JoNorvelleWalker

To follow up on my last post, the cheap nugget machine was unsatisfactory. It went back. It was replaced by an EUHOMY. Good as the EUHOMY is I found another brand, TUATNUT that I like better, possibly because the water is easier to drain. I make ice most evenings. This morning I ordered a different EUHOMY (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) This one makes crescent ice rather nugget ice. It will be fun to see how they compare. How do people feel about crescent ice vs. nugget ice?

I've been satisfied with every Mastronardi variety I've tried, though my favorite is still Campari. I can't grow Mountain Magic anymore because the plants are too big for my balcony. However this summer I am trying a relatively new tomato called Veranda Red. The little plants grow only a foot or so high, but they produce continuously. Recently I noticed the Veranda Red fruits resembled Sunset Flavor Bombs. Last night I did a side by side comparison. Both varieties are small, with, if anything, the Veranda Red being slightly larger. Unlike Campari, the Flavor Bombs are sweet, perhaps too sweet. Both Veranda Red and Flavor Bombs have good tomato flavor. The Veranda Red have less obtrusive skin. Then again, they don't have to be shipped halfway across the continent. Also the color of the Veranda Red was more red. Flavor Bombs in contrast are more of an orangish pink.

Last night I couldn't stand the temperature so dinner was hummus and tortilla chips. But tonight I smoked the hamburger. I will modestly assert that I have the method pretty well dialed in: Mesquite Half pound ground beef Smoker temperature 140C Target temperature 56C Smoking time 45 minutes, turned back to front half way through Measured final temperature 55C

Last night was not a good experience. I smoked pork spareribs. After two hours at 121C, the ribs looked good to me. Measured with a thermapen the meat was about 95C. But all the recipes I've found call for more time than two hours. I reduced the temperature to 77C and smoked for another hour. The result was unpleasantly dry, although I could still cut and chew it. None of the unctuousness I achieved smoking port belly. Any suggestions for time and temperature to properly smoke spareribs? I have three sections left from the full rack. Meanwhile I ordered a turkey breast from Whole Foods but they were out of stock. Tonight I will probably smoke hamburger again if I can stand the heat.

...And the start of an esculent rhyme.

Thanks to the expert enablement of @TdeV in the Indoor Smoker topic I now have Delish! by Philip R Craig and Shirley Prada Craig. Delish! is the first and only cookbook in my collection to have a recipe for water. I made some last night but then spilled it trying to swat a fly.

Ice cream and orgeat.

Camera taped over.

I shall never again eat crackers in bed while attending a work telemeeting.

I received a new homogenizer this evening. Unlike my other, this one comes with a stand.

Ship it to @Shelby to take apart.

If there is no obvious thickener in the recipe I assume the simmering step is for reduction. Neither the APO nor SV are noted for reduction. If it were me I'd use a Paragon.

I repeated last night's spare rib. But this time I set the temperature to 102C for an hour, then lowered the temperature to 82C for another hour and a half. The results were as lovely as last night's were not. Final temperature was about 80C. The meat was easily sliced and for the most part cut with a fork. Delicious. I could chew it. I saved the fat and bone, possibly as an addition to Rancho Gordo beans. So much to learn.

If the new Cuisinart was so quickly discontinued there was probably a reason.

My spare rib (singular) was not a success. I started the cook early because I had no idea how long it should take. The rib looked good after about an hour and a half. I turned the smoking temperature down to 77C, the lowest setting. After seven hours the final temperature was 96C and the meat was dried out such that I couldn't chew it. But by masticating I was able to extract tremendous fatty flavor. I'm not convinced the GE is holding accurate temperature. I can't measure the chamber temperature with my BBQOVN wireless probe, but I have a Combustion Inc. on order.