snowangel

Oh, Chris, I'd love to get my hands on your butt! You are right to brine, and right (at least in my opinion) not to rub. I like my butts naked. Anyway, no Bradley hints, but yes, aim for somewhere between 200 and 225. Oh, and I really think it helps to make sure it is as cold as possible before you put it on. I usually stuck my butt in the freezer as I'm getting ready to start the trusty old Kettle.

Happy dance...I have back fat. A lot of it. I want to do a venison sausage. The venison sausage (smoked) in the book just doesn't turn my crank. I've been thinking of subbing the vension for the turkey in the turskey sausage with dried tart cherries, except I can't seem to find dried tart cherries that don't have any sugar added. Some suggestions, please. I'd like to do a sausage with something other than meat, fat and spices. A veg or a fruit. Lighten it up. Ideas, please. I still have one deer in the freezer.

A damp potholder conducts heat very well. A cut finger that's healing can bust open and spew blood all over.

This does sound good. Something with pepper/peppers in it. I've been eyeing those pork ones with Poblano in the book. I'm off to get back fat tomorrow so I shall resue sausage making this week.

Yes, there is BBQ of note. At Chez Fahning, when I have a hankering to smoke meat!

As my grandmother's and great aunts moved to nursing homes, I inherited the linens. I feel strongly that they should be used, except those that were fragile enough that I cut out the beautiful needlwork parts and framed them. I have many sets of card table tableclothes with the four matching napkins. Some are linen, I'm sure, and some are cotton. I used some of them this last Sunday and wonder the best way to take care of them. I did, when I got them, unfolded them and rolled them around gift wrap and paper towel cardboard center rolls. But, the laundering? I doubt seriously that in the mid 1930's that these things were drycleaned. I could better imagine the wringer washer, iron with starch. And, a few of them were folded so long the have yellowing along the lines where they were folded. Remove? Method? I'm sure these things, in their pristine condition are worth a lot of money. But, I think the intention all along was to use them, so use them I will. So, suggestions for the care and keeping and laundering?

I'm thinking that Chris is right on the fat thing. There's something that changes in the fat when it is rendered. Back fat (fat back) is way different that lard. At least with the back fat and lard I've seen.

Ah, that cooking before the baby! The day before Peter was born (he was induced, but things were already moving right along), I made two kinds of stock, got three baked pasta things into the freezer, made cookies, made stew. I also washed all of the area rugs. And, upon arriving home with my new babies, the first thing I did with cook. Hope the cast is off sooner rather than later!

Grilled zucchini (the little ones; not the overgrown ones approaching the size of a loaf of bread that seem to be prevalent in August) . The only problem is that my kids love it so much I am hard pressed to find enough grill space for meat and zucchini! Olive oil, salt and pepper before grilling.

This had gotten me thinking about getting some short ribs and doing them low and slow on the trusty old Weber Kettle, with perhaps one or two small chunks of apple tossed in!

Chris, you bring up a very interesting point. My KA is almost 25 years old (it was a wedding present) from back in the days when they only sold a 4 quart mixer. Now, I'm not about ready to replace my mixer, but since I have two bowls, I'm tempted to grind into one bowl, divide the mixture in half (by weight) add the liquids (in halves) and do the primary bind in two steps. I wonder if that wasn't part of my problem. Too much stuff for the bowl (as well as not cold enough).

Chris, thanks for the exhaustive study. Now that I think about it, my chicken sausages were more crumbly that I would have liked, and I thought it might have been because I didn't have enough fat, but I was quite concerned about the paddling immediately after the run through the meat grinder. Now that I think back, I should have put this stuff back into the freezer before I paddled the mixture, and ice to the liquid is a very good idea. I'll get some back fat this week so will try my next batch. I'm noticing that the pork butts I can get easily are not as fatty as I'd like, but the country ribs are, and I'm thinking of subbing country ribs for butt. Comments? And, an observation. You are absolutely right about putting the KA on a lower surface. And, it sure helps to have two kids around (who are very good in the kitchen) when stuffing and schlepping to and fro the freezer!

Klary, this Cole Slaw is a nice twist on a familiar favorite, and goes very well with pulled pork. It's really easy, so your other side could be hot and more labor intensive.

