Franzisaurus_Rex

Thanks, all! You have contributed to several months of happy cooking!

Just got a standalone, electric pressure cooker and am looking for some inspiration. Have made stock (good), black beans (awesome!), and a whole chicken (very unhappy with results). What are your favorite recipes/uses for your pressure cooker?

Another question comes to mind... does anyone know of a time frame for a food to reach its smoke saturation point? I have heard reference to this concept (that food will stop absorbing smoky flavor at some point), but I haven't been able to find enough information to take advantage of this knowledge. I'd ideally like to use this information to gauge when its good to cover the dish and transfer to the oven.

I've come to similar conclusions as this and what others have said. You make a great point regarding transferring it to the oven once it is time for the dish to be covered. I am thinking that 1-2 hours uncovered (monitor braising liquid and add more as needed - similar to an uncovered cassoulet)will thicken the braising liquid and give me the smoky flavor I want. Transferring to the oven to finish off covered is a logical next step. Regarding equipment, I have a charcoal smoker and I can generally get the temperature anywhere from 200-400 depending on how I set it up. Thanks for help brainstorming!

I wound up not taking the risk, but thanks for the tip. That's officially ranks as the most pragmatic advice I've gotten on this! Thanks!

I've had an idea flowing across my brain waves over the last few months. It's on every channel and I'm getting ready to pull the trigger. I'd like to try to braise a dish in my smoker. I am thinking of braising a rabbit, but the I'm not looking for guidance on the protein/ingredients, rather the technique. I turn to you, o internet, in hope you will tell me your secrets. Has anyone ever braised in their smoker before? I've done some research, but I haven't seen much on the "how to" for the technique. Here's my plan: - Brown the rabbits on skillet (stovetop) - Get the aromatics/other stuffz sweated browned, etc. - (MEANWHILE) Smoker heats up to 300-325 degrees. - Add stock to rabbit, bring to a simmer on the stove top. - Transfer to smoker, braise uncovered for 1-2 hours, then cover with foil to finish for as long as necessary. I've seen folks smoke and then braise, but I haven't seen much on the idea of braising something IN the smoker. I saw something on CookingwithMe.at about doing something similar with pork belly, but that's about it. All I know is that after using stock+drippings from a smoked turkey created this CRAZY MIND-BLOWING flavor, so I'm basing this a lot off that idea. -Franz

FOOD BRETHREN! I need some advice. I have one last piece of pork belly confit in the fridge. I brined these bad boys for about 5 days (brine included pink curing salt), vacuum sealed the squares of pork belly with lard and sous vide them at 158 F for 16 hours. I cooked this on 11/10/16 and its been in my refrigerator since. Here is the general recipe I followed, with some modifications based on my taste: https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/... The last piece is still vacuum sealed and submerged (mostly) in lard. Any visible pork only has contact with the bag. It's staring at me. And calling my name. I want to deep fry this sucker and have a little date night with the handsome devil I see in the mirror every morning, but the last thing I want is spoiled food. I can't find any conclusive information about how long pork confit lasts for. I've only seen references that duck confit or in general that the confit technique will last for months in the fridge. I have found no sources which directly addresses pork confit. Questions/Factors I'm Considering: - Does pork confit keep for as long as duck confit? - Does vacuum sealing have any effect on the length of preservation? - Does sous-vide cooking method affect the length of preservation? I know I am probably being a bit paranoid, but I thought I would do my due diligence before taking the plunge, so to speak. Any advice on these questions would be extremely helpful and appreciated! The Franzisaurus-Rex PS - you should totally make this if you are into sous vide, confit, food, or have any respect for the enjoyment of life. Flash-searing these things after cooking was OUT OF THIS WORLD.