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We all seem to be getting into the spirit of chili. It is one of those things that invites innovation and using what you have. And it always comes out good. Well, almost always. I have had a watery mess in a "City Cafe" (doesn't every small town have one?) at some town in East Texas that was pretty awful. Then there was a pasty mess made with meat moosh that assaulted a perfectly innocent hot dog at some festival. Luckily those abominations are few and far between. snowangel . . . Tell Peter that his chili eating technique shows great sophistication and is absolute proof that he has excellent parents who are obviously raising him right.

This is an interesting discussion of linguistics. And technique. I really don't know of a "pie" recipe here that would call for minced fat, but then, I don't know everything. But I could see how that could yield an interesting texture. Is that a traditional technique? I am thinking of the technique of using minced fat rather than rendered fat. I am now wondering if finely minced dense pork fat is ever used in "traditional" recipes here.

Hmmm . . . Here in the US, as far as I know, any solid beef fat is called suet. I have never heard that the kidney fat is differentiated. (But I will bet that the kidney fat is superior.) Also, here the word "lard" is used for pork fat only. It is interesting that rendered beef fat could be called lard in the UK. And, I have always thought of "drippings" as the fat from roasting meat which would be very different from rendered fat. Rendered beef fat would be called "suet" here. Linguistic differences are really interesting but I am wondering what is meant for the pies. I can see that minced fat versus rendered fat would produce different results. I still want one of those pies.

I am betting that you need to render it. You can use the same method for lard that is described here. I would go with the more PITA stove top method for the beef fat if you are looking to use it for pastry. I want one of your pies!!!!! (Damn. I live too far away.)

Interesting question . . . what to do with the skimmed chili fat. Hmmmm . . . I know! Use it for some hash browns for breakfast. I never thought of that before. I mean, saving the chili fat. Brilliant!

Vodka! Please note the time stamp on this post. I am setting up the Weber bullet for some pork butt. Vodka is a required part of the process. And I just went to HEB earlier today. But I prefer the blood orange.

Here ya go. I don't have any way to know if this link is genuine. I can't remember where I first heard of it years ago. It may have been some newspaper feature.

I regret not spending more time with my Grandma and Great Aunt Minnie. Oh, I did spend time in the kitchen, absorbed some of their wisdom via osmosis. But, as they aged and were fading away, I was a late teen, in college, then newly married so I had other things on my mind. I wish I could have recorded their stories and history of the various dishes they made, gardens they had, the animals they raised. My sister, 7 years older, had realized some of what we were about to lose. For instance, if she had not had the presence of mind to go ask, we might not have the recipe for Pickled Shrimp. As a treat as part of a birthday dinner for a dear friend tomorrow, I am making this dish right now. Isn't it odd how things converge on eGullet and, working with this recipe, I was thinking of things I would have asked if I had been wise enough.

Yes . . . I am definitely interested in what you do with the beast. Funny story . . . A colleague had just moved to Houston and I offered to take her to some of our more interesting food markets. She was a sheltered type. You know . . . nothing but sterile looking meat, ate only skinless boneless chicken or other meat pieces that didn't resemble anything that had ever been alive. She was wanting to branch out and become "more adventurous" so I took her to one of our big, really nice Latin markets, Fiesta Mart. This time of year, they always have pig heads featured in a freezer case, prominently in the middle of the butcher shop. We had been through produce and I was talking with the produce manager about something as she wandered on. Then I heard this blood curdling shriek. I looked over and saw that my delicate flower of a colleague had slumped to the floor leaning against the freezer case. Yep . . . looking up out of the case were grinning pig heads with their ears all perky. She eventually became a pretty good cook but no one ever let her forget about getting a case of "the vapors" over the pig heads.

No turducken topic would be complete without linking to this post by jackal10. Warning: hard core food porn

Come to think of it, my Gumbo Goddess used to save a cup of beans from week to week as well. She made them every Monday and she had this odd little porcelain "pot" with a lid. A cup of beans went in there and straight into the fridge for the next week's pot. She told me that you dip out just beans into the "saving dish" since you might change the meat from week to week. I had forgotten all about that. She made a mean pot of beans, too. Thanks for the memory. Another thing I just remembered . . . Her favorite seasoning meat was "sweet pickled pork." I haven't seen that stuff in years.

There are also two schools of thought on red beans, Thick and "stand-up" style that stands up on the rice, and a thinner style with more juice to seep down into the rice. I like them somewhere in between. You also need to have the right bean. For traditional south Louisiana red beans, you need Camellia brand. Yes, they are red kidneys but they are different. There are as many ways to season and cook red beans as there are cooks in Louisiana. Over in the now infamous Dried Beans topic, we settled on an abbreviated way to cook beans that came from Russ Parsons. I have done red beans many times using this method and it never fails to produce the same as I have simmering for hours. Wash one pound of beans. In a heavy pot with a lid, I use my Le Creuset, saute your seasonings (onion, garlic, trinity, whatever) in some sort of fat. I like bacon fat or lard. Or maybe fry off some smoked sausage, andouille or kielbasa, and use the fat from that to saute the vegetables. Some kind of pork product is traditional or you can leave the meat out altogether. Add 5 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil. Put the lid on and put into a 250F oven. At about 2 hours, check the beans. If they are almost done, mash as many as you like to thicken the liquid. Return to the oven and cook for about a half hour more. Done. This works every time.

