fifi

Nope. Blanching won't do it. I don't mean to get argumentative but that would be a dangerous assumption. The bot hangs around in the form of spores. They are the devil to kill off, think a minimum of 15 minutes in a steam autoclave running at 15 pounds. (Is that 250F? I forget.) You don't get it from salad because you don't have the environment for the spores to "sprout", grow and form the toxin. Those are the low acid anaerobic conditions you have to worry about. Botulism just kind of spooks me. I worked at FDA many years ago and had the um... opportunity to investigate a few cases. These were almost always from a home canning scenario gone wrong. We used to get "immunization" shots every 6 months but nobody really knew if the stuff worked so we were still creeped out whenever anything came into the lab for analysis. The good news is that heat, as in thorough cooking, destroys the toxin. That is probably why it doesn't come up as often as it does what with a lot of folks doing infused oils and such. Leave it out and put it on a salad? Nope. Not me. When I make it, it goes right into the freezer.

OH WOW! I have got to try this. My smoker is going right now and I actually found some good garlic last night. Would you lop the tops of off the heads like I do when oven roasting. Soaking in water sounds like a good idea.

I freeze pesto all the time. Usually I leave the parmesan out. You have to be careful about herb and garlic oils. You can create a botulism problem so I have heard. Yes, the ingredients for bot are there... low acid, stuff from the garden (dirt), and no oxygen. I don't know that I have ever heard of a case, but it does give me pause and I always freeze. (ex-food microbiologist here) A word of caution on freezing though. My sister and I learned the hard way that you should freeze your herb based goodies in glass jars with metal lids. I use the short wide mouth half cup size canning jars. Even at freezer temperatures, it is easy enough to spoon out what you want. Otherwise, the odors can permeate the entire freezer. Dill flavored ice cream is NOT a culinary fusion treat.

I am late getting started. I am embarked on a new adventure. I got curious as to what-the-heck-is-a-pork-brisket-anyway. That all started on the Texas thread here. Well... Now I know. Think really ugly ribs. Oh well, I am just after pulled pork meat so that will probably work out ok. I will just have to wing it on timing because there is more meat there than typical spare ribs. I will be taking stuff over to a friend's house tomorrow so today is the cooking orgy. A friend called and said that Kroger had really good peaches so I am thinking about doing Mayhaw Man's peach cobbler. I bought some weird beans, Goya brand Bola Roja Beans, while I was at Fiesta and will probably do those using the russ parsons method discussed at great length here. It's gonna be an eGullet weekend. I will post pictures later.

I never thought about it but I have always patted the dough. I kind of like the "bumpiness" of the biscuit top when it is done that way. I remember now when my great-aunt wanted to make the softer "touchin' biscuits" she would melt some lard in the iron skillet, dip the biscuit in the melted lard, turn them over, arrange with their sides touching, and bake in the skillet. Kind of a different thing. The Cream Biscuits in CI's The Best Recipe is becoming a favorite. It is basically your flour and leavening with heavy cream instead of other fat. I like the wedge approach to cutting them.

Went to Fiesta late and got two cryopacks of the pork brisket. When I opened them up, they were not at all what I expected. Each cryopack had four of these things. Think butt ugly ribs! That being said, I am going to have to adjust the plan and treat them like ribs. I don't really care that they are ugly since I am after the pulled meat only. And it will add to the yummy surface bits ratio. At 97 cents per pound, what the hell. Since they won't take as long as butts, I may pick up some chicken thighs to have some smoked chicken for the freezer. snowangel... I will post pictures over in the cooking thread and put a link here. I think that is only fair since I said I would post over there.

Thanks for the help. I am going to pick up a couple of butts to put in the Weber smoker. If they have these and they look interesting I may add it to the smoker.

Yeah... What foodie52 said. The other thing that is pretty important is to have a really sharp biscuit cutter. If the cutter isn't sharp, the layers get "mushed" together and don't rise as high.

I have to say that there is not much more sacred in families than passing down well loved recipes. I did the Chicken Pot Pie and felt a connection with history. I am trying to compile a collection of recipes for my kids and I think they understand the connections. They have already made me recreate my mother's cornbread dressing. And there is this recipe for pickled shrimp that has a historical and family connection. These things are more important than you know. My son is trying to get some of the historical recipes from his grandmother and I hope he succeeds. Yes, I will try to compile all of this for "posterity" and I think they will appreciate it. Brooks, I think you captured the sentiment and importance of such an endeavour in your article. Bravo!

