LoftyNotions

That method has worked well for me. Larry

10 more in stock right now. Larry

3 in stock 2 minutes ago (after I ordered 2 for gifts)

What, no rotary evaporator yet??? Just kidding. Welcome, and let us know what you're concocting. Larry

Well said! +1

In general, most cured meats (either hot smoked or cooked in some manner) use proportions of approximately 2% salt, 1% sugar, and 0.25% Cure #1. Salt and sugar can be adjusted a little for taste. So, for bacon, if I had 1 kg of pork belly I would dry rub it with 17.5 grams of salt, 10 grams of sugar, and 2.5 grams of cure #1. The reason to not use 20 grams of salt in this case is that the cure is made of mostly salt. Also, my personal preference is for a lot less sugar, but a lot of recipes call for around 1%. For something like a corned beef or pastrami, I would brine it in an amount of water that would cover it. For the sake of this example, let's say that is 1kg, and we have 1 kg of brisket for a total of 2 kg. Just use twice the quantities listed above. Soak or cure times depend on thickness and whether you inject (for brines). Recipes will call for a minimum cure time, but if you go longer your product will not be too salty. Or, if you were just looking for a short answer, ... By weight. HTH, Larry

A great resource to get you started with brining/curing is Jason Molinari's (an eGullet contributor) blog found here: http://curedmeats.blogspot.com/ Another place with good information is: http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/ The gist of equilibrium brining/curing is that you use the exact amount of salt, sugar and cure you need, rather than using large amounts of ingredients for a specific time and then rinsing or soaking your product to remove the excess. The big advantage to me is that even if you cure your meat a couple extra days it still won't be too salty. Larry

Is it possible he was talking about equilibrium brining?

You can get the MC errata from this page. You can get it as a pdf. http://modernistcuisine.com/2011/04/to-err-is-human/ HTH, Larry

I think that might be the original problem. (Venting pressure cooker) Glad you finally got a good result. I can use the original recipe and go over an hour without burning. Larry

It's here. http://modernistcuisine.com/docs/Modernist_Cuisine_index.pdf

Chris, Our favorite has been the Barley With Wild Mushrooms and Red Wine on page 331. We love the texture of barley cooked this way. It hasn't failed us yet. The recipe accommodates a lot of variation in cheese, mushrooms, wine and stock. I'm more of a fan of a single pass pressure cook than par-cooking. It makes more sense to me in a home environment. Larry

I got mine from Amazon a couple years ago. About $20.00 LINK HTH Larry

That should take care of part of your charcuterie needs for a while. I freeze a lot of sliced bacon and Pancetta, and it keeps well snuggled up in vac sealed bags. I think you'll really like your commercial slicer. It's a great addition to any foodie's gadget collection! Larry

You could go ahead and throw it in without smoke. I guess I was thinking more along the lines of letting it dry in the refrigerator on a drying rack for a week or so, slicing it up and freezing what you weren't going to use in a relatively short period of time. Cooking could occur just before eating it. Pancetta would normally be dried for 3 to 4 weeks in a refrigerator, but I'm not sure about the safety of doing that using cure #1. Jason Molinari (another eGullet member) has an excellent blog on cured meats and covers Pancetta at http://curedmeats.blogspot.com/search/label/Cured%20meat%20%3A%20Solid%20muscles%20-%20Recipe . Larry

What you will end up with will be similar to Pancetta, with the major differences being different spicing, not drying it as long, and I also assume you used cure #1? I would definitely cook it before consumption. I don't think the cure would be any more overpowering whether smoked or not. It should taste just fine. Larry

I would think that if they only wanted beef fat there would be better ways to get it than browning 1.25 KG of lean ground beef until dark brown. I made a note that I thought it should be put in around step 6. But I could be wrong. HTH. Larry

Hi Jason, MC At Home got a lot of additional attention before the first printing. I’m sure a few things slipped through the cracks, but I think you’ll be very happy with the content. Larry

Hi Jason, MC At Home got a lot of additional attention before the first printing. I’m sure a few things slipped through the cracks, but I think you’ll be very happy with the content. Larry

The potato cooking I've done has been limited to 2 trials, first at 165F and the second at 175F. The first trial was for 60 and 90 minutes, both of which were undercooked. They were edible, but I wouldn't have served them to company like that. The second trial was for 60 minutes only, since there wasn't much difference between 60 and 90 minutes in the first trial. At 175, I would characterize the potatoes as al dente, but pleasant.In both cases, the potatoes were sliced and cooked in butter, salt and pepper. I'm sorry that doesn't specifically answer your question. Hopefully someone else will be along shortly to give you a better answer. You're kind of in no-man's land but I'd guess that you have a reasonable chance of having something edible. Larry

The SVS rack measures approximately 170mm X 160 MM by 160 MM. HTH, Larry

This is the main reason I chose the Minpack. I'm also a home user, and don't really need the Minpack, but I've been happy with my purchase. If I'm not mistaken, the VPs won't pull quite as high a vacuum, at least the 210 and 112. Also, regarding chamber size, pint jars will fit inside the Minpack. With the Minpack, for large items you can turn the sealer bar around and use it as an external sealer using Foodsaver style bags. Hopefully some VP users will be along shortly to discuss their sealers. HTH, Larry

+2. I spent years freehand sharpening all my knives, and they were reasonably sharp. Since I got my EdgePro, I've found out how truly sharp knives can be. I have great admiration for those who can keep a consistent angle while freehand sharpening. I'll never be one of them. Larry

Don't forget a blender. Here's a LINK TO ONE

When we lived in Wisconsin, a cookout often included Bratwurst boiled with onions in beer then seared lightly on the grill. Larry