest and they do have fresh whole, untrimmed briskets so he hopped into his car and drove over there and it's in his offset smoker as we speak. Thanks.

Wow Shel, great info - thanks! I'm forwarding it to my son immediately.

Wonderful post, TFTC. Thanks.

Whole briskets are pretty easy to find here in Texas. Just not so much elsewhere. I don't smoke much of anything here at the old folks' home so don't have an offset smoker, but all three of my kids do and have. We've also got Aaron's book. The only glitch in my family's 'cue life is the problem my California kid has sourcing untrimmed brisket.

No kidding. And in many parts of the country it's dang near impossible to get whole, untrimed brisket. My son smokes great brisket but he lives in the SF Bay area and all he can find for sale are the trimmed brisket flats. He has to special-order whole briskets. Expensive and then he has to wait for the special order to arrive.

When we lived out of the US we could not get decent corn tortillas - an unacceptable situation for my native-Texan husband. So I had his mother ship me pkgs of masa harina like this:http://www.bobsredmill.com/shop/flours-and-meals/golden-masa-harina-corn-flour.html I already had a tortilla press, but it's definitely possible to learn to make tortillas without one. Perhaps you have a friend or relative in North America that could send you some masa.

Hass are what I buy now. In Panama, to tell the truth, I'm not positive what variety they were. Four of the trees were the same variety. I'd say they were "hass-like" if not hass. The fifth tree was different. The Panamians called them "butter avocados." They were ambrosial. So smooth and creamy - buttery - and everybody's favorite.

I buy them year-round at Sam's or Costco in bags of five. They're hard when I buy them. I usually plan far enough ahead that I can wait a few days for a couple of them to ripen on the counter so I set two of them out and put the remainder in the fridge to hold until I'm ready to ripen them. I lived for several years in Panama where we had five avocado trees in our yard. I used basically the same system there. If I need some to ripen quickly, I put them in paper bags. It's been my experience that they'll ripen overnight in a paper bag.

I don't know where in Alaska you are but we were in Central Alaska for a number of years and not buying avocados "in the winter" would have meant giving up avocados for a very long time. And I wouldn't even consider doing that. I had no problems at all when I just bought hard, unripe avocados and brought them home to ripen on the counter. Even when the temperature outside was -30f. ETA - And so now, bigkoiguy, I reread your post and see that you said you refrain from buying RIPE avocados in the winter. In the immortal words of Roseanne Roseannadanna... never mind.

I make many Mexican dishes that call for squash of some sort. And rice.

Indeed I will. And, thanks to your marvelously knowledgeable and informative posts, I am also signing up for a few classes at that cooking school you mentioned. I'll be sure to ask them about the differences. PS - Where in Mexico did you live? You mention Jalisco. Guadalajara? Or maybe Lake Chapala?

I dunno. These things have a way of filtering down. Be interesting to see. I mean, isn't that how it usually goes? First it's something nobody has ever heard of except six boatmen at Pagsanjan Falls. Then a wandering chef in search of adventure stumbles upon it. Then it's the new trend at the very top of the food world. And then it's on sale, two for one, at your local Piggly Wiggly.

Huitlacoche? It's the current darling.

Not exactly what most folks think of as formal "gardening" but, as spring approaches, I am reminded of my mother, who died about six years ago, in the springtime, her favorite season. After my dad retired, he and my mom moved to a big old farmhouse in the country. In front of it ran a dirt road. And every morning, in springtime, my mother would rise early and head out for a nice long walk. In her pockets, she carried seeds - asparagus, strawberry, cantaloupe, and wildflower. She strewed them along the sides of the road as she walked. So that, in the summertime, she'd snack and nibble along her way. And sometimes, even bring some home for the rest of us to enjoy.

I think so, too. Sadly, I never seem to be able to manage it. But I appreciate your vote of confidence. Maybe I'll try harder.

I also wonder if the tacas arabes of Puebla are the same thing as what is called al pastor elsewhere? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_pastor And, ETA - Gulfporter, what great information, and photos. Thank you so very much.

Suggestions?