fifi

Dave... You are absolutely right. Whether in a smoker or in an oven, the chemical reactions regarding the fat and the collagen are the same, being driven by temperature. Being a certified SSB, I would love to track this. However, I don't have the equipment (yet) and someone beat me to it: http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/pork2.html Those of you not familiar with this site, these guys are fanatics. If you search around on the site, you will even find the Excel graphs. (Off topic note: I have a weather staion in a box that I will install in my new house. It will transmit every weather condition into the house and into my computer. I am also a weather nut. Now I am inspired to extend that technology to my smoker.) edit: Forgot to add, Dave... My opinion is that once the temperature finally starts to rise, you are probably drying out the meat if you go any longer. In a perfect world (and with properly placed temperature probes... my instumentation freaks are working on that) as soon as the temp starts to rise, you pull it off. That SHOULD be the optimum.

My son got on a nutrition kick while he was living with me a couple of years ago. A nutritionist friend of his gave him a recipe for some really yummy muffins that contained flax seed. He would grind it up in the mini-Cuisineart. THAT made a hell of a racket. The muffins were a good fiber source.

Something just occurred to me. I have been reading in several of my books on the chemistry of fats and, in some cases, what happens to animal fats when exposed to high temperatures. It is NOT pretty. The oxidation products can lead to off flavors for one thing. That explains the "funny taste" that I didn't like the time I did one of those high-temp-start pork butts. I am guessing that on a steak, for instance, the cooking time at the high temp is not as long as normally recommended on the pork butts, so you don't get that funky taste. So maybe, on short term steak cooking, or other short term grillling techniques, high temp is GOOD. But, when you start exposing the fat to 30 minutes to an hour of the high temp, things get funky. I do remember when I tried the high temp Kafka method on a beef roast, I didn't like the flavor very much at all. (I sure as hell didn't like the shriek of the smoke alarm.) Am I nuts? (Now... THAT is a dumb thing to ask here.)

I dunno. I have been looking. I knew about the blue part. My sister can't remember where the "John" came from. We are calling around. These pieces of information are critical to the survival of civilization.

Thanks for the links. I love that kind of information. I have several Chinese friends and I wonder if they know about this particular migration.

Apparently, so's wearing a slip under your dress to church these days, shug, but some things are still considered a matter of good form rather than necessity. Aaaamen, Jess. My ex-MIL always scalded her milk, especially for the morning coffee. It has a different taste. She would have no more used un-scalded milk for gravy than she would have gone to church without a slip! Whole milk is absolutely necessary. None of that "blue John" which is what my mother called the skimmed milk stuff. I come from a long line of white gravy makers.

I find this whole thing so damned fascinating that the next time I get to New York, this restaurant is at the top of my list. How could I have missed the whole Chinese migration to Cuba thing? When did this happen?

OK... Those pictures are deeply disturbing. I don't think the best photography in the world could have helped that. If RB had endorsed what I saw on the web site, and it tasted pretty good, I could maybe, sorta, give him some slack for endorsing "a move in the right direction". But, what you actually got is just a mess. (I am not going to worry too much about the sodium. I will bet that RB's restaurant food isn't all that low. In fact, I know it isn't. I have eaten there.)

And... If you monitor the temperature of the pork like you might in a smoker, I'll bet you will find the same temperature stall that you do in the smoker while the fat melts and the collagen converts to gelatin. Now, what I want to know is, why do I keep seeing these recipes that start out scorching hot, then go way too long. This one isn't the first I have seen or heard about. The one time I tried it I concluded that it was just all wrong. Talking to some other pork cooking friends, they have been hoodwinked into trying the same technique and came to the same conclusion. Nuts. Don't these people who write these things try it out before publishing? Oh well... I wondered what Kafka was smoking when she wrote that roasting book, too. (Well, we do know that she smoked her kitchen! )

What is a marrowfat pea? Colouring tablet? What color? More importantly, WHY?

