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@Aussie Ora, subliminal pusher?? I was stood in a shop in Padova kicking my heels while The Husband looked at grog and pasta, waiting to get to the next bar with yummy snacks when I saw this: Really? Vegemite AND Marmite in the heart of Italy? I think I need a drink...

My friends know I love pork and regularly buy me piggy cards and ornaments. However, even The Husband thought I had gone a bit over the top when I told him I had bought a half pig in order to get pork shoulder for a Chicago Southside Thin. Here are the two boxes I picked up last Friday. Lots of chops and steaks for a summer BBQ, cheek to try to turn into guanciale and fat to turn into lardo. Bonus! We are now on a driving holiday in Italy and I succumbed to my bulk buying gene when I came upon this hoard. Tee hee. No, I did not buy the lot. Just one and they boned it out neatly so that we will have lovely proscuitto for pizza for months to come. And finally, a gratuitous Mangalitza photo for @tony b. I had wanted to try meat from one of these wooly pigs for a long time and pestered a Welsh farmer for a couple of years to get one sent to me in the post. It took us a whole day to process it and turn it into sausages, fat and joints for cooking. We liked it but not as much as the 55 day hung Middle White pig that we buy from another farmer so the only repeat is the blood sausage that they make with bits of fat and bacon. Pig with extra pig. Yum.

Got lashed with a big cold front last night wild wet and windy decided on a quick cook gave some snags some dizzy love this stuff on sausages. sprinkled some onion .then gave some bacon a bit of pitmasters..done the snags first..then the bacon. . And the onions. .gave the bun a quick crisp under the grill and added some lettuce and cheese. . Then the bacon. . Onions . .finally the snag. . Drizzled with some kakadu plum tasted so good . Outback kamado Bar and Grill

Thanks all. The Mangalitza picture is a bit of a cheat because it comes from 2016. We had cut up lambs and even half a small cow before but a whole day on that pig almost killed us. And it was a squeeze, keeping it all cool in our various fridges while we worked. Since then we have left the butchering to the experts but still always buy a half or whole beast from the farmer. There is a lot of righteousness around nose to tail eating but my main motivation is the tastiness of a lot of the forgotten bits and just how damn cheap it is to buy meat in bulk. In my language we have an expression called "gba won loju gba". In your language/my other language it means "make like a bandit". I often feel that way when a farmer tells me the price of their wonderful products. For instance, the two boxes of pork at the start of my post cost just £155 in total. Here in Italy ALL of the wonderful pig parts below, bought direct from the maker, cost under 150 Euros. Really? I wanted to run out of the shop dancing. Instead I thanked them profusely and will return. I hope Brexit doesn't mean we end up with duties and constraints on my kind of shopping.

Another few boxes of goodies and the pièce de résistance.... wait for it... Wait for it... A week from tomorrow this bad boy will find a good home!

Life’s like a box of purple crack

Haha typical drug dealer, first hits free Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I took your advice @Paul. Right now I feel like this . I suspect that, tomorrow I will feel like this . I will enjoy the moment.

With NAFTA falling apart, maybe Canada should consider joining the EU!

Fire it up, mon!

If by some miricle you love it lol here are some great recipes. I totally love a toasted vegemite and chease sandwich . https://vegemite.com.au. Even has tekobo's butter recipie how can you not love that lol Outback kamado Bar and Grill

Thnx Tony, should've waited...oh well, been throwing money around since i stopped smoking

I like Walkerswood also, and Ochos Rio brand is good, that's what I used this last time, but both of those are the real deal... Beware, @tekobo, the "mild" is no sane person's idea of mild, in other words, don't get " hot" unless you really want to self immolate.

Purple crack-kabobs, purple crack creole, purple crack gumbo, purple crack etouffee. Pan fried purple crack, deep fried purple crack, stir-fried purple crack.

I am a fully paid up member of the Marmite hating brigade and I refused to even taste Vegemite, in spite of living in Australia for 15 months. Big BUT coming up though... Type in Typing Room and marmite butter into Google and you will find many converts to this weird taste. They include me. The Typing Room serves IPA rye bread with Marmite whipped into butter and it is seriously addictive. I still haven't quite got my head around actually buying some of the stuff and trying to make the butter myself though. Could work well for you @Bruce Pearson - make some beer based bread and whip your Vegemite into some butter and you could be on to something. Good luck!!!

I’ve been baking bread and pizza for a few years now but had never tried baking a loaf in a Dutch oven, tonight that changed. Baked at 235c in the Kamado for 35 minutes with the lid on, and another 10 minutes to finish it off, not bad for a first attempt! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Now there's a plan, Tony.:) Anything to get good food.

Better make it a double.

