donk79

Yes, some big coolers would be good, but whatever you can improvise should do you fine. Think of it as over a hundred pounds of ice. Lots of thermal mass there!

I just saw the steak thickness option listed toward the top of the sheet. I'd go for the full 2" there! Yes, it means that you are cooking a lot of meat at once, but it is so much easier to cook well!

Okay, now we are talking! I am also wondering if the absurd amount of ground that I saw when we took steers to butcher was my parent's preference, instead of just what was available. We have used Fauquier's Finest for years. In fact, I really am not certain if there are other options in the area. So, once again, I would say avoid ground. You will want some, but it piles up quickly, and I have never been impressed by the ground we got from FF. I have a few pounds in the freezer, but I have never been excited by anything I made from it other than chili. Front Quarter I personally would get the brisket cut in half. You could save a few pennies by cutting it in half yourself, but you will be receiving it frozen, so… Rib plate- once again, I would leave the cuts as intact as possible, unless you know that you will want them cut shorter- For me, whole plate. Shank- I am torn here. I have cooked up the "soup bones" as a braise numerous times with wonderful results. But i still would probably go with the thicker "osso bucco" cut. Rib- Bone in steaks for me. A whole rib roast is more than I ever have occasion to prepare. If I want an eye for some reason, then I can cut that out and save or cook the rest separately. In fact, that is exactly what I did the last time I fixed these, a few months ago. I had a package of two that was too big to fit in my pan. So I removed the eyes and fixed them for my wife and daughter. Then I cooked the (chewier, tastier) rest for myself. Bones were cut off and refrozen for making stock later. (NB. From our animals, these have been cut thinner than I would prefer. Specify thicker cuts, if you can.) Steak/Roast – Bone in Chuck Roast for me B/L Chuck Steak – Check 4 of 4 options seems to be what the sheet says… Follow the instructions I guess. I am less certain in this section. Hind Quarter Flank – leave whole Short loin – this is one area where the Bone in does not do it for me. Maybe if ( once again) you can get the steaks cut thicker than my parents have. My experience is that on 1” or under cuts, it is difficult to get an even cook on these steaks with the bone in. So, for me, Filet and NY Strip The rest of the hind quarter I do not have strong opinions on. Others can probably say more than me. Organs- As you like. I would not pass up the tongue, myself. Give it the corned beef treatment and it is amazing!

One quick response on the marrow bones. You are looking at leg bones here. They are not insubstantial. Butchers use a bandsaw for these, or maybe even a specialized saw. It is certainly possible to cut them open otherwise, but i would expect to need to bring the big hammer. PS. A quick look on youtube shows people using a hacksaw to cut the ends off, but that does not address splitting, if you want to go that route.

I need to spend some more time on their website before responding, which in and of itself is really impressive! Warrenton is home territory for me, and while I am not surprised to find this farm there, I was not aware of it. On first reaction, their general recommendations are great. Bone-in, avoid grinding... So different than what you could find 20 years ago. I'll get back to you with more, but a really important question is what will you cook? Not just what do you want to cook, but also what do you have time and resources to cook. For example I have a second half of a pork butt in the freezer that has been waiting 6 months for me to get around to. I hate to think how long it would take me to use a half steer!

It sounds like you have a processor lined up already. It is not uncommon for them to give you several options on how you want the cow cut up. It is much more rare for them to give you free reign on what you want. Personally, I would want to see as little ground beef as possible. But check in more as to what options you really have. If there are option lists that you could refer us to, to advise you on, that would probably be most helpful.

My cousin's wife is from Burma (Chin) and they have visited for months at a time on several occasions. One of the highlights of their visits is the food they prepare and share. The tea-leaf salad is a particular favorite. So much so that she distributed ingredients and instructions for making it at home. Unfortunately, there seem to be a number of undisclosed ingredients, but I thought the process she uses might be worth sharing. Burmese Tea Leaf Salad Directions For those who received our tea leaf salad packets, below are directions on how to make it. 1. Open up the packet and you wil find two packages. (1) A package of seeds, beans and nuts. (2) Pickeled Tea Leaves 2. Cut one or two garlic cloves and set place in a small amount of oil (olive oil, vegetable oil, etc.) The amount of oil depends on how oily you like your salad. 3. Open the pickeled tea leaves package and let sit in the oil for 15 minutes or longer. This allows for the taste of the leaves to mix in with the oil and garlic. 4. In a larger bowl shred about half a cabbage (more if you like) and tomatoes. If you'd like to make it spicy, you can add a cut up thai chili pepper or jalapeno. 5. Mix oil/garlic/pickeled tea leaves with the cabbage and tomatoes. 6. Right before you eat mix in the package of seeds, beans and nuts. You want to do this right before you eat because after an hour or two the beans and seeds become soggy and the taste of the salad is not as good.

