larryroohr

Assuming al pastor is cooked like the gyro meat I'm familiar with, quickly browned crispy on the outside and shaved off as it cooks, I'd wonder if this rotisserie has a broil setting that leaves the burners on without temperature regulating? If not I wonder if you'd get the radiant heat to do the browning you'd need with something designed to roast chickens. This one does have a door so you could get in there and slice the meat off. Here is an article about gyro meat that may apply. I've made Alton Browns gyro recipe and agree with Kenji on the points he makes and am going to give it another go with his suggestions. For cooking the meat he slices it thin and browns it under the broiler. http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/06/greek-american-lamb-gyros-homemade-from-scratch-the-food-lab.html I've considered building a vertical rotisserie (I love to tinker) using radiant heaters, but like you say, if your not making a bunch of sandwiches at once I'm not sure it makes sense. If you do end up getting one please report back on how it does, if it works well for al pastor or gyros I'll consider one myself.

I just tore into my first pastrami last night and have to chime in, maybe the best I've had. Made mine with flank steak (london broil out here). Way beyond my expectations.

Well, the vp-112 did dry the wings somewhat with 10 cycles of 1 minute each to 60Hg , but not nearly as much as the overnight in the fridge. This was judged only by the by the ruckus that ensued when I dropped them in the oil , louder than the fridge wings and not as bad as the non-dried wings I did also. I chickened out of checking the temp drop as that would have gotten my hand too close to the bubbling oil. So it's worth doing in a pinch. Don't know if more cycles would improve it or be a diminishing return. Didn't notice any appreciable difference in the wings, but that's probably because I was using a new electric fryer for the first time and it doesn't recover temp as well as my lodge logic cast iron wok on the stove top does. The wok wins in that department, but the wings better be dry with no lid, makes a mess.

I was thinking about this for when there isn't time for an overnight sit in the fridge. But, I'm concerned that the fridge dries slowly from the outside, and the vac may do something entirely different along with disrupting the texture of the meat. Has anyone tried this? I'm getting some wings ready for tomorrow so I will have time to fridge dry overnight and will set some aside to try the vac approach but it seems there are several reasons (above) this is a bad idea and don't want to waste any chicken or spend the time if it's an obvious no-go. BTW, I sous vide the wings prior to drying/frying in place of David Changs steaming method, only crisping the skin in the fryer that way. If I don't get a definate no then I'll give it a try tomorrow and report back.

Rotuts, I really don't know, never tried low and slow on a weber. I used to do turkeys on a charcoal weber which always turned out pretty good but they were cooked at normal oven temps and times, with the added tastieness of smoke, those turkeys were always the first picked to the bone at large multi-turkey thanksgiving gatherings. So I don't know how well one would perform for low and slow but I'd be surprised if I could set one up for 190degF at night with a big ol' pork but and a good load of charcoal, go to bed, and get up in the morning to find it still doing fine. The other thing is the high temps you can get to in that insulated tube for pizza or whatever, and as someone else mentioned baking in the summer. Maybe a weber would do fine. Hopefully someone with experience with both will chime in, you've got me curious.

The Big Steel Keg also features a solidly built set of legs. This Keg's insulation provides for a cool exterior and different thermal properties compared to the ceramic Egg's heavy mass. I assume that it may be somewhat easier to lower the cooking temp by restricting air; lowering temp in a ceramic Egg is a lost cause. I also remember reading that the insulated Keg has a much lower humidity level than a ceramic Egg but don't know the impact on cooking results. Actually the keg is difficult to drop the temp on as well, I've read it's more difficult than the egg but I've never used an egg so I don't know personally. I have the IQ pitmaster controller (a fan with a temp probe that controls the air flow into the keg or egg and so controls the temp), I have to set it initially about 20degF lower than target temp or the temp will overshoot and not come down for a long time. After it stabilizes I set the temp to target and it truly is hands off for hours after that point, great for low and slow. The keg comes with legs and side tables and is light enough to move around easily. Also there is a trailer hitch accessory so you can load it on your truck and take it with you to the prairie dog shoot (bad joke). Takes all the egg accessories also. I'm very happy with mine.

