LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Feb 8, 2016 10:23:36 GMT -5
So I love the AmazingRibs website, really I do, but Meathead has some weird ideas some times. I plainly disagree with the article on resting meat, which cites that the risk of juice-loss is overstated (not in my personal experience) and, more frustratingly, that the diner shouldn't care because one can simply slide each bite of meat through the lost juices before eating. I'm opposed to this "right way to eat" type talk. In my experience, and I've certainly had it both ways, rested steak is juicier and tastes better. In preparation for this weekend, I looked into AR's coleslaw recipes and stumbled into this baffling science of slaw article, which alleges that it is better to use the inevitable moisture weep as part of the sauce by starting with an extra strong dressing. Again, politely, I disagree. For one thing, almost nothing is grosser than thin, over-wet coleslaw, and being an organic product, you can't predict how much the coleslaw will weep. It's the kind of risk and assumption that Meathead opposes elsewhere on the site. Further, the juices weeping out of salted cabbage are sulphorous, lending a stronger "cabbage!" flavor that may not be desired. I don't want those juices in my dressing. Finally, he once again relies on a "right way to eat" argument stating that coleslaw made with his method has to be scooped from the bottom of the bowl to maximize juiciness (yeah, cause it all ran to the bottom of the bowl), when I feel a properly made coleslaw should require no such methodological fussiness. That Cook's Illustrated method that he cites for the sake of disagreeing with, in which you cut, salt and "purge" the cabbage before building a slaw, is one I believe in. I don't do it every time. Sometimes you just want a quick slaw. But if you've got the time, and you want to produce a kick-butt coleslaw that will stand up to time, that's how you do it. End rant that nobody wanted and/or asked for. |
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Post by pairesta on Feb 8, 2016 15:07:10 GMT -5
So I love the AmazingRibs website, really I do, but Meathead has some weird ideas some times. I plainly disagree with the article on resting meat, which cites that the risk of juice-loss is overstated (not in my personal experience) and, more frustratingly, that the diner shouldn't care because one can simply slide each bite of meat through the lost juices before eating. I'm opposed to this "right way to eat" type talk. In my experience, and I've certainly had it both ways, rested steak is juicier and tastes better. In preparation for this weekend, I looked into AR's coleslaw recipes and stumbled into this baffling science of slaw article, which alleges that it is better to use the inevitable moisture weep as part of the sauce by starting with an extra strong dressing. Again, politely, I disagree. For one thing, almost nothing is grosser than thin, over-wet coleslaw, and being an organic product, you can't predict how much the coleslaw will weep. It's the kind of risk and assumption that Meathead opposes elsewhere on the site. Further, the juices weeping out of salted cabbage are sulphorous, lending a stronger "cabbage!" flavor that may not be desired. I don't want those juices in my dressing. Finally, he once again relies on a "right way to eat" argument stating that coleslaw made with his method has to be scooped from the bottom of the bowl to maximize juiciness (yeah, cause it all ran to the bottom of the bowl), when I feel a properly made coleslaw should require no such methodological fussiness. That Cook's Illustrated method that he cites for the sake of disagreeing with, in which you cut, salt and "purge" the cabbage before building a slaw, is one I believe in. I don't do it every time. Sometimes you just want a quick slaw. But if you've got the time, and you want to produce a kick-butt coleslaw that will stand up to time, that's how you do it. End rant that nobody wanted and/or asked for. Totally with you on the slaw thing. I always salt and then press the cabbage for a few hours the day before, then either dress it and let it marinate overnight or just stick it in the fridge and dress it the day of. Either way it's better. That juice that comes out smells terrible. |
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GumTurkeyles
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Post by GumTurkeyles on Feb 10, 2016 9:51:17 GMT -5
