LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jan 28, 2015 8:54:34 GMT -5
I think you need another cup of coffee to juice up your snarkometer, Snape.  Drat! I been had! |
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Post by pairesta on Jan 28, 2015 9:16:22 GMT -5
To be fair, I barely know who's even playing. And apparently there's a mild kerfluffle about one of the teams.
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dＬᵒ
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Post by dＬᵒ on Jan 28, 2015 14:59:40 GMT -5
To be fair, I barely know who's even playing. And apparently there's a mild kerfluffle about one of the teams. Looking up the only part I care about, apparently the halftime show is Katy Perry featuring Lenny Kravitz. This makes me worry that there's going to be a California Girls and American Woman mashup. Is Kravitz going to replace Juicy J on whatever that trap song is? (to tie this back to food) Is Perry going bukkake Lenny with whip cream bazongas, and be fined by the fcc? |
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jan 29, 2015 11:04:42 GMT -5
Starting to get the itch myself. Historically we don't attend Super Bowl events and rarely watch it, but since it has warmed up a little my mind has gravitated over to my Egg. Thinking I should finally get back on the battlefield with a pork shoulder. My Waterloo.
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Post by pairesta on Jan 29, 2015 12:46:19 GMT -5
Starting to get the itch myself. Historically we don't attend Super Bowl events and rarely watch it, but since it has warmed up a little my mind has gravitated over to my Egg. Thinking I should finally get back on the battlefield with a pork shoulder. My Waterloo. Yep, I'm angling for another round of pork shoulder failure again soon myself. Got a huge shoulder at costco and then broke it down into 4 pound chunks, so one of them is going on the smoker soon. |
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Post by pairesta on Feb 1, 2015 9:55:56 GMT -5
The barbecue gods have (so far) smiled on me. Was originally supposed to be in the low 50s and rainy all day here today, instead it's going to be in the low 70s and the much reduced chance of rain doesn't start happening until midafternoon, when I'm hopefully wrapping up my cooking. Brisket on at 7:45 this morning.
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Post by Not a real doctor on Feb 1, 2015 15:53:46 GMT -5
Starting to get the itch myself. Historically we don't attend Super Bowl events and rarely watch it, but since it has warmed up a little my mind has gravitated over to my Egg. Thinking I should finally get back on the battlefield with a pork shoulder. My Waterloo. Yep, I'm angling for another round of pork shoulder failure again soon myself. Got a huge shoulder at costco and then broke it down into 4 pound chunks, so one of them is going on the smoker soon. A costco opened by me just before Xmas. I was there yesterday eyeballing 1.99/lb pork shoulders and making plans. We got snow/rain/freezing-rained in for the super bowl and I can't think when my next occasion to cook too much meat might be so I'll just have to live vicariously through y'all. |
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Post by pairesta on Feb 2, 2015 6:31:06 GMT -5
Well I pulled the brisket too early. It was juicy, nicely seasoned and smoked, but lacked the right texture I was going for.
So naturally, because of that one thing, and despite making my best ribs yet, and ungodly good homemade kielbasa, and creamy, tart, and sweet cole slaw, and nice butter beans stewing with bacon all day, meal=ruined.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Feb 2, 2015 9:09:54 GMT -5
Well I pulled the brisket too early. It was juicy, nicely seasoned and smoked, but lacked the right texture I was going for. So naturally, because of that one thing, and despite making my best ribs yet, and ungodly good homemade kielbasa, and creamy, tart, and sweet cole slaw, and nice butter beans stewing with bacon all day, meal=ruined. Sorry to hear that, and definitely know how you feel ... ... ... but not this time. My pork shoulder rocked it. I decided what works for brisket should work for pork, so I smoked a whole shoulder for 7 hours then wrapped it in foil and went for another two. Intensely salty, smoky bark gave way to the most tender, fall apart pork I've ever achieved. I shredded the pork and moved it over to my crock pot to keep warm during the party, then I took all that lovely juice and fat pooled up in the foil and poured that on top. A nice dousing of North Carolina vinegar sauce, and we were ready for sandwiches. Buttered and toasted buns, dill pickle chips, heaping helping of pork, sweet and tangy Napa coleslaw and little more vinegar sauce. Eyes roll back far enough to watch brain do happy dance. Unfortunately my baked beans were just okay, despite having - no exaggeration - a pound of bacon in them. |
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Post by pairesta on Feb 5, 2015 11:54:00 GMT -5
I was carving up the leftover brisket point last night and noticed how very much internal fat in it hadn't rendered out at all. I pulled it way, way, under. Disgraceful. I honestly got angry at myself when I saw that.
