fifi

Just to bring everyone up to date on the Amco ss mushroom saga. Way back upthread, this discussion ensued. Then, this information came to light. Then, I actually talked to this lady. Fast forward to March when this showed up. Then, success was had starting here. So goes the saga of the mushrooms. I have two left that are going to two very deserving souls for Christmas. As you see, I also found the elusive half sheet pan racks on Amazon. They have been ordered and delivered. The search for more mushrooms continues. If you haven't gone back and read this topic from the beginning, and if you are looking for gifts, please take the time to do so. Our members came up with some dynamite ideas that are still valid today.

I am not sure what is going on here. First let me describe what turkey stock should look like, in my opinion. It should look like the 2 1/2 gallons that I just made from the carcasses of two 12 pound birds that had been smoked with jalapenos and crushed oranges in the cavity. How the turkey was cooked and with what is probably immaterial since the stock looks like any turkey stock I have made from any type of turkey. When starting with a smoked bird, I remove almost all of the dark skin so the smoke won't be too strong and I clean the cavity of all of the seasonings that I can with reasonable effort. It is a clear, as in transparent, golden liquid. I only put a couple of onions in mine but I am not sure if that has anything to do with it. What bothers me is your description of "grayish brown translucent liquid" and "milky yellowish white liquid." Both of those descriptions seem to indicate that the stock possibly boiled too vigorously and emulsified the fat, to varying degrees. My carcasses were broken down so that they would fit in my 16 quart stock pot. I filled it to the brim so using the oven to keep it burbling wasn't a good option. On the stove top at medium low with the lid on, I would get about three bubbles rising gently at any point in time. The stockpot is one of the ss Chef Mates with the thick disk bottom and vented glass lid. About 14 hours later I had the clear liquid. There was negligible evaporation. Other variables might be the amount of fat on the particular pieces that went into each pot, how much evaporation was involved, if there was any interaction with the cast iron. I dunno. (Gee! Isn't that a lot of help?)

That potato masher ranks right up there with the ss mushroom as to neat looks. I wonder if it really works? I am pretty dubious of the nutcracker, though. Neat site. I put it in favorites and will be interested to see what they come up with. Those cruets seem to qualify as stocking stuffers. Even if they are a bit pricey, they sure look good. Thanks.

Now that is a good question. The mother that a friend brought me from the wine shop was just in a glass jar stored at room temperature. I can't find it right now but I don't remember a "use by" date or instructions to refrigerate. But, I have no idea if that means anything. Perhaps digging down in one of the web sites will yield an answer.

:bowing to the crowd: Yes . . . the terminology for gibbles and its kin is rooted in our family vocabularies. Old Larousse wasn't around. Thank you for your support. :bows out: Interesting about the soft flour, andie. I am sure that is a factor. Aunt Minnie would have had the container of flour that she used for making the biscuits nearby and probably just threw in what "looked right" from that container. I will try that since I now have my very own supply of White Lily flour. (One of these days I am going to kick biscuit butt!) It would certainly reduce the "glue factor." Oddly enough, highchef, I have never heard it called "sawmill gravy." I wonder what the origin of that term is? My mother always kept a ham in residence and would sometimes fry some and make red eye gravy. She also saved the liquid from the baking pan and the gibbles ( ) from the platter to make it. Red Eye gravy was normally served with grits, not biscuits, for some reason. An interesting cultural aside on biscuits and gravy . . . These kinds of full blown breakfasts were not an everyday thing. They were a late Sunday morning ritual common with my family and friends after the Sunday paper had been read. Breakfast is still my favorite type of meal and biscuits and gravy one of my favorite components.

Well, that is their omission. All of us Southeners know what gibbles are. You know . . . gibbles.

I have to agree that Robb Walsh does an excellent job with in depth reviews. The good news is that he gets out of Houston from time to time and The Houston Press keeps articles available for a long time, unlike those annoying rags that insist on putting stuff in the archives to try to get you to pay for it. The search engine is pretty good as well so you can check to see if Robb has written up any places you might want to know about. He has also hosted BBQ tours out of that big festival held in Austin each year. I don't know much about that but a search here may yield a report.

