Another vote for Om Seafood. They have at least 4 500 gal. tanks of live dungeness. They also don't cop an attitude when you say "pick out a couple nice ones."

Went to Iguanas today for lunch. Imagine mexican music in a mexican restaurant.Enjoyed the Chimichanga(shaped as a packet, not a burrito), Tricolor Burrito w/ carnitas, Fish, carnitas, and barbacoa tacos. All were quite good. Each fish taco ended up being 2 due to size of portion.Everyone in my party enjoyed the fast and friendly service. The house salsa is boring and best modified by adding some of the habanero salsa. The salsa verde accented everything.only disappointment was the Pastel 3 Leches, it was dry. Will definitely be going back again.

The place is just ok. Wants to be both a family place and a pick up bar. Food is edible but not exciting. Service is on the order of "It's easier to bring the Salt and pepper shakers out when someone asks rather then setting them out. TV's everywhere. Have fun

Congratulations! The colder the meat is the better the grind and the stuffing. You don't want to let the fat liquify. I keep my grinder and metal bowls I'll be using in the freezer before I do anything. As I prep the meat I put it in the freezer too. Unless you're actively working on product. Chill, chill chill
Again, congratulations..

I agree with Jeff, Charcuterie is the gold standard of sausage making.
Polish Sausages, Authentic Recipes And Instructions by Marianski is good for techniques and also if you like polish and european sausage.
www.stuffers.com has a 138 page PDF full of great recipes.
Have fun and good luck.
With luck you'll soon be asking about Prague Powders.

Not to be a schill for them search Amazon for Sausage casings. Both Natural and collagen.
have fun

The cultures produce acids that cure items like salami or lanjaeger.

Maybe you should try making your own. It's not rocket science. I just tried Briarwood Farms from the Milwaukie farmers mkt and it was quite good.. However I prefer a back bacon, not a streaky bacon and for some reason prefer my own. Smoke cure is a great way to hide the inherent flavor of the cure. Good luck.

Try pickling spice. it's what the industry uses to impress the swells. Or there is something called Seafood Boil. How about Bay leaf, Black pepper, Whole red pepper,Mustard seed, Whole allspice,Cinnamon stick,Wait a moment aren't those the ingredients of pickling spice. Be daring, use Paprika or smoked paprika or hot smoked paprika. Gosh, there's something called Garlic. Your just boiling crap aren't you? Just add aromatics. It"s not rocket science. Just smile knowingly when the schmucks ask you what you did. Odds are they will brag to all their friends about how they were a genius to attend you boil. Have Fun.

Try these guys, they won't bone you like the New Seasons or Olympic people.

http://www.sausagemaker.com/naturalca...

Whatever you buy, be sure to rinse and run water through the casings.
You also have the choice of natural or collagen casings. Also bacterial cultures to take that next step.
My last post was 4 months ago. You need to get off you ass and just grind some meat. It really is fun and tasty.

Good luck.

Would like to find a dry cure back bacon recipe. Either smoked or Plain
I've found tons of wet or Wiltshire cures.
There are plenty of dry cures for slab bacon, but I'm leery of those as to timing of the cure because of the difference in shape between slab bacon and pork loin.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. .

i'm going to the Winterhawks game with my cousins. They are "Knives and Forks" people. I love them dearly and want to show them a good time. Any ideas within a few miles? i love protein , but one does and one doesn't heilp me. Mikey

Grading is all about the marbling and maturity of the steer. More marbling=more fat and fat is flavor. Tenderness depends on the cut and the amount of aging it has received. If you really want tender, leave the brisket in the bag for a month before you use it. This only works for product in cryovac, not supermarket wrap. I always make sure my Christmas prime rib has at least 30 days on it. Takes up room in the frig but it's worth it.
Here's what the smart guys say.
http://meat.tamu.edu/beefgrading.html

Why pay for choice in a brisket. It won't be any more tender, just better marbling. Who needs more fat in a brisket? Go to Cash and Carry (Smart and Final).

There's the Sausage Kitchen, small place
18893 Southeast McLoughlin Boulevard, Oak Grove, OR 97267

Careful, the reason they sell Powders #1&2 is to dilute the Sodium Nitrite down, as it will make you sick in it's pure form. Also it's colored so you don't mix it up with table salt.

Realize that food carts are just that, cart. Have somewhere to go, otherwise you'll be enjoying your delicious meal in the rain.

