ianeccleston

I don't know the name of the place, but if you cross the WI/MN border and head north (they have cabs in Winona, right?) there's a more upscale place. Specializing in Walleye, of course. That's where my grandfather liked to go. My grandmother, Perkins. Sorry not to be more specific, but maybe someone else here will remember. Ian

Has anyone made Jeffrey Steingarten's panade of squash, as in the November 2004 issue of Vogue? I misplaced my wife's copy. The recipe is great - the beef broth, cheese offset the sweetness of the squash nicely. Thanks, Ian

I don't think there's a clear line here. (which is unfortunate, since I find it irritating that some people shell out lots of money to visit the best restaurants frequently, and still don't know what they are talking about or can't appreciate it. Pretentious, is the word for it most likely. And snobby, is probably the word to describe ME talking about them). As a musician, I've been impressed by the depth of knowledge and appreciation some non-musicians have. It can be truly amazing - they will posses a much better musicianship than some musicians. Similarly, I've met poor instrumentalists who have a better sense of musicianship than someone who is technically more proficient. This is probably similar in comparing a poor line cook to a decent home cook. Or a poor home cook to a 'decent' restaurant goer. My point is, there's a sliding scale that could apply, not a clear yeah-or-nay line between the two. There will be amazingly knowledgable, passionate non-cooks, that probably know more than I do, and dull 20-nights-a-week restaurant diners who order chicken breasts every time (or whatever). However, without the grounding of actually cooking, I think some things tend to slip through the cracks - it's a different perspective to participate than just to 'watch'. Just going through Julia Child's "How to Cook" or Marcella Hazan's cookbooks trying to get dinner on the table for a couple of years gives you a breadth of knowledge of technique and history that would be hard to come by otherwise. Not that I know everything there is to know because of that and other cooking I've done - there are techniques that a restaurant chef uses that I'd have no clue about, and perhaps have less appreciation of than a restaurant cook would (and so on and so on up until you get up to Eric Ripert, or Charlie Trotter, etc.).

I think the heat treatment changes their color. They should be OK, but may be bad for your citrus plants. Ian

I got started on the boeuf this morning, after marinating the beef with all the vegetables, aromatics and wine overnight. I'm looking forward to the more intense taste from the marinade but - and I shouldn't be surprised at this - marinating it overnight made browning problematic. Even though I drained and patted dry the meat very well, the meat released a lot of that extra moisture into the pan during browning. Even more so for the wet vegetables. The deed is done though - I'll see how it tastes tomorrow. Ian

I seem to remember seeing recipes where the beef is marinated in wine, as you suggest. Does this affect how you brown the meat? How long should you marinate it for? Do you marinate it with any other aromatics? (getting chilly here in Chicago! Last weekend, chili. This weeked, boeuf) Ian

Maybe I'll just try to get 2 rather big briskets, and plan to do some "side meats" - probably not goat or rabbit though, probably something more traditional for this midwestern crowd. Chicken might be nice to do - it can roast/grill while the brisket sits wrapped in AL foil in a cooler. As for smoking the brisket ahead of time, I think I'd cry if I drank beer all day, smoking meat, without having a full-fledged bbq immediately afterwards. Ian edit: typo

Too true. And given the success of the last brisket, the adults might start crying too if they can't get the brisket when they want it. Yikes - brisket right above the coals? That seems problematic: because one part is above the coals I'll have to rotate more often. Because I rotate more often the cooking time will increase because I'll be opening the grill all the time. Maybe I'm better off just doing 2 briskets, and doing brats/burgers etc. for the rest of it. Ian

On the 22" Weber, my guess is 1 whole brisket per grill. I think you could fit 3 flats on 2 grills, but not whole briskets, which usually range 12-14 pounds and are fairly bulky because of their shape. =R= ← Yes, thanks. I was indeed thinking flats - I get them at 6-8 lbs in the cryovac. I saw pictures of whole briskets on, that's what got me thinking that I could do 3 at a time if I just did the flats.

Does anyone care to take a guess as to how much brisket could be smoked on a Weber charcoal grill at the same time? I'll have two grills and will need to feed 40-50 people this Labor Day weekend (they are bringing sides, I think). My guess is that I could get three 8 lb. briskets on between the 2 grills - three halves on each grill. Should I plan to grill some brats to fill the gap? Ian

PS some of our questions are answered in Col Klink's Smoking Class.

