lunchbox's Profile
bacon worries!
From personal experience, I think Dave_c is right: The cure is working, the pork may just be squishy! If the belly has been frozen then thawed at any point, the texture will be different (when raw) than a 100% fresh belly. Even then, some layers of Fat are more yielding than others. I even find that the firmer the belly, the LESS smoke penetration I get! Even a lightly smoked mildly cured bacon is better than no bacon at all!
Kraft "real Parmesan cheese"
Nah- I like the Sartori cheeses, but they really shouldn't be compared to their Italian counterparts!
I just came from a pretty intense training and had some of this info at my fingertips- I wanted to share the FDA stuff with everyone on the thread- your posts remain, as always, informational, concise, and brilliant.
Kraft "real Parmesan cheese"
Just wanted to piggy-back on Cheesemaestro's excellent posts:
At this time, the US is not bound by AOC/PDO rules, so if they wanted to call any old sparkling wine champagne, they could, but would get a lot of grief from the EU and other appreciators of the real thing (think about our disdain for "Chinese knock-offs" of anything- it might even be superior, but not branded).
The rules for "Parmesan" production in the US are part of the FDA and were written in the mid 1930s... let me repeat that: in the 1930s, though they have been tweaked a little every dozen years or so.. The things that define an "American" Parmesan are basic ingredients, water content, and allowable additives for color. No mention of the type of cows milk, terroir, aging conditions, etc... The stuff in the green can, by this definition is real Parmesan, just not up to the internationally recognized standard of export quality Reggiano.
That's not to say we can't make our "Parmesan" at least as well as true P-R. In fact, the Wisconsin-made, pasteurized Sarvecchio CM mentioned actually beat Italian ParmRegg in an international competition in the Parmesan-class in 2011- the Italians were not happy.
That said, I grew up with the stuff, consider it with some disdain, but will use it mixed into breadcrumbs for a crust.
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfCFR/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=133.165&utm_campaign=Google2&utm_source=fdaSearch&utm_medium=website&utm_term=133.165&utm_content=1
Leftover Fig flavored Goat Cheese
Buy 1 package of Goya Empanada dough- it's only 12 sheets- goat cheese and fig empanadas are superb!
steamship roast
Quite an undertaking!
I only have one tidbit that we used to use when we were roasting whole top-rounds- rather than use simple salt and pepper, use beef base (knorr's paste). it is intensely salty on the surface, but the juice that runs off will be intensely beefy and is great for basting the steamship and will save you some time making a finishing sauce.
Other than that: Big Oven, go low and slow, don't lift it by yourself!
(Really? A Whole Steamship!)
Sprinkling salt and pepper -- so basic, but...
Don't want to sound crude, but I don't bat an eye...
Pure salt is pretty inhospitable to food borne pathogens, so while I generally just use a small (1.5 ounce) bowl to hold my prep salt, and don't worry about double dipping. The salt will kill everything. if it gets clumpy, I just dump the rest.
As for pepper, I'd rather wipe off the mill once between the raw food and cooking phases of meal prep than get another bowl dirty and wash my hands 3 times for one step of mise en place.
Fresh Ricotta
The Fresh Ricotta at WF is actually from NYC, but it is good (if I may say so myself). Sallust, if you can get down to Randolph, head into JP Grazianos- On top of the good sandwiches at the bar, it really is an Importer/Grocery
https://jpgraziano.com/
cheese!
Howdy, Maestro-
Well said on the raw cheese discussion... but yes, Uplands introduced the Rush Creek Reserve in 2010- only available in the winter. This year's batch is even more "Vacherin-ish" not quite as pungent as the Swiss, but quite rich, complex and oh-so-decadent.
Need help about my parm. regiano
Hi, Deluca-
I thought the crystallization was tyosine binding to calcium chloride?
Cooking Rice in the oven?
So sorry- i hadn't been online here in ages!
Yes- you can put the plastic wrap in the oven- strangely enough, the water coming off the rice is NOT hot enough to burn the plastic- the edges along the pan may burn and when all of the water is gone and is just steam, the temps will rise enough to melt the plastic- put the pressure will push it against the foil- not the food.
baby back ribs on a gas bbq
Similar: I'm doing some spare ribs on my gas grill tonight.
I have my ribs already rubbed and I'm making foil packets of apple/hickory wood (about a cup of each) poked full of holes. I don't put boil or foil the meat, but I do use some steam!
