Syzygies

This is a puzzle for me. In each of two kitchens (my wife's home in California and my work apartment in New York) I have a set of three Fujitake chef knives and a Tojiro DP 3-Layer Chinese Cleaver. Since adopting the cleaver I rarely use the other knives. One can learn to do everything with a cleaver. I sharpen my knives with an assortment of Shapton Glass stones. A deep dive reveals that one can buy Shapton Glass stones tuned for original, softer Japanese knives, or these stones for more modern formulations such as VG 10. I had noticed on previous stones that it was nearly impossible to sharpen western knives, while the Shapton Glass stones handle western knives easily. This is that hardness issue, again. Somehow I'd made it years without worrying about it, but I'm better off knowing. So here's the puzzle: Nominally all of my knives are VG 10, yet it seems that I manage to get my cleaver sharper than the other knives.

Easy Popcorn Shrimp | Recipe | Almazan Kitchen Now that's a knife. My cleaver hasn't left my hand, despite owning many knives. "Unlike many of you" ?? I resemble that remark!

The Musui Kamado (Laurie calls it the "indoor K") is perfect for making ghee. Throw in the butter, set on extra low, leave unattended half an hour or more. The new jar is Marcus Samuelsson's Ethiopian spiced butter, a version made by his wife Maya’s tribe, the Gurage. Ghee with aliums and spices. Incredible aroma. I'm reminded of a fish cookbook from decades ago (I've been unable to identify since) where a Portuguese chef is baffled he has to instruct his staff to put the paprika in fat not water, the best parts of spices are fat soluble. Tonight's recipe also calls for a bit of Madras curry powder. We don't buy curry powder, like Indians we make a custom blend per recipe. I'm looking up what this is. Samuelsson's single best recipe could be his Berbere Spice Blend featured for example in his Black-Eyed Peas with Coconut Milk and Berbere; it's better than bought berbere from upscale sources. So of course we want to make Madras curry powder from scratch. It calls for curry leaves I happen to have just bought... Huh. Curry leaves have an amazing flavor, usually unlocked by tempering in oil, somewhat lost if dried for a spice blend. Huh. The Marcus ghee comes back to me. I should make a Madras curry powder ghee, with generous curry leaves. Huh. I should make a custom ghee for rogan josh, and use sous vide to cook a lamb shank confit. I identify with Samuelsson's trajectory and existential culinary questions. I've been listening to his Yes, Chef: A Memoir that he narrates. I love international food from everywhere, but French technique reaches greater heights than just checking off spice boxes. And whatever I do, my Indian tastes muddy, but my best French gets boring. Samuelsson left his Swedish restaurant to open Red Rooster Harlem, where he applies all of his classic training to world and soul food. I'm reminded of Alex Stupak's Tacos: Recipes and Provocations: A Cookbook where he applies his classic training to tacos.

I actually bought a year, during a promotion that lets me gift a year. I haven't made my way to Franklin yet, as I've studied his book, but the other cooking videos are worth the membership. It's fun watching Thomas Keller relax over time. As a fellow teacher, I get distracted analyzing each person's presentation.

I can't give 32" specific advice as I have a 23", but I don't use a basket splitter, and I'm careful to use "too much" lump charcoal, larger chunks loosely spaced to maximize airflow. My hoard of KK coffee lump is precious; I'll use a Fogo charcoal for pizza. My problem is usually overshooting, not undershooting. Till you figure this out, be generous and loose with your lump. You're an apprentice arsonist, hoping to work on the line someday. Aaron Franklin thinks in "smoke", his cooker designs are all based on his intuitions for airflow. I have no idea what he's talking about, but you clearly need to work your way down from "sufficient" airflow. The KK won't melt if you watch it.

