tony b

Happy Straya Day!

I'm in the "better living through chemistry" camp - the combo of statins and fish oil capsules have my cholesterol and tri-glycerides under control. Whuut? Some outfit calling themselves "Iowa Meat Farms" and the only place they sell is in San Diego??

Yes, definitely high heat works best, but like I said, you have to monitor it carefully to catch it before it melts too much. I don't generally oil it, but no harm, no foul in my book.

Gotta hand it to ya, Robert, that's a cheap knife, but looks decent. We'll see in the long run how mine holds up?

Define "real money" in terms of knives? In my book, it would be over $150. This one, with the discount is $38. So, what would you say is "Go cheap?"

After a very long quest to find a decent bread knife (I've been through at least 6), I am head over heels in love with this Japanese one that I recently purchased. Reasonable cost and cuts through crusty breads like butter! Suisin Inox Bread Knife 9.75" (25 cm) (korin.com) AND, it's 20% off now with this code: KSALE20

It's a specific cheese for grilling. It's very dense and low moisture, it's also a bit salty, like a Feta. I probably should have cut this slab in half; although it was nice and smoky, it really didn't melt much. That's the thing to be mindful of doing this cheese, once it starts to soften, watch it closely or you'll be trying to scoop it out of the grooves in the grate!

For me, it's a splurge purchase - special occasions. I can get Prime grade beef at CostCo for very reasonable prices per pound - just a couple of bucks more a pound than Choice Reserve at my local supermarket and less than a 1/4 the price of American Wagyu. Example, CostCo prime ribeye cap is normally $16.99/lb, Snake River Farms gold grade wagyu for the same cut is $99/lb. No way the wagyu is 4x tastier than the prime. Just sayin'

Tonight's cook, before the impending snow storm (maybe up to 8+ inches of wet, heavy snow tomorrow afternoon through Tuesday morning), another interesting cut from Porter Road - Teres Major. Grilled direct on the lower grate, post oak & mesquite, rubbed with Gunpowder. Tossed on a slab of "grilling cheese" (aka haloumi). The challenge of this cook was the taper on the steak at each end, which necessitated frequent turns and moving around the grill as the coals developed hot spots, so as to not overcook the tips too much, while get the thicker center to a nice medium rare. Managed it well. The tips were about medium well, while the center was a nice medium-rare. Plated with crusty potatoes and side salad. Peruvian green sauce for the spuds and a mash-up steak sauce for the meat. Need to keep working on this potato recipe. I dialed back the cooking time, but they were still a bit too crunchy and not enough creamy interiors. I think the cut was too small. Next time, I'll do wedges.

Yeah, it seems like I feel a tug on my wallet every day reading this Forum! Some days I have more willpower than others! 😄

Last night's dinner was an homage to Jon B - chicken thighs with Dinosaur BBQ - Wango Tango and Wegmann's salt potatoes.

Returned to the scene of the crime today for the release of the next beer in the series. Lunch was Vladimir Poutine (beef stroganoff with cheese curds on house made french fries) and Green Dragon (New Zealand Pilsner). Followed by "dessert" - Double Maple Coffee Gazprom on the left and Caramel Pecan Gazprom on the right. The Gazprom is a maple syrup infused Russian Imperial Stout finished in Bourbon barrels that the brewery has been doing for a number of years now and it's always released in January. These 2 beers are "one-offs" of the base with the addition of extra maple syrup and cold brewed coffee in the one, and; caramel and pecan additions to the other (first year for this one and it's amazing!) It's all part of Barrel-aged January at the brewery. The last one in the series is being released this Wednesday - Percussive Maintenance - Gazprom with shaved and toasted coconut (like a macaroon.) You KNOW that I'll be there!

I use a similar service (forward2me) to ship goods from the UK to the US. It works great.

Well Done!

Would that make @Jon B. the "Cornell Chicken?" 😁

I am "BoJack Horseman!"

I swap out the oil for a slather of CYM (classic yellow mustard).

While that rule only applies to cooks, I regret that we didn't take any pictures of the actual meeting over beers. But, I have witnesses! This will have to suffice, a picture of the goodies from Syracuse.

Back in the day, Sabatier was one of the "gold standards" for professional knives. I coveted a set, but they were out of my price range back then. I don't know their history well enough to know why they seem to have fallen out of favor these days?

@tekobo - I've been hugged! Was fun finally meeting Jon. His sister came along, too, whom I've met several times before. We had some tasty beers and a good long chat. For a short time, the lockdown was shoved into the background! @Jon B. - way too generous with the cooking supplies. But Thank You for the largesse!

Unless you're immortal, that's probably going to happen.

I'm looking forward to meeting the famous Jon B, as well.

I've had a couple of homebrews made with spruce tips instead of hops. Very nice change of pace. This was a wort rally with the brewery, so the base beer was one of their recipes that I had kettle soured and made into a German Gose. I did the one-off mango version, as well. The mango took 1st place and the standard Gose took 3rd place in Best in Show. So, I was pretty proud of that.

It would likely be a longer cook (8+ hours) where you'd need the extra fuel, like a pork butt or a full brisket.