road trip - seattle to west glacier

I highly recommend the Park Cafe in St. Mary (motto: Pie for Strength). It's on the east side of the park, but you'll want to drive the length of Going to the Sun Road anyway. Huckleberries should be in season.

CK8 in Pacific Northwest

Charcuterie recipe salt-cured air-dried pork heart?

I didn't have much luck with the heart. It still tasted a lot like heart (wow, no kidding!). For some reason I thought curing my change the flavor profile of the cut. If you generally like the taste of heart, you wouldn't have any problem with heart charcuterie. Otherwise, it's probably not worth the effort.

CK8 in Home Cooking

help me troubleshoot my cast iron experience

It takes a lot of regular use before you're ready to try something like pancakes, unless you use a lot of fat in the pan. I've had a Lodge for years (well before pre-seasoning was an option) and love it, but I still don't use it for some tasks - frying eggs, for example.

I don't know if this is SOP with cast iron, but I usually wipe a small amount of oil over the inside of the pan and heat it up on the stove after cleaning.

CK8 in Cookware

Charcuterie recipe salt-cured air-dried pork heart?

I finally started curing the pork heart. I basically just packed it in salt and some spices for a couple days and now I'm hanging it in an unheated closet for a week or so. I'll let the board now how it turns out.

CK8 in Home Cooking

Charcuterie recipe salt-cured air-dried pork heart?

Will do. Heart is different than most organ meats in that it is essentially a muscle.

I agree with your thoughts on Ruhlman's book - charcuterie/salumi is ancient technique. Nonetheless, the book does a fine job of explaining it.

I will definitely take a look at the Kutas book and the suggested website. Thanks.

CK8 in Home Cooking