This week’s topics include more food off the smoker, chicken bacon (stick with me), “I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam I am,” a follow up on my infused salt, a suggestion that you need friendship bracelets, and a wine recommendation.
What am I working on? Ready for a shocker…? More BBQ. This weekend a friend of mine came over and we smoked 2 pork butts and 2 chickens on Precious 2. The chickens were brined overnight, lightly rubbed with granulated garlic, sea salt, and dried thyme, and smoked at about 200-220 for about 4-5 hours. The pork butts were rubbed with my ‘secret’ rub and smoked at the same temperature for almost 12 hours.
Check them out:
All you need to make great pulled pork is time, a smoker, and a lot of beer. I had all 3 and it turned out awesome, particularly with a Carolina-style vinegar sauce.
The chickens? These were truly the star of the show. The brine got all the way into the meat and kept the meat moist and tasty throughout the smoking process. Plus, the chickens had this wonder, crispy, smoky skin that was something akin to chicken bacon. Fabulous. I will definitely be making more of those!
Upshot of smoking chickens? Left overs. Not many kids have this conversation in the cafeteria at school: “What’s that?” “A sliced chicken sandwich. My Dad smoked the chickens yesterday.” “Uhh.. my mom made me tuna fish… .” Plus, you can use leftover chicken in casseroles, salads, soups, etc. Great to have around.
Another upshot of smoking chicken? I made almost 4 gallons of homemade chicken stock with the carcasses and left over nasty bits. That will go into Paella, various soups, and chicken and dumplings.
I do not like Green Eggs and Ham. I do not like them, Sam I Am. This may surprise some of you, particularly since I’ve written fairly extensively about my food adventures.
But….I was a very picky eater as a child and most of my adult life. VERY picky. I would special order food with no tomatoes, or onions, or lettuce, and so on. Burgers had to have just pickles and mustard. I didn’t like much seafood or many vegetables. I was not an adventurous eater, to say the least, and it lasted well into adulthood.
However, a few years ago I decided that I could not be a wannabe foodie and/or amateur chef if I didn’t try food the way it was meant to be served. So, I went out of my way to not special order anything and try virtually anything I was offered. If someone serves me a dish, I’m eating it the way it’s served. It’s truly amazing how liberating this is and how many things I would never have eaten but which I now love.
So, if you’re a picky eater, get over it. You can’t be a foodie if you’re picky. You may like it, you will see.
What’s in my pantry that should be in yours. Silicon bands. Take a close look at the chickens in the smoker above. They look like rubber bands. They’re not. They’re silicon bands that look and act a lot like rubber bands. But, they’re good to over 600 degrees and food safe. I’ve used them on a tenderloin roast that I seared in a rippin’ hot cast iron and they were unfazed. Plus, they instantly go back to their original size when they come off the meat.
Hate trussing a bird or roast? Buy some of these and fear no more. Slapping these on a bird is as easy as slapping on a friendship bracelet. Or so I’m told… That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Buy some. Follow up on infused salts. I recently replanted the herb garden and started the rosemary infused salt. Here are some photos.
It will take a couple of weeks for the moisture to leave the rosemary and infuse the salt. I think this has great promise for steaks, prime rib, lamb, hamburgers, baked potatoes, etc. Imagine some fresh French fries drizzled with a little truffle oil and some of this salt. Oh baby…. I think I just had a moment. Further reports to follow.A wine recommendation. First, the back story. I have always been a red wine drinker. I liked the bold 'abuse your palate' nature of big reds. Frankly, I thought white wine was too sweet and drank primarily by women. I hated the sweetness of Riesling and couldn’t stand the ‘mouth full of oak and butter’ that described so many California Chardonnays.
However, in the last couple of years, I’ve come to find that there are a number of white wines that are wonderful. It started with going to dinner with some wine friends who always ordered a white wine with appetizers and salad and then a red for the entrée. How very sophisticated, or so it seemed to me.
So I started branching out. It started with a Viognier (truly a red wine drinker’s white wine), and then I tried some dry, tart Chardonnays, a couple Chenin Blancs, and then….
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc. I recently read about this wine in a book, which will be the subject of a future book recommendation. This wine is generally regarded as a world class wine. I picked it up for $27 at Whole Foods, so you can probably pick it up for less elsewhere. $27 for a world class wine?! If you find it, buy it. It’s tart with citrus and melon notes in the front of the palate and finishes nice and dry. A complex wine that shares no characteristics with the white wines of my youth that I so despised!
Absolutely wonderful with seafood, particularly richer seafood like lobster, scallops, crab, etc.
WF
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