What did I cook this weekend.....

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Hope so! Had a small serving and while it was good, there was a raw/green quality that will hopefully mature very soon once it begins fermentation.View attachment 621097

Personally im not a fan of fresh kimchi at all. Not nearly as bad with just nappa but i often mix cabbage. Taiwanese cabbage makes a killer kimchi. Regular green cabbage really needs to age or it has that funky green flavor i cant stand.

I want mine ripe and i mean REALLY ripe. :D I would not put sprouts in kimchi while its fermenting. Might be ok in fresh styles but im betting it gets pretty funky in well aged kimchi.

Super ripe for stews and stuff around a month old for sides and stirfries. Old ripe is also good in stirfries but i save that for stew. I have to hide a jar in the back of the fridge just so i have really old kimchi. It starts rocking pretty good after 6 months if you want great stew.
 
I made what I’m calling Fauxstrammi because I bought a corned beef brisket and did not corn it myself. Soaked over night to remove excess salt, coated pastrami seasoning and put on the WSM till 195° and allowed to rest in a cooler for two hours. This picture was the following night after passing over a mandolin.

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I made what I’m calling Fauxstrammi because I bought a corned beef brisket and did not corn it myself. Soaked over night to remove excess salt, coated pastrami seasoning and put on the WSM till 195° and allowed to rest in a cooler for two hours. This picture was the following night after passing over a mandolin.

View attachment 621229

I think the cut of beef for pastrami is traditionally something different than the brisket, though I can't remember what. I always use brisket. So I guess I do a faux too :) Looks great btw.
 
I made what I’m calling Fauxstrammi because I bought a corned beef brisket and did not corn it myself. Soaked over night to remove excess salt, coated pastrami seasoning and put on the WSM till 195° and allowed to rest in a cooler for two hours. This picture was the following night after passing over a mandolin.

View attachment 621229
How long was overnight, did you change the water any, and did it remove enough salt?
 
It's my understanding that smoking a corned beef is often called fauxstrami because 1) it is brined while pastrami is dry-cured and 2) it is smoked to completion where pastrami is smoked then steamed.

Regardless, fauxstrami is delicious.
 
It's my understanding that smoking a corned beef is often called fauxstrami because 1) it is brined while pastrami is dry-cured and 2) it is smoked to completion where pastrami is smoked then steamed.

Regardless, fauxstrami is delicious.

The steaming isn't part of the creation of the pastrami - it's how it's served. I didn't know about the dry-brine though. I need to look into that - thanks.
 
How long was overnight, did you change the water any, and did it remove enough salt?
It was a 4 1/2 pound piece of meat. Soaked it over night (5pm-7am) changed the water and soaked till 5pm. Removed, dried, applied pastrami seasoning and put on a wire rack in a baking pan over night. Went on the smoker at 8am. Yes it did remove enough salt.
Seasoning mix I used was
2 tbsp black pepper (would have used 3, but wife whines about pepper)
2 tbsp ground coriander (ground fresh)
1 tbsp paprika
1tbsp dark brown sugar
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp rubbed sage (will probably up this on the next one)
1 tsp mustard powder

I don't think it is faux, just because you didn't brine it yourself. If you bought it in a sandwich shop, someone else did the brining AND the smoking...
True, but I'm calling mine faux until I cure one myself. :D
 
I have never soaked one. Need to try it. I never use salt on it or ham. Yeah, I guess somewhat salty but nothing that has ever bothered me. As usual a heavy rub of brown sugar is all mine get. I understand that there are some pretty good pastrami mixes out there. That one looks nice inkleg. I keep fairly plain for the kids.
 
I believe pastrami is the process. Anything can be pastrami if it’s brined/cured, dried, then smoked. But traditionally, it’s beef deckel, or brisket, corned (salted), dried, smoked, and then steamed for service. I do pastrami once a year for my FIL’s birthday, it’s a four week process for my, some do it quicker. I’ll try find some pics!

Cheers!
 
This was so good it was almost scary it could be made at home so easy. I seriously dont think you could buy a better bowl of Singapore Curry Lamian in the USA.

A couple tbs of finely minced red shallots fried with the curry paste packet and rice bran oil
1/2 tsp vadouvan masala also cooked with the shallots.
1/2 tsp home grown gochugaru
1 green onion (garnish)
About 10 super duper fresh laksa leaves chopped (garnish)...i picked them suckers while the noddles were cooking
6 fish balls cut in half
Good splash of Redboat40n

Aside from frying the paste with shallots and extra powda pretty much follow the Prima Taste lamian directions for cook time. 7min on the nose.

Taste...hmmm i think it needs more zip :D
1/2 tsp of Burns & McCoy Exhorresco...OH MAN THATS THE BOMB!!!!

Prima Taste Singapore Curry Lamian Whole Grain noodles.....EXTREME!!! The shot of Burns & McCoy is insane how it changes the flavor!!!
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All mixed up with flash
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Vadouvan is a French/Indian curry powder
Gochugaru is Korean pepper powder/flakes
Laksa leaves are also know as Vietnamese Coriander...taste very similar to cilantro
Redboat40n is top shelf fish sauce
 
Redboat40n is top shelf fish sauce
I know we had this conversation a few months back in this very thread, but not all fish sauce is the same. Redboat 40N is my favorite. They have a 50N family reserve, but I haven't tried it yet.

Good fish sauce has two ingredients: anchovies and salt. Lesser sauces have sugar, msg, preservatives, etc to cover flaws and shortcut the processing.
 
50n aint worth it IMO. Better off getting BliS barrel aged 40n. 50n is like $9-10 for 80ml. BliS will set you back around $19-20 for 200ml.
 
