ianeccleston

This last summer I made some awesome Thai-spiced chicken sausages. I used all dark chicken meat, and brined it in fish sauce, red curry paste, sugar and a little lime for a couple days. I used the coarse setting on the meat grinder and folded in some chopped cilantro, and added lime juice and fish sauce to taste. The sausages came out juicy and tasty when par-boiled and then grilled.

OK, I got my fried chicken fix, at the Chicken Shack in Evanston. Worth every heart palpatation. Drenched in hot sauce. MM. Even the breast meat was juicy. AND, from the horses mouth, never was, or associated with, Harold's.

It's pretty good. However, when I woke up this morning, still dreaming of fried chicken, I seemed to recall that it was a little too greasy. It seemed greasier UNDER the skin than other fried chicken. I love the stuff, but I'm no afficionado. Is that viscous, heart-pumping grease under every fried chicken skin? Or is there a perfect chicken out there, that's a little lighter? (Edited for typo)

I just got John T. Edge's "Fried Chicken: An American Story", a great book about his search for "America's greasy grail". In the third or fourth chapter, he talks about a Chicago fried chicken joint called "Gourmet Fried Chicken" (which is done Italian-American style). He also mentions a couple other Chicago gems, including Harold's and Eat 'n' Run. The one and only time eating at Harold's was great, the best I've had. I ate at the loop location - each store is independently owned and operated, so there is probably some variation in quality. Unfortunately, it seems as if the furthest north Harold's goes is that loop location. Is there a good chicken shack on the north side? Has anyone else supped from this greasy cup? What's the best fried chicken you've had in the Chicago area?

I liked the shows with his Claudine too, although in the early shows it always seemed like she was in mortal fear of making a mistake. There was a weird dynamic of Jacque trying to inform her without sounding harsh, and her being nervous and in awe of his technique. It was always a relief when he handed over the reins to her to pick out the wine. That being said, I loved it. Without a Julia or Claudine it seems like he trys to treat the camera as his companion. The good-natured ribbing doesn't work quite the same way, but you do manage to feel like you're hangin' with Jacque. That being said, the food isn't quite as good. Was anyone else grossed out by his 'salsa sauce', where he blended a fresh tomato salsa with Hellman's mayonaise for that 200F-baked salmon? Most other things seemed OK, but not as fun as the food on his other shows, on the whole.

A while ago I more or less was able to make vinegar from wine by simply soaking bread in the wine, leaving it for awhile and straining. I went to make it again, having most of a bottle of sparkling wine, but I couldn't find the recipe! No amount of googling was able to find what I was looking for. (I didn't want to buy a mother either). I Hope someone on egullet knows something about starting it with bread... (I too have heard that unpasteurized vinegar is a good enough starter for wine... )

In hot weather, I love leeks vinaigrette. Just poach leek strips in lightly salted water, drain, and top with a nice white wine vinegar vinagrette. You can even put mold the leeks in a small bowl, and overturn for service.

By the way, I've been eating the cukecumber pickles I made with the recipe from this class. Crisp and yummy! As noted before, I substituted 1 tbs. of fennel seed for the dill, and it's good. It doesn't have a strong fennel flavor, so I bet you could put even more in if you like.

I too roasted a pig this last weekend; we've got the same problem. The best we've made so far are pork tacos - warm chopped pork with the adobo from a can of chipotle peppers, and serve with corn tortillas, lime, cilantro and pickled red onion (just steeped in vinegar, salt & sugar for a day). The Carolina pulled pork sandwiches have been great too - just top with cole slaw and a vinegar sauce. This weekend, I plan to make black bean chili with red onions, garlic, and the leftover chipotle peppers. However, now that I've read this thread, it may turn out that I don't have enough leftovers. :)

I don't usually cook meals for myself; I get I takeout, especially the stuff she doesn't like fried chicken, or things that I'd like to eat more often like unusual ethnic food. Otherwise I embark on huge cooking projects to occupy myself with, like making veal stock, reducing it, saving it in ice cube trays...

With my shoulders or my hams? ;)

I threatened my wife that I was going to put them in vinegar and keep them in the medicine in the bathroom - I was too kind to surprise her with them, but it could have been fun...

Thanks MoIzBetta, Ronnie. Carolyn, thanks for the advice.

Thank you, Master. It was YOUR technique to flip the pig over after two hours, as posted in your pig pickin' thread. You too were a grasshopper once. I did do some greasy pickin' without the knife, but the texture of the pork was more like roast pork - probably due to cooking it at too high of a temperature. Now I know. I should also mention that the police DID come by. After setting off some fireworks for some very excited children, Evanston police showed up 1 minute after the smoke cleared. Remember, always answer "no", as I did, to any policeman that asks if you are setting off fireworks, even if it smells like sulphur, you are holding a lighter, and it is completely obvious that you are guilty as charged. Other details along this line: a wasted friend telling me repeatedly that I still know how to "throw down", in appreciation of the party; drunken frisbee in the dark -think "where did it go?", foreheads, and "ouch!"

