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Pallee

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Everything posted by Pallee

  1. Susan, Keep your unused casings in a container of water in the refrigerator. I've kept them a few weeks and they are fine. Just run cold water in the container for a few minutes to rinse them before using next time. Beautiful sausage, BTW. It is so easy, you kind of wonder why it took so long to do it, eh? Some of my chicken sausage recipes use olive oil instead of fat back. I've also used the real fatty part of bacon for a bit of smokey goodness.
  2. Abra, I always take all the bark I can off wood I'm using to cook with as the bark can cause acrid smoke. I think you're fine using wood that's been seasoned a year, even if it's not bone dry. I used to live next to an orchard and got trimmings all the time and they were fine after even a summer. That salami looks great! And I can't wait to make the andouille!
  3. I wouldn't use pork fat as it could turn rancid since you don't clean the gears. Make sure you take the o ring off everytime you clean the plunger as goop gets in there. I also sanitize everything, including my grinder, everytime I clean up with a bleach solution. Old habit.
  4. My Salter drove me crazy. Even after fresh batteries, it would zero out in the middle of weighing ingredients. I tried lots of fixes and then found this - http://www.myweigh.com/mediumscales_i5000.html I am so happy I did. I got the optional AC adaptor, but even with just the batteries, I've had no problems.
  5. I have the Northern Tool stuffer, which looks identical to the Grizzly and it's great. Stainless steel, 3 horns, pressure relief, gasket, and very smooth action. You will want to clamp it to your counter or cutting board. The only thing extra that might be nice would be a gear disengager so when you're done stuffing you don't have to crank the handle to get the plunger back up. But that's not worth even $50 extra to me.
  6. Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is there's a new Pierre Herme book out! The bad news is I am a bone head and didn't realize that and thought the Patisserie de Pierre Herme was the book being refered to. So now I have a new expensive book to lust after? Sorry for my mistake...
  7. I have it and it's beautiful. Geared toward the professional, it assumes a certain amount of knowledge, so it's not heavy on explanation. Also, the recipes are geared toward production - a component recipe may produce more than you need with the assumption that you're doing other things with it. BTW, I live in Portland, so if you want to see it sometime, PM me - I'd like to see your work anyway!
  8. Pallee

    Found this.

