JayL's Profile
Enameled Cast Iron - need the final word on seasoning
I do not mind saying, yes, LC was wrong. Even you say it didn't work.
Common sense.
Even in older, scratched pans, routine (or even occasional) cooking of greasy food should satisfy any seasoning needs of the iron.
Country Ham for Christmas Dinner
Amen to that.
Hey bluemold, did you all ever bake a cured ham? I'm just curious. We never did this in my family. I hear of alot of folks doing this so I know it's somewhat common, we just never did it. Another thing we never did was soak or boil a ham to remove salt. We always just sliced it, tossed it in a frying pan, and ate it as is.
Most Overrated Dishes
No we can not agree that m&c starts with a bechamel. As monkeyrotica mentioned, many m&c recipes are custard based, not cheese sauce based.
You can say that "many" m&c recipes start with a bechamel...that would be true.
Oyster Lovers: I stumbled upon a winner! (Windsor, NC)
Fresh (local) shrimp in December?
Also, there is no scallop season unless they reopened it...to which I have no idea.
Enameled Cast Iron - need the final word on seasoning
You can not season enameled cast iron. This should be common sense.
Country Ham for Christmas Dinner
Go down to the Raleigh farmer's market and get a ham from Nahunta Pork Center.
From my experience, hams made in the east will be saltier than those from the west. A Nahunta ham should make your wife and her dad very happy.
Thawing Turkey?
1/4 cup of bleach to ONE gallon of water? That is WAAYYY more bleach than is needed for a gallon. Chef, next time you're at work I want you to mix some sanitizer water with the ratio you state and then check it with your test strips. The PPM will be so high I guarantee the strip will turn BLACK.
Using bleach diluted in water is very effective when used as a sanitizer. When it is mixed properly you should not be able to smell any bleach at all. The above recipe will surely smell of bleach.
Rank Your Favorite Seafoods (Fish haters and lovers of Mrs. Paul's Fish Sticks need not apply.)
Ok...without making a list of every seafood I can possibly think of (what is the use in doing that anyway?) I'll give a few examples of my favorites:
Fried - Shrimp as well as herring...herring scored and fried until you can eat 100% of it (bones and all)
Steamed - Oysters
Grilled - don't really care
Raw - Bluefin toro, yellowtail (hamachi), and fatty salmon...oysters
Preserved - Salt Cod
What's wrong with turkey?
$10/# for a turkey? And they still are charging you $45 for some sort of class? Glad you enjoyed it...different strokes for different folks.
Driving through the SE on 95- any easy, must hit stops?
Dear Lord, I had forgotten all about Holt Lake BBQ in Smithfield, NC. I need to remember that one so I can add it to the "worst bbq I've ever eaten" category. Has to be one of the top 3 worst in the state of North Carolina.
Without getting too complicated...I'll simply add McCabe's BBQ about 5 minutes off 95 in Manning, South Carolina.
Beaufort, SC......
Haven't eaten there, but they've been there for a little while now.
The chef is a man not a woman.
South Carolina burger law
It could be a simple as getting a variance...happens all the time for varying reasons. All I know is that many places serve rare & med. rare ground beef and it is perfectly acceptable to their state inspectors.
Do I *need* a meat cleaver to remove the turkey breastbone?
A few points to mention after reading the responses so far:
1) If your "butcher" will not remove the legs and wing tips, find another butcher (and this time an actual butcher and not some idiot who wears a white jacket while stocking meat at the market).
2) You can easily remove the legs and wing tips w/o a cleaver. Anytime you have a joint you can simply slice right through the cartilage with most any knife.
3) If you do need to cut a bone, most French-style chef's knives are actually designed for this work. The trick is to only use the rear 1/3 of the blade...the part closest to the handle. A chef's knife if thicker at the rear and is thinner toward the tip. The knife itself is designed with small bone chopping in mind...just be mindful of what part of the blade you are using.
Oysters in Charleston, SC
I've heard the oyster roast down at the Morgan Creek Grill on IOP is pretty good.
I don't recommend Bowen's Island for anything.
Looking for a Special Thanksgiving Buffet in Charleston
Wow, in my old restaurant I charged $12.95 for our Thanksgiving Day buffet. Granted it isn't Grill 225, but it was traditional and quite tasty. Gouging should not be acceptable at any time...be it after a hurricane or on a holiday.
And $46 for children? You HAVE to be kidding.
Just my opinion. Don't shoot me.
Best Sandwich in the World
Amen, brother. Folks really have no idea what they are missing.
I'll add...I do like a good ruben also.
How Many Oysters?
I can eat a peck easily. I "have" eaten a peck and a half...and could do it again if so inclined. I have seen people eat two pecks.
There are 4 pecks in a bushel. I suppose a peck has at least a couple dozen decent sized singles in it?
Best Sandwich in the World
Three come to mind:
3. As mentioned already, a garden-fresh tomato sandwich is like a little bit of heaven. Plain, soft white bread with Helman's and salt & pepper. That's it. The only thing I might do on occasion is slap about three slices of warm bacon and some lettuce on it. Otherwise, it's just tomato.
2. As a native North Carolinian, I would say the bbq sandwich should be in the running for our official state food. Eastern style seasoned with just a hint of vinegar/pepper sauce. Serve that up on a cheap white bun with a spoon of mayo based, sweet slaw on top and you will fall out cold from the experience.
