What did I cook this weekend.....

[Staestc]

20 minutes without burning is not a record for me but it’s close! And I am doing it on my sear grill attached to my pellet grill!

 

[passedpawn]

Starting the roux now.

Make lots of extra and freeze it. Saves a bunch of time, especially when you make shrimp etouffee next week Man, that is some fine eating, and an awesome presentation as well.

Lemme help:

https://www.askchefdennis.com/shrimp-etouffee-recipe/

 

[passedpawn]

Oh wait, deja vu. You've made it before.

 

[Staestc]

We bought some bowl coozies while down in LA. They are fantastic if you are not eating at the table! Got a plated picture too

 

[corkybstewart]

We bought some bowl coozies while down in LA. They are fantastic if you are not eating at the table! Got a plated picture too

View attachment 750735

I was weaned on shrimp and or crab gumbo down in Mobile, that looks excellent

 

[Temptd2]

Mmmm, Travis, gumbo sounds really good right about now! Send me a quart, would you?

 

[Staestc]

I was weaned on shrimp and or crab gumbo down in Mobile, that looks excellent

Thanks! Having my in-laws bring us another 30 lbs of shrimp from Gulfport MS, headed, bagged, and frozen right off the boat is definitely a big plus

Mmmm, Travis, gumbo sounds really good right about now! Send me a quart, would you?

Would love to, but alas it won't last that long! I swear I could eat this stuff three meals a day

One of last night's bowls (yeah, I know it's redundant!):

Oh, and I did not have any frozen okra for this batch. Usually cook the slime off of it in a skillet then include it in the gumbo, not for thickening but for flavor. No crab this time either which I love to include when I can get it.

 

[davidabcd]

This was fun, once again. Keep forgetting how good fish is. I'm going to make tartar sauce even though it isn't supposed to go with baked fish.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Bought a turkey breast when I got home roasted it tonight.

 

[Staestc]

My first attempt at Biscotti turned out great. Chocolate Walnut recipe from my favorite Greek site, Dimitra’s Dishes.

 

[BongoYodeler]

My first attempt at Biscotti turned out great. Chocolate Walnut recipe from my favorite Greek site, Dimitra’s Dishes.
View attachment 750898

Looks great!! My wife has been on a biscotti making kick lately too.

 

[pshankstar]

A chuck roast in the sous vide for 36 hours at 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Seasoned with salt and pepper only. Removed, patted dry and seared for one minute on each side. This was amazing!!! Delicious with the green beans and the roasted potatoes tonight.

 

[Staestc]

Trying to create a deli style roast beast with an eye of round. Super lean. Dry rub for only a couple of hours, then on to the smoker. Will chill and slice once done. Do any of you folks have meat slicers you recommend? I will be doing this manually, but may want a decent slicer.

 

[Staestc]

So out of all the thermo couples and other temp measuring devices I have, there are two that always agree and are accurate in calibration tests. Both are Thermoworkd. The Chef Alarm is just awesome. If you do not currently have one you will really appreciate it when you get one. Stick the thermocouple in what you are cooking, stick the unit on anything metal with its magnets, or just set it on the counter, set your alarm temp, and wait. The other is their instant read thermometer. Priceless and fast. Just get them. Especially the chef alarm.

 

[davidabcd]

Do any of you folks have meat slicers you recommend?

Slicers are "feast or famine." Either put out very big dollars or settle. I've not yet seen a competent slicer for home use; the motors are weak. Mine was $200 and it did pay for itself, I'll say that much, but I wouldn't recommend mine.
If you have a LOT of space in the kitchen, I'd recommend a used, industrial slicer.
There's too much focus on profit by the manufacturers and not enough demand for a proper home slicer.

 

[Staestc]

Oh, and one other bit of advice. I just got lucky when I bought my Camp Chef pellet grill and decided to get the attached sear grill with it. But having the gas sear grill is just crucial to getting the most out of a new pellet grill. Pellet grills are great at low and slow smoking for pork shoulders and briskets. But if you really want to get the most out of them you need a sear grill too. Pullling steaks off, heating the smoket up, and throwing them back on like most treagers is not what you want. You want to pull them off the smoker and throw them on a preheated 500° sear grill to finish them (or start them as you wish). Just my two bits.

 

[passedpawn]

Trying to create a deli style roast beast with an eye of round. Super lean. Dry rub for only a couple of hours, then on to the smoker. Will chill and slice once done. Do any of you folks have meat slicers you recommend? I will be doing this manually, but may want a decent slicer.

Do not buy a mandolin. They work for a bit, then you lose parts of your fingers. Best to search hobart on craigslist or similar.