So I love the AmazingRibs website, really I do, but Meathead has some weird ideas some times. I plainly disagree with the article on resting meat, which cites that the risk of juice-loss is overstated (not in my personal experience) and, more frustratingly, that the diner shouldn't care because one can simply slide each bite of meat through the lost juices before eating. I'm opposed to this "right way to eat" type talk. In my experience, and I've certainly had it both ways, rested steak is juicier and tastes better. In preparation for this weekend, I looked into AR's coleslaw recipes and stumbled into this baffling science of slaw article, which alleges that it is better to use the inevitable moisture weep as part of the sauce by starting with an extra strong dressing. Again, politely, I disagree. For one thing, almost nothing is grosser than thin, over-wet coleslaw, and being an organic product, you can't predict how much the coleslaw will weep. It's the kind of risk and assumption that Meathead opposes elsewhere on the site. Further, the juices weeping out of salted cabbage are sulphorous, lending a stronger "cabbage!" flavor that may not be desired. I don't want those juices in my dressing. Finally, he once again relies on a "right way to eat" argument stating that coleslaw made with his method has to be scooped from the bottom of the bowl to maximize juiciness (yeah, cause it all ran to the bottom of the bowl), when I feel a properly made coleslaw should require no such methodological fussiness. That Cook's Illustrated method that he cites for the sake of disagreeing with, in which you cut, salt and "purge" the cabbage before building a slaw, is one I believe in. I don't do it every time. Sometimes you just want a quick slaw. But if you've got the time, and you want to produce a kick-butt coleslaw that will stand up to time, that's how you do it. End rant that nobody wanted and/or asked for. Oooh, thanks for the cole tip on the slaw, bro. |
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Post by pairesta on Feb 11, 2016 9:10:23 GMT -5
I know that there's a million different fun things to do with leftover pulled pork (my wife excitedly suggested eggrolls or steamed buns with the most recent batch) but it's just so good on its own to eat with the other fixins I can't bring myself to set aside enough to experiment with. I forced myself to put a small bit aside to go into a soup I'll be making but that's it.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Feb 11, 2016 10:15:40 GMT -5
I know that there's a million different fun things to do with leftover pulled pork (my wife excitedly suggested eggrolls or steamed buns with the most recent batch) but it's just so good on its own to eat with the other fixins I can't bring myself to set aside enough to experiment with. I forced myself to put a small bit aside to go into a soup I'll be making but that's it. Now that I've been released from the grips of my death plague, I'm going a couple typical routes with my leftovers. And there were a ton of them. I did a whole massive shoulder for just six people. - Yesterday I did pulled pork fried rice. - Tonight or tomorrow I'll do my faux Bahn Mi, which is just pulled pork griddled with some sambal-mayo then topped with home-pickled carrots and jalapenos, served on a roll. - Finally, this weekend, pulled pork nachos. Egg rolls would be fun. |
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Feb 11, 2016 10:18:28 GMT -5
In other pulled pork news, my MIL was so impressed with the pork shoulder last Sunday that she asked if I could do one for her poker party this Friday night. I'm invited to the party, of course, but an all-day smoke, on a work day? LOL NO. I gave her a crock pot recipe I recommended and said have fun.
Of course, you work from home, so you could deliver smoked meats any day you like, huh?
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Post by pairesta on Feb 11, 2016 10:39:26 GMT -5
In other pulled pork news, my MIL was so impressed with the pork shoulder last Sunday that she asked if I could do one for her poker party this Friday night. I'm invited to the party, of course, but an all-day smoke, on a work day? LOL NO. I gave her a crock pot recipe I recommended and said have fun. Of course, you work from home, so you could deliver smoked meats any day you like, huh? Yep. I'd be all over that. I've made bacon, another pork shoulder, even brisket during the week between calls for work. Hey, that's a smoke break, right? |
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Post by Ron Howard Voice on Apr 1, 2016 14:41:06 GMT -5
Cruel and unusual: apparently a Texas Monthly editor posted a little sign saying "April Fool" in the break room, then sent a mass email that just said, "Franklin's in the break room"
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Post by pairesta on Apr 1, 2016 14:55:02 GMT -5
Cruel and unusual: apparently a Texas Monthly editor posted a little sign saying "April Fool" in the break room, then sent a mass email that just said, "Franklin's in the break room" I hope the sign was being held by this guy. |
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Post by Ron Howard Voice on Apr 1, 2016 15:14:27 GMT -5
Cruel and unusual: apparently a Texas Monthly editor posted a little sign saying "April Fool" in the break room, then sent a mass email that just said, "Franklin's in the break room" I hope the sign was being held by this guy. |
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Post by pairesta on Apr 1, 2016 15:32:13 GMT -5
Ha!
