Moose's Profile
Carne Asada Burrito or Taco in Los Angeles
I'm surprised no one's mentioned Taco Miendo in West LA and CC. They have excellent carne asada made from skirt steak, and will put whatever you want in your burrito.
Carne Asada Burrito or Taco in Los Angeles
The carne asada at Sanchez is not the greatest, however, the Lomo (beef loin) is out of this world.
Mexican salsa?
I second Tacos Por Favor - one of my favorite salsa rojas around. Very rich, complex, hot, but not too hot. Plus they'll sell you as much as you want to buy.
Where To Find Thai Groceries/Spices Etc in the Valley?
Any suggestions? Can't seem to find things like keffir lime, galangal, curry pastes anywhere.
The Never Ending Search for an Authentic Taqueria Salsa Roja Recipe
Something along the lines of King Taco's salsa roja, if that helps. I've used lime juice, but it didn't do the trick.
The Never Ending Search for an Authentic Taqueria Salsa Roja Recipe
I've been working at this for a couple of years, and still haven't gotten it anywhere close to what I taste at better So Cal Taquerias. I've cranked out some pretty tasty salsas, but they just don't seem close to what I'm going for.
Most commonly, I've used the following ingredients:
Chile arbol
Tomatillos
Roma Tomatoes (Sometimes with, sometimes without)
Onion (Sometimes with, sometimes without)
Salt
A bit of clove and cinnamon
I've tried making the salsa by just toasting the chiles, then blending, or toasting, then boiling them in water before blending. I've also done it with and without broiling the tomatillos and if I use them, tomatoes and onion. I've also tried using additional chiles like guajillos, in addition to sometimes using some lime juice, or even a bit of chicken stock base, but no matter what, there's something very elemental missing. I could best describe it as a "tangy" or "savory" flavor that's just not present. I know I'm getting enough salt, so that's not it for sure. I've tried every recipe I've found for this in both original form and using many different variations, and it's still off.
Any feedback would be appreciated!
Does anyone ever make tender pork chops?
I know what you mean - it took me a few years to get the hang of it. Pork chops are a very lean meat, and you have a very small window to get them right, otherwise they're overcooked and dry. Totally unforgiving piece of meat, unlike a good steak.
We buy thick porterhouse style pork chops that I put a dry rub on and grill, first with indirect heat, then a final sear when they're getting close to temp. I pull them when the internal temp is 145 degrees, and they're perfectly tender and juicy every time. Another important factor is to let the meat come up to room temp before cooking.
There may be some naysayers about pulling them at 145 degrees, but keep in mind after a 5-10 minute rest, they're approaching 150+, which is more than safe to eat. This seems to be the "money" temp where I get a perfectly chop every time.
Your best bet is to either grill or pan fry them as you want to be able to monitor the temp. very closely. Also, go with a thicker chop.
I added a picture of the kind of chops we cook so you can see what I'm referring to.
Hope this helps...
Pizza stone on a Weber charcoal grill [moved from Home Cooking]
For whatever it's worth, if your oven can heat up to 550 degrees, and can fit a 15-16 pizza stone, you can make incredible pizza in the oven. I bought a 16 inch round 1 inch thick granite stone from a guy on CL, and we've also been really happy with the outcome. It takes about 45 minutes for the stone to reach a surface temp of 500 or so, then we're good to go. I use the kettle primarily for Neapolitan style pies with 00 flour that can withstand the high heat the kettle can generate.
Pizza stone on a Weber charcoal grill [moved from Home Cooking]
Actually, the opening you see in my lid is merely a vent - I opted not to make it larger as the largest size pizza you can get on the stone using this method is not much bigger than 10 inches. Therefore, I have to lift the lid when I want to rotate the pizza a few times while it's cooking, but I haven't had a problem with it at all.
Pizza stone on a Weber charcoal grill [moved from Home Cooking]
One challenge with using a Kettle the way you're describing is getting the top to cook as well as the bottom as the hottest air rises to the very top of the inside of the kettle lid. I've seen some solutions to this by placing a cast iron skillet on the cooking grates, then pulling the stone on top of the skillet. this effectively raises the cooking surface and exposes it to the higher temp heat that rises to the top of the kettle. Another option would be to find a donor lid, and mount an 18 inch pizza pan to the inside which will lower the ceiling of the lid and force the hotter air over the pie. While I still use my red sky grilling stone in my kettle for an entirely different set up than it is intended for, you might look into this as a viable option given your situation. Their site has a complete tutorial on how to use it...hope this helps. The kettle pizza sleeve also seems to get pretty good feedback.