You can slice thin with a very sharp knife, and patience. I've done it with bacon. But no matter how careful, it wasn't the thin slices I was looking for.

 

[davidabcd]

I wouldn't hate knowing when my prime rib in the oven reaches temp without having to check every ten minutes.

 

[davidabcd]

You can slice thin with a very sharp knife, and patience. I've done it with bacon. But no matter how careful, it wasn't the thin slices I was looking for.

I agree. I'm good with a knife and maybe even better with sharpening one, but at some point, a real slicer is needed. Especially with shaving meat.

 

[Staestc]

@passedpawn Yes, I know. I bought my kevlar glove after a horrible slice many knuckles off accident with my mandolin! I cringe every time I see chefs using them without guards or gloves.

@davidabcd look into the thermo works chef alarm. It was like 30 dollars last I looked and it is just awesome. I bought them for all my kids!

 

[davidabcd]

look into the thermo works chef alarm

I think I've heard of that one on Webstaurant.com. I really need to do get one that slides into the oven.

 

[Staestc]

So I cooked this cheap piece of beef so I could chill it then slice it really thin fo sandwiches. But I sharpened all my knives yesterday, including sharpening my big slicer for the first time. So when the meat came off I had to slice some of it while hot just to taste it. The freshly sharpened slicer made wonderfully thin slices even with hot meat. And the eye of round was just amazing even with the simple rub. Just great.

 

[Staestc]

 

[wetmk]

Slicers are "feast or famine." Either put out very big dollars or settle. I've not yet seen a competent slicer for home use; the motors are weak. Mine was $200 and it did pay for itself, I'll say that much, but I wouldn't recommend mine.
If you have a LOT of space in the kitchen, I'd recommend a used, industrial slicer.
There's too much focus on profit by the manufacturers and not enough demand for a proper home slicer.

Agreed. If I could buy a decent one for $200 I might; but I'm pretty sure there is no such animal. My parents gave me their home use unit when they down-sized to Florida. I used it a couple of times, thought this isn't worth it, and stuck it on a shelf in the garage. A few years later realized I haven't used this in years, I tossed it in the trash. A professional deli slicer is huge; and even used will cost you an arm and a leg.

 

[wetmk]

So I cooked this cheap piece of beef so I could chill it then slice it really thin fo sandwiches. But I sharpened all my knives yesterday, including sharpening my big slicer for the first time. So when the meat came off I had to slice some of it while hot just to taste it. The freshly sharpened slicer made wonderfully thin slices even with hot meat. And the eye of round was just amazing even with the simple rub. Just great.

A sharp knife can work wonders.

 

[wetmk]

A chuck roast in the sous vide for 36 hours at 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Seasoned with salt and pepper only. Removed, patted dry and seared for one minute on each side. This was amazing!!!

No doubt. Sous vide is an amazing technique. I use it multiple times a week.

 

[Temptd2]

Travis, this is the slicer we have now:

https://www.amazon.com/Protection-Removable-Stainless-Adjustable-Thickness/dp/B07TSDQB33?th=1
We had one of those little cheapie folding guys for a long time and it did an "OK" job but had a small slicing blade and could be cantankerous with some things.

Then we bought a big heavy-azzed thing from LEM which sliced well but it was hard to get into and out of the cupboard when we wanted to use it, was too big to leave on the counter, and was a major PITA to clean!

Then ensued much reading of reviews online and we finally decided to give this Ostba a go. For us, it's the "Goldilocks" of slicers. Not too heavy, but heavy enough to stay put; suction feet to keep it steady; pretty easy to clean; does a good job slicing even really thin slices! We do tend to freeze whatever we're gonna slice for about 30 minutes or so just to firm it up for clean cuts but even when I don't bother, it does a good job.

We tended to NOT use the big LEM one much because unless you were slicing up a LOT of meat, the juice just was not worth the squeeze to get the thing out and clean it up afterwards. We tend to get this one out fairly often even if we just want to slice up a pound of something.

It wouldn't work for everyone I'm sure but after having the bad and the ugly, the "good enough" works for us and it's not that expensive either!

 

[davidabcd]

Ham and cheese sub, open. Homemade dressing was a keeper.

Ham and cheese, closed.

And one of my cats being a ham. Does this because he wants to play fetch (same as a dog).

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Leftover turkey breast that I roasted a week after Thanksgiving home cooked cranberries, dressing and sautéed veggies and mushrooms.

 

[DBhomebrew]

Grilled salmon, asparagus, avocado. Pan-fried baby potatoes.