Whatcha Cooking today?

[worth1]

Mushrooms and onions cooked in skillet over a bed of coals.

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[Amateurinawe]

Wow mouth watering !

[worth1]

The mushrooms and onions went on this steak with blue cheese.

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[Amateurinawe]

I just knew it. My wife and I said that it only needed steak and blue cheese (and a touch of brocolli)

[worth1]

I just knew it. My wife and I said that it only needed steak and blue cheese (and a touch of brocolli)

Does cauliflower count, because that is what I had it with.
Then last night I mixed the other half head of cauliflower with Alfredo sauce and my own homemade hot curry powder.
Forgot how hot it was and it is rather hot.
Still not finished with the bloody thing, will eat off of it one last time tonight.

[Amateurinawe]

Yes it does and I saw what you did with it....

[JRinPA]

First deer of the year on Saturday. Button buck...I also set up 4 lbs of flats and shanks for pastrami. The "flat" is what I call the big rectangular piece that makes up the bottom outside of the hind quarter.

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So it has been curing since Sept 20, smoked today with chips from our pear tree in a masterbuilt 30". That is shank hand sliced about 1/8". Not going to get the hobart up for 4 lb of meat!

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[Whwoz]

Looks delicious JR

[worth1]

Looks good

[JRinPA]

Looks good, tastes better... Made some reubens with that last night. It is a little different pastrami recipe than I had been making the last few years. I made this recipe for the first time in January when I ran out of tenderquick. I have lots of cure#1 and this recipe uses that and kosher salt and sugar in proportion and ends up less salty than tenderquick pastrami. The smoke is nice. Unfortunately I forgot to cover the smoker and it showered all night. It was unplugged, but I forgot to cover after it cooled. I pulled the control unit off this morning at 530 when I heard the rain. The board seems dry. Should be okay.

Last week I made scrapple from two does I killed the same evening. I don't know if I took pics. That made six pans from the bones and a big liver. That was made really meaty, the way I've been doing it so far. I split the batch to compare regular flour and light buckwheat flour. No one could taste much difference. I doubt I'll buy more of that, at 3-4x the price of white flour. I think the oatmeal overpowers any differences in flour. I love making scrapple, not that hard at all if you know your way around the kitchen, and less waste. Now since I went and bought 10 plastic pans, easy peasy. Metal bread pans were a bear to work with.

I killed another deer earlier this week. I hunt in the special regs area in PA and can buy unlimited antlerless tags. You see more deer than rabbits, here. This was another button buck, and it was very warm at 930p when I got home, so I had to process quickly. Most cuts went in the fridge for wet aging, no grinder needed for a fawn. I went ahead and cooked those bones that night, basically everything except for head and feet, then left them in the canner. The next day I used those bones for scrapple. I changed it up a bit and held out the liver and the oatmeal I've been finishing with.

So, bone scraps with 2 qts water at 15psi/60 minutes made about 3+ quarts of broth and picked meat, food processed. To this I added another 4 pint jars of water to thin it more, call it 50 oz. That was as thin as I have made the mix so far. That brought it up to a solid 1/2 of the 12 qt tramontina. From there it was about a scant 1/4 of kosher salt, 2 Tbsp black pepper, 1 Tbsp of allspice. Then 1.5 cup cornmeal, 1.5 cup light buckwheat flour; needed more so another 1.5c cornmeal and 1 cup light buckwheat flour. I figured it was enough, but it was still easier to stir than my usual cook. Usually between the higher percentage of deer, plus the oatmeal at the end, it really tightens it up without as much cornmeal and flour. Anyway, I poured that 6qts into two pans. One I sealed after cooling, and froze. The other has been getting whittled down one skillet at a time!

Topped with pear syrup made this year...I love maple syrup as well, but I made the mistake of looking at what the price is up to for quart of maple syrup! So pear syrup it is. And the pear syrup is awesome for the cost of the sugar.

Pretty good use of the bone scrap for a little time and the cost of spices, cornmeal, and flour! If store scrapple cost $2 or $2.50 a lb on sale then this is worth triple that. It is supremely lean and we know exactly what goes in. To cook it is easy enough. Turn heat on high, butter a spot and drop a piece on, repeat. When it is sizzling set to 4/med-low and set a timer for 8 minutes, and a second time for 18 minutes. At first timer, flip and butter again. At the second, have the plate ready! I would consider this a much lighter scrapple than what I've been making. This was either the fifth or sixth time I've made scrapple. Lighter for sure, but is still meatier than store bought though. Not sure what I'll try next, I like to keep changing stuff up, just like tomato sauces.

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[worth1]

Looks amazing [mention]JRinPA[/mention]

Today I am thawing out the squared off section of the slow roasted oven brisket point I cooked awhile back, in the sous vide at 140 F for however long I feel like cooking it.
Got the timer set on 10 hours just to set it on something.
When I get ready I will cook it in the offset smoker for a wee bit for flavor including searing the fatty sides over the hot coals.
I see a sandwich in my future with lettuce and onion.

[worth1]

Thawed the brisket point at what ever I said it was for over two hours and was ready to reveres smoke.
Yes I said reverse smoke, not sear.
A new idea.
We need new ideas right.
This is for people that dont like really smokey brisket meat like me.
Put the cooked fatty side of the point over the hot coals.
Bad mistake, it went up like gasoline, 'I dont know what the hell I was thinking.
The point is now convalescing over on the cool side of the offset smoker at around 150 or so.
Intake almost closed exhaust all the way open bed of hot coals and one yard salvaged stick of mesquite wood, bark and all about 3 inches in diameter and 12 inches long.
Thermostat in house set at 67 degrees F cooling my heels with a drink.
That's the most important thing.

[karstopography]

85/15 GF Burgers on the BGE. Mayonnaise, sliced Tomatoes and dill pickles slices, toasted buns. Very simple and good. Burgers had the just the right amount of seasoning, crust, grease and juice and we ate them hot off the grill. No cheese either, cheese on a burger often is a distraction.

[worth1]

Not really a fan of cheese on a good burger made with good flavorful beef.
It is a distraction for sure.

[worth1]

Cooking oil was old and foamed had to toss, clean deep fry kettle and put new oil in.
Old foamy cooking oil spells greasy food every time, 'Not good don't be cheap.
Making twice or thrice fried french fries.
Today has been one cooking catastrophe after another.
And by the way, "That brisket point is looking killer good in the offset smoker.

[worth1]

Here's what it looks like now.
Letting the wood burn down and taking a shower to clear the smoke smell from my nostrils.
Wish I had some pineapple.

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[worth1]

How on earth did that last picture come out blurry?

[worth1]

Let's do this thing again.

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[worth1]

Aaron Franklin eat your heart out.
Best brisket ever.
Reverse smoke.

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[pepperhead212]

Today, to use up some more cherry and grape tomatoes I got out there again, I made a pasta dish in the Instant Pot, a one-dish recipe in one of those free classes from Milk Street - Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes and Fresh Sage. The method worked great, even using a different pasta (they call for long pasta, broken in half, in the recipes I read), which I did. The seasonings are cooked briefly in the olive oil, then the tomatoes and water are added, it is turned off, the pasta is added, and it is pressed down, so all is submerged, then it is pressure cooked 5 minutes. The pressure is quickly released, then some of the sage is stirred in with some smoked paprika (which added a delicious flavor), and it is covered to rest 3 minutes. It is then served with some freshly grated pecorino, and a little more fresh sage.
Ingredients for Milk Street's pasta with cherry tomatoes and fresh sage. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes and Fresh Sage, finished cooking. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes and Fresh Sage, served with a little grated pecorino cheese. by pepperhead212, on Flickr