I start my grill to get all the burners hot, put the foil packet on top the burner I plan to leave on. I replace the grates, then put a metal bowl (or foil pie pan) of water directly over the packet. When the smoke starts, i turn off the 2 back burners and put the last burner on medium. the ribs sit in the back of the grill in indirect smokey heat for an hour (change the packet once & keep water in the bowl).
the thermometer usually hovers high for BBQ, but low for grilling- about 300- I have gone lower, but I don't mind cheating. There's enough fat on ribs to keep 'em tender at the slightly higher temps. For my spare ribs, it usually takes about 2.5 hours, give or take depending on the weather factor. The only way I determine if they're done is to poke 'em between the bones with a skewer- if it slides in and out easy, it's time to sauce; pull the water, turn the single burner up to high for 15 minutes and get that crust.
Rest for 5-minutes and carve 'em up
BOUDIN BALLS - HELP!!!
Yeah, what "whats for dinner" said...
Another factor is the meat in the boudin- when making sausages, proteins bond to one another (a sausage is really just an over-worked burger in a casing)- to my own chagrin I've had a few batches of sausages both fresh and dry cured fail because they got too cold and the proteins stayed in the grind, not binding with one another.
A failed experiment. What's yours?
I've been playing with Charcuterie recipes and I have had my shre of failures with novelty sausages. Fortunately, they all seem to be somewhat edible!
My most recent failure was based on an anecdote about a local "gourmet" hot dog joint: a Reuben Hot dog.
I bought a corned beef, sent it through the grinder and tasted the resulting meat- SALTY!!! I diced up a pumpernickel bagel and throw it though the cinder and whipped it into the ground meat for the primary bind. TH taste was great, but the meat, already fully cured, wouldn't become cohesive- after a gentle simmer on half of the batch and a hot smoke on the other, I wound up with corned beef hash in sausage casing!
Where can I find salmon jerky in the Boston area?
I know Boston Folks have a little bit of a love/hate relationship with Whole Foods, but they always seem to have Fish jerky in Chicago. Other than that, Amazon has a surprisingly good Salmon Jerky!
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_12?field-keywords=salmon+jerky+alaskan&url=search-alias%3Daps&sprefix=salmon+jerky
Is there a term for this?...
Hey Aabacus & WWFeldman: are either of you "super tasters?"
I know I'm not, per se, but when i have something truly delicious, I KNOW it...
Usually it is for savory dishes- I had some really intensely flavored Tikka Masala with lamb this weekend- but I know wines and coffee can trigger a "Hold on a minute, I'm tasting" sensation.
Where to get duck liver ? [moved from Home Cooking]
Maple Leaf Farms Duck in Indiana sell duck livers (as well as tongues and fabricated cuts, of course) to several gourmet wholesalers & retailers. You need a log-in to order the bulk food service products, but the company is great; I'm sure you can speak with a CS rep and get access to the good stuff!
http://www.mapleleaffarms.com/1
I'm sure you could try Culvers as well!
http://www.culverduck.com/
BTW- Culvers sells ducks to Sun Wah Hong Kong BBQ here in Chicago- I have been known to polish off a whole duck by myself at that place!
How does bisteeya make any sense?
I was just thinking about making a batch the other day... I used a Gourmet Magazine recipe for a special event back while I was catering and loved every little bite! I think this CHOW recipe is worth a shot!
http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/2000s/2004/11/squab-bstilla
Leftover shank meat from stock
Late to the party: My Fiance found a great recipe in a Gourmet Magazine from the 80s-
Simmer the shanks in tomato sauce until tender, remove the shanks and pick the meat- bring the tomato sauce back to a simmer, add the meat in with half a cup of dry white wine, a handful of chopped oregano, a bit of crushed garlic, a cup of orzo (prepare separately, then add in al dente) and a pile of crumbled feta. Super yummy!
The best sausage you ever had
Not nearly as romantic a context...
Not long after I moved into the city (Chicago), I began dabbling in charcuterie.
Down the street from my apartment at Sunnyside and Western was Joe's Sausage shop.
If you browse the Chicago boards from the early/mid 00's you'll see Joe come up more than a few times.
Tiny little shop, 2 cases filled with the best damn sausages I've ever had. Joe's recipe for Landjagers must include some thing special like truth or beauty or powdered unicorn horn because since he retired, i have never never never had anything remotely as delicious as his landjagers. Young and plump or old and dry, just the best.