I have had a lot of lousy milk gravy. I have even made some pretty lousy milk gravy in my time that tasted like glue on a biscuit. There is a place here in Houston that comes close (The Breakfast Klub) so I have studied it and I think I know what most people miss. I maybe haven't gotten as good as Aunt Minnie, but I can now make a respectable milk gravy. This is the way she made it. In your cast iron skillet, fry up some sausage. Back when, they used hand formed patties so there were plenty of gibbles of sausage that fell off. Be sure that the sausage fond is well browned. Leaving the grease in the pan, add in 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour per cup of milk that you will be using. I like my gravy pretty thick so that it kind of stands up on the biscuit but that is a personal choice. I use closer to 2 tablespoons. Stir it around, cooking it enough to get the raw flour taste out but not browning it. Add milk and deglaze the pan, stirring as the gravy thickens. Salt and pepper to taste. I like a lot of pepper. Where I think most places go wrong is trying to reduce the fat, not browning the sausage gibbles enough, not having a really well seasoned sausage and not adding enough salt and pepper. Aunt Minnie's gravy had a lot of black pepper.

Color can be an issue. I started with a dark green, not quite as dark as British Racing Green. Then they quit making it. I switched to white because I like the way it looks, enough so that I will spend a few bucks more to get it if need be. My son takes a different approach. He is just starting his collection and has decided on a riotous mixture. He likes the solid look of the granite for his 6 3/4 oval. Then, when I offered the 2 1/2 quart for a gift, he chose the red. But, for now, I am trying to figure out how dans lifts that monster to make pasta. And, a better question might be . . . why?

Well . . . You learn something new every day. I recall the Dickens reference and always wondered what a biffin was but quickly forgot to look it up. Jack, I am thinking that your reference to using a cooling bread oven may indicate a lower temperature like Nathan used. A weight on them for the last hour may not only flatten them but also retard dehydration a bit. I have no idea what I am talking about. I am just trying to think it through. I would like to have a good description of an "ideal" biffin, if anyone knows what that is.

I am in your camp, rocketman. Sides and service matter. Goode & Company here in Houston does a good job. The BBQ is decent, sometimes very good, particularly at the original Kirby location but the one on I-10 isn't bad. They really do excell at sides and service. Otto's is the old stand-by here, my grandfather used to pick up BBQ there for a Saturday lunch when I was a little kid. Yes, there are better places in Houston but these are convenient to where I usually am when I am in town. Last May, on a roadtrip to pick lavender in the hill coutry, we stopped at Luling City Market. I was disappointed. The brisket wasn't tender at all and it needed salt.

Oddly enough, as much as I enjoy the electric kettles when I visit England, I have never bought one for home. I always marvel at how fast they heat and always chalked it up to the higher voltage. Love the auto shut off. So why don't I have one? Probably, I subliminally assume that our lower voltage just won't cut it. That is probably wrong. Also, I don't drink a lot of tea at home. I really hadn't thought of having the supply of hot water to rehydrate mushrooms and dried peppers or blanch veggies. That is a good idea. I am thinking about putting one of the Insta-Hots in the beverage area of the new kitchen. My son has one and uses it a lot.

After polling family and friends, we all agree that the 6 3/4 quart oval is the most versatile. It holds a chicken and the most useful sizes of roasts and such. Like Richard said, it works fine for stews as well. For most of us, this was our first piece. That being said, the new love of my LC life is my little 2 1/2 quart oval. I live alone and it is terrific for 4 chicken thighs, a small roast or a 1/2 pound of oven cooked beans.

Oh dear . . . Never eaten Spam. For your next assignment, you have to strap an airplane to your butt and get off to Hawaii for a true Spam-fest. Nowhere in the world cooks with Spam as well as there. Do not turn up your nose at pizza with Spam and pineapple!

The link isn't working for me, foodie52. You can buy vinegar mother at wine and beer making shops here. A good friend that is into beer making brought me some. I also have a bottle of "organic" cider vinegar that has grown a lovely chunk of mother. What I want to duplicate is that lovely, mild pineapple vinegar that I have had in southern Mexico. The way I understand it, the cook throws pineapple peelings and cores into a "vinegar jar" that has a spigot on the bottom and keeps on making vinegar. I could be wrong.

