tony b

It's one of the things that you monitor for - if you see some starting on the top layer, then just scrap it off and add a bit more salt to the mix. I hopefully won't have an issue, since I went a tad heavy on the salt to start with (I rounded up to the next gram when measuring it out) and tried to make sure that there was a good layer of wine on top of the mash.

Finally got around to mashing up my peppers from this years crop. Now to let Mother Nature do her thing and ferment them out. Left to Right: Dragon (Red), Aji (Yellow), and Chocolate Ghost (Brown). Once they are done fermenting in 4 - 6 weeks, then you puree and strain the mash and add whatever variety of vinegar you'd like to finish up the sauce. Then into the bottles.

If you're in a hurry and don't have time to marinate the steak yourself, Trader Joe's sells a pre-marinaded Carne Asada that's pretty good. https://www.traderjoes.com/FearlessFlyer/Article/3722

@Bruce Pearson - get the good stuff. There an incredible balance of flavors when done well. Very Umami. Cheaper stuff is very salty. https://smile.amazon.com/Red-Boat-Premium-Fish-Sauce/dp/B00B617XK2

And, there's always Purple Crack!

You caught my interest when I saw "fish sauce." Interesting addition.

Gorgeous looking steak cook, Shuley! Yeah, SRF is a "special occasion" source, as they are definitely pricey!!

Next time, use the flat for your temperature monitoring and put the point back on for burnt ends after the flat is done. Just sayin'.

Thanks, MacKenzie!

An almost perfect butt! The LAST tomato that I got off my plants before the frost hit. I just couldn't resist posting this!

@Bruce Pearson - did you get your Meater? Just stab that sucker in the breast and program the app and off to the races!

Missed it. But, Yes, on a plate is a good place for a beet!

Uncle, Uncle, Uncle! Today's lunch - Perfect Butt sandwich! I even threw in the zip bag, just for MacKenzie -

Nice, Mackenzie, but where's the Purple Crack?

Says the man who never posts pictures! Sorry, Robert, but I gave up trying to compete with the likes of Charles and MacKenzie ages ago when it comes to food photography. I only post pics if it's critical to the discussion. In this case, it's just another pork butt. Sorry, MacKenzie, it's all pulled and into zip bags in the freezer - except for one small bag I'm eating out of, like for breakfast this morning with 2 fried eggs on top - excellent. I struggled for a while, too, Aussie, since I'm not a baker and not used to working with dough. But, with practice, I finally got it down pretty well. One thing that I did learn is that it doesn't take as much water as you think it should, but make sure that you mix it well so you don't have pockets of dry flour. Just keep plugging away at it - practice makes perfect, as they say.

Fess up, MacKenzie - you ate more than one piece of bacon!!

Started a 7.5 lb, bone in, pork butt this morning (7:30 am) on the KK, indirect @ 250F (with Guru), with the smoker pot loaded with peach and pecan. Injected with a dozen Seasoning Stix - 4 Garlic, 4 Sriracha Garlic, and 4 Blend X and rubbed with mustard & Dizzy Pig Crossroads - rested overnight. I had hoped that it would be done in time for me to go to the hockey game tonight. Plan was to wrap in foil, beach towel, and into the cooler until I got home to pull it. However, when my friend arrived at 4:45 pm to go to dinner before the game, the butt was sitting @ 175F. Dilemma - take it off the smoker and wrapped it and hope that it finishes (target IT was 200F); or, let it go and cross my fingers that I don't come home to jerky? So, I rolled the dice and let it ride. Got home from the game around 9:30 pm to find the butt sitting at 199F - Woo, Hoo!! Perfect Butt!!!! Sometimes it pays to be lucky more than it does to be good!!

Serious chocolate! But, I have to admit that it seems a bit of a shame to make hot chocolate out of such lovely art. They belong on top of a cake, a Tiramisu, or at least some cupcakes! However, I'm sure that they made some wonderful hot chocolate! Thanks for the tips MacKenzie. I had chilled my slabs of bacon before, but maybe not long enough?

Sweet looking bacon, MacKenzie. Question - do you chill/partially freeze it before slicing to make it easier to slice? There must be a trick that I haven't learned yet, since I have a terrible time slicing mine - and I have a deli slicer that I bought specifically for this task! The slices tend to stick to the blade and get pulled around rather than slice cleanly and fall off the back to the tray. Your friend must be a cake decorator to have nice chocolate curls like that. Did they make them?

I have had a couple of hemp beers - meh! Plus, most brewers hate working with the seeds, as there's so much oil in them that they clog up grain mills during the crush and other pieces of equipment during transfers.

@Aussie Ora -

Prego! @mk1 - Nice eye to spot that logo. I had to go back and blow it up to see it.

Buon Giorno Drago Nero! Welcome to the Obsession. You'll be set up and cooking up a storm in no time. Hoping to learn some pizza tricks from you down the road!