ianeccleston

Tanoshii and Jin Ju, respectively? Get the "omakase special" at Tansoshii when "Sushi Mike" is there. Not exactly omakase, and pretty different than regular sushi (super-white tuna with vinagrette maki, deep-fried inside-out maki with Sricha, etc. etc.) Ian

Yes -- it's still great. Ian

Mr. Parsons has a fine article about various methods of roasting turkeys in the LA Times. He of course cooks a pre-salted bird ... which ends up being the eventual winner in the "Turkey Smackdown."

You are the man, Kent. I am inspired and hope to try something similar soon. Ian

I put rosemary under the skin of the bird before pre-salting, and the meat (especially the breast meat) was thoroughly infused. Shiitakes would work just as well, I'd imagine. Dried porcinis would be even better. Wow. I am totally going to try that next time. ← Do you remove the herbs before roasting? Otherwise, don't you get a Frankenstein-looking bird? Infusing with brines seems easier though of course you'll have to endure the disadvantages of the brining process. ← When I've roasted birds with herbs under the skin, they look quite beautiful, especially if the herbs are whole sprigs. The skin becomes golden and translucent -- the shape of the herbs clearly shows that they are herbs, not something undesireable.

The brisket turned out nicely, thank you. I cooked it, separated into the point and two flats, for about 10 hours. Probably could have cooked a little longer, but my thermometer was acting up on me, and so decided to pull it. I opted for a simpler rub -- Klinks rub, but only the salt, pepper and sugar, plus 7 cloves of garlic put through the press. I put about a quarter or third of that recipe all over a whole brisket, but it was a bit too peppery and salty. Next time I may up the sugar or put less rub on. I stuck to using the vent instead of cocking the lid, but your recommendation for half a chimney helped a lot. I still had to jigger with the temperature for a good hour and a half, but after that it was smooth sailing.... one more half-chimney after 4 hours, and then a finish in the oven at 275 F. No photos, but I can attest the weather in Chi-town was pretty crappy -- it rained all day. And sadly I had to replace my Old Styles with some Leinies. All in all, a good day. I dressed up the brisket with a puree of corn soup with a crab/cherry tomato/scallion garnish for a starter, and served with a salad of arugula and asian pear from the farmer's market... Thanks for your help!

Wow Kent, what a great experiment!

Thanks Susan! The rub: but the best rub I ever had, it had a disproportionately large amount of sugar. It had a great texture, and didn't taste too charred, although it was too sweet. I'm going to assume that temperature spikes killed the rub in the other instances. How large is your chimney? It seems as if there is a standard size, and a fatter, larger size. Do you place all the coals on one side? How often do you replace the coals, and with how many? Do you pre-light your coals? Thanks, Ian

Labor day weekend coming up, and that means brisket. I've smoked 5-6 briskets by now, but have a few things that keep coming up. First, the rub. The end product tends to vary for me. Sometimes it's a great, sweet crust, sometimes it's mostly just char. I use Col Klink's rub... the best ever was using that recipe, but omitting the sumac and accidentally omitting the pepper. People hugged me, it was so good. I thought, that can't be right though, I'll add the pepper back in and it will be even better. But I haven't been able to get back to that perfect crust. The last couple of times it's mostly had a mostly charred taste. So, the three variables that I can think of: sugar content/ ratios, amount of rub, and temperature of the grill. If the temperature spikes, does that ruin the sugar in the rub? How much rub does one rub in? How does the sugar ratio affect the final product? Second, the kettle. Snowangel, be my BBQ angel and spill your secrets on your tips to smoke for this thing. How many briqquettes do you start with? Do you put unlit charcoal on top of that? How often, with how much charcoal do you replace it with? Do you leave the top open? How open do you leave the vents? Thanks, Ian

Thanks. I think you can get by w/o air-drying the bird (or whatever else) after brining, especially if it's high-heat roasting. Just go at it with paper towels and a little pressure. Of course, I've never air-dried a bird for a period of more than an hour or two though, so what do I know. Ian

For a chicken, I'd sprinkle the salt on the skin and rub lightly to distribute. A couple dashes inside as well. Judy Rogers recommends salting 1-3 days prior for a small chicken, longer for different types of meat and larger cuts. She also has a tendency to take that time to infuse with whatever herbs or other seasonings -- lemon zest, capers, fresh herbs, etc. jmolinari, knowing that you are a bbq guy, it occurs to me that it is not unlike putting a rub on a slab of ribs several days prior... As for salting in a shorter timeframe, I'll have to bullshit a little. Critics of pre-salting say that it draws moisture out of the meat. That's true in the short-term. What ends up happening in the long-term, however, is that as you cure the meat the proteins will hold in the moisture better, so your net is juicier meat. However, I'm not sure what happens in that in-between period, where you've drawn out some moisture but haven't cured the meat fully. Personally, I'll put some salt on the chicken for an hour and call it a day rather than brining. In that case I might put some under the skin. For a steak, I'd put salt on it an hour prior too. That's just my own fumbling in the kitchen though... Ian

