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Unfortunately, my usual shrimp head fat leftovers ran out this morning, when I squeezed the last shrimp brains over my Special K …

Whey is fairly inexpensive. Adding steroids (with an high black market price) will significantly increase the value and asking price. I am certain there is a market for “spiked” whey, but I would be certain that if you purchase a run-of-the-mill whey powder at market price, it would not be adulterated with steroids. Other stuff perhaps, but again here whey isolate is a huge market and buying from a reputable source should avoid any nasty surprise.

Selected leftovers from the fridge (such as cooked rigatoni, half a head of cauliflower, meat of some smoked spare ribs), upgraded with fresh onions, ginger, cilantro and given the pad thai treatment (sugar, fish sauce, tamarind). Peanuts, roasted onions and more cilantro. No complaints 🤗

Køttbullar with mushroom cream sauce & lingonberry jam, enjoyed al fresco (🥳) with mashed potatoes and buttery peas …

Well … the Ooni wasn‘t an investment. It was earned by flying around Asia far too often. And she supported me by finding out that the cover of our gas grill is big enough to cover the Ooni, too …

She knows … it’s the admitting part that “occasionally“ creates an issue. But - as in all good marriages - the key is compromise 🤗

I’ve done that, in HK, with Manuka chips. Worked nicely. But - just to iterate - now I’ve got a dedicated smoker 🥳 (need to show my wife it was a good investment)

She doesn’t need proof 😜

I used to have one - and loved it. Then I moved to Hong Kong … and the humidity rendered any new batch of charcoal unusable after days. Switched to gas by necessity and stayed for simplicity …

I am with you when it comes to open barbecue as the center of a fun evening, and I think maybe I used the wrong term (barbecue instead of smoking) upthread. When discussing smoking (as in my new smoker) the entire process is as sexy or as communal as cooking sous vide. I put the protein in the machine, set the variables and let it run. And - just like sous vide - it'll probably take longer that I would last sitting next to it drinking beer with friends (and when it comes to alcohol, I am battle hardened by Chinese joint venture negotiations) 😜

I think for pit barbecue you are also striving for a constant & controlled cooking environment, but you certainly have to work for it. The smoker I use - as I said: entry level - has automatic temperature control, timer, a reload feature for wood chips and feels pretty much like a SV setup.

I was not aware that beef ribs are a thing to barbecue/smoke (prior to watching Chef's Table: BBQ). This is actually something I would like to try on the upcoming weekend, as my dad is coming around and I know this would be exactly what he likes 🤗

Interesting, thanks for that. Yes, Aaron Franklin is aiming usually for 275 F+, hence the 50 F difference is significantly prolonging cooking times ... At the end the smoking process of cooking protein is the same as SV (or any low temperature cooking technique, at least from my viewpoint): maintain a longterm stable temperature environment, and wait until your internal temperature reaches its target. I think there is no magic involved (and yet you could envision Modernist Barbecue, with the first 500 pages dedicated to defining the term ...). The other variables, e.g. bark formation, "smokiness", mouthfeel, authenticity (?)... at the end determine where you settle for your conditions.

I think all kinds of seafood should do well with cold smoking before grilling/frying ... Project #2 (though maybe not with Percebes 😋)

I did 3.5h, but truly think longer would have been better ... Will try 275 F (or 135 oC) next time, with about 2.5h as per ypur experience. Thanks ! They give a range, starting at 225 F. As a fan of SV, the lower end of the range looked more appealing to me (bias, I know), and reading through the book again he clearly references the higher end (275F to 300F) as his preferred range, just as @TicTac does. So, next project is on ☺️ And yes - I used a rub made from brown sugar, salt, celery salt, paprika, pepper, granulated garlic and granulated onion, with just a touch of chipotle and cinnamon, sprinkled more or less evenly on a thin slather of mustard.

Thanks - I also suspect the temperature. I can choose anywhere between ~40 oC and 135 oC. I was tending towards 107 oC (225 F) as suggested by Franklins BBQ book, but had to shorten the time a bit and did 115 oC. Next time more patience 🤗

I decided to venture into the topic of smoking and bought myself an entry level electric smoker. I was certain to sneak the purchase by the missus, but it’s difficult to hide a black monolith on the terrace that expels smoke at a visible rate for hours. She knows me so well: she deducted that 1) it’s probably another toy for cooking, 2) it probably didn’t cost much per se but 3) probably will lead to significant investments into more equipment and time in the foreseeable future. My wife 🥰 Anyway, first try with beech wood (German standard) and pork ribs. Flavor was good, both “dry” and sauced. Needs a bit more tenderness and maybe a more complex and expensive setup 😜

See … 😜

Oh dear! You may want to look at this … … before joining my dinners* 😜 — * you know, with my strict rules on portion control and such …

My mom is going to visit “us” (actually I assume mainly the little one) from tomorrow on for one and a half weeks. So we preponed Pizza & Movie night to tonight, and since we are already throwing traditions over board I changed it to Burger & Movie night … Got some brisket on offer, and had my butcher grind it up - made super juicy, super flavorful patties. (Commercial) brioche buns, aged cheddar, caramelized onions and lettuce/tomato/pickles. Couple of fries on the side. Mine had an extra patty, just because … Enjoyed while watching Jungle Beat on Netflix.

Delicious … got some You Tiao for dipping, perhaps ?

Were Mai Tai‘s involved ..?

On those days when work and life getting the better of you, but you still (or maybe above all) want to eat like a king with minimum effort, I turn to what we call „freezer gold“. In this case frozen ragu alla Bolognese from Marzella Hazan*. Together with De Cecco bucatini, a (slightly larger) touch of butter and copious amounts of Parmigiano a fantastic dinner, whipped together in less than 20 min, enjoyed in even less than that - but making you glow for the rest of the evening. —- * it’s just the perfect ragu. There are plenty of recipes out there, but this one is like in her book (while omitting the cured pork, though).

If not done yet, I‘d suggest to gradually lower the water amount. Contrary to popular opinion, brown rice is usually processed and the amount of bran removed makes a significant difference to the amount of water absorbed. If rice adsorbs too much water, the grains swell, split and starch will leak out resulting in mushy rice.

During my last post-doc year at KyoDai I had a master student working for me who doubled at nighttime cooking for everyone who stayed late (so, all of the lab). Once a week he made either Okonomiyaki or Negiyaki, the latter being preferred by the guys because it was a welcome excuse to have a beer (because of its stronger taste). I learned from him - both making it and having a beer when I do 🥳