Ubon's of Yazoo City - 6th place Whole Hog

Always start earlier than you think and don't worry about finishing early. Wrapped in foil, then a heavy towel, and into an insulated cooler, the meat will stay nice and warm for many hours. Nothing worse than getting all fired up for some nice brisket (or pulled pork) and not have the meat finish in time for dinner.

Happy to. You just need to join the EU before we exit so I can send you the good stuff.

Thanks Aussie I’ll let you know what I think after I taste it lol

Wow that is very generous, I wouldn’t mind pinching a tablespoon or two to get an idea what it’s all about Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’m a massive fan of the Kakadu plum sauce, me and the wife make home made samosas and curry puffs, can’t beat a drop of that on either of them! I’m definitely gonna have to get some of this purple crack that everyone’s taking about, anywhere good locally that we can pick it up? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What a great looking cook! It would have certainly warmed you up with the weather we’ve had these past two days! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@MacKenzie Yeah he is my little show pony! I have no room for all my new toys so I am loading up my oven until my cabinet gets here in June or July. I hope I remember that next time I need to bake something.... As for “the arrival” I am so happy and nervous thinking about first cook, burn in, moving it, etc. But talking to everyone here and Dennis has made this whole experience easier. Thanks again everyone

Allow time not all meat is the same Outback kamado Bar and Grill

I think I'll just send you the money and you can do my buying.

I know it is heresy to say this but I still haven't got into Purple Crack. That is my cowardly way of saying I don't like it. Don't drum me out of the club and don't think me weird for promoting marmite butter. Am even thinking that marmite just might bring some umami flavour to a meat rub. Here's your challenge @Chanly1983, if you wish to accept it: make up something that makes us all love Purple Crack AND marmite.

Tee hee. I am looking forward to some tasty jerk chicken when we get home. I agree, no need to make it toooo hot but will look to push the boundaries.

I’ve heard that purple crack whipped into butter and spread on a nice beer bread is seriously addictive. But spread thin alone on toast can result in a lost lunch. Haven’t tried either, though.

Just look at all those treats.

SCORE!!

Love it Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Wow that’s a lotta pig! You must have a huge freezer lol. I like your kitchen. That should last a long time. Happy grilling

Serious score!!!

I'm a big fan of Walkerswood Jerk paste and Boston Bay. Vernon's is also good. The Shizzle - voodoo hot is another one to try. I've even gone to the lengths of getting pimento wood and leaves to put into the dutch oven smoker pot, along with allspice berries to amp up the traditional flavor.

Why do you think that I named it "purple crack?" I use it in just about everything anymore. Great on fried eggs, mashed potatoes, salad dressings, mixed in with dry rubs for grilling. I even used it making beers (Purple Crack Wheat - a blueberry wheat beer with pepper berries and a Purple Crack mead) and brining pork belly for bacon.

Nice stash.

Good man, Doug is more than willing for you to go across and pick the stuff up, he’s converted his garage into BBQ HQ. The local comps are great, such a lot of fun and all the teams are more than willing to talk about BBQ all day long / night, and maybe have 1 or 2 drinks for good measure Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That’s quick. Might do a 5kg one Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Wow I hadn’t seen that brand before. It’s amazing how the charcoal / low n slow bbq cooking has exploded in Perth, even in the last few years. When my team first competed in 2015, the organisers struggled to scrape 12 teams together to organise a comp. These days, if you aren’t registered and paid up within 24 hours of a comp being advertised then you’ve missed out! I reckon that there are close to 50 teams in WA these days, such a great amount of growth in such a short time. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Apparently the kinder, gentler, more helpful, less snarky @cschaaf lives here.... good to know... @Chanly1983... I am new to the Tasmanian pepper berry game, but have found it to be good on just about everything. Have a nice dedicated mill and it bounces back and forth from the stovetop to the tabletop. Had to throttle my husband back and put him on a ration, he was getting a bit out of control... lol. I’m with you on the Staub. I have both as well and the finishing on the Staub is always top notch whereas the Le Creuset is nice, but often (at least in my experience) has minor imperfections. That dark interior can be a bit iffy to keep clean looking though. A quick wipe of oil will do the trick, or a nice acidic tomato based cook....

Ok I’ll weigh in after I taste it lol if I survive

I've changed the name to Cold/Hot smoker because the cold name had people believing it was only for cold smoking. I use it whenever I need any smoke profile added. It's a surefire way to get clean smoke right out of the git-go.. No waiting for the grey nasty bitter smoke to clear before putting in your food. The secret is to keep the smoke tube clean and to make sure the wood is dry.. I've been microwaving my chips in a bowl for 5+ minutes to remove excess humidity in the chips before long smokes.. They steam a lot.. Then again it's VERY humid here in Bali during the rainy season.

Nice that you got a call up! How'd the team do overall?