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I did know the gochugaru but not the curry powder or the laksa leaves. I only ever buy fish sauce that says fish and salt - don't like extra sugar and stuff.

Any chance my garam masala could be used in place of the vadouvan? I really like the flavor profile of the garam masala I have!
 
Furthering my adventures into lazy cooking, I took grass fed organic ground beef and threw it in the air fryer with a little dash of Olive oil and salt. I then turned it on and let it fry. It puts a perfect sear on ground beef. Then we put it on Ortega fiesta flats which are flat boat like taco shells. With the best looking tomato I could find in the store, iceberg lettuce, tillamook cheddar cheese, quality salsa, avocado, and organic sour cream. This mediocre picture of the taco does not show how good it was.
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Today's lunch: a chicken-bacon club sandwich on toasted whole-wheat bread, with seasoned fries, ketchup, and dill pickle slices on the side.

A few days ago, I seasoned up a BSCB, roasted it in the oven @ 350° for an hour, chilled it overnight in the fridge, and then sliced it nearly paper-thin for sammiches. Been using this approach for a few months now to make sammich meat, and it works great.

Also had some leftover bacon from breakfast-for-dinner from a couple of night back, so it got recycled into lunch.

Toppings included chopped romaine, thin-sliced tomato, and a generous smear of mayo on all interior bread surfaces.

Showing my work:

Plated
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Close-up:
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Verdict: unbelievably good. Satisfying. Proportions of chicken to bacon to veg were all spot-on. Toast level on the bread was dead-on, and really enhanced the other flavors.

Will make again.
 
I did know the gochugaru but not the curry powder or the laksa leaves. I only ever buy fish sauce that says fish and salt - don't like extra sugar and stuff.

Any chance my garam masala could be used in place of the vadouvan? I really like the flavor profile of the garam masala I have!

Sure could but its not really needed unless you use a tiny bit more water than the directions. Jamaican curry powder is close to Vadouvan but normally loaded with salt too. Main difference vs Jamaican curry is the fried shallots/onion and its mild. I get mine from Myspicesage. Neither are really authentic to Malay style curries but it is very tasty.

This is a killer all around mild curry powda.
https://www.myspicesage.com/vadouvan-curry-spice-p-1282.html
Ingredients: Dehydrated Onion, Dehydrated Garlic, Fennel Seeds, Turmeric Ground, Cardamom Ground, Cumin Ground, Mustard, Fenugreek Powder, Thyme Ground, Red Pepper Powder, Black Pepper Ground 28 Mesh, Curry Leaves Powder, Rosemary Ground, Nutmeg Ground and Cloves Ground

Fresh thyme is a common addition to Caribbean curries. They also add allspice. The easiest way to make something similar is using pastes. Thai red or laksa paste and maybe a little Malay style crab paste if you want more of a seafood punch to it. Im going to see if our market has Laksa paste and Pantai brand crab paste tomorrow. I also use coconut cream powder if its a bit thin. The powder boosts the creamy texture without additional water. Adds a tiny bit of sweetness too without adding sugar.
 
I know we had this conversation a few months back in this very thread, but not all fish sauce is the same. Redboat 40N is my favorite. They have a 50N family reserve, but I haven't tried it yet.

Good fish sauce has two ingredients: anchovies and salt. Lesser sauces have sugar, msg, preservatives, etc to cover flaws and shortcut the processing.

I love Redboat40n and the price is not that bad. Try MegaChef Premium in the brown bottle sometime. Small bottles are cheap and it only has a tiny bit of added sugar. I think its decent for when you dont want to use your really good stuff. Aged 2 years, anchovies, salt and about 3% sugars. Nothing else added.
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You all got me hungry for some curry/Thai flavors so I made crackslaw last night with grassfed ground beef, half a head of shredded cabbage, Panang curry paste, fish sauce, tamari soy sauce, Thai basil paste, ginger paste, sambal oelek, garlic and onion powders, sesame oil...probably some other stuff I don't recall! It was dang good stuff and KOTC says I must make it that way from now on! I won't argue. Oh some slivered red bell peppers in there too. A little sriracha at the table and he put more sambal oelek on his.

Got half of it left, will reheat tomorrow night - I expect the flavors will have blended and turned into something even tastier!
 
@Evilgrin I would love that but KOTC is not fond of meatballs. Although if I made that with the ground venison we have I bet he'd like it! :)

ETA - I asked him if he thought he'd like this made with the venison and he said YES so will try it soon! Thank you for the link to the recipe.
 
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Venison goes great with curry IMO. Closest thing to goat ive tried and im a huge fan of goat curry. Asian long beans or green beans are a common addition to meatball curry if you want an idea for a veggie to add.
 
Ribeye is my favorite cut of steak (tritip is a close second), so when the local market had these on sale I jumped!

Cat for size reference.
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I let it warm up to room temperature and then seasoned it (salt/pepper). After letting it sit for about two hours, I cooked it on hickory wood mixed with hardwood lump charcoal. The picture is a little misleading; the tomahawk was cooked on indirect heat until the internal temp got to 95F.

At that point, I foil wrapped it and let it rest (off the fire) for 15 minutes while adding more wood to bring up the temps. After 15 minutes it was put back on the grill for a quick sear (it could have used a slightly longer sear). Right before pulling it from the grill I bathed it in butter. It was a perfect medium rare in the center but without deep grill marks (see next photo).

Barely fit...
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Needed more sear time
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Here's the lovely marbling (cooled down meat)
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Was effing amazing! We picked at it for a while on Saturday, ate leftovers on Sunday, and will finish it tomorrow. As far as the bone is concerned, pretty sure one of the local homeless folks is gnawing on it now.
 

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