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chileheadmike

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Posts posted by chileheadmike

  1. It's been a while since I've posted here. I've been really sick with a nasty cough, congestion and weirdly plugged up ears for the last month.

     

    I just put the turkey back in the freezer. Not doing it this year. I have no energy and I don't want to make anyone else sick (although I think they already are).

     

    We will try for Christmas. 

    • Like 1
    • Sad 11
  2. 7 hours ago, weinoo said:

    IMG_0410(1).jpeg.ecaf7616a51b18d9a8157a319038cc6c.jpeg

     

    Sunday gravy with meatballs and sausage, served over Faella gemelli.  Braised peas with.

     

    Actually took the time to run the 2 big cans of Italian tomatoes through a food mill; made the sauce a bit more silky, if that makes sense.

    I run mine through the fine plate on my KA sausage grinder.  Works pretty well. 

    • Like 2
  3. We have the grandkids over for Sunday breakfast every week. Gives my daughter and her husband a break and I get to cook for them. My daughter stuck around for overnight yeasted waffles with fried apples and whipped cream. Bacon and a half a ton of fruit alongside.  

     

    Clara (foreground) seems to like it. I caught my daughter by surprise.  Gigi is in the back stuffing her face

     

    20230924_094704.jpg

    • Like 6
    • Thanks 1
  4. On 9/15/2023 at 5:44 PM, rotuts said:

    Excellent  points .

    \

    ATK // CC is not in the nuance business . 

     

    and Im sure there is a lot of nuance in BBQ fuel

     

    @chileheadmike 

     

    you mentioned Kingsford has  ' a distinctive odor '

     

    don't doubt it .  is it still there when the charcoal has turned to ' white ash ? '

     

    Im wondering what burns off and what's left after that

     

    Id say , for the average enthusiast 

     

    the ATK//CC results suggest reliable brand name briquettes 

     

    are cheaper , get hotter , and last longer .

     

    w more interest and experience , one can enjoy the nuance of 

     

    quality lump.

     

    dont know what to make of the borax though .

    I was in a discussion, many years ago, regarding at what stage you should add briquettes. Some argued that you should wait until ashed over and white, others said, there's nothing on the outside that isn't on the inside so it doesn't matter. 

     

    I can smell it, both on the initial fire-up and after it's been burning a while. When I judged, I could smell it when they opened the box. If the team used lighter fluid, that was worse.

     

    In my experience, lump burns hotter, briquettes burn longer and probably more evenly. 

     

    I'd be curious to read what Norm has to say. 

    • Like 1
  5. On 9/14/2023 at 6:10 AM, liuzhou said:

    苦瓜炒肉 (kǔ guā chǎo ròu), stir-fried bitter melon with pork.

     

    kuguachaorou_20230914184511.thumb.jpg.a1b334b4c7d1438f579934c348fc313a.jpg

     

    This is a bit unusual. Bitter melon (aka bitter gourd, balsam pear, balsam apple, leprosy gourd or bitter cucumber) is usually paired with beef, but this version used pork. It worked well. The melon was more than averagely bitter (a good thing in my book). Lately they seem to be selectively breeding the bitterness out of them. Why?

     

    Probably the same reason the store bought jalapenos here taste like green bell peppers.

    • Sad 1
  6. 2 hours ago, Duvel said:


    Looking good - seems like you are using only the outer burners ? Can’t tell if you have a backburner, though ?

     

     

    Thanks, using the two outside burners. The grill does not have a back burner. 

     

    I gave my Weber kettle to a neighbor before we moved. We now have a screened in deck with a roof, and I didn't want live coals under it. I may get a Weber in the spring for off-deck usage. 

    • Thanks 2
  7. It's been a very long time since I've cooked on a gas grill.  Trying a rotisserie chicken for the 1st time.  My usual dry rub with soaked hickory chips in a smoke box. Not bad, I may have overcooked it a little.

     

    20230908_180637.jpg

    • Like 14
    • Thanks 1
    • Delicious 1
  8. We've been in Minnesota for about a month now. Seemed the right time to hit up the Woodbury farmer's market.

