JoNorvelleWalker

A couple to share today... I shall never again reach into a near boiling (95C) sous vide bath only to discover my silicone gauntlet leaks. I shall never again almost certainly again allow an organic pineapple to liquify in the living room. I cannot lie, this makes twice in recent memory.

Since last posting I've received the long delayed Chris Young predictive thermometer. I've had much success smoking a few hotdogs. The predictions were right on. It's interesting to compare set temperatures on the GE Profile to the ambient temperatures measured with the Combustion: Set / measured 107C 119C 96C 101C 118C 108C After smoking a few hotdogs to 62C, tonight I am smoking another pork shoulder. One minute still left to go. My target is 92C. Finally after six hours my meat is resting. I can report that after the six hour cook, this pork shoulder was better than the last. I could chew it but not easily.

I have these: (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

@Smithy I am sorry for your accident! My food processor has long since been retired, but one reason I love my Blendtec blender is that the blades are intentionally dull and it's [almost] impossible for me to cut myself.

Another failure, this time with a large (and expensive) Berkshire rib chop. Most of the porkchop smoking suggestions I found were for 121C for 2 1/2 hours. After just over an hour I went to turn the meat. When I read the temperature it was 75C at the warmest part. My target was 63C. Very sad. Something is going on that I do not understand. On the positive side the salt and spices were just right, and the pork was very flavorful. But frightfully overdone.

How much do such things cost, may I ask?

After rereading Chad Ward's An Edge in the Kitchen (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) Chad says he does everything with a chef's knife...before adding that he has 43 chef's knives at his disposal.

I looked just now and the knife was still on sale.

The beef ribs that were far too salty I washed and soaked in water. I did not bother to reheat. Salinity was reduced to tolerable levels. Next time be more careful with the salt.

I mentioned that while I was browsing around looking at stuff for @lindag I accidentally enabled myself. Not exactly a paring knife but Amazon listed it with the paring knives: a Wusthof IKON steak knife... Bottom is the new IKON steak knife. For comparison a Le Cordon Bleu paring knife. Edit: weight of the IKON is 74.8g vs 62.4g for the Le Cordon Bleu. The IKON is somewhat handle heavy, while I would call the Le Cordon Bleu more neutral in balance.

Oh, I neglected to report back! The spareribs were pretty good. Unfortunately I neglected to write down how long I smoked them for. Last night was beef ribs. Temperature 107C for four hours fifty minutes. Final meat temperature 96C. Texture was lovely. Ribs were almost inedible due to an extreme amount of salt. For the leftovers I plan to wash off the bark and soak the meat in water before reheating.

Last night I smoked beef ribs. I got to bed at 4:00.

I was attempting to enable you. I ended up enabling myself.

I consulted the Wusthof site today and they say the bevel on their European style knives is 14.9 degrees and on their Asian style knives the bevel is 10 degrees. I have a couple Wusthof Le Cordon Blue paring knives (no longer in production) and I prefer the Le Cordon Blue to the Classic series because of the gigantic bolster on the Classic. If I wanted another Wusthof pairing knife I would choose the Ikon. Not only are the bolsters better but the handles are longer than the Classic and to me more comfortable. However if I really wanted a pairing knife I would go with Watanabe. I have two Watanabe knives and they are superlative. There are three pairing knives on this page, one of which is out of stock: https://www.kitchen-knife.jp/special/petiteknife.htm Those three are double bevel, but if you wanted to know the exact angle you could write and ask him. Other than that I have an almost antique paring knife from Chicago Cutlery from back when Chicago Cutlery made knives and was not just a brand name as sadly it is today. I reserve mine only for scarifying loaves. I also have a MAC paring knife. The MAC is sharp and cuts OK, but it is too light. For me the MAC does not spark joy. Have fun on your search! Edit: the Wusthof knife @ElsieD shared I believe is this one: (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) I was surprised it does not have the typical bolster of the Classic series European style paring knives.

No picture, but tonight's beef rib was a success. Two and a half hours at 107C. Final temperature 94C. Lovely.