rotuts

when I mentioned the nuance issue w ATK//CC they prefer to offer simple results. : Temp //Time // Cost // Waste ie product purchased , but u unusable. and what surprised me : Taste. the transfer of volatile chemicals , associated health risks of either product is not something Im guessing is up their ally to analyze or comment on . but those issues are well worth bringing up . Wood that is not turned into carbon has a lot of volatiles transferred when ignited. and hardwood is very different than softwood . I was surprised to learn briquettes manufacturers in different areas use components that are readily available , thus cheaper than imports : softwood in briquettes would be a concern . think creosote in your chimney or on your burger. from using Pine .

@paulraphael excellent point re : adding fuel mid cook. if I were doing this sort of thing now : briquets are : cheaper , burn longer ( possibly hotter ) easier to use possibly less waste . and no decreeable taste difference if the B's are used at the ash stage . a lump or two of real wood ( dried ) added for smoke and flavor. burning wood ( dried or dried-soaked ) give you white smoke . the particles in the white smoke might not be the healthiest when ingested.

the 3 qt iPot has been very helpful for making my 8 x 8 CSO'd dishes potato // egg : 32 oz cut up bliss potatoes , and 4 eggs just fit in the iPot. one bag of Fz generic mixed veg , thawed in cold water , drained : iPot'd low pressure . it takes 14 - 15 min for the pressure valve to pop up and another 2 minutes or so for the count-down to start. I turn the iPot off when the count down starts and do a rapid release . chill the veg in cold water , the into a 1 qt container and refrigerate for future use. the veg cooked this way are fine , w a little resistance left in the green beans. not iPot related , but the TJ's sausage i sometimes use for the completed dish : in a utility pan for torching . thus no plates are cracked from the torch etc torched ., ready for an 8 x 8 ' dish ' , as noted in previous posts . the iPot gets the major ingredients done very easily .

@weinoo were the Uni cooked ? if so , how do you compare cooked Uni w raw ? Uni , and sashimi grade tuna , are so outstanding raw ( at least for tuna , which Ive has both raw and just the edge gilled , ) cooking does not for me enhance the tuna. does it enhance the Uni ?

@ElsieD I don't see why not . just make sure the seal to each pack stays intact. I don't know about the drawer being different than the rest of the refrigerator . I know my refrigerator is colder in the back than the front . I dont know much a all about the drawers . but my refrigerator is older . as I understand it , in newer refrigerators the drawers might be managed differently . Ive just noticed : 31C. hopefully you meant 31 F ? 31 F will freeze water you have 10 packs enjoy a pack every 6 days ?

@Darienne a fine item . I get FF's via bananas ( I think ) I use ' Fly Tape ' a very sticky proposition . Amazon ( USA ) has : Outdoorwares Tent Pop Up Food Cover Set - Fine Mesh Screen, Bottomless & Collapsible Design With Handles (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) and various ' tents ' 4Pack Mesh Food Covers 17inch, Outdoor Food Covers, Picnic Accessories, BBQ & Parties Food Tent, Fruit Cover (Net yarn white) (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) or search Amazon for Foods Mesh Covers etc. they are on my list !

@ElsieD quite some time ago , Ive seen 60 - 90 days if properly chilled ( ice water , w lots of ice ) and a refrigerator that's 34 F or less. does that extra refrigerator have a freezer ? are you trying to avoid freezing them , after proper rapid chilling ? when to you plan to re-therm and ChowDown ? Id use , when properly chilled and kept cold before 2 M or freeze after rapid chill.

is this Martha , the Felon ? did time in the Big House ?

Deborah Madison has a number of books , but they are older I have these : Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Deborah Madison (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Deborah Madison (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) James Peterson Vegetables, Revised: The Most Authoritative Guide to Buying, Preparing, and Cooking, with More than 300 Recipes [A Cookbook] (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) but I am not a vegetarian

@blue_dolphin your last several sandwiches look fabulous . 4 star if not more.

Excellent points . \ ATK // CC is not in the nuance business . and Im sure there is a lot of nuance in BBQ fuel @chileheadmike you mentioned Kingsford has ' a distinctive odor ' I don't doubt it . is it still there when the charcoal has turned to ' white ash ? ' Im wondering what burns off and what's left after that Id say , for the average enthusiast the ATK//CC results suggest reliable brand name briquettes are cheaper , get hotter , and last longer . w more interest and experience , one can enjoy the nuance of quality lump. dont know what to make of the borax though .

@ElsieD id say 100mm would be easily pasteurized @ 48hours . Id guess , and its a guess , 9 hours or so. 48 H would be well past initial pasteurization .