I tend to like kosher salt, or some other large-crystal salt, as I am able to distribute the salt more evenly this way. Ian

What does Mr. McGee have to say about this? I'm curious... Ian

I think over-brining, either through too much salt, or too long in the brine also gives it a "hammy" texture. Judy Roger's "house-cured" pork chops suffers from this -- after a brine of 3-5 days or some such thing. In her case, I'll assume that it's purposeful. Ian

I'll argue that especially supermarket/ factory chickens shouldn't be brined, respectfully contrary to some comments above. These chickens already have a high water content from they way they are plucked & washed (compare to "smart" chickens, which are air-dried). Factory chickens' bland meat suffers more from the dilution of brining. I too more often then not buy a regular chicken at the grocery store rather than something special, and more expensive. I'd still pre-salt rather than brine, which seems to help the meat stay juicy w/o adding extra water. Lean pork chops, mm, tough one. I might consider brining in some cases (tenderloin on the grill, say), but the best solution is to cook until it just has a little pink left in the middle, not to 165F as the powers that be say. Ian

A little bit of devil's advocacy here: don't brine. I've had chicken, pork chops, etc. that have been brined, and they sure stay juicy. However, brining waters down the taste, making it taste less succulent, chickeny or porky. And what about those over-brined pork chops that taste like ham? Brining may avoid dry meat. But better options might be to 1) Cook it to the exact temperature necessary 2) Pre-salt, a la Judy Rogers 3) Buy well marbled meat 4) Don't freeze it! 5) Other techniques, for example super-high roasting, then super-low baking. I know there are a lot of brining advocates out there on egullet. So tell me why the above is wrong (or right). I brine, I'll admit it. But it's tastier when I pre-salt. Ian

The real issue, as noted above, is loss of quality. The freezing, thawing and refreezing of meat causes ice crystals to form and tear the flesh. This causes loss of moisture when cooking, and texture suffers. For stock you would have been fine -- especially since you would have cooked it for a long time. (caveat -- I am in no way an expert. This was gleaned from a load of Internet searches one day) Cheers, Ian edited to add: If your freezer was relatively full, that will have further insulated the chicken. If it had been at room temp or for longer period of time I might not have had the same suggestion...

Trattoria D.O.C. is a welcome addition to Evanston. The food can be excellent, well above expectations in some cases. It's possible to order something mediocre, but if you order smartly you should get something you like. The very authentic pizza, while very good, isn't as good as Pizzeria D.O.C. in Chicago, although even the Pizzeria doesn't have the quality of pizza it had when it first opened. The grilled squid is consistently perfect -- a nice char, very tender flesh. The seafood in general is very fresh, well prepared, with interesting selections. A warning -- the service has been clunky every one of the four times we've been there since it opened. At this time you will not have a gracious, relaxed experience, service-wise. And since it's always packed, it can be loud and busy. Try not to get stuck in the back room, if you can. It usually costs a bit more than we expect. The french restaurant -- La Petite Amelie, I think -- is overpriced, and our service was pretty inexperienced, if friendly, the one time we went. (I'm not usually one to complain about service, by the way. It probably doesn't help that at both of these restaurants we were sat at a table right next to the restrooms). I had the duck confit, which was good, but marred by the unwelcome addition of balsamic vinegar (not listed as an ingredient on the menu). My wife got the steak frites --- the steak was good, but the frites were seasoned with a spice/powder that seemed artificial, and was too salty. Finally, we went to the bar in the restaurant for dessert and a drink after our after-dinner stroll. The profiteroles were pretty good, but the glass of Sauternes I ordered was either old or a poor wine to start with -- for $8 a glass I thought I got gipped. I ended up telling the bartender that it was a terrible glass of wine -- he agreed after tasting it, and poured a little extra as compensation. But more bad wine isn't much better than less bad wine. Granted, I don't know jack about Sauternes, so a more savvy drinker could have steered clear of that particular bottle. But still, it's a wine bar. I'll probably go back at some point, but I was disappointed.

