Okanagancook

I tend to focus on low glycemic foods to help control hunger. There are loads of websites that can give you a list of these foods. For example yesterday for lunch I had some salad, 125 grams of lean chicken breast, 1/2 cup of brown rice and the same amount of pinto beans cooked with some spicy tomato sauce. I did not have to eat dinner because I was still full. I don not eat unless I am hungry. Eating some form of lean protein at each meal really helps with satiety and protein utilization. Just my two cents worth.

Nothing like pork belly to illicit 27 replies in under 24 hours! :-))

Our pork has been frozen. Our local butcher/sausage maker said that the government regulations here in Canada say he has to freeze his sausage bound pork for a certain number of weeks to kill any pathogens. Interesting.

Glad they turned out well. We love beef shin. There is an organic farmer north of us who sells the most wonderful grass fed beef and we get the shins which are dirt cheap. We also just got a Berkshire pig and I have a 'shin' out for cooking tomorrow. Maybe SV would be the way to cook them. Too late for the one I have out but next time I'll try that. There is no skin on the meat so may as well SV it. Nigella Lawson has a great recipe for roasting skin on pork shank/shin on a bed of apples/onions bathed in beer...that's a good one too. From her "Kitchen" book. cheers

Stumbled across this blog about cooking with AMFT http://www.eatlivetravelwrite.com/category/dorie-greenspan/

That "cow tail" broth looks amazing!

I would treat them like beef short ribs and I do mine at 62 C for 48 hours (#6 treatment at Chefsteps: http://www.chefsteps.com/activities/short-ribs-time-and-temp

I have a pump dispenser built into the countertop by the sink and I've always used diluted soap in it....it prevents it from clogging and we use less soap. That's a good thing because we are on septic. The Cuisipro Foam Pump looks great for other areas in my house. However here is what one reviewer said about it "Three negatives of this product are: 1) you must be VERY CAREFUL to not exceed the fill lines for soap & water, otherwise you get a messy mixture of watery soap; 2) on my unit the suction cup is very ineffective, it simply doesn't stay inplace and will move until it slides into the back-splash; and 3) the pump seems to drip a small amount of foam, which ends up on the surface of the sink, at the base of the unit, and maybe the cause of why the suction cup is ineffective. At least every other day, the sink around the dispenser and the suction cup needs to be cleaned of soapy water, and the suction cup reattached."

We had some smoked pork loin chops that were basically 'cooked' and all they needed was a reheat. I guess the question is 'how long will it take to reheat in the water bath?' So you may as well put in a hot oven as ahpadt says. Then you can have a nice sticky glaze on it too.

I will be getting an 8 lb smoked but not cooked ham on Monday so will also be very interested how this works for you FeChef: l32F for what looks like 12 or so hours then 140F for 3 hours.

We've made this recipe a few times and the first time we made it, we found it to be too salty also. Another key is to really, really wash the salt off well before cooking/smoking. This made a big difference for us.

Spetsnaz47, you can download his 'Practical Guide to Sous Vide Cooking" for free here: http://www.douglasbaldwin.com/sous-vide.html. It is a good start and has guidelines for cooking various types of meat.

Boudin Noir, I would think they would be as good as the duck gizzard although they are quite a bit smaller so wouldn't take as long...the duck gizzards were in the fat with the legs for 9 hours at 190 F (oven). I think you could start checking the chicken gizzards after four hours to see if they are tender. They will be quite a bit of work to trim before the confit step. I looked at them today in the freezer section and decided to tackle them later due to the work load. Good luck.

Got my hands on some fresh ducks which included the gizzards. I did them confit along with a couple of duck legs. Wow, are they ever tasty, tender little morsels.

Every year I made rubs for different kinds of meat, fish and poultry. My friends do quite a bit of BBQ'ing in the summer so they are usually ready for a new batch by Christmas. The hard part is finding appropriate jars.

I'll third the MC confit recipe.

Sorry Anna, perfectly pink for you sounds what it is for me too...it was not extremely pink but just a hint and juicy. I should have been more specific. I will try to remember to take a picture next time.

Anna, I sous vide these two Berkshire loin chops which were one inch thick at 55.6 C (132 F) for 2 hours. Gave them a good sear and they were perfectly pink and tender.

Anna, you're killing me, just killing me with the pictures of those naan!!!! Please stop or FEDEX me one:-))

I think it would be fine....it'll just cook a little faster than a whole bird. Go for it. Yum, crispy skin is a good thing.

Yes, I cooked the breasts like duck in a fry pan, rendering the fat, and served as a first course. Made a stew if I remember correctly, out of the rest of the bird. Worked really because the breast was medium rare the way it should be.

Chefsteps.com has a full report on short ribs. Checkout beef short ribs time and temperatures.

I have arthritis in my left thumb. So bad at one point couldn't hold an onion to slice. I use the Wusthof Ikon 4906 16 cm carving knife. It is nice and thin and makes short work of pretty well anything including meats. Highly recommended http://www.wusthof.ca/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-91/159_read-611/317_view-137/categories-137/country-can/wlang-2/categories-210

Emeril's Andouille/jalapenocornbread stuffed chicken leg wrapped in pastry with an Andouille Cream Sauce. So good but very filling Roast Cornish Game Hen with spinach stuffed mushrooms and arugula ravioli

I use MacGourmet to organize recipes and notes. I just copy the information or picture and paste it into the program. The recipe section is quite flexible so for example you can put several versions all under the same recipe. I.e., "Pork Belly": SV or conventional.