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Post by pairesta on Apr 2, 2015 10:31:46 GMT -5
I have Aaron Franklin's new cookbook on pre-order from Amazon prime, due to get to me on April 7th. I am literally counting the days for it to get here. I'm even doing that stuff I did when I was a little kid excitedly waiting for something where I wonder idly if maybe they'll just release it early and I'll get it today. So. EXCITED. |
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Post by pairesta on Apr 9, 2015 7:08:47 GMT -5
So, the Franklin Barbecue cookbook. The subtitle is A Meat Smoking Manifesto and that should be kept in mind when reading it. It really has him putting it all out there: how he cooks, why he cooks that way, and what led up to him cooking that way. Five chapters precede where we finally start cooking actual recipes, covering his autobiography, smokers, wood, building a fire, and meat. It’s as much, if not more, memoir than cookbook. Franklin is such a likeable, easygoing, and humble guy, and it comes across in the writing. It’s that relaxed and self-effacing approach that saves the book from getting too dry or didactic, because he does espouse some pretty exacting views. Despite him saying over and over that there’s “more than one way” to great barbecue, the book is entirely constructed around his ideal smoker: the horizontal “stick burner” with separate fire box. (He dismisses upright barrel smokers, such as the Weber and the Big Green Egg, to say nothing of his views on gas, electric, or pellet smokers). So for me and my Weber, and no intention of buying a huge horizontal smoker any time soon, there was some eye-glazing stuff in those early chapters. Once he gets into meats and cooking, though, my attention snapped back into focus. It should be pointed out that in a 200-odd page “cookbook”, there’s only four meat recipes: brisket, pork ribs, beef ribs, and turkey. And given the brevity of the turkey recipes and the back-handed comments he has about it, it’s clearly there under duress. But what you lose in breadth of recipes, you gain in depth. Brisket, the unquestioned star of the book, gets 23 pages devoted to it, including an explanation of the cut, how to shop for it, the actual recipe (11 pages!), and a 5 page instruction on how to carve it when it’s done. All accompanied by glorious, famine-inducing photos. Yeah, I’m a little surprised and disappointed that there’s not recipes for pulled pork or sausage, both of which he offers at his restaurant and that he has videos for on his Youtube page. But it’s hard to argue with that brisket recipe, or his nearly as in depth recipe for beef short ribs, an item not given much attention in the barbecue books I have. I admire the purity of this cookbook, even as I am disappointed at some of its omissions and can see how others might be frustrated. It’s one guy’s voice (well, filtered through a co-author) and one guy’s view. But that “one guy” is arguably the best and most important person on the national barbecue scene right now, so he’s certainly worth listening to. Plus, it’s written from the perspective of Central Texas barbecue, a style that’s only recently carved out its own very distinct identity nationally in the past few years, so it’s nice to get such a deep look at my own personal favorite style of ‘cue. Don’t buy this if: You want a wide selection of recipes from wide range of regions and styles of US barbecue. If you’re an amateur barbecue-r wanting tips that will help you with your Traeger. Buy this if: You’re a barbecue geek and what to get inside the head of the top person on the field. |
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Post by pairesta on Apr 9, 2015 7:19:02 GMT -5
And so, what is the very next barbecue I have planned, that having this cookbook will help me so much with? That's right: pulled pork and chicken, the two recipes that aren't in the book.  |
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Apr 9, 2015 8:20:02 GMT -5
So, the Franklin Barbecue cookbook. The subtitle is A Meat Smoking Manifesto and that should be kept in mind when reading it. It really has him putting it all out there: how he cooks, why he cooks that way, and what led up to him cooking that way. Five chapters precede where we finally start cooking actual recipes, covering his autobiography, smokers, wood, building a fire, and meat. It’s as much, if not more, memoir than cookbook. Franklin is such a likeable, easygoing, and humble guy, and it comes across in the writing. It’s that relaxed and self-effacing approach that saves the book from getting too dry or didactic, because he does espouse some pretty exacting views. Despite him saying over and over that there’s “more than one way” to great barbecue, the book is entirely constructed around his ideal smoker: the horizontal “stick burner” with separate fire box. (He dismisses upright barrel smokers, such as the Weber and the Big Green Egg, to say nothing of his views on gas, electric, or pellet smokers). So for me and my Weber, and no intention of buying a huge horizontal smoker any time soon, there was some eye-glazing stuff in those early chapters. Once he gets into meats and cooking, though, my attention snapped back into focus. It should be pointed out that in a 200-odd page “cookbook”, there’s only four meat recipes: brisket, pork ribs, beef ribs, and turkey. And given the brevity of the turkey recipes and the back-handed comments he has about it, it’s clearly there under duress. But what you lose in breadth of recipes, you gain in depth. Brisket, the unquestioned star of the book, gets 23 pages