@C. sapidus you have made J. Pepin proud .

in a current Cook's Country , Season 6 , Episode One they test out charcoal lump vs briquette . for review purposes : its been a while since I used charcoal , and it was always briquettes. in my distant memory briquettes had a bit of a negative buzz : fillers , binders etc that might affect taste . Lump buzz was ; burn hotter , cleaner , better flavor . I take ATK and CC equipment tests w a bit of salt : very late to SV , iPot , Combi ovens their test results : 6 qt chimney starter : briquettes 5 - 6 lbs, lump 2 - 4 lbs. temp : briquettes : 660 F to 720 F , lump 100 F less time : briquettes : 300F or higher : 2.5 to 3.5 hours . Lump : 40 min to 2 hours cost : briquette 62 to 96 cents / lb lump : $1 to $1.43 / lbs no taste difference was a noted between lump and briquette by their ' large ' panel , including between brands. briquette's burned hotter ( by several hundred degrees ) , longer , with very little waste lump had a big range of waste ( small bits , dust , uneven size ) by brand but all lump brands had bits and pieces and dust that fell through the chimney starter. they did say many people claim lump BBQ tastes better but they didn't find that in their study . quite interesting Id say . Pellet grills are probably in their demographics . P.S.: for the tests they did flank steak ( hot and fast ) burgers and a shoulder roast ( low and slow )

@Deephaven if the Tj's Costal wines are available in your area ( 4.99 here ) try the Cabernet or the Merlot instead of the 2 buck. the Coastal has less non-wine flavors , according to my palate. although TJ's sells a massive amount of 2 buck.

@Darienne interesting video . I take supermarket direct green onions I buy the bunch that has roots prominet and put then in a yogurt container w a few inches of water they sit right next to a window in my kitchen that gets afternoon sun they continue to grow , and I snip off the outer green part and let them go at it I change the water from time to time , and get green tops I use for garnish until the new grows gets tiny. the green onions harvested this way do increase in ' onion strength ' and the white parts get soft and gummy and are not used. much better than putting the bunch in the refrigerator.

@Darienne sounds like you are going to have a grand time . locate a bit more space to items that are going to be difficult for you to buy locally are there fresh herbs you enjoy both fresh and dried ? Sage and rosemary are easy to grow. but you have to like them . they are different fresh vs dried you are going to have a fine time .

@OlyveOyl what were your baking parameters ? were the potatoes previously cooked ? ?they look nicely browned P.S.: try just a little freshly grated nutmeg in the béchamel, or for that matter anything ' white ' ie mashed potatoes if you already haven't tried this. just a little . not enough to notice ' nutmeg ' I always try to remember this w potatoes , and béchamel back in the day.

@OlyveOyl browned bechamel has a unique and delicious taste.

@OlyveOyl I haven't had a béchamel gratin in a long time. an outstanding dish . yours looks fantastic.

this was a bit of an experiment using my 8 x 8 " pyrex pan as the base I've made TML , many times this way successful;y and easily. I made the potato and egg toping in my 3 qt iPot for the first time 32 oz ( same weight as the commercial mashed potatoes ive use many times + that amount fits in the pan cleaned , cut into /2 " pieces or a little less. fit in the 3 Qt basket for LP steaming I was able to nestle 3 eggs from the refrigerator on top of the potatoes , and might be able to fit a 4th . then the iPot basket is really full . iPot'ed 4 min LP , minute pause , then release . eggs added to cold water , potatoes pulled out and left to cool on their own. refrigerated both items. I was thinking of something curry-dish , and used Penzey's Singapore seasonings. mashed the refrigerated potatoes after getting close to room temp , and diced up the three geggs and added that. a Tb or so of the seasoning , a generous dollop of mayo , and green onion tops . added water to smooth this out . made a difference w easy of mashing w and hand masher. the potatoes sry out a bit w their cooking. and this was new : I had a pack of TJ's jallepeno chicken sausages . I shared them all together i pan , and used those as a baser topped w the potato mixture CSO cone. bake . all items were cooked items, so 30 min 400 F the pan was sizzling , but i thought id try to brown the top : this mixture doesn't brown easily , and I know torching would just burn it. this picture does not inspire , period . cut in the bowl. you can see the potato mixture is a a little crumbly. it ended up very very tasty : a potato - egg curry-ish something w green onions , crumbly not wet the surprise was the sausage n: crusty char , but piping hot in the middle and very juicy . this chicken sausages dry out quickly O have lots of different curry pastes , dry and wet . I might even get a few of those This curry pastes in the little can in the future. third egg gave the mixture a nice low eyed egg flavor. 4 eggs next time for something like this . and surprising how juicy the charred sausage turned out. lots and lots of potential here , which items readily available , easy to turn out , and potentially quite flexible re seasoning combinations . TJ's used to have a andouille chicken sausage pack . no longer . to bad. P.S.: I was thinking why these sausages tasted so much better than the same sausages I cooked differently : Id micro the sausage , then torch and have a HotDog. these were torched cold , out of the frig. , then baked ' covered ' 30 min 400 F. 0 times better , much juicier will try a char cold , then micro for my next Dog.

@TdeV I agree w you completely. I meant to be careful w the plant until it starts to revive itself. thenId go w @dcarch 's suggestion keeping the transplants moist until the recover in their new pots .

@chileheadmike congratulations . I grew up w rotisserie attachment on a charcoal BBQ w a semicircular hood you added to the charcoal gill when you wanted to use the rotisserie way before Weber et all. two chickens chickens rotating every Sat or Sunday . whileI mowed the grass / I got Weber a long time ago specifically for adding a rotisserie attachment. remembering this. my advice : if it fits , do two chickens at the same time . after the Chef consumes all the skin very nice leftover for chicken salad etc .

wait. don't give it too much sun as it might shrivel up in the heat.

thank you for taking us along.