btbyrd

My in-laws killed it for my birthday with a Darto No 27 paella and a Masienda molcajete. I am unspeakably lucky.

I have wanted to replace my iSi slim silicone spatula for years but never found an alternative. This Prime Day I got a deal on this sexy set of jar spatulas from Di Oro. I love them. Pictured here with my aged iSi. The teeny ones make me so happy. But they all make me so happy. Go get some. Also available in black.

Oh, I could easily spend $150+ on just spoons and spoon accessories. And I have.

JB Prince is having a sale on Kunz spoons, 30% off with code KUNZ30. I would really like a regular and a perforated XL version, but the FedEx shipping on those two spoons is like $26. Free shipping kicks in at $99, but I'm not buying $100 worth of spoons right now. And certainly not paying for more than a spoon to have them FedExed to me. Nobody nearby wants to go in on anything from JBPrince with me to help split shipping, so.... I guess I'll just snuggle up with the spoons I already have. Love the one(s) you're with.

If you're just going for maximum gelatin extraction, pressure cookers are the way to go. Much faster and easier than doing it on the stovetop, and the results are often preferable. Vegetables should only be added to stock or broth (or whatever) toward the very end of the process. After an hour or so, their vibrant aromatics become muddy and dull. I pressure cook roasted bones/meat alone and then simmer aromatics for 30 minutes once the pressure comes down and I have the lid off. Adding vinegar doesn't really do anything to help with extraction. There have been a lot of bogus theories proffered about doing it, but adding a small amount of vinegar isn't going to appreciably shift the pH of a pot of stock. People like Sally Fallon and the Weston A Price foundation used to recommend adding vinegar to help extract minerals from bones, but then someone pointed out that bone broth doesn't really contain much in the way of minerals regardless of how it's prepared. Cooking bones for a long time or under pressure will convert a lot of collagen into gelatin, yes, but the vinegar isn't doing anything to contribute to that result.

You can use a large rotomolded cooler and a Joule with the big clip. Cut a closed cell foam yoga mat to serve as a “lid” and cut down on evaporation (or just use plastic wrap).

I would see if it fits in a 2 gallon freezer zippie. That is my goto for large cuts. ChefSteps used to recommend Glad white garbage bags for cooking suckling pigs, but that was four years ago and I don’t know if the formula has changed.

Roast them and make stock.

BSOAFP vs Wonder Bread.

There are smart ovens and there are toasters. The former might claim to be the latter, but I'm in the "it's best to have both" camp. I don't eat that much toast, so all I have is the BSOAFP. Its toast takes forever. It is uneven. It is acceptable.

My CCK vegetable cleaver is my go-to dicer.

Been doing a good amount tacos and fajitas recently. Got a tortilla press for Christmas and now I can consistently make pretty good ones in very little time. Keep an eye out for sales on Masienda’s masa at Whole Foods. Last night I grilled a NY strip steak. Tacos weren’t the original plan, but but dinned turned out great regardless. Some fajitas from last week.

That is absolutely stunning, Jo! I'd be cutting with that nakiri non-stop! Great looking handle too. Is that a 165 or a 180? You've gotta get a cutting board that's somewhere between cheap plastic and the soft "special occasion" feel of hinoki. There's no greater pleasure than putting really beautiful high end tools to use.

You have summoned this obligatory video on how to cut a tri-tip.