snowangel

Marlene, I noted in the recipe that the cake layers (2 of them) are each sliced to make four layers. How easy/difficult was this? This is a step that has so intimidated me that I haven't even considered it. And, more comments on the pork dish, please!

What was interesting to me is how different different parts of the belly are. Some is very well layered with meat, fat, meat, fat, etc., and other parts look and behave less like the bacon we get in the supermarket. Which makes me wonder what they are doing with those parts of the belly that are less lean (wait, maybe I don't want to know). The other thing Diana and I have noticed is that this bacon seems to crisp up faster and doesn't exude the amount of liquid (water?) that supermarket bacon does. Diana's comment was "so, just how much water do they pump into their bacon?"

Abra, have you tried any of your re-smoked bacon yet? If so, verdict?

What about etouffee? This one is so pretty!

Absolutely!

If you want the greatest bacon ever, wander over here.

I should have known there'd be another topic here about what to do with too many bananas.

From young master Peter (age 10): "Doesn't bacon just make you happy? Chocolate is good, but bacon is better. It's the best."

Maybe you should use a magnetic bar instead. ← Back when I had a knife block, every time I moved it, I was wowed by the ick that managed to accumulate under said knife block. Made me terrified of what was living inside those slots! So, I have a magnetic strip. It is good. In fact, it is wonderful!

Abra, it sounds like you have had the day from hell. For one thing, I think I would go ahead and put it back on the smoker. One of the things a whole mess of us have always thought, and we could be absolutely totally wrong on this is that the meat quit absorbing the smoke when it reaches about 140 degrees (F), so if you pulled it off at 80, that might have made a difference. Hopefully, you'll have better bacon karma tomorrow, and if you put it back on, you'll not think we are all crazy. And, given what bombdog said, I don't think there's any reason not to hot smoke it (at the 200 max suggested by the book). BTW, what did you decide to do about the pancetta? I'd skin it, add cure to the unskinned side and re-hang it.

Is bacongasm a word? If not, it certainly should be. I can see that we will be eating a lot more bacon. Thanks for the comparison, bombdog. For the time being, I'll keep doing what I did earlier this week!

That's exactly what you are supposed to do with the rest of the wine.

Thanks, Austin. I would have added long beans, but the ones I can get here in the winter are pretty sad looking -- they have travelled to far to be pretty. And, since I'd dirtied just about every pan in the house, no fried eggs, but one of these days, I'll be able to get pretty long beans, and will add the egg. But, I do have year-round access to very nice Thai and Holy basils, which is comforting. One of the reasons I bought HSSS was that I found a copy at half price books for $6.00, and my kids have really enjoyed reading it. I'm glad I'm not alone in a not so positive assessment of Thai Food. Thanks, too, for the pepper photos!

Thanks, Ron, for the kind words. I sort of feel like I would be betraying one of my chilren to abandon the kettle, so I need to figure out how to integrate it with something else. There's a reason I married an engineer! Just as soon as he completes the major surgery on my car, methinks he has another project on his lap! And, yes, my belly had nipples. The 10-year old boys that are ever present at my house got quite a kick out of the idea that they just might be eating bacon from a woman pig (sic). BTW, Abra, the skins around the nipples, (after the belly is smoked, but still warm) doesn't trim off as easily as the rest of it. Edited to clarify.

