Edward Dekker

This weekend I used my IP for pork hocks. I started with one small hock, one large hock, and a trotter. The pork was cooked with a German Oktoberfest beer. After finishing in the IP, the small hock and trotter went into the Air Fryer. I checked the liquid left in the IP, it was loaded with gelatin but the taste was not pleasant. I gave the pork too much time in the air fryer. The skin was over crisped as was the meat. The pork meat was well past the jerky stage. I had ruined two pieces of pork. I refrigerated the large hock. The next day I crisped the skin. The skin was fantastic. The meat however was dry.

I keep returning to two hot sauces: Mad Dog Liquid Fire Cajun Sunshine Mad Dog Liquid fire is a very hot Peri Peri pepper sauce with a fantastic taste but I use in small quantity due to the heat. Cajun Sunshine is a sauce I use in larger quantities. I describe it as a cayenne pepper sauce with seeds which is hotter than Tabasco

InstantPot describes the new Instant Pot Max https://instantpot.com/portfolio-item/max-6/ as being capable of sous vide. The early sales material for the Ultra included Sous Vide but that changed. //begin cynical comment I can only speculate that either the temperature regulation was not as good as planned in the Ultra or the feature has been reserved for the higher price Max. //end cynical comment

20 some years ago, when I bought my first induction hob, one of the first induction ready pans I purchased was a saucier. A pan which looks like a flat bottom wok with a very large flat bottom and thick heat distribution plate. My (flat bottom) wok was my most frequently used pan. I still have the wok ring which I purchased as an add on for the gas range,. After using the saucier, the wok moved into less and less accessible storage. Eventually I gave it to the town swap shop to find it a new home. I have never found anything that the wok could do an the saucier not do as well or better. (I have never had or used a high power wok burner.)

What is the recipe for the Caramel Apple Pound Cake?

I am missing something here. You are going to reheat a cooked ham then chill it only to reheat it later. This seems to be a way to dry out the ham. Could you slice the ham cold and go directly into the slow cooker with the glaze? I think this would give you better ham when you serve it

The best Poultry stock I made was the stock from the bones in a Turducken. Turkey, Duck and Chicken bones browned in the oven and simmered for 12 hours with celery, onion, bell pepper and spices. The entire house would smell wonderful. It would be reliably great every time. (This was before I started making stock in a Pressure cooker.) The stock would make great stuffing and gravy for the Turducken. I wonder if adding Duck stock concentrate, Duck fat, Chicken stock base, and Chicken fat would work to improve turkey gravy. I have been on a low sodium diet for long enough that many common foods I used to like, now taste like a salt lick to me.

I like the low sodium level of your recommendation. I have been using More Than Gourmet Roasted Turkey Stock (https://www.amazon.com/More-Than-Gourmet-Volaille-16-Ounce/dp/B0010OOLFU . The More Than Gourmet tastes great but is 330 mg sodium per 210 ml of stock.

That sale is over but yesterday Amazon put the Instant Pot Ultra 6 quart on sale for $87.99. One is due to arrive Wednesday. Now I need to decide what accessories are a priority.

I know how good Sous Vide Turkey breast is. In 2009 I confessed to buying boning bagging and refreezing 7 turkeys. I loved the dark meat both on its own but also ground and used with beef and pork to make meatloaf.

Market Basket has frozen turkeys this week for $0.69 a pound. I saw them at the Market Basket at 495 and 119 today when I stopped for food.

The Zojirushi NHS-06 may be what you are looking for. Its a little bigger with a 3 cup maximum capacity. Here is a photo with a Pyrex 2 cup measuring cup as a size comparison.

Today I cooked a crispy skin Pork Belly. I took a nice piece of pork belly. Lightly seasoned the meat side with Meat Magic and put a thick layer of salt on the skin. Steam Roast 350 for 60 minutes. The salt formed a crust. Sections of the crust came off while other sections of the crust had to be broken up and brushed off. The Pork Belly was then back into the CSO - Convection Roast 450 for 40 minutes. The result was a very crispy skin with a nice crunch. More development is need - the meat was ok but not as flavorful and tender as i hoped. I note that this Pork Belly has far less internal fat than I expected. A pork belly with more fat may have worked better.

The way I compost is to accumulate a small amount of scraps (1 or two days if the weather is dry a few more if there is rain outside.) I usually us a 6 quart plastic container. I take the scraps out to the garden with a shovel. I pick a spot which needs weeding and dig a hole big enough for the scraps and invert the weed filled soil on top (so the roots will dry out). It is minimal effort and I don't need to buy anything I didn't already have.

I made the discovery that GrubHub and BeyondMenu will deliver to a hospital room. I have spent considerable time in the hospital over the last few years. Last year I spent most of Spring summer and fall waiting for a heart transplant and since the transplant I have had issues with my kidneys and low blood pressure. I was going crazy on the food from the hospital kitchen. (The hospitals cardiac transplant program is the best in the northeast, the kitchen is outclassed by a 1960s vintage elementary school cafeteria.) I will admit I was envious of patients with local family bringing in care packages every day. Two months ago I discovered to my surprise that GrubHub would deliver to my hospital room. I saved up my allowed salt (days of eating mostly fruit) and would get a really good bag of food which lasts for a few days. Then it was back to fruit (the kitchen puts strawberries in a cup very well). In the last two months I have had 4 deliveries. I can show you the packaging from the remains of my last order. The Nan was wrapped in foil and the other dishes were packaged in plastic containers. Shown in the photos is Nan, basmati rice, Lamb Biryani, Lamb shank curry. These photos are right out of the refrigerator. The food looked much better when delivered warm and will look better after reheating. These pictures and this food does not compare to the plated meal pictures on this forum but it is welcome relief from an over grilled chicken breast which could be used to resole a shoe. (One of the hospital kitchen's best dishes.)