It always helps to consider the source, and how their requirements are different than yours. Thomas Keller calls for quick 10% salt brines for seafood? In a restaurant kitchen there isn't room for an overnight "equilibrium" 0.5% brine. At home that same brine lets you buy fish for several days. Most recipes are really dumbed down, and most people spread techniques that are only partially evolved. And a popular author could be aware that readers have foil, but they don't have pink (uncoated! white is coated, wrong) butcher paper. Do they say something? I would only trust a source recommending foil if they explicitly make the comparison with pink butcher paper, and explain why they prefer foil. Aaron Franklin is arguably the most deservedly famous barbecue guru today. He's primarily a restauranteur, not a "personality", so he's freed from a financial incentive to dumb down his advice. On the contrary, there's a showstopper chapter "Building a Smoker" in Franklin Barbecue: A Meat-Smoking Manifesto [A Cookbook], how anyone can make their own cooker from a recycled 500 gallon propane tank with "basic metalworking skills". I can do most things but this is still on my list... He faces a restaurant constraint, perfect for you: All of his cookers run at 275°. Why? He prefers this to lower temperatures, gets better throughput, and doesn't have to juggle capacities of cookers set to different temperatures. He gives the clearest directions I've seen anywhere for cooking a 12 to 14-pound packer cut brisket, wrapping at 6 hours or so in pink butcher paper. I've varied my approach over the years: Temperature, wrapping, beef source, dry age? I believe that following exactly Aaron Franklin's protocol is spot-on. For a different opinion, in Brisket Tricks and elsewhere, @mguerra has been advocating for 325° or so. What you propose is decidedly not "hot and fast". 275° is reasonable middle ground, not falling prey to equating seriousness of intent with slowness of cook. The very idea that "low & slow" is such a sticky idea should serve as a warning not to take it as gospel. On the contrary, another of my favorite BBQ books is Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook: Recipes and Recollections from the Pitmasters. I don't follow any of the recipes, but I learned a lot about the diversity of approaches in Texas. It freed me from a blind adherence to "low & slow". I believe that the most important factor in brisket is the beef itself. I'll travel an hour and pay three times what others consider reasonable to buy brisket from the Golden Gate Meat Company in San Francisco. They'll dry age a few days on request. I also believe that the ideal cooker temperature is a function of the quality of the meat: 275° for the meat that takes an hour's drive and serious cash, varying up to 325° for more typical and affordable briskets. When there's less collagen/whatever to dissolve, time is your enemy. I no longer cook any brisket at 225°. I've never eaten at Franklin's Barbecue, but the best brisket I've had in my life was in Elgin, Texas. (#2, #3, #4 would be my own.) They can source better brisket in Texas, the market demands it. It melts, you want to spread the fat cap on toast like marmalade. Aaron Franklin's advice is tuned to Texas brisket sources. For potential owners, let me be clear that while Aaron Franklin uses an entirely different cooker, my own preferences are adapted to a Komodo Kamado. Compared to other ceramic cookers, a KK is far better insulated, so it maintains temperature with far less airflow. Airflow dries the meat out. Franklin's 1000 gallon cookers are good guides for us, because with scale he also controls evaporation.

Iki Ruixin Pro Sharpener + 4 Whetstones Set ($119) I keep getting hammered with Facebook ads for this sharpener. Versions on Amazon are $40 or so!? Same basic geometry as the TS Prof. I'm happy with my much more expensive Shapton Glass setup, but would this setup be a good start for others? Or does it look like junk? EDIT: Wasabi Knives is the source of the Facebook ads I'm seeing. I asked twice in the comments section for a source for their tag line claim "Voted #1 Sharpener 2020". While they answer other questions, they deleted my question twice, confirming my intuition that this is a baseless claim, something they made up. Their products look nice on their web site, but in my experience whenever one ignores early warning signs about a company, one regrets it. A second warning sign is that there are indistinguishable offerings on Amazon at a fraction of the price. There are plenty of other solid recommendations in this thread. I can answer my own question: Do not buy from Wasabi Knives.

That's good advice for using a chamber machine to package liquids. I have both a chamber machine and an impulse sealer, and I make stock all the time. If it was faster to use the chamber machine, or even just more reliable or less finicky, I'd use the chamber machine. For me, it's faster and easier to burp the air out of the bag, against a counter edge, and use an impulse sealer. I'd make an exception if the chamber machine was a few feet away from the stock (mine isn't though I like the exercise; I routinely walk each packet out separately as I prefer the walk to waiting). Then, following your advice, dial in the exact seconds needed to reach 0.2 bar of vacuum so the chamber machine can complete its job unattended. Get the next packet ready.. I have three of the steam table trays shown in my earlier post. They're just deep enough to take the weight off a packet of stock, and the metal conducts heat so all packets freeze quickly. My freezer just has room to stagger the trays so each rim supports the next.

I don't wear a belt, after scratching my Dad's guitar with the buckle. One of my many lessons that adults were idiots; belts are nothing but trouble. I'm on the same waist size for 30 years. But yes, some degree of moderation is called for, actually easier because the food is so good.