Pizza stone on a Weber charcoal grill [moved from Home Cooking]
I bought the pizza stone made by Red Sky specifically for the Weber kettle. It's a great stone and it's rated to over 2000 degrees. The one problem making pizzas on the Kettle using this or the KettlePizza metal insert is you're going to need a LOT of fuel.
Putting pizza on the actual grates isn't a very good option if you want really GOOD pizza, especially as the crust will get very dry.
I found a better way to make pizzas on the Weber Kettle and made my own LBE(Little Black Egg) I call mine the FrankenWeber Pizza Kettle out of a donor Weber kettle and a propane powered turkey fryer. If I'm using 00 flour, I get the stone up to 750+ degrees and the pizzas cook in under 3 minutes. Total cost for everything including an infrared thermo was just under $150, and is a pretty close approximation of a wood burning pizza oven at a small fraction of the cost. We haven't ordered pizza since I built the pizza kettle, that's for sure. There's some YouTube videos showing these in action, and if you Google FrankenWeber pizza kettle, you'll likely find links in another forum to my exact build and modifications.
Jersey-style Italian Hero (AKA Sub)
A friend took me to Cricca's Italian Deli in Woodland Hills and I have to say, it was outstanding! Nice meat portions, good fresh crusty roll. This is probably as close as you'll get in LA in terms of being comparable to a NJ style sub.
Cricca's Itailian Delicatessen
4876 Topanga Canyon Blvd
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
Help with Chili Verde
This is a recipe my SO created that is quite fantastic.
Chile Verde
Ingredients:
2 Pounds of pork stew meat or pork shoulder roast
¼ cup vegetable oil
3 Poblano chiles
3 Anaheim chiles
2 Jalapenos
5-20 Chile de Arbol, stems removed (Use less if you want your chile verde mild, use more if you like it hot)
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
4 Tomatillos
1 Tbsp. coriander
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. oregano
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
1 bottle or can of beer of choice
1 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp flour
½ cup cold water
Preheat oven to 375°. Cut pork into small bite sized pieces and brown in a skillet with vegetable oil in 2 separate batches. Place cooked meat into a dutch oven. Grill the anaheims, poblanos, and jalapenos until skin is black. Also grill onion and tomatillos until slightly soft and browned. Place chilies in a brown paper bag to soften for about 20 mins.
Remove skin and seeds from the blackened chilies and place in a blender with onion, garlic, tomatillos, chili de arbol and chicken broth. DO NOT WASH THE CHILES. Blend until smooth and add to meat in the dutch oven. Add the coriander, cumin, chili powder, oregano and salt and pepper. Pour beer into mixture and stir until combined.
Place covered dutch oven in preheated oven and cook for approximately 2 hours or until pork is fork tender. Combine flour and cold water into a slurry and pour into chile verde mixture. Cook an additional 30 minutes with dutch oven cover removed stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and serve with fresh hot tortillas. Enjoy!
Looking for Hanger Steak in LA
Anyone know of any butchers or meat markets where I might get some Choice or better yet, Prime Hanger Steak? I've heard great things about this cut of beef and I really want to try it.
Where to get Prime Tri-Tip in LA/SFV?
I've only seen Choice Tri-Tip at Costco, and it's usually been disappointing...
Where to get Prime Tri-Tip in LA/SFV?
On occasion, I've gotten this from How's but since they closed the two valley locations, was hoping there might be some other options that are reasonably priced. I've seen at Gelson's for around $25 a lb, but at that price I might as well get the Kobe at Huntington farms for $17.99.
Suggestions appreciated!
Best Taco In LA
You'll need to be more specific - do you mean crispy fried tacos or soft tacos? Any particular meat preference?
Charcoal Smoker Recommendations
If you're looking for a great grilling/BBQ resource, you won't find much better than this:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com
I'm a regular poster there and we enjoy helping those new to BBQ. You can most certainly use a Weber Kettle as a smoker. Using an indrect/mimion method you should be able to get 4-6 hours on one load of charcoal.
ISO - Your favorite chili powder?
