Duvel

Incredible. I have not a single recipe really written down. Either I remember, or it wont happen again. Luckily, I have a good memory (especially for anything with numbers, like weights and temperatures) …

Crazy, just crazy 🥰

What a fantastic way to end a lovely holiday … and happy (belated) birthday, @liamsaunt 🤗

Fully with you … best SV, then sear as @mgaretz demonstrates so perfectly. Or like you say ”just” grill. But the idea here was that the tri tip functions as smaller (and maybe better) version of a smoked brisket. And I’d like that idea 😊

Inspired by @Norm Matthews post on brisket-style tri tip (and the ensuing discussion) I decided to give it a go … After about 6h in the smoker (last 2.5h wrapped): With a quick coleslaw, beans and a brezel roll … It was ok. Family was not impressed. Taste was good, it was reasonably tender, but slightly dry. I attribute this to mainly two issues: 1) German beef is not particularly fatty, and meat quality is average. This tri tip was too lean and thus the succulence of the rendered fat was missing. 2) I pulled at 187 F because it was dinner time. Should have gone to 200 F. Well … would have, should have, could have. A weekday is not perfect for experimenting with long cooks. As usual, my old lab wisdom hold true: If you don’t have time to do it right, reserve the time to do it again. To be repeated …

I always weight my water. Simpler and usually more accurate* … —- * graduated cylinders would work fine, but my kitchen has a scale, so I use it for this. In my lab(s) on the other hand …

Now that’s a perfect combination: sparkling water & a muddled whiskey. In my head I pretend you enjoyed both together … ☺️

No worries, I‘ll free some space in the attic 😛

That sounds like a plan … Let me explore this pork & fish sauce theme beforehand ☺️

Right now we have some great weather here at the Bergstraße. This calls for BBQ pretty much everyday, but it seems that the family members carrying mediterranean genes do not support more than 4 consecutive days of pork collar steaks and coarse Bratwurst. Luckily, I know just the thing to get them … Yakitori night. Got two large chickens from the Turkish supermarket, chopped them up and made this … (the bacon-wrapped tomatoes in the upper right corner is my German way to sneak in a pork product to maintain moral superiority). Regular skewers with tare (mostly thigh and back), bacon-wrapped tomatoes (that count as the vegetable course) and skin. Tsukune (ground up „everything else“), served with soy and egg … Liver with tare, and just pink in the middle 🤗 Cold soba with tsuyu (and an poached egg that for some reason was added only after the shot). My favourite was thigh, shio tare and some Shichimi Togarashi with extra orange peel. Enjoyed with a rye highball, that was just right on the spot ☺️

True - I like it before the meal with Mezze, too. As a digestif it might lead to some salty “dessert” later (there is a bit of feta left ☺️ ) …

More BBQ … This time sponsored by Lidl, where I literally go shopping once a year (loyal Aldi guy here …). Herb-marinated quail breast, Merguez (that actually was made from lamb and tasted like Merguez), some disappointing shrimp skewers and a coarse butchers sausage (not from Lidl) … Served with bread (not pictured), Tzaziki (Greek weeks at Lidl), lamb’s lettuce with greek dressing and feta and garlic-herb butter. Easy peasy, with a high satisfaction factor in my household. No schnapps, @weinoo (it’s a weekday) - on the other hand this Ouzo from Lesbos calls to me as a digestif 🤭

Elk calls for Aquavit 😝

Spring is showing it’s sunny face at the moment, and pleasant 26 oC call for firing up the BBQ … Pork collar, lamb loin and what in German is called Fackel (torch): thinly sliced pork belly strips, wrapped around skewers with a dry marinade not unlike magic dust. Served with a kitchen sink couscous salad (roasted cauliflower, raisins, onions, tomatoes, nuts …). No complaints 🤗

I sincerely hope that the Sichuan (elk) god will smite you for taking your liberties with this classic 😝

How does Sichuan elk compare to your more usual Yunnan elk ..?

Also: get a mortar & pestle.

Sorry … you refuse to buy a mortar & pestle because you find no other use for it, but buy a dedicated Sichuan peppercorn grinder from an overpriced online store !? 🤔

This is a proper Cook-Off, so you have the proper blessing to deviate from whatever people perceive as proper patés and terrines 😜

Wow ... that looks smooooth 🤗

Pizza & Movie night - our Sunday tradition, this time with my parents. Salami & mushroom (2x), sausage & olive and Gorgonzola & spinach. Forgot to take individual pictures, so here is a “intermediate” snapshot … Movie was some odd story about furry creatures in donut shapes called “Extinct”. We need to return to the classics …

Preparing the room right now 🤗

We recently has some Spargel related discussions, triggered by @weinoo … Today I am happy to report that the Spargel season here at the Badische Bergstraße is in full swing and - as my parents are (still) here for the weekend and the little one out for a sleepover - we had a proper German Spargel dinner ! These booths are set up strategically at major intersections along the Bergstasse to sell the produce of the local growers. This particular booth is just next to our place. Spargel shares a season with strawberries and usually the growers offer both, plus related products. 2 kg of Spargel, harvested this morning. Trimmed by my mom, all trimmings went into making the master stock, together with sugar, salt and butter. The yield … Thrown into the hot master stock, brought to a boil and left to soak for about 10 min … Served family style al fresco with a lovely Mosel Riesling, plenty of Hollandaise, new fingerling potatoes … … and of course Iberico ham, lightly smoked Speck, Parma ham, cooked sweet ham from the Odenwald, Bavarian baked shoulder ham and smoked duck breast. Dessert from the same booth … Some Moscatel wine for the ladies and Yamazaki 12 for my dad and me. We enjoyed a relaxed evening 🤗

This is a good example how the Google algorithm is effective to combine certain associated word fields, but fails to “grasp” the real content of articles. Anyway, back to the original topic. My (very limited) experience with making high protein breads was always employing eggs and some sort of fresh cheese variety. I know that especially the latter is tricky to come by in Japan (at least for a decent price). Adding whey powder to sweetened items (e.g. cupcakes) dries them out a bit, so you need to up the fat content (you see frequently coconut fat added, which might be for that purpose, of for the short chain fatty acids). This in return usually retards yeast activity, so be mindful of that. Another option would be not to aim for leavened bread, but flatbread (for wraps etc.). That would be more forgiving and I think that flour, whey, yoghurt and baking powder should give you a nice base to start experimenting.

Nice ! How do you make the sauce - is it "just" peanutty, or are there other flavors involved ?