I thought I'd let you guys a few more details, so here goes. 4 a.m. I woke up an hour before my alarm was set to go off. Filled with piggy excitement, I couldn't get back to sleep, annd got started getting ready. Made coffee, rigged up my thermometer into a piece of cork to monitor the temperature of the oven, started cleaning the rotiserrie, etc. 5 a.m. Bredan, the sous chef / pig deputy, shows up on his bike, with a botte of El Jimador Telquila in his hand. 5:30 a.m. We still can't figure the damn rotisserie out. I thought we'd have to, um, insert the bar all the way through, but there are perpendicular braces welded to the thing. Impossible. So we cleaned the grill instead. Then we hauled the pig out on a tarp, put it on the lawn, and broke its back. Phew. 6:00 a.m. Pig is on the grill, face down. Lump charcoal is in the four corners of the grill, well away from the pig. My William-Sonoma remote thermometer is monitoring the temperature - balanced on top of the pig so that it was just inches above the hams. Later, when it was on its back, we threaded it through the skin and had it stick up. We had lots of hickory and oak smoke at 175 - 200 F degrees for 2 hours. Now that the pig is on the grill, we figure the rotisserie out - it doesn't go THROUGH the pig, it just gets clamped to it. 6:30 a.m. The first shot of tequila is had. 6:30 a.m., on. Lots of bullshitting, sitting around in the alley, some chess, some poker, as well as constant good-natured bickering about the temperature of the cooker, whether we should start more coals, etc. Lots of stares from people driving by, hellos and introductions from most everyone else. There was even a big guy a block a away who jumped up and down, yelling and cheering us on, just because he was glad someone was cooking a pig. I hadn't met anyone in the neighborhood before this -- it ended up being a great, peculiar ice-breaker. 8:30 a.m. Turned the pig over, gave it a good mop, and started to stoke the coals. It took us awhile to get the temperature: it took us awile to figure this out, but a bunch of the coals were directly underneath the chimney of the cooker, and most of this heat was lost. We'd put more and more coals over there, to naught. After we figured this out, the rest of the coals mainly went in the corner opposite the chimney. 9:45 we hit 254 degrees, and it never got hotter. It mostly stayed at 225. 11:30 the keg is tapped. Mmm, Bass. 2:30 p.m. The pig is done. The invitation said 2 p.m., so we were shooting for the pig to be done at 4 p.m. Temperature readings were coming as high as 172 degrees F, but some of the ham was at 155 - we were suprised given how cool we cooked it at, but done is done. So we rotated the beast and put the hams under direct heat for 10 minutes, lifted the hood a bit, and got ready. 2:45. Showered, changed and shaved. Got the pig on the butcher block, put the nectarine in it's mouth, and covered it in foil. 3:00 2-3 stains later, changed my shirt again. :) 4:30 Pig is served. I cut the skin along the spine, down the shoulder and down the ham. One side of the pig just comes off, and I can get to business. Unfortunately, the skin is really, really tough. I was going to grill it, as Varmint suggested, but I coulnd't see how it could have been salvaged. Threw it out. If I've commited a sin, please forgive me oh Lord of Swine. ?? half the pig is carved, and a fellow food enthusiast offers to take the reins. Gratefully, I got a beer and started to eat. The pork is great - juicy, rich and tasty. Not very smoky though, which suprised me, as I had it stoked with hickory and oak for a good long while... Maybe if I had gone with the firewood, as suggested here, it would have been better. Also, I didn't brine it (I know, I know). Still dang good though. Sides were well received - the preserved lemon that accompanied the hummus was a hit, as were the fennel-seed-cucumber pickles. Great vibe in the yard - kids running around, drawing chalk pictures, parents are relaxing and people are meeting people. Good fun. It get blurrier from then on, but I'll say that the keg got killed, the party got raucus after that when people started drinking scotch instead of beer. Near the end, we had 4-5 guys with knives getting the rest of the pork of the bone, with flashlights. We were lucky that no-one lost a finger. Again, thanks to everyone for all the advice and encouragment.

LOL. I think it's a lamb.

*blush* Thanks; likewise. You can be my Internet girlfriend if you want. I can't take credit for the boys though, they belong to my neighbor.

Sucess! Thanks so much for everyone's help! It went off without a hitch. So dang juicy! I've got leftovers, I'm looking forward to some pork tacos simmered in chipotle adobo sauce, sandwiches with cole slaw, etc. etc. Friday night, cooking 30 pounds of potatoes This is Just the dressing for the potatoes. 9 cups of mayo. Yum Cooking for an army, from top left: 4 gallons of beans, 1 gallon of hummus, 5 gallons of potato salad, 2 5 lb. chickens, 6 gallons of coleslaw Hog butcher taking the eyes out for me Pig in a tub The pig cooker Kids checking out the pig My sous chef, who faithfully showed up at 5 a.m., the beast, and me in my nice white shirt that stayed nice and white for a full 15 minutes. Carving the beast Panoramic! Goodnight, pig. Goodnight, drunky.