Not only did Marlene and I smoke turkeys today, I also sustained a "war" inujury. Lesson learned. Be careful when you multi task. As I reached for the shredder thing in my KA food processor accessory box, I slid my index finger over the slicer blade. That blade is sharp. To the bone sharp. Had I not been alone with the three kids and a turkey smoker, it would have been off to the ER. All of my time saving resulted in 9 bandaids and 40 minutes of serious pressure to squelch the bleeding. Did get me out of washing dishes, at quite a price. I did not bleed on the turkey.

Whew. I'm absolutely exhausted. I got to bed last night at almost 1:00 pm, and made it to the sunrise church service (5:50 am, meaning getting up at 5:00 am). The bird just before we took it off the grill. Note the "high tech" temp monitoring equipment. The breast came off about an hour later. Note that my bird's skin is considerably darker than Marlene's. I took the bird off when the breast was 155 degrees. It rested for about an hour as the guests arrived and we shared a pre-meal cocktail or glass of wine. There was a mess of extra fat in the cavity of the bird which I stuffed beneath the breast skin of both the whole bird and the breast. Also, please note that I got maximum real estate space off the trusty old Kettle. I smell slightly smoky and the bird, oh, that bird. The right amount of smoke and unbelievably juicy! I just love smoking meat and poulty. It was a magical day. The weather, which was forecast to be overcast and drizzly was sunny and warm and in honor of the day, my maple trees went from buds to tiny leaves providing that first green blush of summer.

I can't answer any of your questions, Marlene, but my turkey is on. Went on just before 9:00 am. Tending to the bird, making pies and getting the gratin ready. My house is spotless!

Tomorrow for Easter Sunday, I'm making a carrot and leek gratin. The surprise ingredient is horseradish -- it's a wonderful combo.

Do you deliver? This looks divine.

Marlene, no reason not to smoke a Butterball. I've done them many times.

How long should our birds sit in the brine? One 9 pounder, one 24 pounder and that 6 pound breast.???

I think you are correct, Marlene. If you want it smokier, do it low for the first hour and then kick up the heat. I took some measurements of the trusty kettle and I have a 24 pound turkey. I was worried it wouldn't be enough meat (there are 5 teenagers in the group) and was going to get some thighs, but they were $2.29/lb. and I had a store coupon for breast at $.68/lb, so I added a 6 pound breast. What kind of wood are you going to use, Marlene? I'm thinking apple. I have that and hickory. Votes anyone?

Since I'm not sure I have enough clearance in the trusty Kettle for a huge bird, I'm thinking of doing two smaller birds. I would think that two 12-pound birds would probably yield more meat than one 24 pounder. Right? My Easter Sunday is getting bigger.

You can give me gifts anytime! I wouldn't think you were nuts, nor would my friends, but they are used to my oddities!

Dave, I will say that my meat was numbingly cold. It was as close to frozen as it could be without being frozen. I discovered it is easier to get it really super cold if you put it in two bowls, and sort of "reverse mound" it. Deep indent in the center, with the meat going up the sides, so you basically have a layer of meat all over the bowl. I also stuck the bowl I was to be grinding in, as well as the ice bowl in the freezer. Makes me wonder about putting the grinding -into bowl in the ice bowl with some water into the freezer. This is more than an addiction, it is a sickness if you start thinking things like that!

The Chicken tomato and basil sausages, grilled: They were a bit crumbly, as you can see. I'm thinking I didn't have a high enough proportion of fat, which was fine because I served these to my folks, and my dad has had bypass surgery (which is why I sort intentionally kept the fat to a minimum). Perhaps I didn't mix the stuff long enough after I ground it, but I think I did. Anyway, these are absolutely wonderful. The Teen who does not really like pork sausage (maybe I got the wrong baby at the hospital???) loved these. The flavor is wonderful and they are a nice different twist on a sausage. Off to plan my next batch. I think it's going to be until early next week until I can get to my reliable sourse of fat back; this place also has sheep casings and you can get trimmings, etc. -- think ultimate meat market attached to a slaughterhouse. I must say I've done a lot of cooking. A lot of odd things. Never have I done anything as rewarding as making bacon or sausages.