One can only hope. I have yet to find a decent muffaletta in Houston . . . anywhere. They always get one of the essential parts all wrong. Even if the real deal showed up, one of the first places I intend to go as soon as I can visit New Orleans is Central Grocery.

*bump* I bumped this up for two reasons. My son found 8 of the mushrooms in the Chicago area and they have now been distributed to a lucky few. If anyone sees anymore of them, let me know. There was another item I got all frustrated about, the cooling racks that fit in the heavy aluminum half sheet pans. The kids had to do without racks for their pans last year. Boo! Hoo! But that is all fixed now. Amazon has them here. Guess what one of their Christmas gifts will be? And, despite what I saw on Amazon, they really do have them and they are not back ordered. The UPS guy just delivered them.

The lovely man in brown (UPS) just delivered my latest Amazon order that included my copy of Bill Smith's book, Seasoned in the South, Recipes from Crook's Corner and Home. His write up does confirm that you leave the skin on. But, here is a trick. . . He takes the skin off at the end, lays it aside in the pan and lets it crisp up. He also says he likes to cook it to the "fall apart" stage so I feel vindicated. This is a very cool book, BTW. I have already spotted a handful of must try recipes as well as some variations on our own family favorites. Woo Hoo!

Heads up! The nephew just called and ran into a bunch of Le Creuset and some Staub at Tuesday Morning. For instance . . . The LC 5 quart oval is $119 and the 7 1/4 quart round is $145. This is at a Tuesday Morning in Houston.

WAIDAMINIT! I thought we are doing corned ham, not ham ham! so what is all of this talk about nitrites, nitrates and other nefarious materials that would adulterate the sacred pork?

After reading through this topic and other turkey topics here, and reflecting on the insane idiot that paid $125,000 US for that champion bird, I can equivically say that I would pay no more than $1 US a pound for this worthless bird and then I would fry its butt to render it edible. (Well, actually, the $125,000 is for the scholarship fund. I have to say that so my fellow Texans don't look like real dopes.)

Dana . . . First, I am so glad to see you back. I am hoping that you have survived the Rita chaos well. I don't have any doubts. We Texans seem to spit in the face of storms. Anyway, I would like to address the mint question. At my previous house, I had a helluva time getting spearmint and peppermint going. Actually, it never really did. I had a moist rather shady spot that should have done well but it never did. Then, in a very slightly sunnier area, I planted some Apple Mint. DO NOT EVER plant this evil weed where it might grow. It isn't all that tasty and became rampant. At one point, I feared that it would attack my 75 pound basset hound. At my sister's place in NW Houston, we have never been able to get mint established. We don't know why. There are several micro-habitats that should be good but it just languishes and dies out. At the new house, I am thinking of directing the condensation from the air conditioner to a small area of the yard, able to divert to a holding tank, in order to provide a habitat for mint. Does anyone have any ideas about that? WOW! Would I love to have a multi-year oregano.

*bump* Bumping this back up because it seems to be that season again. The sweetened condensed milk is on sale again and I have 10 cans bubbling away. I got the great idea to use my pasta cooker, which will hold 10 cans in the strainer insert, to simmer the unopened cans. I simmer for 4 hours to get a thick product and thin if necessary to use for a sauce. When the time is up, I will remove the strainer (carefully) and set it aside to let it cool. The occasion here is for a BBQ birthday party where pumpkin ice cream will be served with the DDL sauce for dessert. The guests will go away with packages of smoked pork and a can of DDL with a big bow tied around it. For my next project, probably for around Christmas, I am going to fulfill my promise to myself and try Andie's recipe. I think I will have to get some fancier containers for that one.

Suzy . . . Every time we tried it our ovens were scrupulously clean. Still smoked.

Why do I have this vision of some lusty young thing spreading this on a thick slice of crusty warm bread and feeding it to me as I balance that glass of burgundy in my hand? Woo Hoo! I ain't dead, yet!

One time I whipped up some butter with Sriracha sauce to put on some grilled chicken and fish. No one could figure out what this delicious, complex concoction was. I don't remember if I ever 'fessed up. Oh yes . . . butter with candied ginger and orange zest on English muffins. Or just about anything for that matter. A little five spice doesn't hurt, either. I think that is one of my favorite sweet concoctions.

Well . . . That paraphrasing post was a waste of time. Here it is on-line. (Duh! Will I ever learn?)

Regular oven. The only convection I have is my little toaster oven. New stove in the house will be a learning curve.