If it's only done when it's done, I better do a test run for sure then. Since it's Thanksgiving dinner, it will be formal enough to want a definite 'service'. The cooler is a great idea, will do. Do you recall how about much longer the dark meat takes than the breast? Since I'll have the turkey separated into dark and white meat, I can just put on the dark meat first, and try to have it all done at the same time. FYI - from the Virtual Weber Bullet site: Not sure how exactly that will traslate to a 225°F weber grill, but we'll find out soon enough. Ian

About how long should I plan to smoke this turkey? Any advice per pound? Also, given that you pull the breasts out earlier than the dark meat, how do you keep it warm for service? Or do you rehea it? Thanks, Ian

Rolling eyes, wondering and falling off chair. Many, many uses for leftover smoked meat. My best trick is if the meat has a bone, make stock with that bone, freeze in ice cube trays. Reheat meat gently in a foil covered pan in over, moistened with one of those little cubes. Tacos, enchiladas, straight out of the pan, on a bun with sauce... Fifi calls this stuff pantry gold. In my house, it is as essential as olive oil and garlic. ← I'm glad it's close to dinner-time: you just made me very, very hungry. I'll smoke the bird this weekend, and then into the freezer it goes. I'm still a little confused about the stock made with smoked bones / meat though. It seems like it would make for a too aggressively flavored stock. I guess I'll just have to try it out - people certainly seem to like it around here. Ian

Hey Ian, Don't make your thanksgiving turkey your first one. You should have at least one practice smoke before the pressure of making it for Thanksgiving arrives ← Yes indeed, I thought I'd try to find an excuse between now and then to get it right. Finding a use for 18 lbs. of smoked meat might be a challenge though... I have my heart set on a smoked brisket for labor day, not sure the next time a big crowd will be around for a bbq. Maybe I'll slice and freeze a it after I smoke it. Ian

Why debone? It seems like you'd get a better flavor and juicier meat if you left it on the bone, at least that's how it works for other cuts of meat... Ian

Is oak the preferred wood for smoking turkey? I tried hickory on a turkey breast awhile back, and it seemed a bit harsh. I'm glad this thread is up too - I'm going to be cooking my first Thanksgiving dinner in November. Those minnesotans don't know what their in for - sounds like the smoked bird will be good enough to convince the staunchest traditionalist. Ian

According to Harold McGee, the authority on the science of cooking, the smoke ring is not made by smoke, but from the interaction of proteins, enzymes, and such. When I get home I'll quote him directly if I'm allowed to by copywright laws. Ian

good to go. o man! Looks great. Ian

What temp do you smoke at? Man, I'm going to have to get me one of those bullets. Ian

A little off topic, but 15 hours? 22 hours? I've seen long smoking times other places, but I got my (half) brisket up to 185-190 in 6 hours or so at a temp between 225-250. You're probably better at this than me, but please explain! Ian

I attended a Filipino pig pickin' many years ago. They had this marvelous vinegar dipping sauce that I recall had floating pieces of garlic in it. It provided the perfect balance to the richness of the pork. I'm not sure what else may have been in the sauce but it was so good I could have sipped it as a beverage! ← Yeah, vinegar sauces are great with pork. Similarly, traditional Southern and Northern Carolina sauces are basically just vinegar with a little seasoning in them. In the LA Times article, it says that Keller uses heavy cream and red-wine vinegar beaten together as a sauce, something I never would have thought of. It does of course make sense to add fat to an acid, but it's pretty unusual. Another great place for sherry vinegar is in a panzanella, again a la Judy Rogers... Ian

There was a great article in the LA Times today about how the author, Regina Schrambling, uses vinegar for cooking. She even lists the various types of vinegar out there and specifies how she uses each for different dishes. How do all of you use vinegar? I've been into vinaigrettes made with rice vinegar lately. Red vinegar in lentil soup is a must. Sherry vinegar in Judy Rodger's fried breadcrumbs and eggs is heavenly. I've been dying to make browned chicken, and then drowned in a warm vinegar sauce.

Beat me to it. This is a standard for us (I hire caterers as part of my job, and frequently take home the leftover cheese) - we get raves every time we make it. You can use any herb you like if you don't have parsley on hand. Ian

Thanks for the advice on freezing,everyone. Unfortunately, I got talked out of throwing it on while the brisket was going, so my pepper-crusted turkey breast is in our freezer. That's OK - I'll have one more thing to smoke for this weekend. I'd like to get the triumverate - pulled pork 2 weeks ago, brisket for the 4th, ribs this weekend, with the turkey breast as a bonus. Life is good. Glad you liked the smoke ring (from the pork forum?) - but man, I'm not a fan of mesquite. All I can think of is those bbq flavored potato chips. If I had a choice, I'd go with all oak, but hickory is a nice substitute. The smoke ring is more a result of how slow you cook it, from what I hear, not necessarily a result of even the presence of smoke - here on egullet someone mentioned that a Chinese slow-roasted duck has that ring, all without any lick of smoke. In any case I doubt that it matters what kind of wood you smoke with.