devoted to it, including an explanation of the cut, how to shop for it, the actual recipe (11 pages!), and a 5 page instruction on how to carve it when it’s done. All accompanied by glorious, famine-inducing photos. Yeah, I’m a little surprised and disappointed that there’s not recipes for pulled pork or sausage, both of which he offers at his restaurant and that he has videos for on his Youtube page. But it’s hard to argue with that brisket recipe, or his nearly as in depth recipe for beef short ribs, an item not given much attention in the barbecue books I have. I admire the purity of this cookbook, even as I am disappointed at some of its omissions and can see how others might be frustrated. It’s one guy’s voice (well, filtered through a co-author) and one guy’s view. But that “one guy” is arguably the best and most important person on the national barbecue scene right now, so he’s certainly worth listening to. Plus, it’s written from the perspective of Central Texas barbecue, a style that’s only recently carved out its own very distinct identity nationally in the past few years, so it’s nice to get such a deep look at my own personal favorite style of ‘cue. Don’t buy this if: You want a wide selection of recipes from wide range of regions and styles of US barbecue. If you’re an amateur barbecue-r wanting tips that will help you with your Traeger. Buy this if: You’re a barbecue geek and what to get inside the head of the top person on the field. Thank you for writing this up. I'ma need this book in my life at some point. It's interesting his thoughts on the horizontal smoker with separate fire box, which would seem to run in direct opposition to the AmazingRibs dude(s), who recommends vertical models. Does he talk about build quality when it comes to the smoker? Like does he get into things like type of metal, top of hinges, weight, etc.? I think one of the issues that AmazingRibs has with the horizontal style is that most affordable home models are kind of shit. They rust, fall apart, weep. Of course, AR doesn't recommend the circular kamado-style smoker either, but I remember him being distinctly down on horizontal, side box models. And what about wood? How deep does he go on wood? What to use? How to prep it? How to achieve the perfect smoke? Tell me! Tell me about Aaron Franklin's wood! |
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Post by pairesta on Apr 9, 2015 8:35:51 GMT -5
Thank you for writing this up. I'ma need this book in my life at some point. It's interesting his thoughts on the horizontal smoker with separate fire box, which would seem to run in direct opposition to the AmazingRibs dude(s), who recommends vertical models. Does he talk about build quality when it comes to the smoker? Like does he get into things like type of metal, top of hinges, weight, etc.? I think one of the issues that AmazingRibs has with the horizontal style is that most affordable home models are kind of shit. They rust, fall apart, weep. Of course, AR doesn't recommend the circular kamado-style smoker either, but I remember him being distinctly down on horizontal, side box models. And what about wood? How deep does he go on wood? What to use? How to prep it? How to achieve the perfect smoke? Tell me! Tell me about Aaron Franklin's wood! Yes, the smoker thing is really interesting. What's funny is that he freely acknowledges that they are a piece of shit. But he learned on those models and has an affection for them. The thing with Franklin is that he is a wood-fire purist: you smoke using only wood and charcoal you made yourself. Briquettes are just as distasteful to him as an electric rotisserie style industrial smoker. So in his mind, even the shitty, rusting out in a year, $99 horizontal smokers are better and more worthy than even a kamado or smokey mountain style smoker. But he obviously doesn't use those Academy smokers anymore: he's built the last two or three smokers at his place himself, and the smoker chapter has a very long, well-documented section on building your own or modifying an existing one. So being such a purist, you can imagine the wood chapter is equally exhaustive. Don't buy your wood at a store. Source it yourself. Yes, you need to have a Wood Guy, apparently. Buy in somewhat larger logs and break them down yourself. If you have space, age them yourself in your backyard. He prefers post oak or hickory the most. . . . All this and more are none of the things I will be doing from now on! |
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Post by pairesta on Apr 9, 2015 9:45:07 GMT -5
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dＬᵒ
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Post by dＬᵒ on Apr 9, 2015 10:12:34 GMT -5
So is it best to find a wood guy on craigslist so you could have the best time smoking ...
...some COCK
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Post by pairesta on Apr 9, 2015 10:22:41 GMT -5
So is it best to find a wood guy on craigslist so you could have the best time smoking ... He actually does recommend craigslist as the best place to get some wood.
>giggle!< |
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Apr 9, 2015 10:31:18 GMT -5
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Apr 9, 2015 11:03:41 GMT -5
My thoughts have also been drifting to smoked meats lately. Mrs. Snape works one weekend day now, and baby is still a little too hands on to attend to by myself and manage a smoking job at the same time, so finding the right day is tough. (Maybe if I got it going before she left for work. Really the start up is the only labor intensive piece.... hmmmm...)