I still would have been thrilled just to get the oreos though.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Apr 7, 2016 12:09:20 GMT -5
Daniel Vaughn was briefly on The Texas Standard this morning to talk about smoke rings, what they are and whether they mean anything. It was infuriating, because the host wouldn't shut up. Why bring in an expert if you're not going to let him talk?
Not that I didn't know everything Vaughn had to say, but still.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Apr 7, 2016 12:12:24 GMT -5
In other news, the child's day care is having a parents-invited picnic the weekend after next, and they're asking each family to bring an entree and a side dish. I haven't smoked since the Super Bowl, I don't think, so I'm considering doing a pork shoulder. It's something I feel I can pull off really well now, so it should be a shoe-in to drum up some praise.
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Post by pairesta on Apr 7, 2016 12:20:06 GMT -5
I am tempting fate and planning a BBQ at our house on Memorial Day weekend. This will include a brisket. We are of course all aware of the Brisket Paradox of the more people who you are cooking it for, the more it will suck. My wife has already given me a stern lecture about not moping when it inevitably is dried out shoe leather.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Apr 7, 2016 12:24:15 GMT -5
I am tempting fate and planning a BBQ at our house on Memorial Day weekend. This will include a brisket. We are of course all aware of the Brisket Paradox of the more people who you are cooking it for, the more it will suck. My wife has already given me a stern lecture about not moping when it inevitably is dried out shoe leather. That's the spirit! |
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Apr 19, 2016 12:25:19 GMT -5
My pulled pork came out fabulously this past weekend, maybe the best I've ever made, despite the fact that I was making it for heathen plebes who couldn't possibly appreciate its majesty (please know that I'm joking). I even made the sauce and served it in a squeeze bottle with a label and everything. Sure enough, it sat on the buffet flanked in all directions by store-bought sandwiches, Chik-Fil-A chicken nuggets, Chicken Express chicken strips and box after box of Papa Murphy's pizza*. After the first ten or so people in line grazed past my crockpot without even a look, I made the strategic move of removing the lid and putting that aside, giving it a good stir with the tongs, and plating some up for myself, finally after which I saw people serving some up.
That was that for awhile, with me glimpsing the reserves each time I returned to the buffet, and seeing, sadly, that they were plentiful. "Come on, people," I thought, "This is the real shit. I woke up at 5:00am for this." But then, to expect different would be wrong. This is, after all, a potluck. And potlucks are cesspools of human misery.
But, when it was time to go, it happened! I return to the buffet to pack up my stuff, and I grab the crockpot. A man nearby says, "Oh hey, did you bring that? Oh my god, that is the best pulled pork I have ever had in my life."
"Oh, well, thank..."
"Hey Martha!" he calls across the pavilion, "He made the pork!"
"Oh my god! I loved it. It just melts in your mouth. How did you do that?!"
"Uh, I woke up at five, I guess."
Another lady approaches.
"I couldn't stop eating it. That was so good. We were all talking about it, like 'Who brought this?!'"
"Oh, wow, well thank you so much."
And I return to my car beaming at a job well done. And we've still got a lot of leftovers for dinners tonight and tomorrow.
