dcarch

I smoked those legs. First I had to make a bag big enough for this big chicken. After SV, it got a hot bath similar to the Chinese roast duck. Then it went into the dehydrator to completely dry up the skin. Finally 500F baked in the oven. Sounds complicated, but actually pretty easy. Each step required seconds of work. dcarch

Life has been very hectic. Holiday travels, parties, work ------------------. I have been eating well, cooking a lot, and enjoying all the spectacular creations by everyone. Just couldn't find time to post. So here we go! dcarch Turkey legs, taro Prime rib Curry pork Smoked ribs SV chicken

How about this: Get a big pot of water, measure the temperature, and time how long you get the water to boil. Do one on electric using a Killawatt meter. Do another with your gas oven. Mark down how many cubic feet of gas you used by reading the gas meter. dcarch

10,000 BTUs from an electric oven may not heat the same way as 10,000 BTUs from a gas oven. There are too many variables. I am not sure how you can compare the two. dcarch

Nice test, but not a definitive test. 1. Durability, very important for an expensive blender. The test did not test durability. 2. IR temperature check of a reflective surface temperature is highly inaccurate. 3. Flow rate thru a fine sieve has to do more with viscosity, not that much particle size. 4. The end result for carrots may not be the same for apples, beef, chicken, oranges, etc. One thing that I have noticed is that by the sound the machines made, the Waring was the lowest pitch, indicating the Waring was running the slowest in RPM, which means to me that it should not be able to blend better than a Blendtec which runs at much higher speed and with much larger blades. dcarch

Baking clams inside a net may prevent clams from opening? dcarch

Interestingly, I have been using inkjet printer adhesive labels for the freezer. I don't seem to have problems. Cheap! I set up the printing for all kinds of repetitive stuff, with dates and whatever. Saves time too. Back to garlic: I buy peeled garlic, those you get in a squarish plastic bottle. Add about half a cup of olive oil, I just stick the hand blender in it for a few seconds. I get nice garlic paste that I just spoon out from the freezer each time I need some. dcarch

Whether bones contribute flavor or not, it is very important to have bones. Considering as humans, we have been hunting and chewing on bones for millions of years. We need to satisfy our DNA to eat more than just boneless breast filets. dcarch

You want good and cheap collagen? Go to a Chinese store and buy beef sinew (tendon), $2.50 a lb. Pressure cook two hours, 100% collagen to last you a whole year. dcarch

Before I came across Serious Eats, I did a test. I got a lot of bones, scrapped off all meat and marrow. I cooked the bones in a pressure cooker for two hours. No flavor. dcarcg

For those of you who are in extreme cold, have your water dripping to avoid frozen pipes and bursted pipes. Can be very expensive. dcarch

I don't know if you like ash on your steak with the chimney method. dcarch

Green & Clean: I don't use chemicals much. In any case chemicals clean "99.99% of the germs are killed" can only happen with 100% coverage, which, if you spray, maybe you are covering only 30% of the surfaces. I have a 55 Watt germicidal UV light I use to sanitize my kitchen. UV is what they use to turn sewage into drinking water. I move the UV light around to get 100% coverage. UV light will kill little bugs like dust mites and airborne germs, etc. a 55 watt UV light bulb is powerful, but not expensive. dcarch

One "green" idea: Every summer, I have a few big backyard BBQs. 50 + guests? I don't do paper plates plastic forks. You can buy stainless steel silverware by the pound on eBay cheap, not the best looking, but metal forks and knives makes food taste better. After a party, all goes into a tub with a few buckets of hot water and some dish washer liquid. Over night just blast clean with a garden hose. I buy a few hundred shop cotton towels from HD instead of paper napkins. Easy to wash, no need to iron. I use very good looking heavy plastic plates from a party supply store and reuse. Clean them the same way as table ware. dcarch

When I want extreme high heat quick, I use the broiler. Totally non-stick. dcarch

Over the pass many years my kitchen scrap contribution to the landfill = 0. I recycle 100% of my kitchen waste. Meat, fat and large hard bones are also all composted. I use my garden shredder to pulverize bones. I use a converted rototiller to bury kitchen waste deep to avoid animals digging things up. I must have buried several thousand gallons of kitchen waste. Incredible fertile soil I have. Water from the sink is collected to water the garden. I repair many appliances, so I seldom have to buy machines and throw away machines. I have seven computers, all are repairs from sidewalk throw aways. Instead of "recycle" electronics to poison African children, I save money not having to buy new ones. I don't trust farmers market "organic", and I don't believe buying local is energy efficient. My kitchen and house is 60F in the winter. Dough doesn't rise well in my kitchen. :-) dcarch

"---its been argued that fat completely rendered ie with no supportive animal issue in the fat does not have a animal-specific taste. ---------------------------" Dry rendered or wet rendered may make a difference. dcarch

But you wouldn't call bacon fat "lard". dcarch

Lard (commercial) is bleached to be white and filtered to be non-"porkie" ? dcarch

Not an expert, just some questions: 1. Is it true that Clostridium Botulinum can grow in any environment, including vacuum. But you don't need vacuum to promote botulinum growth? 2. Isn't it true that using a Foodsaver type machine to bag food doesn't really give you true vacuum (14 lbs/sq in atmospheric pressure in vacuum)? Airless and vacuum are two different conditions. dcarch

I know I will be doing smoking for many years, especially cold smoking, I decided that I should put some effort into a more complicated smoke generator. Basically it is an external smoke generator made from a stainless steel cylinder. The fuel is wood chips or pellets. The smoke is piped out thru a 24" brass flexible accordion stove gas pipe. The smoke is cooled by the accordion brass pipe and lots of black liquid (creosol?) is condensed and collected into a bottle (cancer in a bottle?) before it enters into the smoker. The smoke is pulled by a small motorized blower with a speed control for smoke density adjustments, and blown thru a viewing window. The viewing window is lit with LED light to allow for visual view of smoke density going into the smoker without having to open the smoker. The system is very stable and economical in pellet use. I have had over 24 hour continuous smokes with no need for supervision or adding more fuel. dcarch

Foiling does the following, I believe: 1. Allows steaming of the meat. 2. Aluminum is a very effective reflector of infrared radiation. Depending on you heat source/cooker, it changes the thermal dynamics on how the meat is cooked. Your end result may not be the same as someone else who has a different cooker/heat source. dcarch

I often wonder: Same cut of meat, one oven cooked to 212F IT, the other boiled in water to 212F. Which one will be more "juicy", "moist" and "tender" inside (not considering the "bark") Or will they be the same? dcarch