Yesterday, at the nephew's house, we did a sauce tasting of a bottle of L&P that he bought recently. His label had the "hydrolyzed soy and corn protein" but was otherwise the same as the one I just bought. I am thinking that the "natural flavors" on my bottle may be the soy and corn stuff. His was not as sweet as mine. Actually, it had a pretty vinegary bite, enough so that we coughed after tasting a sip. It didn't have the strong clove taste that mine has. Labeling laws may indeed be different. In the US, ingredients are supposed to be listed in order of quantity. OK . . . I think the point is that someone is messin' with the sauce! Get a rope! What is a person to do?

Uh . . . No. I have heard of crystals of something in some plants that might do that. I think that was oxalic acid. I don't remember what plant. The apple "allergy" is odd. I don't think I have ever heard of that one. Is there a doctor in the house?

AH HA! This tells me that long, low, slow smoking can work. But I do think that it will have to be wrapped in foil, or something, for some part of the process. The fact that you found that the connective tissue dissolved as in pork is the key, I think. What about what I did one time, in the oven, with the leg wrapped in the pig skin? Maybe that could be put on the smoker and done that way. Ladies . . . We may be on to something here.

Here comes Santa Claus . . . Here comes Santa Claus . . . Glad to hear that the stock is smelling good. That should give you great confidence in the quality of that fat cap.

I think the fat cap and its relation to gaminess is probably a product of how the deer has been eating, is it a good clean shot, no running, field dressed by someone who knows how, that sort of thing. The Nephew is a crack shot and knows how to choose his deer and drop it with a head or neck shot. His is usually fine. And you are talking about people that can't tolerate the least whif of gaminess here. We finally gave up on accepting "gifts" if we don't know the hunter. I can't even stand lamb that is too "lamby." Susan, you will be the best judge of what to do about the fat. I do know that some of the best venison we ever had were some doe that came from a ranch outside of Kerrville. The acorn crop had been enormous that year, the weather was cold during the hunt and the animals were well killed and dressed. We left that fat on.

You should also add it to RecipeGullet! I have looked at this topic and wondered . . . WTF? Then I finally saw the bit about the password being "oink" in your first post. I laughed my butt off. That list was a cool opening. Then I went from amazed to speechless. One thing I didn't see but may have missed. What was the inspiration for this pork-fest?

We will be smoking the bird in 80 F and sunny weather. The humidity is uncommonly low, about 30%, so it is really comfy. This is what we call fall weather. I really haven't had any problems with temperature control in extremes of weather so I say go for it. But then, we don't have the same extremes. Those remote thermometers come in real handy for us in the summer. After Rita, we were at the country place and the nephew and I were smoking chickens. It was 109 F. Not in the smoker. Outside. In the shade. Since his smoker was running a bit hot, we wanted to keep an eye on the chickens and doing that in the air conditioning was a plus.

I have run into the same thing. I have become an inveterate label reader. I do have to admit succumbing to the loss leader $1.99 US a pound for the boneless loin. But I sometimes find a brand that isn't pumped up with crap. I have made that mistake before. When I need a really nice piece of pork for a trophy roast or fresh ham, I make the trek to my Asian market. You can see the whole pig quarters hanging in the back. They will also custom cut for you. No junk in those pigs!

We brine turkeys before frying them. Yes, as with any turkey for frying, you have to dry it well. We do that in a warm oven for about 30 - 45 minutes. (This also gets the temperature up a bit so the oil temp doesn't fall as much.) Brining doesn't really increase the water content of the bird significantly. It is an osmotic process. I will say that we notice a difference. We usually have a couple that we have brined and others that friends bring over that haven't been.

I just got back from the store with a "fresh" bottle of L&P. Here are the ingredients as listed on the label. Vinegar, molasses, high fructose corn syrup*, anchovies, water, onions, salt, garlic tamarind concentrate, cloves, natural flavorings, chili pepper extract. * Is there no way to avoid this stuff? Yes, it is sweeter. Also, I think the clove flavor is stronger. It is also labeled as "The Original." I don't think so! I don't think they had high fructose corn syrup in 1835. Where is the FTC when you need them? Isn't this a truth in labeling issue?