*I'm being unfair. There are other who brought homemade food, particularly in the sides department, with homemade potato and pasta salads. That kind of thing. One Indian couple brought homemade samosas and zuchinni fritters that were fan-flippin'-tastic.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on May 17, 2016 11:15:48 GMT -5
I have next week off of work, and I'm not going anywhere. Nice benefit of starting my new job in two weeks but only putting in one week's notice. Can't remember the last time I had this kind of vacation. Naturally, with me slumming it at home all week long, there is an expectation of food on the table. Why would we eat out when I could hardly blame my schedule for not cooking? But what to make?
Then it hit me: brisket!
Because it's such a big piece of meat, I've never made a brisket for just us. It's always for a crowd. What's more, the combined stresses of getting the house ready, being a host, preparing usually more than a couple of party-sized sides, and delivering that brisket typically results in me hardly eating any of it. By dinner time, I'm over it.
So finally, this next week, I am going to smoke, and eat, a brisket with just my family. Some of the leftovers may find their way to my parents and extendeds, but most of them will continue to feed us that week. I'm already dreaming about it.
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Post by pairesta on May 17, 2016 15:44:58 GMT -5
I have next week off of work, and I'm not going anywhere. Nice benefit of starting my new job in two weeks but only putting in one week's notice. Can't remember the last time I had this kind of vacation. Naturally, with me slumming it at home all week long, there is an expectation of food on the table. Why would we eat out when I could hardly blame my schedule for not cooking? But what to make? Then it hit me: brisket! Because it's such a big piece of meat, I've never made a brisket for just us. It's always for a crowd. What's more, the combined stresses of getting the house ready, being a host, preparing usually more than a couple of party-sized sides, and delivering that brisket typically results in me hardly eating any of it. By dinner time, I'm over it. So finally, this next week, I am going to smoke, and eat, a brisket with just my family. Some of the leftovers may find their way to my parents and extendeds, but most of them will continue to feed us that week. I'm already dreaming about it. First of all, congratulations! I missed that you got out of your psycho old job and none too soon it sounds like. Need to read the good news and work threads more closely, I guess. Brisket is that odd conundrum. When you make it for a crowd, you get mad that you don't get more to keep for yourself. When you make it just for your immediate family, you want more people there to bask in its glory. So while just a few posts up I say that I never can use up smoked pulled pork before it's gone, with brisket there's so much of it that you have to make it into something. And so I tell you this: cube it up, sautee it in a dry nonstick skillet (enough fat will come out that it will cook in it), then pour in some scrambled eggs a la mexicana and have the best breakfast tacos EVAARRR |
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on May 17, 2016 20:07:21 GMT -5
First of all, congratulations! I missed that you got out of your psycho old job and none too soon it sounds like. Need to read the good news and work threads more closely, I guess. Brisket is that odd conundrum. When you make it for a crowd, you get mad that you don't get more to keep for yourself. When you make it just for your immediate family, you want more people there to bask in its glory. So while just a few posts up I say that I never can use up smoked pulled pork before it's gone, with brisket there's so much of it that you have to make it into something. And so I tell you this: cube it up, sautee it in a dry nonstick skillet (enough fat will come out that it will cook in it), then pour in some scrambled eggs a la mexicana and have the best breakfast tacos EVAARRR You know that old line about how guys think about sex 120 times a day? That's how often I think about breakfast tacos. |
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Post by pairesta on May 29, 2016 12:41:16 GMT -5
Memorial Day BBQ!
I've had brisket on since 5:40 am. Just wrapped it in butcher paper. When i did I noticed some burnt-looking tips. Not a good sign.
Babybacks just went on. Sausage will go on to wrap it up. Should be done with all the cooking by 4; perfect amount of time for the meats to rest.
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Post by pairesta on May 30, 2016 6:30:24 GMT -5
Well the brisket wound up being a little under. It was still very juicy and smokey but not that almost-falling apart texture I like. Everything else was great. Everyone got back from the pool famished so we were eating at 5. I was absolutely exhausted and called it a night at 8.
