etherdog

America's Test Kitchen recommends Whynter SNÖ Professional Ice Cream Maker Model IC-2L, at amazon.com for $210. It is self refrigerating and makes 2 quarts in 40 minutes, ready to eat. It is also the most quiet of all the machines they tested.

Well, since you note "the head popping up" I am guessing you are referring to the 250 W model, the lesser and not so recommended model in the Kitchenaid pantheon. For serious mixing, including any kneading of dough, the minimum wattage must be 350. The bowl is raised on this model and locks into place. There is no mixer which you should ever leave running unattended. Your stand mixer is NOT a place to scrimp on.

I use a butcher knife (12") partially because I like my bacon thick. However, I am thinking of an electric knife because when you slice 12 pieces it can be tiring and slippery. I am also thinking about getting a Hobart slicer, but that is a pipe dream!

I will tackle guanciale at some point in the future but I am not going to take on dry curing just yet. I'd rather get the basics of seasoning and smoking first (I've learned the hard way from other projects not to take on too much, like planting an acre garden the first time you ever garden.) RE: Bresaola I imagine that there is a lot of water being pulled from the beef with the first rub application and that for good penetration that water is discarded and then the second rub can penetrate more deeply into the cut of meat. However, I am a relative newbie and you should take what I say with a grain of sea salt. (I do have some experience with molecular biology and that is what guides me in this opinion.)

Just a quick note. We had our first pieces of our cured bacon today and are delighted with the results. Did a hot smoke with charcoal briquettes and maple shavings for about 3 hours then finished in a 200 F oven to bring the bacon to 145 (and let carryover do its job). Just remember that the thinner the slab of meat the less mass there is for carryover. The taste is awesome and wholesome. if you use the right pig to begin with. I followed the method in Charcuterie except omitting nitrite, which Michael Ruhlman assured me was OK if one is hot smoking, refrigerating/freezing. The only seasoning on this first batch was cracked pepper. Many thank to MR for his email response, and to him and Brian Polcyn for the book.

As a new member I thought I would post my two ventures so far. Last week I made a hot Italian sausage straight out of "Charcuterie". What an awesome book! We had friends over and I fried off some samples that got raves, then stuffed homemade pasta, boiled it for about 5 minutes and served with a tomato sauce. Incredible flavor. My hat is off to Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn for their book. The current venture is bacon and pancetta. I got a pork belly from a local "specialty" butcher (although I have some doubts about them as they do not stock fish with their heads on) which was 4 to 5 inches thick. The squared off portions are curing as "salt pork" while the bacon and pancetta are curing with the basic cure, minus the pink salt (although the pink salt portion is replaced with Kosher salt). I got the dextrose from my local beer making supplier, Butler Winery, and urged them to stock the few additional ingredients that would benefit cheese and sausage makers. They were amenable to the idea. When my bacon is cured, I will smoke it on my grill. I did an experiment last night. Take a 28 oz can of tomatoes, remove the tomatoes and eat them, remove the bottom. Take one leaf of a newspaper, spritz with cheap food oil (Canola, etc.), crumple it into the bottom of the can, put 4 charcoal briquettes on top of the paper, light the paper to get the coals to ignite. In the meantime, have your smoking hardwood soaking in water (and in pieces large enough to fit over the can). When the coals start smoking, put your bacon in the grill on the side opposite of the can of coal. When the coals stop smoking, add one new briquette to the coals and the hardwood a stick at a time over the top of the can to get the smoke going again. The internal temp of the grill space will reach 180 to 200. Monitor the internal temp of the bacon until it reaches 150. This could take several hours, depending on thickness and the amount of heat generated. This is a poor man's way. However, since I have not used nitrites or nitrates, this should be safe, if I have read the caveats properly. This is very similar to the oven method suggested in "Charcuterie" but has the added benefit of providing smoke and not using nitri/a/tes. Thanks to all who post here. You are a font of information and often wisdom.

My 350 Watt KA is a real workhorse in my kitchen. I use it for whisking egg whites into meringue, kneading bread and pasta dough, and making sausage. For the price, it is very versatile. I think I have all of the attachments and they all work as advertised. So, I have about $500 total invested in it, I use it 3 days a week, I have had it for 10 years, so so far it has cost me about $0.40 per day (and sometimes I use it for multiple tasks per day.) It shows no sign of diminshment and the most common problem is replacing the carbon "brushes" in the motor (which is trivial, yet I have not needed to do it). I rate it as a very good value.