On a totally different track: While I was in London in '99, I frequently went to the Anchor Pub in Southwark for a pint and a plowman's lunch. On Thursdays, I would have their Cumberland sausage. I can say with absolute certainty that it was over that summer that I decided Sausage was its own food group, not just a pizza topping or jambalaya ingredient. I think we have the wrong kind of pigs here in the US... I just can't make that simple sausage taste so darn good.
That's it... I'm making kielbasa tomorrow afternoon! (my recipe is a bastardized Andouille with a lot of Slovak and Bulgarian influence)
New white mold on old partly-used brie - ok to eat?
If the mold is jus tthe white stuff, it is the same stuff as the outside of the brie... the leathery skin is basically a layer of fluffy white mold that has been patted down as the cheese matured. Cut it away if you want to, but it is the same stuff.
As for other colors of mold, brie is too moist for the "just cut some off" technique- if there's black mold, you really ought to pitch the whole thing. Amoniated smell = bad
Online Source for Caul Fat?
Have you tried the sausage making sites?
http://www.sausagesource.com/catalog/index.html
http://www.butcher-packer.com/
http://www.sausagemaker.com/
Homemade Bacon question?
Glad it worked!
I, too, started with the Rhulman/Polcyn and I dig it! As others have said, the intensity of the flavor is probably largely due to the surface area:volume ratio... go find yourself another source (or call WF in advance) and you'll get results more to your liking!
As for my newest batch of bacon, I think I've found my favorite combo
5# slab, skin on (I peel after smoking, cut the skin into 1 " strips, put them in a baggie in the freezer and use in beans, greens and other things that end in "een")
40g kosher, 6g pink
25g Succanat (light brown cane sugar)
1 Tblsp Maple sugar
1T Savory
1T Thyme
1T Corriander
1T Black pepper
1T Hungarian paprika/mustard/garlic powder/onion powder (my rib rub)
2 dollops of molasses
1 dollop of maple syrup, grade b
Cure in a foodsaver bag, flipping every day
smoke with applewood with a pinch of mesquite on hickory coals
Tastes bold and sweet!
Brainstorm: Super-Ambitious Meal with Two Year Prep Time???
This post has been bouncing around in my head since I first posted, and the more I think about it, the more I agree with Chowser's point-
Practice makes perfect- there are some wonderful recipes out there all about technique- osso buco comes to mind- that you can make well on the first go- usually after hours and hours of recipe comparisons, going to a dozen grocery stores, making a disaster of the kitchen, crossing your fingers and then enjoying the meal! the next time, it only takes a few stops at the stores, a little less fuss in the kitchen, and then even better results!
Maybe nailing the perfect Beef Bourignon or Duck a l'orange... maybe setting a Chinese imperial feast... maybe rolling out a dim sum extravaganza... time consuming yes, but better cumulatively then a one-shot deal...
food for thought, indeed
Brainstorm: Super-Ambitious Meal with Two Year Prep Time???
I love all of these ideas, but I think DougRisk is brushing up against something here...
How about a cassoulet? Perfect for the winter and if you make everything from scratch (curing hams & sausages, confit of duck, canning the tomatoes, drying the beans, making a really rich stock) some of those steps are multi month projects on their own.
2 years...wow... never planned further then 6 months!
How to Cut a Commercial Sized Parmesan Cheese Wheel
Hey! Are those pics from "the Crack heard 'round the world"?
I recognize that black apron... it looks just like mine!
What's Amish Chicken?
Just going to add:
The chickens are not necessarily free range- Back in 2005, one of the largest Amish producers (Miller) was still caging their chickens, though I think they either have more than one line, or have changed, because they count as "cruelty free"
As for organic, as Gaffk pointed out, they refrain from adding harmful stuff to the feed, but as far as I know, no Amish properties have been reviewed or certified as Organic. Good enough for me!
Parrano Cheese
Indeed!
I've been using parrano as a "melting Parmesan" for years... it makes a great alfredo cheese sauce, mac n' cheese, melted over roasted tomatoes, etc.
How to smoke foods
Geekluve- on this very site are some "how-to's" on home smoking...
http://www.chow.com/videos#!/show/all/55603/how-to-use-your-wok-as-a-smoker
After the first time you smoke food, you'll wonder why you hadn't started sooner
