fifi

YUM! What cut did you use? I have been thinking about the sausage. If I jelly roll the loin, that would add some fat on the inside. That combination of flavors sounds just wonderful. What kind of sausage did you use. Stone... Definitely toss it.

hmmm... I have that big bag of apricots I got at Sam's. I have done the "poke a hole" thing on these before. It works well. I never thought of using the steel, though. That is a really good idea. I need to add a cleaning tip... I was dreading cleaning up, especially since I don't have a yard and a hose and I have this damn useless double sink. I bought a bottle of Dawn Power Dissolver to see if the ad hype was true. I can report that IT IS! I was not out to get the grates like new but they are damn near. You spray it on, let it sit about 20 minutes, brush off the big pieces of grunge and into the dishwasher. (You have to lay them on the top rack.) The water pan was really easy. It wouldn't fit in the DW but it didn't need to. Knock off the big stuff with hot water then do the Dawn thing. A quick swish with the plastic scrubber and it was like new. (No... I didn't line it with foil. I forgot to buy the wide stuff. I will next time.) If my sink were big enough to put the grates in, clean up would have been nothing. I don't know what is in that Dawn stuff but it is magic. (Maybe I don't want to know.)

AHA! I was right!

OK... Got up, rinsed my mouth, no toothpaste yet, no coffee, and tasted Maggi straight. (What I do for science!) hmmm... Kinda sorta like a really good soy sauce. Not as salty. Not as intense. More mellow. A little more vegetal. Definitely an umami taste. (Funny thing... I kept tasting it, again, and again, and again... oh, just another drop...)

Yep... Until someone comes up with a way to keep the juices from charring in the bottom of the roasting pan. I did see a method in Cooks Illustrated for Chicken where they layered the bottom of the roasting pan with sliced potatos to take up the fat and keep it from charring. Maybe the potatos were acting as a sort of heat sink. They were trying to solve the same problem. I haven't tried that one yet but it sounds good. It is just that, to me, beef fat that is subjected to a high temperature takes on a funky taste.

Yeah... I am aiming to cook the brisket for a LOOONG time and I am not trying to get them done at the same time. I am content to do the "pork roast" thing and then have the brisket the next day. But you make a good point and have made me think about this. Thanks.

In small cafes all over Mexico, it is a common condiment on the table. Sort of like Tabasco or ketchup here. It is also in every kitchen I have been in. edit to add: Jaymes! Where are you?

OK... Fact time... My current bottle of Maggi was procured at Hong Kong Market in Houston. The label has Chinese as well as English. The label states... Water, Hydrolysed peanut and corn protein, salt, Distributed by Nestle USA Inc. - Foreign Trade Division, Glendale Ca. Product of Switzerland edit: I see I cross posted with fresco.

Good Lord! What did I start?

Now that you mention it, think I kept kitchen door and a few windows open AND venting system revved up. Junior does have the advantage of a restaurant kitchen at his disposal. But you left out the important stuff: how did the roast turn out? Not all that good. And I am talking about more than one of Kafka's "recipes". The charring from the high heat in the bottom of the roasting pan (the same pan she recommends) gave an off flavor to the whole thing. After several tries, I have not cooked anything from that book since.

Maggi is The Devil's Head Oil. Ah... But you would be surprised how often it shows up in "authentic" Mexican cooking. And I mean really authentic. As does evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, Knorr chicken base, and more. When I say "authentic" I mean the little cafe's, and the abuelitos kitchens. And that cooking is GOOD!

In defense of Maggi... Zarela makes a killer vinegarette that has Maggi in it. It is one of my staples. It is in her first book, Food From My Heart.

Yeah, Dave... I think you are right about the penetration of any bacon fat. The loins I looked at today didn't have a continuous fat cap. That is why I was thinking of adding the bacon. Like you said, can't hurt. I was thinking along the lines of a Central American seasoning mix I have used on other pork roast. That is lots of black pepper, sugar, toasted cumin seed, toasted coriander seed, lots of garlic, and salt, of course. I will definitely brine it. Brining rules! Soooo... What happens to the brisket beneath this masterpiece?

All I can add is that every time I have tried high temperature roasting "a la Kafka" I have set off all of the smoke alarms within 10 miles. (Maybe that is an exageration, but not much.) The slow roast method looks like the way to go as it will not require constatnt attention. All I can say is that Kafka must have one sucker of a vent hood.