Thai tonight here. My kitchen is a pit. Three stir-fries, a soup and larb. I had lemongrass, the shrimp looked great, the bunch of Thai Basil was so darned pretty, I just had to. There was also that divine ground pork, and a bunch of whatever looks just like yu choy with white flours that was prettier than a picture. I had a lot of ingredients, and was glad that my folks felt like Thai tonight, as well. Before I report on the meal, I must report on an odd winter behavior of my kaffir lime tree. Here is a leaf, fresh picked: Those are not water droplets you see. They are a sticky, very fragarant oil. I don't rinse it off, and it hasn't killed us. This disappears just as soon as the tree goes outside on the deck in the summer. ???? For a starter, we had larb, along with some raw veg and chili jam (from Thai food). I did not take pictures. Then, tom yum: Shrimp and a can of straw mushrooms that has been in the way. My mom helped me with this, and she added the lime juice too early. Don't add the lime juice until the last minute, or the liminess (???) disappates. So, after I put this in the bowls, I rummaged around the fridge and realized that I was out of limes, so it was lemon wedges to the rescue. This soup really does want the sour from limes, but lemons work OK in a pinch. The "adult" stirfries were this yu choy ala HSSS and the chicken with holy basil, which was actually pork. This is a crummy photo, which does not represent the amount of Holy Basil in the dish. This dish is absolutely outstanding. Do not scrimp on the peppers, garlic or the basil. The more the merrier; the meat seems to be merely a vehicle for the three "veg" items. I'm just sorry there aren't any leftovers, or there would be remants on the keyboard. Put this on your "must do" list, please. As I contemplated this meal, I used both HSSS and Thai Food. I've become far more fond of HSSS than Thai Food. The latter is not nearly as accessible. It's so large it's hard to find things, and like Austin mentioned above about the suggested substituion of sch. peppers for another ingredient make me question things. I'm also learning that my gut and memories of food in Thailand are a great guide.

Over here you'll read about one person's adventure in cleaning the hood...good luck. I'm turning a blind eye to mine, which is 30 years old and has probably never been cleaned.

Susan, I can't find a pic of the exact unit I own, but this one is really similar to it: http://stores.yahoo.com/epod2000/smokmounser.html As you can probably see in the pic, there are dampers on each side of the cabinet and one on top. Hopefully, the method I described above will work out. =R= ← Thanks. I'm feeling exceptionally primitive with my Kettle. Hmmm. Might be time to look changing things.

I'm not set up to cold smoke, but Marlene and I are planning to smoke turkey on Easter Sunday.

Don't want to hijack this topic, but it you look here (and click on the links), you'll find that not everyone found those smooth cooktops to be so easy to clean.

Ron, what kind of "cabinet" are you referromg to?

BTW, Kitchenqueen, your new LC is the idea way to cook beans. Don't bother soaking them.

Absolutely to the chuck roast. Congrats on the purchase, BTW. Brown that chuck (salt and peppered first) up nicely on both sides. Remove to a plate. Saute up some onions and some celery. Some would add carrots at this point, but to my taste, they are a bit sweet to be added this early in the process. Add some garlic (very roughly chopped) at the end. Deglaze the pan with some red wine, let it reduce a bit. Plop that browned chuck back in the pot, add some stock (I usually use chicken because I always have more of it on hand) to go about 1/2 way up the side of the roast. Bring to a simmer, cover and stick in a 250 oven. Somewhere along the way, add some root/tubers (carrots, parsnips, etc.) if you want. Oh, and when you stick it in the oven, don't hesitate to add some thyme and a bay leaf or two. When it's done (I just sort of wing it on time), either eat it then, or better yet, wait until the next day. If I'm waiting to serve it the next day, I don't add the veg until you reheat it. Take the meat out, stick it in a zip lock. Take the liquid and put it in a second container. When you're ready to reheat it, just put it all back in the LC along with some veg and reheat at 250 or so. Also, do buy a copy of the All About Braising book.

I am just drooling! ← Great stuff, Elie . . . it never gets old! =R= ← What Ron said. Having seen the light, I don't think I could ever tire of seeing pictures of homemade smoked flesh. So, Ron, you mentioned rigging your rig to cold smoke. I'm still puzzling over how to do this with the trusty Kettle, which is capable of more than most will give credit for. But, I'm also sititng here and realizing just the price of this cookbook. It's what, about $35, retail? OK, let's add the meat grinder. The sausage stuffer. Now, lets either add a cold smoker or the stuff to convert the hot smoker to the cold smoker. I think it's time for a martini! BTW, one of the best parts of doing this was how I smelled after hot smoking and slicing that stuff. Paul thought it was pretty darned alluring, too.

Can a person live on bacon?

I just remembed something. When I was curing the belly halves, one of them seemed quite thin, and I was worried. During the smoking process, both of them seemed to "plump up" and becone thinner. BTW, I have had to inform my kids that we do need to eat things other than the bacon I made.