So vacuum packing our first 30 lbs of partially dried tomatoes, I improvised a funnel by cutting open a grape juice plastic bottle. I don't think in words (my grade school music teacher was dumbfounded that I could play notes without knowing what they were) so I was at a loss where I'd seen this idea. My wife recognized it as the bean funnel they use at Peet's to weigh out coffee. I found this small one on Amazon, in time for our second batch: CAFEMASY Green Coffee Bean Shovel So this meter reading (just over 0.9 Bar) is as good as my VacMaster VP120 ever goes. I have the impression one can make watermelon jerky with an oil pump machine. Do they go further?

Yes! @5698k sent me down a rabbit hole at Korin only to see that Asahi Rubber Cutting Boards were out of stock. This board is a perfect size for spot use. My last international trip before the pandemic was a two week solo ramen crawl in Japan. My single best meal was “Shiru-Nashi Tantanmen” at King-Ken in Hiroshima, but otherwise I loved various evening Izakaya meals. I'd sit at the bar and watch chefs work. I love the knife work and the focus. Edit: Arrived! I'm using this all the time. I love the romance of wood, but this surface feels like a knife upgrade.

That could be the first crane I've seen used for delivery. Give it a few years, you'll rent it again for getting back out of the pool...

I did write Epicurean four years ago about this; above is their response. I'd dispute the assertion that all boards are equally likely to do this, but their answer could nevertheless be helpful.

I had some of those Epicurean boards, so I could wash the board in the sink after a quick task, without involving my butcher block counter. However, once I learned how to really sharpen my VG10 Japanese chef's knives, I'd notice all these little black specks in minced garlic. I was shredding the board. I switched to some equally thin bamboo boards for this purpose. I know they're hard on knife edges, but at least I don't end up eating the board. I have a nice end grain cutting board, for when I want to mince a few ingredients, again without involving my butcher block counter. It's my favorite board ever, worth the trouble to haul it out: Olivewood End Grain Carving Board However, for "cooking dinner" I use my entire counter as a cutting and staging surface. Two of our counters are made of rock maple butcher block. One is my wife's baking station. The other is my cooking station, by the stove. It overhangs, so one can attach an Atlas pasta maker, or a Venetian bigolaro, or a meat grinder. I added grooves so I can slide in a steam table pan to catch vegetable scraps for compost. Later, I wash and rinse the surface with a bench knife, scraping off the overhang into this same pan. I learned this from my French cooking teacher. Cooking is limited by what one can get done. If one can spread out, one can get more done. Recently I listened to both of Bill Buford's food books while driving or hiking, and he drove home the same message. Motion planning, efficiency is a huge part of being a professional cook. At home, I'm a better cook with this much room.

For hot chiles, yes. Disposable gloves. The most expensive nitrile gloves are the most comfortable.

GrillGuns: Designed to Sear Meat and light your Charcoal Grill Fun video, though that cheap cooker isn't doing their product any favors!

This is somewhat a commodity market, with no brands you'll recognize. There are however differences in the quality and width of the seal. My first two (one on each coast) were $30 units that eventually broke. I splurged and spent $100 last year on this 12" model: LinsnField Sealer Pro, Patented 12inch Impulse Heat Bag Sealer, 5mm Sealing Width I do think 12" is worth it (the space as much as the cost) even if one's primary application will be 8" stock bags. They all come with spare parts. Decide a permanent place to store these, and write that location on tape on the underside of the sealer. (I didn't, and I have no idea where these parts are.) They all benefit from a warmup: press once without a bag. There's a dial to adjust the heat. One might remember a setting for standard applications such as chamber vacuum sealer bags. They're great for sealing anything, such as half a bag of dried chiles from a Mexican grocer. The low settings do go low enough for truly sketchy bags, but one should test on parts of the bag you intend to later cut away. For sealing bags of stock, practice with water. First goal is to not drop the bag under any circumstances. Then learn to slide the bag up and down against a counter edge. Get all the air out from below the contact point, and let the liquid above the contact point slowly drain to below the contact point. Slide down to glom the entire bag together, then move over to the impulse sealer and seal. One would think one could do this on the sealer itself (I actually built a stand once to try to get the angle right) but the "glom" is not fragile, and it really is easiest against a counter edge. Moving the bag and positioning the bag on the sealer is another chance to spill the bag onto the floor. Be generous with bag sizing (one can cut the excess later) and this is less of a risk.

