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Brigit Binns

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Everything posted by Brigit Binns

  1. To think that I hadn't yet found that site on historic spit-roasting -- thank you! I can see that as a brand new member, I'll be able to waste (oops, spend) endless time searching topics and discoursing on various arcane and modern subjects. I particularly like the suspended bits of bacon fat above the vertical spit-roasting chicken. Note that the Fuf rotisserie comes with two spits that can both be mounted at once. The idea being to thread the top spit with salt pork chunks and let them drip onto the item below. They skim over the issue of correct balance when spit-roasting on that web site, but it can be a real bear...especially with large items which don't have an obvious center of gravity, or, as in the case of the legs of pork I've spit-roasted, the bone inconveniently runs right through the center of gravity. In the case of one pork leg, I had to re-mount the thing halfway through because so much fat had rendered out of it that the center of gravity had changed.
  2. Brigit Binns

    Grilled Cheese

    This is not actually a sandwich at all, but addressing the earlier tomato soup controversy, here is what I often do in pursuit of my lifelong effort to find new ways to convey melted cheese to my mouth (especially on days when the night before weighs heavily on my mind--if not always my memory). Make some tomato soup (Campbells made with 100% milk if you're rushed). While it's heating, cube a bunch of sharp white cheddar and put the cubes into a shallow soup bowl. Put this bowl in the oven on lowest-low for about 5 minutes. Remove bowl and pour steaming-hot soup over cheese cubes. Let stand for 3 minutes or so to start the melting process. Eat, standing up. If you want to "push your boat out," as the English say, splash a little sherry into the soup.
  3. Re Kiwifruit.... New Zealanders are creative when it comes to changing the names of foods to improve sales: Orange Roughy was originally known as slimefish.
  4. "According to their site, the mechanical spitjack goes for around 12 minutes between windings and a bell sounds when it is nearing time for a rewinding. Needless to say, however, it's not something you should expect to set and then go to another room for a nap." I've been investigating the spit options for some time, as my new kitchen will, when finally finished, have a waist-high, cook-in fireplace in front of which I plan to spit-roast as often as possible. Spitjack does not carry the heavy-duty FUF, which timer supposedly runs for 25 minutes before it must be wound - a slight improvement on the 9 minutes. It will also hold 18 kilos, good for me, as I hope to be able to do a pork leg. I visited the FUF of my dreams at Bartolini in Florence this summer, and just recently ordered it and the copper drip pan directly from the web site. I should be up and running by Thanksgiving. Note that William Rubel (author of the excellent "Magic of Fire") has a website with much discussion of this topic, much of it between he and I on the ideal design for a fireplace that is built for cookin', and the issue of whether spit-roasting should take place OVER or IN FRONT OF the fire. There is almost as much discourse and disagreement on this topic as there are recipes for cassoulet... For anyone as interested as I am: www.williamrubel.com
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