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'll go with gallon ziplocs. As for the spit, it doesn't look like I'll have to get chicken wire, thankfully. It looks like people use both wire or twine, so I'll use whatever's most convenient. I'll probably go with twine, as I don't want the wire cutting into the skin of the pig. Ian

There is a nice recipe in this eCGI preservation course (scroll down) that I just followed. They are easy to prepare and look great. Ian

OK, I thought covered it all, but I still have the willies about a couple of things if y'all don't mind answering a couple more questions. Thanks again for all of your input. 1 a) Which is better, the rotisserie or the grill? I have both options. The pig should be at 100 lbs., just the capacity of the rotisserie, but if it turns out to be heavier I assume that I will put it on the grill (indirect heat, of course). Are cooking times the same for both? 1 b) If I go with the rotisserie, is there a trick to getting in on the spit and securing it? It sounds like I put the main bar through (ick) and tie the legs forward and backwards, respectively, to the bar with wire. I'll also probably need to sew up the belly with something - will normal twine work here? I also hear that I should wrap it in chicken wire if on the rotisserie. I'd prefer not to though.. is it necessary? 1 c) If going with the grill, From what I understand I need to break the back and splay it out. I've heard that some people never flip it... but I think I'll follow Varmint's technique: How long does it take for the ribs to cook? What's your technique for flipping it? 2) I've read that you should put a little extra charcoal underneath the hams and shoulders. Correct? 3) I just found out that I'll need to take the eyes out (ick again). Shouldn't be a problem. I assume that I can just cut them out. Does anyone have a technique? The butcher is also going to leave the brains in, but I assume that they just stay in there and I don't have to worry about them. 4) As of now I just have one other guy helping me, starting at 5 a.m. From 5 a.m. on, that should give me enough time to get the thing out of the tub, on the spit and sewn up and on the grill and cookin' by 6 a.m. Hopefully the two of us will be able to handle it. The roast officially starts at 2 p.m., and I hope to have the pig done by that time or by 4 p.m. Going by Varmint's earlier estimate of 8 - 10 hours this seems reasonable to me. Is it? Thanks again, Ian

I'm with you on the thick, sticky sauces. Growing up in the Midwest, I never thought I liked BBQ sauces much: wherever you went you found thick sauces like KC best, etc. But then I I had Hecky's BBQ in Evanston, IL, just North of Chicago. He serves a thick sauce, but really, really tangy and tart. Still sweeter than NC sauces, but it's great. No way am I cooking anything else for this party. :)

If I wanted to do classic, whole-hog bbq, it seems like I should use the Eastern sauce, w/o sugar or ketchup, but it's a bit austere for me. Call me a wimp (again), but I think I like a more sweetness and substance, and the Eastern sauce basically just has vinegar, salt and hot peppers in it. Also, it's Chicagoans I'm cooking for. It will be odd enough for them not to have a thick, KC style sauce, let alone no ketchup at all. Your points are well taken though: I think I'll keep the ketchup ratio low and lower the sugar content.

As long as I'm posting the recipes I plan on using, I'll throw these carolina sauces out there for discussion/approval: South Carolina Sauce, using dijon mustard, and likely reducing the amount of brown sugar; and a North Carolina Sauce from the BBQ Bible. =Mark has a good-looking recipe on recipegullet for a South Carolina sauce, but the soy & butter in it freaks me out a little. I plan to use a gallon of cider vinegar to make these sauces; probably a 2:1 ratio of the ketchup to mustard sauces. I'll probably end up with extra sauce, but vinegar, mustard and ketchup are cheap, so it shouldn't be a problem.

For the cabbage slaw, I use a trick (in the recipe below) where you let it steep in salt for a couple hours. That wilts it like a charm. I'm worried that the slaw will get soupy if I dress it too early without first getting the excess moisture out. Nevertheless, you may be right about marinating the salads ahead of time, especially the bean salad. Maybe I'll salt the cabbage on Saturday, and dress it on Sunday. What do you think? As for the proportions, I just thought I'd take the 1/2 cabbage recommended in the recipe for "Tuscan Slaw"that I found on Epicurious, which makes 4-6 servings, and multiply it by 12, for 48-72 servings. Similarly, I did the same thing with the White Bean Salad on Epicurious (although for the record I'm really just dressing it with EVOO & lemon juice, and might cook it with some rosemary). The garbage bags are a great idea! I've heard that one should use 'food grade' plastic - do the white garbage bags (unscented) qualify? I suppose if I'm worried about it I can put them in gallon ziplocs as you suggest. (*smack* - I wish I had gotten those at Sam's Club while I was there) Thanks! Ian