I made CB the other day with a prepacked/brined flat from the supermarket. I drained the package and rinsed the flat, added some spices, and put in SV for 48 hrs at 140. I put the flat in dry, and probably had 1-2 cups of liquid after cooking. I normally save drippings obsessively, for future cooking, but have never tried it with CB (this is my first). Has anyone used these drippings in cooking? Should I throw them away?

On my phone I need to look for where it says "caption" near the top of the image and select that.

Definitely there are elements of truth here. My classic coffee cake (made by mother) is as @ElsieD describes. But I have experienced variations. What has definitely united them all is that they are a good accompaniment to coffee.

Getting one restaurant recognized by James Beard is pretty special! So its really impressive to do it twice! There are many more out there who are better qualified to give you the accolades you deserve, Rob, but I definitely want to extend my congratulations! https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/dining/restaurants/off-the-menu/six-st-louis-chefs-one-restaurant-are-2022-james-beard-awards-semifinalists/article_03399003-e184-56b4-be0e-d83e8d4361e4.html https://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/the-2022-james-beard-award-semfinalists

I know all the names that have been mentioned, but when I first see the picture, I think Doner Kebab. Commonly, that would be the correct name where I live (near Harrisonburg, Va). But the real decider on nomenclature probably comes from me first encountering one while visiting in Germany.

Strange craving tonight. I wanted "ants on a log". We are clean out of raisins though (we usually are) so I used slices of dried fig instead. It's tasty! But the presentation definitely says something other than ants is sitting on that "log"!

I love those KC reserve store picks, but I do find that just a trickle of cold water is something they benefit from. It's not just the heat. That touch of additional water seems to release a lot of flavor. Sometimes I will even pour over a cube of ice, then remove the cube after 10 or 15 seconds. May not work for you, but definitely does for me!

I cannot say that I am surprised. At the same time, I am talking to small farmers who are telling me that they are having to schedule butchering more than a year out for just a couple of cows. The system is broken and those with power are going to take advantage of it.

It's pretty good scrapple. I have had better, but only when buying direct from an old fashioned Mennonite butcher. I'm glad to have it locally available.

I wouldn't call any of it crap, but I would treat it differently. Deer that have to be tracked are a fact of hunting, especially if you bowhunt. But narrowed down to backstrap, your path forward is fairly direct. Shelby's instruction (and the others above) will serve you well.

Was it a yearling doe or an eight year old buck? You are right on the mark, @gfweb.

Here's a can of worms that just occurred to me- is a Waffle House a diner?

Mike's Diner in Manassas, Va was THE diner of my childhood. It was defined by relatively cheap food, and the fact that everyone went there. Usually you could expect breakfast to be served at any hour. When I worked in my grandparents burger and ice cream place, they would occasionally invite the whole. (all teenage) staff out to Mike's for dinner after an 11pm closing. The place was never empty, the coffee was never good, but it never ran out. To me, if it never inspired a fan base that celebrated the place long after it's passing, then it wasn't a real diner. Mike's fan base fb page is linked below. https://m.facebook.com/groups/45509971031/

The differences between chestnut varieties is information that I wish I had ten years ago. We had 6 mature Chinese chestnut trees in our front yard. I tried several times to candy them. It never did work. However, the syrup that resulted was almost worth the effort. It was truly tasty stuff!

Some of us definitely don't have high end equipment. Unfortunately, some of us also cannot recommend what we have.

Is this what you are looking for?

@gfron1 does some interesting things with pawpaw. I personally have yet to improve on eating them fresh.

Over the past several years, I have made several batches of fermented peppers that then became hot sauce. My absolute favorite had a large amount of pear in the ferment. Something about pears and fermentation that, for me anyway, just works!