    Really, really close to our house. The trip to the ATM was longer.

     

    Anyway, the spoils

    Cantaloupe perfectly ripe and juicy. We got two. 6 bucks each.

    Watermelon, small round seedless watermelon that was every bit as good as the cantaloupe. I think this was 6 bucks as well.

    Big ole sack of green beans that I haven't cooked yet. They look really good, will pick them tonight and into the slow cooker tomorrow. $5

    Big ole sack of Thai green chiles. They're hot. $5

    5 ears of corn for 6 bucks, going on the grill tonight. These look really good.

     

    Now for the not so good.

    5 bucks for 4 tomatoes, I swear they bought them from a grocery store. Red and beautiful, hard and flavorless. Not going back to that guy.

    My wife bought a loaf of cinnamon swirl bread for 9 dollars. Not very good. 

     

    It's a pretty small farmer's market but I like it. Lots and lots of people there. The only prepared food was kettle corn. I'm not a fan, too sweet for me. 

     

    • Like 4
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  9. While I appreciated the tasting very much, I'm afraid most of it was lost on me. I'm not much of  a bourbon guy. I certainly knew more after spending three hours there though. I did buy a bottle of the Eagle Rare before leaving. I enjoyed that a lot. 

    • Like 1
  10. I dumb-lucked into a tasting at Buffalo Trace with their master chemist and lead PR person. Tasted for about an hour and then had a two hour "hard hat" tour of the plant with an old guy who worked there since he was a kid, his dad worked there pre-prohibition. Pretty great afternoon.

     

     

     

     

    Bourbon Tasting.jpg

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  11. I use just a coarse salt and pepper rub. I trim most of the thick fat but leave a good amount.

    Bring the smoker to 225 to 250, I use a combination of hickory and cherry with lump charcoal.  A total of 4 or 5 chunks. Chips seem like a waste, and soaking does nothing.

     

    You want to see whiffs of blue smoke coming out of the top. Not pouring out. I regulate temps with the intake vents and not the exhaust. If you have a water pan filling it higher will decrease temps as well. No need for wine, spices or anything in the water pan, also a waste. 

     

    When the brisket hits the stall, about 145 or a little more is when I wrap in foil. At this time, I add a wine reduction, red wine, pepper corns, fresh thyme, worcestershire and garlic, reduced by half.

    Pour in the reduction and  wrap tightly. Put back on the smoker until 195. Remove and place in an empty cooler with some towels for several hours. 

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 1
  12. 1 hour ago, liamsaunt said:

    Miso broiled salmon with rice, miso glazed harukei turnips with their greens and radishes (we have a glut of radishes from my CSA right now, with more arriving later today), and a gingery shredded carrot salad with red bell peppers and cashews.  

     

    I need a smaller rice mold.  None of us ever come close to finishing the amount of rice that this one makes.  My sister bought me a smaller wooden one for Christmas but the rice sticks badly to it.  Does anyone have a small non sticky rice mold they would recommend?

     

    misosalmon2.thumb.jpg.579d3cfb4c451ce7e5af3d7bb323bdfb.jpg

    I always assumed you were using an ice cream scoop.

    • Like 1
  13. On 4/12/2023 at 1:23 PM, Margaret Pilgrim said:

    Made poteca, a traditional Eastern European holiday bread from husband's family, to take to Easter brunch.   

    Dough rolled thin

    ScreenShot2023-04-12at10_01_24AM.thumb.png.214c55bc3bd85e002924f2c7d8d503a0.png

     

    Walnut filling spread

    ScreenShot2023-04-12at10_01_50AM.thumb.png.74b721065731572ead26d2f8364f6c15.png

     

    Rolled and rising

    ScreenShot2023-04-12at10_02_09AM.thumb.png.03f9916a643295f3b9cf7e6dc72dc15e.png

     

    Baked and sliced

    ScreenShot2023-04-12at10_09_09AM.png.d95c280d52c9dfd8935534917e2bb557.png

     

    It looks very much like povitca from Strawberry Hill in Kansas City, KS.

    Really good stuff. 

     

    https://strawberryhill.com/povitica/

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