JoNorvelleWalker

I have a "slushie" machine sitting on my kitchen counter where the Ninja Creami used to be. (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) So far I have used the appliance only for shaving unflavored ice. The method consists of a compressor cooled drum that rotates at variable speed against a sharp blade. I am impressed how well it works. It takes only about a minute before ice starts coming out. Despite the name, the result is nothing like a slushie, as I understand a slushie. I'm not looking for sorbet texture. I can do sorbet in the Ninja, which now lives in the bedroom. What I am looking for is a lighter, icier texture. There is a dial to adjust the texture from little frozen curls to the finest powdered snow.

Not popsicles exactly, but I would welcome some popsicle related advice. I am wanting to make a flavored shaved ice confection. Desserts such as snow cones, raspadilla, and shikashika are made by pouring flavored syrup over shaved ice. But what I want to do is freeze the mixture and then shave it. My assumption is such a recipe would be closer to a popsicle recipe than to a snow cone recipe?

That's what they would like you to believe. Here we have "Cornish game hens" that are just baby chickens. I've been to Cornwall. Didn't see any little fish. Just bad ice cream.

Success. Three hours at 93C. Final temperature 87C. Meat could be cut with a table knife. Juicy. Still difficult to chew, but that is a reflection on the condition of my teeth, not the fault of the spareribs. For next time I think I'd skip the rub and just use a little salt and garlic powder.

The battery takes years and years to run down though. However it did eventually run down on my older Zojirushi.

Where from?

Once again I am attempting spareribs. This time 93C, Smoke level 5, sweetwood blend. Rubbed with mustard, salt, allspice, and Penzeys Florida rub. I have no particular time in mind. I plan to check periodically and pull when the meat looks done. Couldn't be any worse than last time. I've been afraid of burning my arm on the door of the smoker, so I got a pair of long barbecue gloves. They are comfortable, fit pretty well, and are easy to wash. They do show blood stains though.

A few years ago I downgraded my 10 cup to the five cup NW-JEC10BA. (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) Pressure is used only for a brief period near the end of the cooking cycle. What I like most is the Umami setting. I'm not certain, but I believe only the pressure models offer the Umami option. Almost all the rice I cook is with umami. I also use the "rice my way" feature for dialing in parameters for basmati. Though I admit basmati is best cooked in a pot on the stove with excess water. I use my Zojirushi only for making rice, so it is not important to me that it doesn't make popcorn nor roast whole pigs. My Zojirushi delights me with a cheerful tune -- though for the price I might have expected a whole opera. I did once hear Karajan conduct Walkure.

I'd say it depends on how much salt you used. Unless you went overboard on the salt, 48 hours should be fine.

Do you think six hours is necessary?

I wonder why our results were so different?

These thighs were skinless -- not what I ordered. Sometimes Whole Foods is like that. Now for the sad part: the thighs were removed from smoke after exactly six hours. They were dry, hard, and practically indistinguishable from my most recent sparerib disaster. They hurt my teeth. Nothing like your drumstick pictures. The Penzeys spice rubs were nice though.

Chicken thighs are out of the blast chiller and into the Profile. The plan is to smoke with cherry, 93C for 6 hours. Two thighs were rubbed with Penzeys Jerk and another two with Penzeys Singapore seasoning. Sadly I've forgotten which was which.

I wouldn't.

The spareribs were another disaster. They looked delicious after three hours. After the allotted six hours the meat was dry and crunchy. Not quite as bad as the last try, but not pleasant. Most likely the remains will flavor beans. The potato salad I served with them was excellent. So far hamburger and chicken pops are perfect. Pork belly is close. Beef ribs are good but need more work (additional test material awaits in the refrigerator). Smoked bluefish was OK but I overdid it on the brine. Meanwhile a package of chicken thighs is in the blast chiller. I wanted skin-on thighs but Whole Foods sent skinless. The thighs will get a few hours being blast chilled but not overnight. I put them on a rack (a CSO rack actually) in an hotel pan on the higher shelf of the blast chiller, directly under the powerful fan. @rotuts if I may ask, I infer you and MC are but two people. What do you do with the large quantities of meat you cook?

Today's pork project is spareribs. I used the Profile's sparerib preset, thus absolving me of any guilt when the meat cannot be chewed. The sparerib parameters are 113C, 6 hours, smoke level 5. I'm using hickory, although there were a few mesquite pellets at the bottom of the hopper that I was too tired to take out. I woke up from my nap at 7:20. I started the smoke a little after 8:00. Dinner should commence a little after 2:00.

I use a blast chiller for drying stuff -- most recently the bluefish that I smoked.

I thought Nuri and Pinhais were the same company?

Beautiful result! Do I understand correctly that the smoking time was 6 hours at 200F?

Inside.

Tonight's Smoked Bluefish Salad was vile. The red onion was much too much and the salt from the smoked bluefish overwhelmed everything. It's headed to the garbage. I have more bluefish but it will have to be soaked to mitigate the salt.

Because of the oppressive heat I did not smoke spareribs tonight. Things have cooled off a bit and Lord being willing I shall reattempt spareribs tomorrow. If anyone has suggestions for time and temperature, now would be a jolly good time to share them.

I made the wrong recipe. It must be the heat. I had intended to prepare Smoked Bluefish Pate (Delish! p24). What I actually made was Smoked Bluefish Salad (Delish! p64). Oh well, I have more smoked bluefish. The salad is good, but I added far too much onion.

I don't clean my Anova. Except sometimes the front glass.

I rubbed it. With a paper towel.