    It's a type of polypore. Very beautiful. Some times they are used for dyes. They usually grow on dead wood or roots and usually indicate rot of some sort, so I probably wouldn't be having any polka dances on your deck until you get the structure checked!
  9. I just made 5 # of Thai chicken sausage (not from the book) and stuffed it using casings I've had soaking in the fridge for over 2 weeks. No problems at all and they slipped on the horn really easily. I'm wondering how long you can keep them soaking........has anyone had any problems with casings that have soaked longer?
  10. Great looking bacon! I agree, I'll be hard pressed to go back to store bought after the wonderful results of home made. When I gave my brother a year of "Bacon of the Month Club" a while back, their favorite of the year was a garlic stuffed bacon. I may try that next, where you insert whole cloves of garlic into the belly before the cure. Now here's my peperone report. Two weeks ago I made a batch with only 2 grams of Bactoferm instead of 20. I also added 4 tsp of ground black pepper. I used a piston type stuffer instead of the auger on my grinder and only used the coarse plate to grind. What a difference! The texture is much improved due to the change in grind and the new stuffer. It cured up great and has a more "meaty" flavor. I'll back the black pepper back to 2 tsp. next time, but all told, quite a success.
  11. I made a first course out of my pork confit by putting down a bed of cannellini runner beans, a layer of braised greens, the sauteed confit, crumbled goat cheese, toasted walnuts and chives with a demi glace. If you're beaned out, skip the beans.
  12. Mine had nipples. Since we're on the subject, my neighbor was over for dinner celebrating her 55th birthday with dinner at our house. She was joking about it being "double nickles" and my cousin from Montana didn't quite hear her and said something to the effect "Of course you have double nipples, doesn't everyone?" My pork belly had more than 2!
  13. I put a tray on the rack above the bacon and put a ziplock full of ice on that as well as ice below. It helped keep the temp low.
  14. That looks like a great kitchen to play in, and beautiful as well! But back to the convection oven.....you'll find you can get crispier skins on chicken as well as nice crunchy meringues. Keeping that in mind, I usually turn off the fan when I'm reaheating leftovers to keep them more moist. And like Andie, I turn it off when making custards or anything you need to float some parchment paper on as it will get blown off. I wondered about breads, but one of my ovens has a built in heated stone and in that mode of opperation, the fan is on and that's how I bake my breads, so no problem there. Have fun! It will be great to hear what you learn!
  15. I incubated my peperone in the bathroom with the heater on and lights out. First I misted the air and all sufaces with a bleach solution and let it dry. I have remote temp and humitity monitors so it's easy to control. The drying takes place in my wine cellar where I have temp control but have to add humidity at times by pouring water on the concrete floor. So far it's worked really well. My second batch of peperone, the one with much less Bactoferm, looks just as good as the first. No visible mold or off odors - today is day 10.
  16. Savory fillings for cream puffs are fun. I usually use a cream cheese as a base and go from there. How about blue cheese with roasted red pepper? Or roasted garlic with sundried tomatoes. You already mentioned smoked salmon, how about smoked tomato with chives? Or basil and parmesan with pinenut garnish... Porcini mushroom with kalamata olives....bacon and white cheddar with walnuts....need I go on? The cream cheese acts as a great base for all of these. I usually puree in the food processor and pipe out with my pastry bag, garnish with anything too chunky to pipe and then keep your husband out of them, if you can!
  17. I'm curious why you want the temp to go over 200'? From what I've read, meat takes smoke best at under 140'. Keeping your smoker cold allows you to smoke for a much longer time. Sometimes I just finish cooking whatever I have in the oven if I don't feel like firing up one of my hot smokers. I plan on using my skin to wrap a pork roast I'm going to stuff with some sort of sausage and then cook in my smoker - overkill?
  18. In case you haven't quite heard it yet - INDUCTION! I got to cook the first meal at a friend's newly remodeled kitchen in Chicago and was blown away. Even better heat control than gas. My gas range at home goes up to 16,000 BTU's and their induction had the equivalent of 30,000! Wow. Kenmore even came out with a stove top that's reasonably priced. And if you're in Florida, you'll appreciate the way it won't heat up the air in the kitchen, just the pan. Have fun, I'm jealous!
  19. ! re the Ziplocs, I'd be afraid to put the cure directly on a hotel pan as Pallee does (especially an aluminum one) or any other reactive surface for fear that I'd end up with metal in my meat. Aluminum is very conductive and so corrodes readily (ever had an aluminum boat in salt water with no zincs protecting the hull?) and in fact is sometimes used as anode material to protect brine tanks in industry. Not very appetizing; thanks anyway. I usually use food-grade plastic containers, or ceramic or glass if the meat fits in one. ←
  20. My guess is the pureed strawberries. When I incorporate fruit into my ice creams, I always cook it with some sugar to a syrup, chill and add after straining the custard. No more icy frozen concoctions. I have not used any Sherry Yard recipes however, and the semi freddo I make has 250' sugar syrup beaten into yolks only, then flavorings, then whipped cream incorporated. I have not added meringue. Also when I make ice cream, I add some liquor (Maker's Mark is good!) and it changes the freezing temp with a creamier result.
  21. Pallee

    Do I need a chinois?

    I'm a big believer in always buying the tool, what ever it is! I use my chinios so much - straining custards, stocks, sauces, etc. Advantage is that it doesn't absorb any of your precious liquid (like demiglace) and doesn't contribute to the trash heap. I have a drawer for things with holes and it nests in with other friendly devices. (Next to the drawer for bowls) Even if I had to store it in the garage, I'd still own one. Plus, you've been thinking about this for YEARS? Talk about self control! C'mon, cut loose, make yourself happy!
  22. I was born free as Caesar; so were you: We both have fed as well, and we can both Endure the winter's cold as well as he. Now tell me, What are you doing for Beltane?
  23. Regarding zip locks for bacon curing, I just used a hotel pan and turned it a couple times a day. It cured up fine in 7 days. The side facing down was covered in the brine all the way. Plus I got to play with it more!
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