Shel_B

No, Katie, they're not smoked. While I wasn't looking for a smoked product, I did cruise most of the meat case, and none was evident. I wasn't sure if the price was particularly good, although they were quite a bit lower than that of Berkeley's Local Butcher, where I bought neck bones some months ago. I was going to buy some chicken pieces, but the parts were three to four times more expensive than at Costco.

My stove is electric. There are a couple of pots in my kitchen that are wider than I like than the diameter of my largest hob. My hobs don't heat perfectly evenly. I am thinking of getting a copper heat diffuser to help spread the heat evenly and hopefully help improve my cooking experience. This is an example of what I'm considering: https://bellacopper.stores.turbify.net/10in254mmcop.html This diffuser is 1/8-inch (.125-inch, 3.175mm thick) Any thoughts, especially from anyone who has used such a diffuser?

I was going to include the aromatics but after reading the suggestions here decided to do so after the extraction. I'm only using green onions and ginger in this batch, and they (certainly the onions) are relatively delicate, so later is probably better in any case. My thanks to everyone who's made suggestions and offered ideas.

Success!

I have legs ready to go. Costco had them for a great price a while back. I'm about to see what's available for the pork.

@Katie Meadow Thanks for the information on how you cook beans. You've been very helpful.

I'm happy for you that you found an acceptable ham. I'm not much of a ham fan, but do like smoked pork and ham for cooking. Well, I should amend that ... a few slices of good jamón ibérico, jamón serrano, Tyrolean speck, prosciutto di Parma or San Daniel will do it for me. But the American hams are, for the most part, a turn-off for me. Now that I'm starting to explore making beans, the idea of a smokey ham bone sounds very appealing. It sounds like you make a stock and then cook the beans in it. Is that correct? How about adding the bone and aromatics to the water and cooking everything together? Would that work? I think I'll poke around the site and see what other ideas I can find. It seems like we're heading into thread drift and I'd rather not go much further with that.

It's been ages since I've visited Farmer Joe's, and La Farine is one of my favorite bakeries. My motivation to visit Waylon's has just increased. Time to revisit the area.

@Katie Meadow Thanks for jumping in. I've not been to Waylons ... another market to check out. Thanks. I may try your tip the next time I make a batch of beans. FWIW, I like smoke and heat in many dishes. The broth I'll be making this weekend won't be smokey, but I do make smokey broths and stocks several times a year. The Bowl is, of course, one of my sources for a variety of items, and I certainly use their meat counter.

You're correct, of course, but it is an interesting idea. Maybe something to experiment with. Judy made pork stock with a pig's head, and there are some pressure-cooked pig's head recipes around, and ... well, you get the picture.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll keep it in mind for future stocks.

That's an interesting idea, but unworkable for what I want to do this weekend. Reminds me of a story about the Judy Rodgers pig head incident at the Zuni Cafe in San Francisco. She had a pig's head sitting in the back of the restaurant waiting to be prepared, and when she returned to start work on it, it was gone. Seems that someone slipped into the back door and stole it.

I thought about the hocks/shanks, and unsmoked ones seem hard to find, but they may be available in the Asian market. I hadn't thought about ribs, which might be workable. Thanks.

There's a large and well-stocked Asian market near me, but for some reason, I forgot about it. Yes, I'll check it out and see what they have. Thanks.

One project for this weekend is to make a pork and chicken broth to be used for some Asian-style soups. I have some chicken drumsticks defrosting and was thinking of hitting a market and getting some pork chops or ground pork and using them to add the "porkiness" to the broth, which I plan to make in the Instant Pot. Any thoughts on this idea? Any better ideas? Remember, I'm looking for quick, cheap, and easy here.

I hate when my paddle gets crammed ...

@Tropicalsenior I am happy for you. 👍 I found that my favorite and local spice shop will sell their spices in bulk at a great saving compared to their shelf prices in the store. Win-win for us both ...

This article was published long before Covid. The dates relevant to the article are throughout the text. I agree that it's cautionary. Therefore, I made a simple change to my brewing (and storage) technique to allow for the caution. The changes I made cost me no time, effort, money, or convenience, so what the heck? I'm conservative in my approach to many things anyway. The more you know, the better your luck.

In my search to find an answer to my question about tea safety, I came across this article. I'll post the link without comment other than to say that there are a coupe of points in the article that resonated for me and I will make a minor adjustment in the way I've been brewing the tea. https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/06/did-you-know-iced-tea-safety/

I like to drink room-temperature tea. I'll make a batch in the morning and let it sit out all day in a covered mason jar; sometimes, it'll sit overnight. No sugar or flavorings are added to the tea. Are there any potential health risks to doing this, such as bacteria growing?

Is "NS" Nova Scotia?

I had a big bowl of the soup I made a few days ago: https://forums.egullet.org/topic/166082-dinner-2024/page/122/#findComment-2440687

Great background story while enjoying breakfast. It increased my enjoyment of breakfast. Loved the bits of history and the experiences shared by the participants. Made me recall my discussions with Sweetie, a volume measurer, on the subject. Thanks for the post.

One thing I forgot to mention is that fruitwood tends to be less intense than hardwoods, like hickory. That might be something to consider when looking for bacon.