If I were you ian, I'd go with a mixture of coals and oak. You can keep your oak large, but I'd cut up the oak into pieces that allow the coals to continue to burn, i.e. do not cover all of the coals with a single piece of oak. ← OK - I'll go with a mixture. I'll saw my log in half, or perhaps put perpendicular to the coals and see how that goes. ← Well, I went with the mixture of coals and an oak log and it was a bit problematic. In its ideal form it worked great. One smallish log with coals nestled underneath provided the perfect amount of smoke and heat. But then one side of the log would char or shrink away from the coals and not smoke, or it would fire up too much and cause too much heat. Ultimately, with the meat on top of the grate and the log underneath, it was a bitch to keep the kettle and meat cooking properly given the loss of heat, etc. Most of the smoke ended up coming from hickory chips in the end. Chunks instead of logs in the future, methinks -- I'll leave logs to those with equipment that's better suited for it. Still, smoking is smoking, and the brisket turned out OK in the end, if much behind schedule. In 5-6 years I'll have this thing down pat. Thanks for the help. Ian

Central Texans swear by "post oak" for their brisket and I can easily say I agree with them. For pit smoking (where you use embers instead of a fire) mequite and hickory are good but for smoking in a Weber or side firebox it can be too much. That's when I prefer maple or oak. Fruit trees tend to be less smokey. Lately, I've been using ash and although I love the way it burns, it does't have the best taste. I've even used small logs of it on my Weber kettle -- they're about 1 1/2" to 2" in diameter and not more than 14" long. I'll just throw a log on my coals (lump) and I'm good to go. Basically if it's a hardwood and it won't put out your coals, you can use it. Chips you have to replace more often than chunks and likewise you have to replace chunks more often than a log. But building a log only fire in your Weber might be a pain in the tukhes and more difficult to control the temp. For smoking brisket you want a slow, even heat source and I'm not sure if a kettle has enough air flow to keep the oak lit. Besides, you'd probably have to put too much oak in to the point that the temperature would be too high (anything over 250F is too high). If I were you ian, I'd go with a mixture of coals and oak. You can keep your oak large, but I'd cut up the oak into pieces that allow the coals to continue to burn, i.e. do not cover all of the coals with a single piece of oak. Do you have an axe? It's a helluvalot easier to split oak than saw it. ← No axe. I have to say that this is the first time I've had need for one here in Chicago. At least for benevolent purposes. OK - I'll go with a mixture. I'll saw my log in half, or perhaps put perpendicular to the coals and see how that goes. Thanks, Ian

I think I've heard that smoking with oak is more traditional for brisket, even though I've had good results with hickory. This is my first shot at oak. I'm going to put a turkey breast on at some time with oak too - the hickory seemed harsh to me last time I tried smoking turkey. So, on one hand oak is less assertive than hickory, and on the other hand brisket mops up smoke more than say, a pork shoulder would. And then on your third hand, or on your feet or head or whatever, I'll be using logs instead of chips, which put out more smoke than a few chips/chunks would. Finally, you put this in a kettle, in closer proximity with additional heat, assumably. Hmm. Should be a good 4th of July weekend. I'm smoking some bacon from the ruhlman/polcyn charcuterie cookbook as well. I'm gonna have to find some apple wood for that...

I have some oak logs (sizable) that I plan to use to smoke some brisket on a Weber kettle this coming 4th of July weekend. Any tips for using logs? It seems like in the course, Klink only suggests chips for the kettle. Any insight would be appreciated! I've cooked a few brisket on my kettle by now, so am set for the basics. Also, I have a propane ignition on the kettle, and should have a good way to light the logs. I'm hoping that I will not have to saw the logs apart, but I'm starting to think that I will have to in the end. Thanks, Ian

Yes, it can be very good. It can also be mediocre, depending on what you order. Service can be inconsistent (although extremely nice and knowledgable). They serve real Italian food - simple and fresh - for not too much money. Ian

Ah yes, cocktails. Not a great place to get mixed drinks, Evanston. There's Bar Louie, but being a chain it kind of feels like Applebee's. Your best bet for a beer is at Nevins - get a 'Smiddicks;' Prairie Moon has a nice selection on tap too. You might be able to get a cocktail at bar in the newly renovated Hotel Orrington, although I've never tried one there. They sometimes have live music there too. Ian

I'm surprised that no-one has suggested Campagnola. It's a high-end northern Italian bistro-type restaurant. Very tasty, very committed to organic & local products. Nice wine list too. It's a bit further south than Oceanique, but pretty accessible via the purple line. Just take it a couple stops South from Davis, or walk the 6-7 blocks. Feh, Dave's Italian. Not a big fan. Ian