Short of making your own chili powder, Red Lion makes some wonderful product I have enjoyed a great deal:
www.betterthanhot.com
CUT 'Wagyu' Rib Eye
I buy the SNF Kobe Tri-Tip at Huntington Meats at the LAFM and grill it over oak. At $17.99 it's a ridiculous bargain, esp since the NY Strips are $79.99 per lb, and IMHO a less desirable cut than Tri-Tip.
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Huntington Meats
6333 W 3rd St # 350, Los Angeles, CA
Where to find organic, lightweight chickens?
Olive Fresh on Oxnard & Whitsett has amazing little chickens usually in the 2-3lb range, and at $1.99 per lb, can't be beat. I'm not sure if they are organic, but they most certainly are all natural, and don't have the ratio of fat most birds do...
Good Gringo Tacos?
The hard shell tacos at Campos at 20th & Pico are very good. You can get them with ground beef, chicken or turkey. The beef ones are particularly flavorful, as well as the turkey. These are very good sized tacos, with excellent proportions of meat, lettuce and cheese. Two would be a full meal for most people.
Looking for really spicy foods
I second Jitlada. At the bottom of the authentic Southern Thai menu, you'll find "The Spicy Challenge". I tried to order it the first time I went there, but I listened to our waitress and ordered the next spiciest dish, which she said was a 5 on a scale of 1-10. It was by far the hottest dish I've ever eaten, which caused sweat to pour forth from my face and scalp, followed shortly thereafter by a terrible case of the hiccups. With the spicy challenge dishes rated at a 10, I can't begin to fathom a dish twice as hot as what I ate. Give it a try and report back to us...
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Jitlada
5233 1/2 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Need a Mexican restaurant in the valley near CSUN
Salsa & Beer is down the street from me and it is very good. Great salsa bar with about 8 different kinds to choose from. It does get very crowded at lunch and dinnertime on weekends, so there can be a bit of a wait, unless you arrive earlier.
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Salsa & Beer
6740 White Oak Ave, Van Nuys, CA 91406
hard shell shredded beef tacos
Melody's on Vanowen & Reseda makes excellent crispy hard shell tacos.
Finding Noche Buena on Westside?
Costco currently has it as part of a variety case. 8 Dos Equis, 8 Dos Equis Light, and 8 Noche Buena. I've got 2 NB's chilling in the fridge right now...
Pizza Will Never Be the Same: My Weber Kettle Pizza Oven [moved from Home Cooking]
I'll certainly post some pics. I also did a post on the Brethren with details on my kettle build if you want to check it out:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=94358
When I can get my hands on some good truffles, I'm going to try some shavings on a pie!
Pizza Will Never Be the Same: My Weber Kettle Pizza Oven [moved from Home Cooking]
Yes, I have been on pizzamaking.com. And I suspect you spent some time on Jeff Verasano's website? :)
The dough recipe I used was given to me by another pizzamaking forum member who I bumped into on bbq-brethren.com, which is usually where I hang out, mostly. You might find some of my posts interesting - my screen name there is exactly what it is here.
I'm planning on making some pies tonight, and some calzones tomorrow.
Thanks for the measurements. I will be upgrading to a sourdough starter soon - does it make a huge difference in your opinion?
BTW, nice blog you have!
Pizza Will Never Be the Same: My Weber Kettle Pizza Oven [moved from Home Cooking]
This is what I've been using:
AP Flour (100%): 399.7 g | 14.1 oz | 0.88 lbs
Water (68%): 271.8 g | 9.59 oz | 0.6 lbs
IDY (.85%): 3.4 g | 0.12 oz | 0.01 lbs | 1.13 tsp | 0.38 tbsp
Salt (2%): 7.99 g | 0.28 oz | 0.02 lbs | 1.67 tsp | 0.56 tbsp
Oil (2%): 7.99 g | 0.28 oz | 0.02 lbs | 1.78 tsp | 0.59 tbsp
Total (172.85%): 690.88 g | 24.37 oz | 1.52 lbs | TF = 0.0918
Single Ball: 345.44 g | 12.18 oz | 0.76 lbs
Pizza Will Never Be the Same: My Weber Kettle Pizza Oven [moved from Home Cooking]
Those are some nice looking pies, Tommy. I'm happy to share my recipe if you share yours. :)