I've enjoyed well done neapolitans very much, and for the most part unsuccessfully chased making my own with my home oven and various barbecue grill schemes to get the hot oven needed. Then one day a thread popped up on pizzamaking.com about the New England pan pizza style I grew up with and that's about all I make now, love them. Just a matter of familiarity I think. The point I want to make is these pizza's are so fundamentally different I don't consider them to be comparable if your judging pizza to pizza quality, It's more like hot dogs vs hamburgers to me. Neapolitans are much harder to get right, recipe, technique, the oven, usually sparse toppings that almost look like they were plated on the crust. It's primarily about that crust. My home brew East Hartford style are about the crust baked in a good bit of olive oil in the pan (hard to screw that up) and more so the sauce, cheese and toppings. So, IMO I don't think it works to compare neapolitan pizza 'quality' with other styles, to me they're different ball games. I like them for different reasons. Also, Bianco's in Phoenix is very much a neapolitan pizza from what I've read (never been there), pic's and reviews are all over the web. Well, this clinches what I'm making for dinner tonight....

I have the Behmore roaster, reasonably priced at 300$ and will do half pound batches well, a pound at a time is pushing it though even though it's advertised to take a pound of beans at a time. I've got 30 lbs of a Brazilian in the deep freeze I bought for 3$/lb that I think is delicious, the Brazilians are usually used as a base and mixed with brighter beans but I like this one straight up for drip. The reason I'm mentioning this is it has 'smoke suppression technology' which is a second burner in the exhaust path, and it catches all the chafe safely. It doesn't eliminate all the exhaust/smoke lt but does cut it down considerably, might be good for an apartment situation.

Also consider the 'big steel keg' as another low cost alternative unless your sold on the looks of the egg, bsk is insulated steel instead of ceramic. Costs about half if I remember right, I have one and like it for all the same reasons the egg gets raves for.

I have a glass cutting board I use for shaping bread so they aren't useless, should call it a bread shaping board. I bought it for cutting before I knew better thinking it would be easy to keep disinfected after cutting up raw chicken which is probably true. If your knife standard is cheap knives and a quick slide through sharpener that hones the crap out of them then it probably wouldn't make much difference what you cut on.

Ok, I have to follow up on my slopper comment. I took my own advice and googled it. I had no idea there were so many versions or that it was featured on the food wars show and got all that internet attention. Gray's version is the only one I've had. It's two open faced (very thin) cheese burgers on half a bun each smothered with a lot of green and topped with a some cheese and a handful of of raw onion in a bowl, it doesn't look like that picture that keeps coming up. Part of the attraction of Gray's for me is it's like stepping back in time 50 years, old, a very long mahogany (I think) bar, pool tables, a very blue collar feeling like where I grew up. I recommend a good ol' american rice beer to go with, bud or miller. I'm no gourmet but I honestly can't think of anything I've ever enjoyed more.

Ok, votes are in, 4 to 1 (1 is me and my ocd'ness). I'll go the frozen route. Now I have to go eat the chili I bought to play with this weekend, dang. Thanks everyone. Larry BTW, if any of you fellow chili heads are ever in Pueblo Colorado you need to be sure to get to Gray's Tavern and get a 'slopper'. Google it, simple old steel mill town bar fare to die for. Unfortunately it's a two hour drive for me with no other reason to get down there anymore. I've never been able to come close making my own for reasons unknown to me, despite how simple it sounds. It has to be the chili.

Mild, flakey, kind of like I remember haddock years ago in Connecticut (the breaded and deep fried seafood capital of the world).