I am bumping this one back up 'cause I have a question... But before that, I have to tell my little story. I ordered the WSM from my local small retailer as I said. It came in, I was traveling and other things happening so it was about 2 weeks before I got to pick it up. I would call the shop. No problem they said. I did get it and we had to unpack it to get it into my little car. I went to the web site to get some pointers on putting it together. I went to the "problems" section of the site. Sure enough, the bottom bowl had a typical "ding" and was chipped pretty badly and out of round. I called the shop. The owner wanted to come by. WHAT? A house call for a smoker??? I said come ahead. He came in, did his best to squeeze it back into round (did pretty good), told me to go ahead and use it while he ordered me a replacement part! Would mega-box-store have done all of that? I DON'T THINK SO! Anyway, two weekends ago, I christened the little jewel. That was some of the best pork butt I have EVER done. I also did two chickens on chicken sitters and some Chappell Hill sausage. All was wonderful. I used that method of lighting a small amount of charcoal and putting it in the middle of a full basket. That method is the best. The temperature was rock solid and recovered quickly when I opened the thing. (Of course, it was 94 degrees on the balconey. Where was any heat going to go?) Now (finally you say) to my question... I may do a hunk of brisket this weekend but I am also eyeing some boneless pork loin that is too cheap to pass up. Here is what I am thinking... Slice it open like a jelly roll and put "something" inside and roll it up and tie it. What should that something be? I plan on smoking that to pork roast temp, not pulled pork temp, so I will probably put the pork on the top rack and the brisket on the bottom. Is the fat on the top of the loin enough? Do I need to wrap it in bacon? As to the "something" I am leaning toward Southwest flavors. What will pork drippings do to the brisket below? I can't imagine that being a bad thing. Any more suggestions out there?

This child must have EXCEPTIONAL parents. Cheery Garcia... Hands down.

Would someone please answer the question about the damned veal?

twirl... twirl.. twirl... *lifting fork to mouth* *almost there* flop... flop... flop...

*raising hand* Yep. Same problem. Actually, FG, I would never have thought that you would sell the data. I do suspect a marketing ploy for eGullet branded broad bibs for big breasted women.

Try this: http://www.nap.edu/books/0309065690/html/52.html And this: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlere...gi?artid=161529 Warning: These links are for science geeks like me. That is just the tip of the iceberg. I googled on water temperature and Galveston Bay. I picked out those two links because they related water temperature to disease causing organisms. I was looking for a good graphic of bay water temperature over time. I saw lots of data but no good graph yet. What the data shows is that water temperatures come up very quickly and cool quickly in response to general climatic conditions. This is because Gulf Coast bays are very shallow. So... Yeah... May can get problematic. I do wonder about September, though, "r" or not. The temperatures drop pretty dramatically with the first cool front but September is still pretty hot.

When it came time to make the "where to lunch" decision, I would swear that the guys would take one look at my white silk blouse and say "chili dogs"! I actually overheard this conversation... "Why don't we try that new spagetti place for lunch?" "Naaah... Fifi is wearing black."

Check out this thread... http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...ST&f=1&t=25713&

I bought the Kevlar gloves for Christmas gifts last year and also one for myself. I found them a bit pricy and there was one in the box. I thought I was buying a pair. That being said, I find them useful when you need some dexterity. They aren't as spontaneously handy as a good mit since you have to put them on like a glove. For reaching into ovens I like the long gauntlet BBQ gloves that protect my forearms from the usual scorch. Silicone is my next purchase.

If you take an interest in Mexican cuisine, Bayless does a great job of presenting recipes as a "process" as well as a recipe and then proceeds to present alternative approaches. I have learned a lot from his books from that perspective.

I missed your post earlier so I will answer it now. In the gulf coast where we have high water temperatures and are also subject to torrential rains from tropical storms, large thunderstorm complexes, etc., that run-off is always a red flag. It is my understanding that those that are charged with monitoring the health of the bays are on alert when such conditions exist. Like I said before, they are doing a much better job than they have in the past. But they are not perfect so you have to decide if you really want to eat that raw oyster. The red tide is predictable and manageable so that is not really an issue anymore from what I can tell.