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phong

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Posts posted by phong

  1. There were only four of us this year but I still went overboard. Everything made from scratch.

    Sourdough boule

    Bacon cheddar cornbread

    Curry spiced pinot noir cranberries

    Pommes Robuchon

    Green bean casserole

    Maple glazed sweet potatoes

    Giblet gravy

    Mushroom thyme gravy

    Sage sausage stuffing

    Fried turkey

    Pumpkin bread pudding made with homemade brioche, maple rum sauce

    Pumpkin cake

  2. Anybody see a reason why pastrami couldn't be made with short rib meat? I imagine I could ask the butcher to give me short ribs without cutting them in between the bones. At home, I could slice the bones off, leaving a nice slab of meat, similar to this image:

    http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1110/107899...fe9ba2f.jpg?v=0

    The marbling and medium fat content of short rib meat seems like it would be perfect for the style of pastrami I'm looking for. I don't know if the differences in texture over plate or brisket would be a problem though.

  3. Called several butchers in the area. The most highly regarded one in the city of Seattle said that they haven't gotten navel plate in for 20 years. I had to drive pretty far south (40 minutes) to a different butcher that said they get it in once a month and usually grind it up for hamburger.

    Phong, how did you end up finding the beef navel plate? I've looked for it, even in hispanic groceries and nothing...

    Did you go to a specific type of grocery?

  4. I was taking some additional advice from here, written by Nick Zukin (of Kenny & Zuke's):

    http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/319246#1872769

    Like I said, his advice of brining for five days left my particular brisket too salty even without injection.

    I braised the entire piece after smoking and sliced immediately. I'll fess up to using the microwave to reheat pieces as needed for Reubens. The pastrami was tender and moist enough to stand up to the microwave. Earlier in the thread somebody mentioned that freezing immediately after smoking works well.

    I am not sure how necessary a pellicle is since you need the peppercorn/coriander rub to stick, and the meat stays quite a long time in the smoke anyways.

  5. Have been making pastrami starting off with the recipe from Charcuterie. Started with a brisket that was way too lean, brined for five days. Turned out too dry (expected), and far too salty.

    For the second try, I wanted to use navel plate. It is fairly difficult to find beef navel plate in Seattle.. I had to drive about 20 miles south, but was able to get beef plate with no problems. Cured this for 3 1/2 days and it turned out spectacular! I wanted to use injection, but alas could not find my injector. There were only very thin areas that did not get fully cured.

    Smoked over hickory and pecan in a Bradley smoker at 200 degrees for about six hours. Braised (instead of steamed) for four hours.

    IMG_7520a.jpg

    Note, my goal was to make a very fatty pastrami, a la Kenny & Zuke's in Portland.

    Homemade pastrami reuben with homemade chopped liver is awesome!

  6. Yum. While picking up some beef navel plate for pastrami and chuck for goulash, I decided to buy some center cut bones.

    IMG_7496a.jpg

    A tasty snack with parsley salad ala Fergus Henderson... and the dogs love the leftover bone. :biggrin:

  7. Anyone have advice on how long you can let something rest (during pellicle formation) in the fridge? I have some duck breasts that were pulled out of brine last night but realized too late that smoking just four breasts would be a waste of smoke and wood. Can these wait in the fridge until Friday or Saturday when I can get some racks of ribs in the smoker as well?

  8. Thanks to Henry & Lorna, I was able to attend a back-room lunch at Salumi last Tuesday. Three hours (no parking ticket!), a regular + a magnum bottle of wine, 11 plates, good conversation, you can't ask for more. :raz:

    Some of these pictures are not that great, but everybody was hungry and you can't keep people from digging in to pork products very long. :biggrin:

    #1: Assorted Salumi meats

    salumi-a.jpg

    #2: Stuffed eggplant

    salumi-b.jpg

    #3: Sweet & sour cipollini onions ("The best onion preparation ever" I think Henry said)

    salumi-c.jpg

    #4: Gnocco fritto with culatello

    salumi-d.jpg

    #5: Crostini with chicken liver pate (It was not blurry in real life. :biggrin: )

    salumi-e.jpg

    #6: Beet salad

    salumi-f.jpg

    #7: Lardo wrapped shrimp :wub:

    salumi-g.jpg

    #8: Handmade gnocchi with lamb

    salumi-h.jpg

    #9: Milk-braised pork tenderloin with fried sage leaves

    salumi-i.jpg

    #10: Rapini with guanciale? I forget.

    salumi-j.jpg

    #11: Happy birthday Lorna! Chocolate cake made by Henry, with hazelnut frosting made by Lorna.

    salumi-k.jpg

    After lunch I came home and took a three hour nap, and there was no need for dinner later. :cool:

    Thanks again everybody! I had a great time.

  9. Quickly looking at the article, I noticed that he recommended doing a pound at a time in a 12 cup processor. I have always done way less, maybe just barely one layer of 1/2" to 1" meat cubes at a time. Definitely pulse, or you'll end up with meat paste, which is good for gyros, but not for burgers.

    Edit to add that my FP blade is very dull, and I have never had problems.

  10. (Semi-related:  I was eating dinner at The Wallingford Pizza House the other night and heard the owner say he wasn't sure if he was going to renew his lease (I am assuming it is going up).  The Wallingford Pizza House is smack dab between the two screens of the Guild 45th, and across the street from Ebb & Flow, and is often packed by movie comers and goers.  I fear there are too many changes for the worse coming to Wallingford.  I am beginning to wish I moved to Ballard.)

    That would be a shame of WPH left. It has been over a year since I've been there but an ex and I used to go there all the time. Fond memories and excellent food. The Full-On is such a great pizza.

  11. Excellent, Lorna. Thanks for the recipe. Just tried it with a cut up fryer since that's what I had. I thought it might become too salty since most of the meat didn't have skin to protect it, but it came out perfect. More sweet and not as salty as some soy sauce chicken I've had before. The sauce would be great reduced and used as a glaze for some vegetables.

    Couldn't find any Szechuan peppercorns nearby, so I'll have to stop at World Spice Merchants on Sunday. It was still good with regular black peppercorns though!

    Thanks again!

  12. Lorna, can you post your soy sauce chicken recipe? I haven't had a chance to try any of the ones I've found, but there is such variation in methods, from just marinating in soy to cooking in a big pot of soy. Curious what method you use.

    And although I have only met you guys once, I am totally willing to volunteer to help cook or serve or whatever if you need. I'll even bring wine! My knives and apron travel.

  13. Attended last night's Foods of the Parsis dinner at Cache. It was great meeting Lorna and Henry, and although it was our first time, we were warmly invited into their home. The food was awesome, and there were lots of laughs with good company.

    It was our first time having mutton, and it was a good first time. My girlfriend has had an aversion to crab for years, but loved the dish that subbed in for the poppy and cashew chicken curry.

    We're both looking forward to visiting Cache again. Thanks Lorna and Henry! (And Seema and Dilip!)

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