Have to agree with the walleye. I never imagined a fresh water fish could be that good. But then we were pulling them out of the dam effluent in Pierre S. Dakota and deep frying them within an hour or two. Beyond good,

Thanks Katie and Johanna, When I say green chili/chili verde I mean the finished product, in a bowl in front of me with lots of succulent pork cubes and diced raw onions on top, and a a side of beans, rice, and good tortillas or good tortilla chips, Ok, now I'm hungry. I grew up on they east coast,and though the best food to be had anywhere is there IMO, the region is seriously deprived where this is concerned 8^). Johanna, I agree, hence my concern. Katie, that is exactly what I intend to do this year. So far my gringo chili verde making has been with hatches canned chili's. There's no excuse for living here and not hitting the roadside stands with the roasting barrels blazing away and stocking up the freezer every year. I'm going to go ahead and experiment with this using calculated amounts of pink salt however unpleasant that may sound, at least for starters. Thanks, Larry

I made a new friend on a trip to St. Mary's Georgia a week or two ago and we both love hot spicey mexican food (texmex in my case). We went to a local mexican restaurant and when I asked about green chili the waiter didn't know what I was talking about, and I got the impression my friend had never had it, didn't think to ask at the time. Anyway, I've decided to send him some samples from a few of my favourite restaurants here in Colorado. I was going to freeze, pack it appropriately, and ship it fast. Then I thought about canning it. Canning is something I've intended to try anyway, I have a pressure canner and everything needed, and would can as canning pork. I wonder if anyone has done something like this before and has any advice. I'm concerned about re-cooking the chili and possibly ruining it for one thing, I wonder how the gravy aspect of one of the chili's would hold up. I'm going to just give it a try and see how it goes. If it does badly I'll try my own chili and let it finish cooking in the canning process. I usually cook the crap out of it in a crock pot anyway to get the chili's nice and soft. My real concern is being a newbie to this the odds of getting something wrong canning and not knowing it are higher. Like all of us I dread ever giving someone food poisoning in the first place and in this case with botulism your talking about killing someone, not trivial. I'm wondering if adding an appropriate amount of pink salt as insurance makes sense. I'm not sure how this may affect flavour, or any other issues. 240 degF is not high enough to cause nitrosamine issues I believe. Any input is appreciated. If it sounds too problematic I'll just go the frozen route for this and take up canning with something else as I want to be ready for home grown tomato's this fall. Thanks, Larry

The couple of Mario's recipe's I've tried have been simple and very good. The sage/lemon/butter sauce comes to mind. The simple part was refreshing for someone as time starved as I am. I do enjoy the big projects, but for quick and good I really like his cook books.

Where did you get the beef? It was a year or two ago I noticed the mass marketed burger had gotten weird, didn't like it, mushy and pasty is a good description. It was enough that I stopped buying it and started grinding my own when I wanted it. Now we hear about pink slime. Whether it actually correlates or not I don't know but it is something to consider. Hate to fuel possible hysteria as there is so much of that out there, but consider getting a grinder and a chuck roast. I did and have no regrets even though it's not nearly as convenient. Just my experience, take it with a grain of salt, ymmv.

I asked for back fat at my butchers yesterday, he sold me a bag of scrap pieces of fat and I'm wondering is this what I should expect? I imagined it would be one large cut, that's based on nothing though. It worked fine in the bratwurst I made but I intend to render some non hydrogenated lard to have around and would like to be sure I have back fat as it's reportedly better than others (except leaf). Next time I'll ask when I get it, but for now I'm wondering what I've got here. So happy to have a local butcher around these days.

Thanks DDF, With your advice, a very helpful phone conversation with 'Dave the blind meat cutter', and one google result I found I'm at ease now. I did add about 4oz of water and maple syrup mixed to aid distribution of whatever is left on the outside of the belly over the next few days. I'll try cold smoking with the next belly I do, already bought one for a firmness comparison. I need to figure out how to do it first though. I already have a controlled air intake port on the keg that I could blow in cooler smoke with, ought to be able to get something to work with that. I'm sure there is plenty of good info out there. If this turns out nearly as superior to commercial products as the bratwurst I made last night I will not be disappointed. Damn it's good, well worth the effort. Had a heck of a time with the stuffer though, need to figure out what I'm doing wrong there, the meat kept busting out the side of the hog casing. In the mean time there wasn't anything wrong with the brat pattie sandwich I had for dinner, yum. My daughter gave it a big mmmmmmmmm, and she has zero interest in flattery when it comes to my cooking, bless her heart. Larry [Moderator note: This topic continues here, Cooking with Ruhlman & Polcyn's "Charcuterie" (Part 7)]

