mnebergall

In Old Town Alexandria: Murphys, on King Street west of Washington (I think Irland's own has closed).

I found this fresh salsa at Harris Tetter the other day that is just dynamite. I think it was called Jack's Jamaican and it came in two styles, the medium hot and the scotch bonnet pepper. Both are great. The Scotch Bonnet stuff starts with the heat on the back of your tongue that moves forward. Caution: ring of fire potential is high. spelling edits

Here is a mapquest map showing the location.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if there has been an eGullet event in the DC area that has drawn more attendance than Monica's appears to be drawing? In other words, is this shaping up to be one for the local record book? I hope someone is bringing a digital camera to show the slackers what they missed.

My plan is to do both a brisket and a butt at the same time. Which should I put on the top rack, the beef or the butt?

Well, the place that emphasizes fresh local ingredients is Restaurant Eve in Old Town Alexandria (King Street Metro). One of their investors owns Westmoreland Farms, on the Rapahanock River East of Fredricksburg. There is a thread on Eve. I would also look into Ceiba downtown. There is a thread on Ceiba as well. I'm sure others will chime in.

Let's see if we can't get this up to six pages before the event

Don't worry, she will find out sooner or later, they always do.

So the exercise is to keep the surface of the meat below 140F for as long as possible in order to maximize smoke absorption. Ways to do this include putting the meat in the smoker right out of the fridge and keeping the smoker temp as low as possible for as long as possible.

Are there any cicadas left?

Monica is doing a very good job of organizing. How many pages did the cicada/cheese thing chew up before it came off?

I was having a drink at the bar there last week (ran into DonRocks) and the chef brought out a complimentary hors d'oeuvre of diced raw white tuna topped with caviar drizzled (with some stuff that I don't recall the name of) and some fresh julienne of radish. It was wonderful. They brought Rocks a luget (sp) a small fried fish. He seemed to like it but we can let him report on it. I just can't see the staff at Eve treating anyone like that (which causes me to suspect the sincerity of the post).

I'd be interested in the basis for this theory. Why does temperature effect the rate at which food absorbs smoke? If it is true, my guess would be that the surface of the food reachs 140F much quicker than the interior. Are folks wasting a lot of effort by keeping their smokers stocked with hickory during the entire cooking process?

The last time I went, I called and the recorded message said that they were booked solid for the forseeable future. I left my name and phone number and they called me back and gave me a reservation. So, don't believe the recording. Edited to add: I'd still like to organize an eGullet event at Ray's.

The moon "turns blue" more frequently than you might think. Perhaps a couple of times a year (assuming you are referring to the euphemism "once in a blue moon"). Edited to add: And there is one coming up on July 31.

I thought the charcoal (whether briquets or chuncks) was primarily to provide heat. When grilling, any smoke you get is from burning grease that drips from your meat. There might be some flavor from the charcoal, but when I want ot add smoke flavor, I use hickory chips. When using my electic smoker, I just use soaked chips. I recenlty dug out the owners manual for the smoker and saw that it recommends using the wood chunks, wrapped in foil, instead of the chips. Next time I smoke (perhaps this weekend) I plan to try the hickory chunks. They should last longer than the chips. spelling edit

I first saw the knuckle thing here. Page 3, about 2/3 of the way down. In that thread, slkinsey claims credit for it.

I take back what I said earlier about this food blog being on a par with bleudauvergne's blog. I think this one may be a stroke or two under (in a sudden death play off environment).

This place has better prices on the carbon steel. I have three and and use them all the time.

Isn't that knuckle thing a neat trick. I use the tree trimming shrears to handle the job. It would be a simple matter to see if it works on wings the next time around. By the way, the knuckle trick is something I picked up on eGullet. I did not invent it. I think I saw it on the thread about best things learned on eGullet.

What's really tragic is that a lot of people are going to watch that show, go out and buy some really expensive back ribs and a shit load of beef broth and make a big mistake.

It is pouring down rain here in DC. I am going to postpone my Costco-a-go-go until tomorrow when I will be able to fire up the grill.

I didn't think it was possible, but this foodblog is on a par with bleudauvergne's blog.

Brine, season, grill for 20 minutes (turn every 5 minutes) and then chill. Also, on the chicken legs, use some kitchen shears to cut the "knuckle" off. The meat will contract into a ball on the remaining bone.

So that I don't have to go reread this thread, could you refresh my recollection on how much cash I need to bring?