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Post by Not a real doctor on May 30, 2016 9:08:04 GMT -5
I did a pork shoulder yesterday that came out fantastic. I put it in at 6 and it was ready to come out a little earlier than I wanted so I foil-wrapped it and left it in a low oven. It shredded really nice, was nice and juicy, and had a nice amount of bark (I only put salt and pepper on it before it went in). I did baby backs following Stephen Raichlen's St. Louis style recipe that uses a paprika-heavy rub with a bourbon-cider mop/spray and as usual they came out great. My brubber and his lady came over and we drank a bunch of beers when it was al over so all in all, it was a very satisfying bbq day. And a photo of when the ribs had just gone in and the shoulder was ready to come out:  Next mountain to climb: brisket |
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Post by Floyd Diabolical Barber on May 30, 2016 19:18:22 GMT -5
We have a nice grill with one side propane fired and the other for charcoal, and a separate propane smoker. Each run on it's own 20 lb tank. I have some 100 lb tanks, and I could use one 100 pounder for each, but ideally, I'd like set both up on the same 100 pound tank. I have some parts, but not all the fittings and hose to make that all work. I'm not sure if I can uncouple the factory fittings and replace them with custom. Any ideas of a place to get good, reasonably priced propane accessories? Where's Hank Hill when you need him?
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Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on May 31, 2016 1:38:52 GMT -5
Anybody wanna road trip down to Uruguay?  |
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Post by pairesta on Jul 1, 2016 9:40:18 GMT -5
As I mentioned on Reasonable Discussions, I got ambitious, took a risk, and invited a large circle of friends over for a barbecue party Saturday. Only one couple confirmed. I am loved!
Shaking it up a bit and doing brisket, chicken, and sausage this weekend. This is courting disaster because I will need to have the brisket completely off before I do the chickens, which means I will have to get up probably around 3 am to get the brisket on and finish it in enough time.
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Post by pairesta on Jul 4, 2016 9:29:58 GMT -5
So I was up at 3 am. Brisket took just over 9 hours. Everything came together nicely; even the chickens had time to cook.
The brisket was the best I'd made in over a year. I'm beginning to see the common pattern to a great brisket being that it's off and gets to rest for two hours at least before serving.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jul 25, 2016 15:28:17 GMT -5
So there hasn't been a lot of bbq news from me, because the first week of June I accidentally broke the ceramic plate that serves as the heat barrier between the coals and meat in my BGE. I can eat the price on the replacement, but BGE stuff is only sold at specialty shops, like grill stores or pool and custom landscaping services. Just not something it's ever convenient to go to.
That includes online. BGE doesn't sell their stuff online. You have to go through a "licensed BGE retailer." Ugh.
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Post by Liz n Dicksgiving on Jul 25, 2016 15:41:37 GMT -5
So there hasn't been a lot of bbq news from me, because the first week of June I accidentally broke the ceramic plate that serves as the heat barrier between the coals and meat in my BGE. I can eat the price on the replacement, but BGE stuff is only sold at specialty shops, like grill stores or pool and custom landscaping services. Just not something it's ever convenient to go to. That includes online. BGE doesn't sell their stuff online. You have to go through a "licensed BGE retailer." Ugh. Huh. I was having lunch just two days ago across the street from a licensed BGE retailer. I wish you'd told me!  |
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Post by pairesta on Aug 6, 2016 7:45:26 GMT -5
I finally broke an important barrier: I made two great briskets in a row. Normally I'll make a great brisket and then immediately cook one of my worst briskets ever afterwards. But I made a great one on July 4th, and then another one Thursday night for a friend's birthday.
Unfortunately, the breakthrough has been that I get up at 3 am to start smoking. That allows it plenty of time to come off the heat and set.
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dＬᵒ
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Post by dＬᵒ on Aug 11, 2016 0:00:35 GMT -5
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