Need some help here. I have a 4 lb pork belly, about 2" at it's thickest and 1" thinnest, no bones or skin, curing in the fridge for 4 days now, and there is no liquid. I got the belly frozen from our local butcher. Used the basic rub recipe from the book but used brown sugar instead of white. By weight it was 16oz Mortons kosher salt, 8oz brown sugar, 2oz pink salt. Mixed well and rubbed 2oz of this mix over the belly. I thought the 2oz of basic cure seemed not enough, but what do I know, followed the recipe anyway as I don't want to over do it with the nitrites. I calculated the total pink salt used after I applied it and it did come out about right for 4 lbs of meat, didn't write it down though. Then I had to leave town unexpectedly for 3 days, my daughter turned the bag over every morning for me. Got back yesterday and it's nearly dry in the bag. Does the liquid get re-absorbed during the cure and I just missed it? My daughter doesn't remember seeing any liquid in the bag, but she just turned 18 and I wouldn't expect her to notice if I didn't ask her to look for it. There are no signs of a bag leak in the fridge. This morning I checked the remaining rub, the salt looks well distributed, it weighs what it should after removing the 2oz I applied. The belly does feel firm to me, but I don't have an uncured one to compare it to so that doesn't mean anything, guess I'll pick another one up today for round two and then I can compare. One other thought. The belly was frozen wrapped in a sheet of white paper only, no indication of how long it had been stored like that. Could it have dried enough under those conditions to account for this? It is pretty dry here in Colorado. And if that's the case the lack of liquid means any uneven application of the rub would leave the resulting cure that way too, probably not good. Since the basic bacon recipe calls for a 2.5lb to 5lb belly I'm tempted to just add rub up to the concentration a 2.5lb belly would have had and give it a few more days like that, another 1.2oz. Thanks in advance for any thoughts. I'm excited about this and can't wait to smoke this puppy in my big steel keg @150F, I'll be very disappointed if I screwed it up somehow, and if I have I hope it can be saved. The butcher has more bellies so there is no need to take even small chances. One other question comes to mind while I'm at it. Since I can hold the big steel keg at 150F fairly reliably for as long as I want is there any harm in extending the hot smoke time until I think I've got enough smoke on the belly? Sort of an air/smoke souse vide I guess. I'll have a probe thermometer in the belly so I'll know internal temp, no worries there. Thanks all, Larry

Thanks for that Sam. 15c is not a small difference. More scare journalism possibly. If Momo actually checks the temp so they know this thats different from someone throwing them in a super hot pan and quickly searing which would leave a larger differential outside to inside. Since I started this I guess I'll pick some livers up and make some more pate, and cook hot checking the internal temp to see what they look like at 48c for my own info. I'll pull livers out at timed intervals, let them rest a minute and check. Call me curious and a bit paranoid when it comes to food poisoning. Last time I made this with input from that topic it was so good, worth doing just to enjoy it again. Actually with an 80% infection rate if it was a real problem you'd think we would have heard about it by now. Larry

Came across this and thought I'd pass it on here. A chicken liver pate thread a while ago recommended cooking the livers just until pink inside. I made some following that advice, it was delicious and I didn't have any problems, but.... "University of Aberdeen scientists bought raw chicken livers from a typical range of supermarkets and butchers over a two-year period and, after testing in the lab, discovered the bug Campylobacter in 81% of them." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-chicken-liver-pate-potential-source.html

I've always cooked sausages starting them in water to poach and then browning when the water boiled away, can't beat it. Where I picked it up years ago when I was first out on my own was from an early black and white Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn movie "The Black Orchid". If my memory is correct, Quinn was a widower and never happy with his daughters sausages. It was the final scene after Quinn wins Sophia's heart, Sophia teaches his daughter how to cook him sausages this way. Anthony took a bite and yelled in a thick Italian accent "now datsa gooda sausage!" (or something like that). Sausage movie trivia, funny the things we remember.

Amazon has 20lbs polly-o curds listed here, but currently unavailable (??). Amazon link