Me neither. But my next machine will be an oil pump. At least one can change the oil. And oil machines reach a better vacuum.

I forgot England is flat. Do you have any Scottish relatives? Of course, some Brits go to further lengths to escape the flat: The Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature If one wants to be selective about reading mountaineering literature, one can do no better than the writings of Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker, two Brits who died together attempting Mt Everest by an unclimbed route. A regular part of the ordeal of climbing at their altitudes is preparing hot food. It takes hours. As altitude increases, air pressure drops, so the boiling point of water drops. Food cooking in that water is held back by the boiling point effect from reaching a suitable cooking temperature. For example, sous vide chefs know that vegetables such as potatoes won't cook below 85 C. Above 4500 meters of altitude, the boiling point of water is below 85 C. Mt Everest and nearby peaks are nearly twice that altitude. As one might imagine, pressure cookers are popular. Just as at sea level, they can fail spectacularly. It is harder at altitude to run out and buy another. Chamber vacuum sealers achieve a near vacuum, for these purposes. Even "warm" water will come to a boil. This is a standard warning, if one studies sous vide cooking: Everything you need to know about vacuum sealing Now, if one wants to live dangerously, one can watch a pouch come to a boil as an oil-pump chamber vacuum machine works, and press seal immediately. There won't even be an air bubble, because the steam will collapse. Still, an impulse sealer is much faster. And, comfort is the only criteria for working hotter.

My bet is that your husband has some culinary training? It is standard in a commercial kitchen to chill all hot liquids before putting them away. At commercial scales, food takes too long to reach refrigerator temperatures, and it spoils. Not a possibility, a certainty. At home scales, one generally gets away without knowing this, and most home cooks don't know this. When I make 20 pints of chicken stock at a time, I'm at commercial scale. I always buy ice, and chill my stock in a serious ice bath before packaging. One might notice from my photo that I then set the stock packets in a recessed metal tray. I have a number of these that stack, staggered, in my chest freezer. The metal both conducts heat away from the stock packets, and separated the layers so that they all freeze at once. Chilled, I could use my chamber vacuum machine to seal these stock packets. The $30 impulse sealer is much faster.

I own a basic chamber vacuum sealer in each of two homes. The VacMaster VP210 would be the closest current model. When I replace either of these I will move up to an oil pump machine. I came from $400 external clamp machines; even the best can't begin to compete with a chamber vacuum sealer. Get 4 mil bags, rather than 3 mil bags. The extra expense is minimal, and they puncture less often. One still needs to protect sharp bones. Get longer bags than you think. It takes several inches of slack to guarantee a wrinkle-free seal. One can always cut bags that are too long. A major difference with chamber machines is that one cannot seal hot liquids. They will boil as the air pressure drops, fouling the pump. For an oil pump, one then changes the oil. For a "maintenance-free" pump one sends in the machine for service. There's a third category of machine not to be overlooked: A $30 impulse sealer. One can easily learn to burp the air out of a bag of liquid, glomming together the sides of the bag the way one sticks a wet film to a window, then seal the bag with an impulse sealer. This is how I'll put away twenty pints of stock at a time, in pint bags. When I read in cookbooks other ways to freeze stock, I cringe. They really haven't figured it out yet, huh.

I bought that cut at a Farmer's Market. $20 a pound. First try, I barely did it justice (I'm used to whole bone-in pork butts, or the butt+picnic shoulder as one piece), but it was great.

First experiment with tacos from Cochinita Pibil. At its simplest, Yucatan roast pork in a marinade of achiote seeds and orange juice, wrapped in banana leaves. Recipes get way more complex. I can find fresh banana leaves at a Mexican grocer in town. Fresh as in not frozen. Asking my Mexican neighbor, the leaves are very pliant off the tree. My leaves disintegrate on touch. One doesn't expect to wrap a liquid-tight vessel. The leaves do insulate. Following a standard recipe, the pork butt wasn't close to done. I unwrapped it and cranked up the heat for a few hours. The pork is the only Iberico pork raised in California. I had to try it, and it was delicious. It will become a regular thing. Encina Farms

What drip pan? KK sells a double bottom drip pan, to lessen this effect. While one never needs to use a "water pan", a brisket might survive having some water in the drip pan, which might last enough of the cook. This is an experimental question. I've found that enough salt to properly brine or dry rub my meats makes the drippings too salty to use. Forced to choose, I like the effect of the salt on the meat, and I give up on the drippings.