The Cooking Thread

I'll be making the wellingtons tonight a new way. If anyone is interested in step by step photos/directions I can post them. They are the amazing.

Here they are.

Two more.

I must apologize for neglecting this thread so terribly. I have been cooking, but not posting pictures or anything. And the fact that I ignored that Beef Wellington is basically a crime. Dang. That looks freaking fantastic!

Today I received my first package of curing salts. I've been dipping my toe in the beef jerky making waters, so it seemed like the right move. I'm two attempts in so far, and both have been delicious but have offered valuable learning experiences at the same time. This weekend, perhaps as soon as tomorrow evening, I will begin on batch #3. And for the first time, it will actually be done in a food dehydrator instead of in my oven.

I just put together the spice blend for the jerky-to-be. We'll see how it goes. It tastes good the way it is right now, so I am optimistic. Decided that I should maybe not just wing it and actually take note of what I'm using and how much of it. And I'm documenting it here because otherwise I'll probably lose it.

THE SPICE BLEND:

• 4 parts turbinado sugar
• 2 parts smoked paprika
• 2 parts ground pepper
• 1 part garlic powder
• 1 part onion powder
• 1 part dried thyme
• 1 part crushed red pepper
• 1/2 part cayenne
• 1/2 part dried oregano

Toss all that in a blender and grind it down into a nice, even powder. With some salt, and if left in bigger chunks, this would actually be a really good rub. I left that out because it's going to get mixed in with a bunch of Worcestershire and Soy sauce, plus the curing salt, so there will be an abundance of saltiness to round things out.

Why raw sugar? I know nothing about jerky.

It sounds like it would taste good. I love smoked paprika, and it sounds like a pretty spicy mix which isn't a bad thing with jerky I bet.

I was trying to decide whether to use plain white sugar, or brown sugar as I have also seen. So I went right down the middle. I want some of the molasses character, but not a strong presence.

From what I've read, beyond balancing flavors out, the sugar behaves much like salt in the soy and WC sauce in terms of helping draw out moisture.

Honestly, the cayenne might be a a little much in this. I like it, but when it comes to shareability, time will tell.

Do you rinse after the soak, before drying?

I haven't done that yet. Instead, I've been drying between paper towels before going into the oven on 170°. Reason being, I want to keep the little bits of seasoning that aren't soluble on the meat. I'll do the same in the dehydrator, at least initially, so I have a good direct comparison.

I made a black pepper brine once and it dried into fire sticks.

Here's a picture of the jerky-to-be. The dehydrator is loaded up, it's a little over 2 lbs of meat right now, taking up 3 shelves in the 4-tier dryer.

The next batch will be done with a well trimmed top round. I'll probably have a butcher at the local place hook me up so I don't have to do any trimming.

The next batch will be done with a well trimmed top round. I'll probably have a butcher at the local place hook me up so I don't have to do any trimming.

You need to go hunt a cow and butcher it with your bare teeth.  Be a man!

Hunting a cow seems a bit unfair. They are mostly corralled already, and they'd probably let me get close enough to pet them if I really wanted. Butchering it with my bare teeth before killing it might be maximum manliness when it comes to cows.

But deer. If I were a hunter, I'd be digging through my freezer looking for my stockpile of venison right now.

Hunting a cow seems a bit unfair.

Their dum.
Every sunrise is a brand new experience for a cow.


I heard one could glue a bunch of bees together into the shape of a cow!   

About half the jerky is done now. It's pretty delicious. Still warm even.

Do you offer free shipping?




. . . and free product?

LOL it's not yet a fine tuned recipe, but it's a good start. Once it's dialed in, let's talk

Notes so far. I used about 50/50 teriyaki sauce and Worcestershire. Both of those, while delicious, are going to need adjusting. I'm replacing the teriyaki with soy next time, and reducing the Worcestershire a lot. I was worried about the heat from the cayenne, it's actually pretty good though. May need to cut back a little on the sugar when I make the next seasoning mix.

LOL it's not yet a fine tuned recipe, but it's a good start. Once it's dialed in, let's talk

Notes so far. I used about 50/50 teriyaki sauce and Worcestershire. Both of those, while delicious, are going to need adjusting. I'm replacing the teriyaki with soy next time, and reducing the Worcestershire a lot. I was worried about the heat from the cayenne, it's actually pretty good though. May need to cut back a little on the sugar when I make the next seasoning mix.

Teriyaki is soy sauce w/ sugar and pineapple juice.

Try a 1/4 pinch of cinnamon. Not enough to notice.
Adds a certain synaps se qwa. (that's French). 

Peanuts are boiling!

Any good recipes on moose meat?

Any good recipes on moose meat?

Do you have moose meat?!!!!!!! I suggest you send me all of it for proper disposal

I'll post what I did for a moose stew. But also I'd say to make some jerky with it (I might be biased about that right now though). It's really lean meat and good for jerkification.

GET YER PASSENGER!

What I made was very similar to this one:


Cube the meat, brown it in a skillet, set aside. If you have moose bones, make yourself a stock with it. Otherwise, get beef stock. Either way, put some stock in a big pot. Add some seasoning (salt, pepper, herbs, some heat if you want, garlic... you get the idea), toss in some cubed up potatoes, bring to a boil. The easy thing to do next is wait until the potatoes are almost done, then add the moose meat, toss in frozen veggies (I got mixed cubed up carrots, corn, peas, and green beans), let it finish cooking, then thicken with some flour (remove some liquid into a separate bowl, whisk a few tablespoons of flour into the bowl with that liquid, then dump back into the pot and bring back to a boil)

It's really lean meat and good for jerkification.

 



My brother-in-law used to go home to Leadville Colorado every year to hunt with his family. They had horses and gear that would put Louis and Clark to shame. He always came home with a share of the kills.

He would grill the meat until it would bounce off the ground like a Superball^®.
Seriously like chewing on big thick industrial rubber bands.

One 4th of July we were celebrating his birthday (the 2nd) my BD (the 6th) and my other brother-in-laws's BD (the 9th).

He broke out some meat. I asked if I could try something with my chunk.

Salt and pepper, hot sear on both sides. Off to the side to warm through.

Juicy and tender.
My sister tasted it. Not sure what was said after, but,
next time he cooked for all of us it was prepared my way. 

I made some tweaks to the previous recipe, and scaled up. 4 full trays on the dehydrator. BEEFCAKE!

First jerky I made started with about 3 pounds of meat.
It dried down to about 14 oz.

It rehydrates in you belly.
I thought I was going to die.

That is the sexy jerky. Teach me your secrets.

I made some tweaks to the previous recipe, and scaled up. 4 full trays on the dehydrator. BEEFCAKE!

Looks yummy. Btw, can you perhaps tell us a little more about the provenance of this divine vessel:

Last time I cooked something, the firemen had to come to my house, they really wanted my pizza!