billyhill

The other are smoked chicken wings. The bacon was very good. I gave my venison supplier a pound and he returned with 2 pork bellies. It is cut and weighed out and ready to start curing this afternoon.

Bacon turned out fine. 1 3/4" 7 days of curing. Smoked with apple, cherry, and maple mix. I use a little water when I cure my canadian bacon to try and even out the cure. Most is absorbed during curing. In this case, I infused the water with bay leaves. Went light on the sugar and a little maple syrup.

Its about bacon, My lack of faith bothers me. 2.5% (2.25/0.25%) salt/#1 pink salt? Or, do I need to modify my cure? I see a range of numbers. I am also alienated by most recipes having a fixed weight of pork. I like to be able to adjust and calculate. With Canadian bacon and speck, I run 5 kg at a time. 2-2.5 kg packages. I add 50 grams of water each and curing mixture to bring meat and water mixture to 2.5%. Most of the liquid is usually absorbed by the time it is cured. I usually soak the loins before smoking for an hour or 2 and hot smoke at 225-250 till 140 internal (~4-6 hours) and then SV for a few hours @150. Is this the path? The seasoning, I am comfortable with the seasoning, but... I have read Ruhlman and Polcyn, and other books, a host of websites, including this one, and have achieved paralysis by analysis. So now, I turn to my security blanket. Oh mighty egullet, help me. 10.77 lbs. Honestly, It is the only pork belly that ever spoke to me

When I discuss the Endangered Species Act with my students, I have what is hopefully, a very serious discussion about the "paupers of love" (Calvin Trilling, IIRC). Who is going to protect those that are not cute, cuddly, majestic, or marketable on a t-shirt or stuffed animal? Calves/veal are cute and cuddly. Foie gra brings with it a sense of violation people can identify with on some level. There is a lost battalion of other creatures deserving the same consideration, but endangered status/protection of any type is ultimately a political process. What is to become of the paupers of love?

Maybe not the most conventional path, but I chopped some up and combined it with Dianne Kennedy's chili colorado sauce and made nacho's for the kids. Enchilada's would work. I lean toward saucing it.

Was asked to teach carne asada today, and I will.

Its a good bunch of kids, I do not dread this trip. I love lamb, a few of them have had lamb before when I made smoked lamb nachos with leftover lamb and chili Colorado. Black beans and rice might be a good choice.

Nice

Boudin

Other than sneaking away 1 day to go deep drop fishing for swordfish and barrel fish, i plan on doing nothing other than cooking. Even if we get skunked fishing, my brother has a 9 lb chunk of sword loin in the freezer for me. I do not know if I am willing to feed that to teenagers.

Yep chili is added to the list. Pulled pork, if there are enough leftovers could repurposed into a tamale pie/casserole

I make jerky, zucchini chips and dried tomatoes. Nothing else, as of now.

Pulled pork, maybe made before we leave is on the list. Son mentioned making chorizo today, again before we leave.

Son is graduating from high school. For his senior trip, he wanted to go to the beach with his friends. These kids do not come from money, so we will be eating at the beach house for most if not all days. I am comfortable with breakfast, It is lunch and dinner that concern me. Standard kitchen, gas grill, no food allergies, only one picky eater. I am looking for advice. I will have some help, several kids want cooking lessons while we are there.

Ham and beans with cheese, green onion, and roasted poblanos cornbread. Curry

Smoked some picana and a chuck roast yesterday (250 with hickory and cherry), finished both sv. The picana was in 2 inch steaks. Heat was uneven and one finished much earlier. Needed to hold awaiting dinner and I really needed a nap😯. Pulled them and put in SV for 2 hours at 130f. The chuck was a victim of me fading early. I am still recovering from a upper respiratory infection. Pulled it a 148 after about 6 hours in smoker and put it in SV at 160 for 12 hrs. Tried some this morning and it turned out great.

22 hours @ 140 Smoked on a vision ceramic grill @250. I don't remember how long. Cherry, apple, and hickory smoke.

That looks like home. I had a very visceral reaction just looking at it.

Done. Thank you.

My eyes were bigger than my brain and I pulled bones from 9 deer quarter to make stock. My poor little 3 to 4 gallon stock pot does not seem up to the task. I need to either freeze the excess browned bones or lose some sleep and do it in two batches. The internet seems to say yes, but most if not all of those threads are talking about chicken bones.

Put some baby back ribs in the SV yesterday, now in the smoker. I haven't cooked ribs in decades. Texturally, they were fine. Next time, I would go a different direction with the rub. My daughter loved them and these were made at her request.

I am cooking up a pot of lentil curry and black beans with sausage for next week.

Ground up about 3 lbs of well marbled chuck this morning and made burgers tonight. Maybe one of the burgers I have ever eaten. Conecuh hamburger seasoning, a buttered and toasted Sara Lee bun, Duke Mayo, ketchup and mustard. Baked russet or sweet potato. Arroz con pollo from the other night. And a roasted chicken breast for my wife to add to salads

Tried something different making Canadian bacon. Cured and seasoned as usual but instead of smoking to 150f internal, I smoked it for about 2 hrs at 250 and then finished with 3 hrs in a 150f bath. even worse than usual picture but results were very moist.