1609 replies to this topic

[Norman]

Heres to a rapid healing!

I should probably look into getting the same thing done. I have all kinds of wear and tear in my arms shoulders and back. Maybe I’ll luck out and be so fucked up I can be declared disabled and retire.

Pastrami sandwiches for us tonight. I just smoked some really nice corned beef they had on sale and I have a loaf of dill rye in the works. 
http://www.gourmet.c...ed-cooking.html

[Juthro]

Thanks for the well wishes.  It is something that in retrospect I should have taken care of long ago.  I didn't realise how much it was affecting my sleep until now that I have it fixed.   Though the Norco pills they gave me after surgery helps with that pretty good as well. Having back and arm issues is something I can definitely understand, and you have my sympathies.  I know first hand, it sucks ass.

 

As far as one handed cooking, that was a good read.  It is hard to truly appreciate what you have when you have never done without.  I planned ahead enough to have a bunch of microwavable crap food to eat while I was still in a sling.  None of it is really good, and it definitely isn't good for me, but it is damn easy. 

 

I'm a bit jealous of about the pastrami.  Home smoked meats are my favorite treat ever.  Though teriyaki chicken over rice, that I didn't even have to make myself, will fit the bill for tonight just fine.

 

Funny side note, my nephew just had a hernia operation, and I sent him a pic of my incision, now that the bandage is off, and asked if we should trade scar pics, lol.   I was hoping to make him laugh, cuz I know it would hurt :)

[Juthro]

The manger special section of the Safeway meat market caught my attention today :)  The only thing in it was a chuck steak about two inches thick, but it was well marbleized, but not to fatty.  At about 1.75 lbs, and with a 50% price off sticker I ended up paying <$8.  Add to that, I hadn't planned ahead and didn't know what I was doing for dinner yet.  It was a gift from the universe.

 

It smells amazing as it cooks down in my cast iron dutch oven, cooking it like a roast.  It's got bunch of root veggies, mushrooms, garlic, and beef broth with some flour added to make a thick gravy.  Mostly it has lots of onion and potato, with some carrot, and celery for flavor.  I added a bunch of other stuff too, to get it where I want it, and I can't brag enough about how good it smells right now.

[Norman]

Fifty percent off means fifty percent better tasting in my book. 
I eat a lot of chuck roast and I usually cook them exactly the way you’re doing. 
Right now I have one in the refrigerator that I smoked last weekend. It’s cooked through but not enough to be tender yet. 
I’ll make a Texas style bbq beef with half of it and Birria with the other. 
It’s like leftovers except we haven’t eaten any yet.  

[Juthro]

The managers special section of the meat cooler is always worth looking into.  A lot of times they have some pretty bizarre cuts in there, but for an average of a 30 to 50 percent discount I'm willing to adapt, and overcome :)   As a good friend of mine (who was a butcher) once told me, if you don't know your meat, know your butcher!

 

In retrospect I'm sorry I didn't remember about Birria.  I've been wanting to try my hand at it, and I think this would have been a good piece of meat to try it with.  Though I'm so familiar with using my dutch oven that it is my go to when I dont have the energy to try and learn something new.

Edited by Juthro, 29 March 2025 - 06:27 PM.

[Norman]

We had a flat iron steak from the managers special last night. It’s a cut you can often get deals on since a lot of people don’t know what to do with them..

Birria cooks up in a Dutch oven just like pot roast, the only difference is that you add a lot of dried chile and shred the meat. If you have leftovers you could make the jus and heat them up in it. 
I love how modular good peasant food is. 

[Juthro]

I would guess that it benefits the flavor greatly  by a run though the smoker first, but now I'm thinking about looking for another chuck roast from our freezer angus to try this (I turned all the leftovers into a thick stew for last nights dinner)

 

I've been doing a bit of looking, and this is a content provider who has showed me some good stuff, and this is his take on birria tacos :)

 

[Direct Link]

 

I really have to do this.  I think I still have a chuck roast from our angus that is burried in the bottom of the freezer, and I've got lots of dried chilies on hand.

Edited by Juthro, 30 March 2025 - 03:27 PM.

[Juthro]

Going to mix it up a little tonight, and go back to fish.  I pulled a nice sockeye fillet out of the freezer, and I think I will probably coat it in some homemade teriyaki sauce, and cook it in the air fryer.  Then serve it up with some rice, and maybe some onion and bell peppers as a teriyaki bowl (if I remember to get peppers when I go to town later). 

 

I love the parchment paper liners that fit in my air fryer basket, though they restrict airflow a little bit, they make clean up so much easier. It is also important to make sure you pull them out once you use them.  I found that if you don't, when you pre heat the air fryer next it will suck them up into the fan and heating element, and they will burn.

 

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Edited by Juthro, 30 March 2025 - 04:28 PM.

[Juthro]

I dry brined my fish for about 8hrs before cooking it, and I have to say, just a little kosher salt makes quite a difference in the end product.  It makes a much more consistent flavor, and texture through the entire fillet.   I didn't put the T sauce on until the last two minutes of cooking, as I didn't want it to burn, but over all the teriyaki rice, and fish bowl was pretty damn good.   

 

There is nothing better then Kenai river caught sockeye salmon for dinner, just saying :)  I  like to do it up teriyaki once in a while to mix it up.  Our goto with salmon is usual baking it in a casserole dish, but fish is big part of our diet here, and we have 2 to 3 times a week, and it can get boring if you do it the same way all the time.

[Juthro]

Tonight it's spaghetti :)  I will use 1lb of the sausage we had made from the organ meat off our red angus.  It has the heart, liver, and tongue, and that mix is blended with an equal amount of ground beef.  I had it seasoned as breakfast sausage, so basically a Jimmy Dean clone seasoning mix.  It makes great filler for all kinds of dishes, and IMO is a great way to use the organ meat that some people are kind of squeamish about working with.

 

It will all get added to a pint of homemade stewed tomato sauce, with a shit ton of sauteed bell peppers, onions,  and mushrooms.  Then some fresh basil from our kitchen herb garden, and a generous helping of bottled italian seasoning.  I also toss in a bunch of dehydrated tomato slices from my inlaws garden, they really help to give the sauce some volume. I'm currently out, or I would also add a good shot of Cabernet Sauvignon to give it some more richness. 

 

Then I add about a cup, and a half of tomato sauce that I make from powdered dehydrated tomatoes (great product, BTW) to give it a better ratio of sauce, to solids. In the end it generally makes enough sauce that we get spaghetti out of it the first night, and then I use the rest of the meat sauce to make an american goulash on day two.  I like to add in a can of Rotel for the goulash.