I forgot about that! For some reason, when I was a kid, my mother always had a ham in the fridge. I am talking the whole honkin' ham! Needless to say, she had all kinds of ways to use it up. One ham salad that I hadn't thought about in years had diced ham, green peas, small diced cheddar, onion, red pepper or pimento with a little mayo... served cold. The other ham salad was a variation on however she was making tuna salad at the time. I liked that one, too.

Whaddaya think polenta is... Hmmm???

This is what I often do. At 450 F. I have always just accepted that sausages are only browned on two sides. I can see why you would be more picky about it in the Swartz recipe. *Smacks forehead with heal of hand* But then, I never thought of a rack in the oven. DUH!

Good tip about Canino's. Thanks. I don't go there too often since it is quite a trek. I may have to make an excursion for those peas, though. Luckily, I also don't have to go into town to Central Market for my Camellias. Kroger has them!! Go figure.

Absolutely loverly. Did you tell us what smoker you just inaugurated? You were very brave to start with brisket. I chickened out when I first used my bullet and did a pork butt. It is pretty hard to screw up pork butt. I have the same problem with starting early enough and always wish I had let the brisket go just a bit longer. I am still working on my brisket technique. I am beginning to trust my bullet enough to set it up and let it go overnight.

Did anyone ever make the pork cake? I am really curious. (And I really really really didn't bring this back up to bug elyse.)

I just noticed the 24 hour bit. When I do a pork butt in the oven, and I do it at 225, it develops really nice mallards (quack) without cranking up the temp. This happens even if I do it in an oven bag, which is my favorite way. But... 24 hours? I don't think so. About the longest I have ever left it is about 12 hours. That will reliably produce pulled pork.

yes

I have been to Bern's in Tampa twice, the last time about 3 years ago, and was well pleased both times. There was a thread here where I think someone (Fat Guy?) surveyed steak houses and they were one of two that dry aged their own beef. Maybe someone can dig that up. Actually, the Ruth's Chris here in Houston is pretty good. So is the original in New Orleans.

motochef... shame on you. There is NOTHING close to Camellia brand red beans. I thought I taught you better than that. Somewhere I read (here? McGee? Steingarten?) that the final outcome from dried beans depends on how old they are. The problem is, dried beans aren't usually dated. The Camellias I just cooked were dated "best used by Aug 2005" which meant to me that they probably aren't that old. All of the pre-soak, don't use salt, yada yada yada won't fix an old bean. An old bean will have a tough skin and will never achieve the creamy texture that a young bean will. I gave up all of that "technique" crap about cooking beans. I don't pre-soak, I season like I would any other dish and my beans are fine as long as I buy them where turn over is likely high and the beans are fresh. Now I wish I could get my hands on some fresh limas.

Oh my... I had forgotten about fresh shelled beans, peas, whatever type of legumes. One of our "jobs" when out of school for the summer was to shell the beans that our parents grew on the country places. We did crowders, cream crowders, cream peas, and blackeyed peas. Shelled fresh, they are a whole different thing than the dried. I remember one year when dad bought the tractor complete with the planter thingy. He chose to "plant" blackeyed peas. He went roaring off and planted the equivalent of 5 miles of peas. This was all planted "too late" according to local wisdom. Well... In late August, we were out there picking peas in an ambient temperature of 105 with wet towels wrapped around our heads. We would weigh our pickings as we came in. I think we quit keeping score when we exceeded 2 tons. That put me off of blackeyed peas for a while. I do wish I could get my hands on some cream peas, though.

ooo... ooo... SQUASH! That has possibilities. Bake a squash with coconut cream and a star anise in the cavity. Glaze it with honey or palm sugar. The possibilities are amazing. You may have something there.

Nah, fresco. In Calgary it is the food. They raise some awesome beef.

Oh yeah... I forgot about the "Men's Club" ambience. I love that. I travel a lot on business and groove on going into these places, alone, and stirring up the whole thing. I was in a steak house in Calgary where this was really something. Do you remember the beef commercial where the guys look really uncomfortable because all of these women have taken over their "haven"?

I dunno. I am not that good at grilling. I am a slow cook, braising, smoking kind of gal. Grilling escapes me. I go to a steakhouse because they do it better than I do.