There's really no good place to buy charcuterie supplies in the Portland area.
The closest might be Market Supply
http://www.marketsupply.com/toc.htm
I've been to this vendor Northwest Butcher Supply
http://northwestbutchersupply.com/
However, he sells only Cure #1 and has only sheep and hog casings.
I buy online from sites like Sausagemaker.com
http://www.sausagemaker.com/
They sell Cure #1&2 plus bacteria and mold cultures and a wide variety of casings and equipment
I've used these guys also, http://www.sausagesource.com/catalog/...
Good luck and good eating.

Thanks for all your help, It's good to see a healthy community in CT. With all your help I will drive my sister crazy with suggestions. One last thing, Oysters, any ideas on where to eat them or buy them in the Hartford area? I'm bringing my shucking knife, so a place that has a variety would be great.
Also any ideas for "Only in CT places"?
Thanks. Mike

Have you tried using won ton skins. They are available just about everywhere and I can see no difference.They also make one hell of a ravioli. Good luck. JMP

Thanks so much for the tips. One more thing. I uses to live in Santa Cruz which is packed full of Italians. Are there any good italian restaurants in CT? I mean fresh seasonal and not just pizza and spaghetti and meatballs. Thanks again. Mike

Am traveling from Portland OR to Hartford CT for the holidays and need advice about interesting places to eat. Please do not be offended by my qualifiers as to what you recommend.
Don't recommend because the portion sizes are huge, the same goes for chains. If I can eat it here, why would I fly that far to try it.

Please tell me about slavic places you enjoy, been to Starospolska in New Britain and enjoyed it. Any ideas for pierogies would be most welcome.

Small plates are a plus, as I want to sample as much as possible. If there is an actual New England cuisine I would love to find out about it. Last time out I discovered whole belly clams and fell in love.

One of my hobbies is charcuterie and I would enjoy finding out what is out there.
I also need a good bagel. All they have here are steamed and I am tired of making my own.
What is the state of Chinese food in CT? Do I dare ask about Mexican?

Thanks all,

I do admit, sometimes I am just too tired and lazy to get off the couch and go out. I understand what you mean about the food suffering from traveling. But is there anything that travels better then Chinese or Thai food? After a day of grinding, stuffing and curing your own charcuterie, sometimes I just want to sit on the couch and have Almond chicken brought to my door.

hope you don't mind Slavic Delis Try Tanya's 3821 Southwest 117th Avenue Beaverton, OR 97005-2213 She has pelmini and sausage, Victor's deli 13500 Sw Pacific Hwy, #30, Tigard, OR 97223. Though realize when you ask for one sausage, Victor assumes a link of 2. And a lot of stuff is from the east coast. Good Kizka though, both polish and Hungarian. If you don't know how to make your own his polish and juniper sausage are quite good.

You can't go wrong at Bunk's, Navarre is great fun. Lucky Strike has great stuff. Tin Shed is great if you like standing in line. All are hole in the wallish. Di Prima Dolci if you like cannoli,

Delivered Dish in general does an adequate job of getting the food to you. However it is buyer beware as to the quality. They do not have any way to warn you ahead of time before ordering and they direct you to Yelp, etc. to preview the food. I understand they don't want to bite the hand, but at least if I order a pair of socks off Amazon I get some warning ahead of time as to the quality. For example I ordered 2 different dishes with 2 different names and they were identical except for the protein component;. Check out the pict and tell me which is Mala Chicken and which is Hunan Pork. When I asked, I was told you take your chances. I felt so bad I tipped the driver twice.

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Delivered Dish
1642 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR 97232

I disagree, I used to live in Santa Cruz, a very small town with lots of delivery choices. Maybe if the the restaurants tried they could build loyally. Delivered Dish just sucks as a concept. If an Owner cared, they would do it themself. I maintain PDX owners are just lazy. I would encourage you all to call your favorite restaurant and ask them why they don't want your money. Good Luck.

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Delivered Dish
1642 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR 97232

Jill O I still say that the locals are lazy. I hate to say it, but restaurant owners in California care more and are willing to work. I love PDX and the food here, but I hate the fact that I can't get my favorite food delivered to me. I encourage one and all to call their favorite restaurant and ask them why they don't want your money. Are Portland restaurants so much more profitable that they will give up this business.

The restaurant owners here are lazy and don't want the business. Delivered Dish is bullshit. I'll gladly pay a minimum, but a service charge is just gouging.

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Delivered Dish
1642 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR 97232

Duarte's? Where the famous Cream of Artichoke soup has Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup as the base. Yeah, you can't go wrong with breakfast.