I think the next big cook will be a brisket point for dinner and leftovers, with the flat thrown in brine for corned beef and/or pastrami depending on how the mood strikes me. I've never done a corned beef or pastrami, and it has long been on my list. Now that I'm happy with my brisket game, I'm ready for the next challenge.
In other smoking news, the soon-to-be-mine new grill has an inset tray for wood pellets. I wouldn't dream of doing a long smoke on it, but to add a little smoke to chops or (one day, fingers crossed) some fish and oysters is an exciting proposition.
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Post by pairesta on Apr 9, 2015 11:28:53 GMT -5
I think the next big cook will be a brisket point for dinner and leftovers, with the flat thrown in brine for corned beef and/or pastrami depending on how the mood strikes me. I've never done a corned beef or pastrami, and it has long been on my list. Now that I'm happy with my brisket game, I'm ready for the next challenge. Not to keep plugging them, but AR has extensive recipes for both that I researched idly when St. Patrick's day was approaching. The pastrami recipe is quite a production: curing, steaming, smoking. |
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Baron von Costume
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Like an iron maiden made of pillows... the punishment is decadence!
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Post by Baron von Costume on Apr 10, 2015 9:30:37 GMT -5
Corned Beef is just ridiculously easy. If it weren't for the stupid prices on brisket here at the moment I'd be nearly constantly brining one if only for lunch meat.
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Post by pairesta on Apr 17, 2015 8:08:03 GMT -5
Mmm. Oh yeah.
Guys I just rubbed my meat down and it's looking good.
After that, I put a highly flavorful seasoning mix on some pork shoulder I'm smoking tomorrow and I'm pretty excited.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Apr 17, 2015 8:10:13 GMT -5
Mmm. Oh yeah. Guys I just rubbed my meat down and it's looking good. After that, I put a highly flavorful seasoning mix on some pork shoulder I'm smoking tomorrow and I'm pretty excited. I'm actually surprised it took the thread this long to become pornographic. |
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Post by pairesta on Apr 17, 2015 8:13:22 GMT -5
Mmm. Oh yeah. Guys I just rubbed my meat down and it's looking good. After that, I put a highly flavorful seasoning mix on some pork shoulder I'm smoking tomorrow and I'm pretty excited. I'm actually surprised it took the thread this long to become pornographic. You started it by getting me thinking about Aaron Franklin's wood, ya perv. |
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Baron von Costume
TI Forumite
Like an iron maiden made of pillows... the punishment is decadence!
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Post by Baron von Costume on Apr 17, 2015 10:14:44 GMT -5
I'm thinking about smoking some sausage this weekend but I've never done it before. I may end up just making a big batch of italian sausage instead.
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Post by pairesta on Apr 17, 2015 10:30:51 GMT -5
I'm thinking about smoking some sausage this weekend but I've never done it before. I may end up just making a big batch of italian sausage instead. It's surprisingly fast. 30-45 minutes, tops. Anything longer and it ruptures and shrivels up. |
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Baron von Costume
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Like an iron maiden made of pillows... the punishment is decadence!
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Post by Baron von Costume on Apr 17, 2015 10:48:35 GMT -5
I'm thinking about smoking some sausage this weekend but I've never done it before. I may end up just making a big batch of italian sausage instead. It's surprisingly fast. 30-45 minutes, tops. Anything longer and it ruptures and shrivels up. Can't really find a recipe that tickles my fancy so far. Maybe I'll just smoke some chicken instead to get the smoker going for the season. |
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Post by pairesta on Apr 17, 2015 11:05:32 GMT -5
It's surprisingly fast. 30-45 minutes, tops. Anything longer and it ruptures and shrivels up. Can't really find a recipe that tickles my fancy so far. Maybe I'll just smoke some chicken instead to get the smoker going for the season. I used Michael Ruhlman's recipe for kielbasa in his Charcuterie cookbook as a guide. This covers the basics, though I didn't add marjoram, but if you do some googling you might find it in its entirety. But basically, a pork sausage with lots of fresh garlic, lots of black pepper, paprika if you have it, curing salt if you have it (gives it that pink color and "kielbasa" texture you're looking for, and not a bad idea as insurance if you have fresh garlic in there), mustard seed or powder. |
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Baron von Costume
TI Forumite
Like an iron maiden made of pillows... the punishment is decadence!
Posts: 4,684
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Post by Baron von Costume on Apr 17, 2015 11:14:09 GMT -5
Hmm, I hadn't looked in Charcuterie yet (I have the book) but I've loved the other recipes in there. Thanks, may give it a shot, though probably not this weekend as I just remembered I should be doing something special-ish for dinner on sunday anyway for the parental birthday celebration.
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