Soooo... What are you doing this year? I never really thought of eGullet as a collective memory but I guess it really is.

Yeah... I would cut it in half. I don't think I have ever seen one that big. I would also cut it in half before brining. Remember that brining time depends on surface to volume ratio. I haven't gotten my pig stuff yet. I have just about decided that I have to make an excursion to a Fiesta. The closest one is about 20 miles away. I am in need of Mexican chocolate, ancho powder, hibiscus flower and a few other things that I can only get there so off I will trek. Also, I saw a sign at the big Fiesta at Hwy 6 and Bellaire (Houston) last week advertising "pork brisket". I am curious as hell about that. I also need some pork fat to make some lard and my local HEB keeps letting me down. *heavy sigh*

Welcome shelora. My sister has had some going in her backyard for about three years now. She is located close-in northwest Houston. It has never frozen back since we have had mild winters lately even though the top leaves have been nipped. Like Sharon says, it can be pretty aggressive. I do think it needs more water than you might think. We were worried that where she planted it would be too wet, thinking that it preferred dry. We thought that since we had heard about it growing wild in south Texas, a place known for droughts. It seems that it likes its water. It is also protected from the hot west sun in the afternoon. My sister does a marvelous dish of chicken thighs on a bed of chiffonade of hoja santa. She just seasons the chicken and puts it in the oven. We have also done Zarella Martinez's tamale pie. That is basically masa and filling layered in a baking dish and fully wrapped in the leaves. We love the stuff. It reminds us of sassafras.

So... This is a slab of pork fat? (Not necessarily a bad thing.)

I will be doing a couple of butts this weekend as well. My freezer is out of pulled pork and I need to do one for a friend. Does this mean I have to charge my camera? Are we continuing this blog? Does a wild bear... ??? Well, you know what I mean. What would Memorial Day be without BBQ?

YES! The ones my grandfather would get at Otto's about 50 years ago were short and fat if I remember right.

Okee Dokee... I am in West Houston driving to my office the other day and there is this sign out on Hwy 6 at Bellaire that lists the current specials at the big Fiesta there. (Beautiful store by the way.) They have "Pork Brisket" on the sign, for $1.49 a pound I think. I remember the question coming up on another thread some time ago asking if such a thing exists. Well, apparantly it does. Has anyone ever gotten one of these? What do you do with it?

Thanks for that. I haven't been to Guy's in years. Sounds like a road trip is in order.

You have to wonder if this was some dude's PhD thesis. East Central University (Oklahoma) Well, I guess the universe is a better place now that this essential research has been completed.

That is kinda where I am. I figure about 1/2 pound of meat per person when it is BBQ because folks seem to keep picking. Not Tupperware, though. Too expensive. I get deli containers at the restaurant supply store. At about 15 cents apiece, I don't care if they come back.

I first saw these in my local HEB last week. There were special displays of them and there was one bag on top that somehow got a slit in it. *hangs head in shame* I snagged one. It was an undersized M&M in a gaudy green coating. A very good M&M it was, too. Carry on.

Well... Not everyone does, all the time. After each of my pregnancies, my blood sugar would roller coaster like you describe. I even got into one incidence of hypoglycemia. After a few months, that went away. I eat pasta, potatoes, rice, and good bread with abandon and have no effects. (I have been through rounds of testing.) My blood pressure is also not affected by salt levels. (been there, done that). I eat whatever I want as to fats... butter, cream, duck fat, lard... cholesterol still respectable. I did give up transfats years ago. Perhaps I have good genes. There is no history in my family of diabetes, heart disease, or high blood pressure. Cerebral aneurisms... well, that is a different story.

Well, the "mass quantities" part of the deal probably describes my favorite paprika chicken. I get as much paprika pounded onto those chicken thighs as I possibly can. That is why I went to skinless thighs.

I, for one, being an SSB, really enjoy reading about these collaborations and the fascinating things they achieve. But I also recognize the individual artistry of the individual that cannot be... um... what is the word?... quantized??? quantified??? Anyway, there are some things that are just pure art. BTW... I have always wanted to be Schrodinger's Cat... Just to be annoying.

You guys are driving me to perdition. I am now envisioning an outside kitchen at the new house with dual (used to be one for boiling shrimp) burners for doing fry fests. Get thee behind me, satan.

I didn't feel like registering to look at the article but if there are knaves out there adulterating the sacred paprika I say we get a rope. Oooo... I am up for another batch of paprika chicken.