RokDok

Simple good idea, will try this next time

Welcome David

Agree fab bike - be careful although it's probably safer than a horse !

Thank you, Would be great to meet up for an adult beverage. We are already getting excited about it - and certainly the thought of a trip is a great spirit lifter.

Hi @Troble, Salesman was slightly tongue in cheek - there has been plenty of drooling over the pictures that you posted ! Mrs RD and I were having a cup of tea yesterday morning and thought it would be a good idea to go to Mexico. Flights into Mexico were quite expensive but BA do a non-stop flight return Heathrow to San Diego for £340 - felt too good to miss. We are out on 14th November and returning on 12th December. We haven't any definite itinerary , but thought we might go across to El Paso, dropping down into Mexico there and heading for Chihuahua. Get the train to Los Mochis and then the boat across to La Paz. Work our way up the Baja peninsular and then check out some of the establishments you recommended. There are also some beers that need sampling in SD (according to @tony b), before heading home. We travel very light - very small pack each, use local buses mainly, budget accommodation with the occasional treat - the treats will probably come towards the end of the trip. Back to Duolingo. Best RD

You are a great salesman @Troble. We have just booked our flights.

And very tasty it is too !!

@tony b, @MacKenzie It's been a while, I remember packing with salt in a cool box & draining off the fluid daily. The has given me motivation to re-try and do the soak outs. Didn't have the KK then and didn't try to smoke . but now keen to try this Thanks

Great way to celebrate the end of lockdown @remi

Thats looks brilliant, whenever I've tried it's been salty and only suitable for adding to stews etc. Well done

Really exciting and bringing back happy memories. Look forward to seeing the uncrating - rolling it off the base raises he pulse a bit.

I reckon I could just look at these amazing pictures, have a few beers and feel that I'd eaten really well. Might try it on Friday night instead of cooking.

Fabulous cooks ! Love the rotisserie pineapple - that would make a great dessert too.

Beautiful cook. Look moist and sticky yum

Looks delicious Tony , I can almost taste it. Nice robust wine to go with it. Yum

Inspirational @Troble, must put my comfort blanket in the cupboard

Excellent choice @tony b ! Mine cooked for 8 hours but ideally could have done with a bit more time ( @tekobo suggested 8-12 hours at 150 celsius) We had some left over for tonight's supper and it is even better ! Would have gone well with stout , but didn't have the room.

We’ve just got back from the pub but Peter was pretty happy with a slice of covid secure birthday csk

You know what it’s like @tekobo

I feel your angst @tony b, they are actually in Beef Dripping - which we rendered earlier. Old fashioned fish and chip shops here used to use beef dripping.

I feel your angst @tony b, they are actually in Beef Dripping - which we rendered earlier.

About 5 hours in now and the ribs have shrunk a bit so all four can go in one tin, not needed to add any further liquid so far : I'm flipping the ribs every hour or so and basting to keep them moist. My first two cookbooks which I bought about 35 years ago were the Roux brothers, and The Manoir aux Quatre Saisons by Raymond Blanc. It was just about possible to cook recipes form the first - the latter was very difficult, but I did like the first few dozen pages on how to peel shape and cook vegetables. In particular potatoes. I like to carve them into little boat shapes : : And, before you ask ... all my injections are up to date - I haven't missed any.

It's our friend Peter's birthday, and his wife asked if a bunch of us would meet in the village pub this evening at 8pm to celebrate. So, as we live next-door to the pub we suggested that the bunch came here for some food first. Now having been under the spell of @tekobo 's KK cooking wizardry - and having eaten her fab veal short ribs we thought this would be a great dish to serve tonight. In view of the fact that it's a pretty significant birthday for Peter, slow cooked ( braised really) rib is moist, succulent and above all soft, it would be easy for him to eat. We could even cut it up small for him if he forgot to bring his teeth. There is a commercial butcher at the end of the road. I know them well and I ordered the short rib from them. An unusual request here in Blighty : " So, let's get this straight Dok - you want Pork Spare Ribs, but not separate - all joined up and not in Pork but in Beef - so - bones with a lump of meat on them". " Yes, indeed , I think that would be a reasonably accurate approximation of my requirement " So, picked them up this morning : The thing is that they are frozen. Mrs RD is always giving me tips and advice and very helpful in pointing out where I've done things wrong, but she suggested browning them in a pan first. 8/10 Roasting them over direct heat with some cherry wood initiated the smokiness, gave a decent Maillard and really helped with the thawing out : Whilst this was happening Mrs RD made a braising stock of : Softened Onion & Garlic, Star Anise, Fresh Ginger, Coriander Powder, Chinese 5-Spice, White wine vinegar, soy sauce and beef stock, which we poured over the browned ribs, followed by a couple;e of bottles of stout from a batch I'd made in 2017.: Both pans now in the KK at about 150 celsius with hunks of cherry wood from our tree which had a haircut a month or so ago.

Thanks Tekobo. I cooked a rotisserie chicken a few weeks ago and Mrs RD said that, altho it was OK, it was nowhere near as good as cooked by her in the oven indoors. When I mentioned this to Tekobo a gauntlet whizzed past my ear. So, chicken the first way was "Pollo al Matone" - Chicken in a brick - T had bought some brined chicken, spatchcocked one, seasoned it and placed it it a shallow terracotta dish with a loose (very loose) lid which compressed the chicken. The second way was simply placing a trussed chicken ( one that she had brought over from Italy ) - into a small metallic baking tray, and placed these into her 23", thus : Note - over direct heat but high up. Two other chicken ( ready brined too) were rotisseried indirectly on the 32" with the foil wrapped single bottomed tray beneath. Meanwhile, the double bottomed drip tray was in the kitchen over a moderate heat on the stove and par-boiled potatoes were tossed in goose fat. The single bottomed tray was removed and the double bottomed tray with the potatoes were put in under the chicken to cook and crisp. , Finally the chicken were given a direct blast over the direct heat to brown up Meanwhile Sharkey was in the kitchen reducing some stock and wine for a delicious gravy and the runner beans that had been picked earlier were boiled. The chicken in the 23" were simply delicious - moist and lots of juices in the terra-cotta. The rotisserie chicken was moist and delicious - potatoes yummy and crisp - of course accompanied by appropriate beverage. We didn't eat four chicken - Tekobo had prepared an extra one for a friend nearby whose husband was unwell and so they too had a delicious meal. Mrs RD was converted, and it was my turn to be grilled as to why I hadn't achieved results like this.A kind of peace was restored when I suggested it was because I didn't have enough KKs.