1. Leaving my southern roots we travel even further south...to the southern Caribbean to be exact. Go as far south as the island chain will take you and you'll end up in the sister island country of Trinidad & Tobago. Fly into Piarco and catch a ride going north. Keep going past Port of Spain and cross the mountains. From there you'll reach Maracas Beach. What a splendid place. In a lot across the road from the surf & sand you'll find vendors...several of them...all serving the same dish..........BAKE & SHARK. This is the best sandwich (and undoubtedly the best "fish" sandwich) you'll find the world around. There is nothing to compare it to. The shark is fried and served inside a fried bread called a "bake". Bakes are really nothing more than a certain roti dough that is deep fried. During the fry it puffs and forms a hollow center. You can then slice it open and fill it much like you would a pita. The shark is wonderful inside the bake...but the array of condiments you are faced to choose from is the piece de resistance. Every island condiment known to man lay before you and all you have to do is start spooning them on your sandwich. The possibilities are endless.
So there you go. Tomato sandwiches, bbq sandwiches, and Bake&Shark from Maracas Beach in T&T.
Any Clever Offbeat Advice for My Kitchen Redesign?
My sister-in-law has a pantry down the hall from her kitchen (actually one of her TWO kitchens). The room is approximately 8-10 feet wide & around 15-20 feet long. It contains a refrigerator and LOTS of shelves. It's like having a grocery store in your house.
"Budget" knife recommendation needed for holiday gift
I'll go with the consensus...Dexter or Forchner. My vote for a gift certainly would begin and end with the 8" Forchner with rosewood handle. Just tell your friend that a good knife does not need to be put in the dishwasher. It takes 10 seconds to clean a knife after use. My "set" is Forchner rosewood and I enjoy them. Dexters are great for basic utility knives...inexpensive, but not gift fodder if you're looking to impress anyone. I use Dexters also.
United Dish of America?
Couple things here...BBQ is not primarily beef...and you don't bbq a freaking hamburger.
United Dish of America?
Some parts of the US consider bbq exactly the way you just put it...as a verb. In other parts of the US (especially actual bbq territory) the term BBQ is a noun...and has nothing to do with steaks or burgers.
Raw oysters in Charleston
Abe's in Mount Pleasant usually has oysters from down around Beaufort. They are some of the best i've ever had. Ten times better than any Gulf oyster (from my experience). They also tend to be tastier, to me, than the more local Charleston variety.
Best oysters ever? Right now, my money lays on Chincoteague, VA.
Looking for Some Guidance in Charleston, SC
Doe's...I actually think I've heard of that somewhere before.
I don't mind eating from a 'shack'. Believe me...I'm as redneck as they come (raised between two hills of tobacco). But I also don't buy into all the crap some people believe around Charleston...I expect a certain amount of quality when I put money on the table.
I do not like Bowen's Island, nor do I like SeeWee Restaurant in Awendaw. Most folks around here will disagree with me on both accounts, but I don't get all the hype. Both are mediocre and charge way too much.
I'd love to try Doe's for steaks. What do they serve? My fiance used to be a medium-well, fillet kind of girl...until she started eating the medium-rare ribeyes I would cook her up. Now all she wants is ribeye.
Looking for Some Guidance in Charleston, SC
Also be prepared for mediocre food and minuscule portions.
I guess alot of people think it's "cool" to eat in a place made entirely of unfinished plywood. I don't mind that sort of stuff either...and I'd think it was cool too, but I really need good food to go along with it.
They actually have the audacity to serve cole slaw in a 1 ounce plastic cup. I couldn't believe it. The price I paid for that platter of "ho-hum" seafood and all you're going to give me is 1oz of slaw?!? I just can't figure how folks around here accept things like that and praise a place for it?
how do you make turnips?
Don't forget about the turnip salad (that's the green tops for those who don't know). Prepared just like collards or mustard...it's the best part of the entire turnip.
McCabe's BBQ - Manning, SC
A year and a half after my previous post on this thread we finally made it by McCabes. My official review follows:
Wow. That pretty much sums it up.
After disappointment after disappointment eating bbq around the state of South Carolina I believe we finally found a winner.
On our way to DC over the weekend we decided to stop off by Manning, SC to try out McCabe's. It is a tiny little place with a small buffet. In short, everything I tasted was prepared spot on. Not one disappointment to be had.
Manning is in the vinegar/pepper region of SC...no mustard to be had in the house. We've tried other vinegar based bbq in SC, but no one knows how to do it right (like up in North Carolina). McCabe's is the first that we've found who knows the combination and boy did they hit it just right.
I have no complaints and plenty of praises for McCabe's BBQ.
Many folks consider Sweatman's BBQ, less than an hour away from McCabe's, to be the best bbq in the state. I think the people who believe that, need to have their taste buds checked. Sweatman's is ok, but not worth the effort to get there (in my opinion). It just isn't that great.
We'll definitely be going back to McCabe's.
New Bern, NC and Vicinity Report (long, very long)
Not that I've been to hundreds of bbq places in NC like some folks, but as a North Carolina native (Eastern NC to be exact) I have to admit that Moore's is one of the three worst bbq spots I've been to in my dear home state. They have been there for a while and there is zero competition for them in the area. I would not recommend them to anyone.
