The beaver is a proud and noble animal
Notes from a bemused canuck
So far, this morning:
– found out the boiler is broken
– Tolstoy needs to go to the vet, again, because we think he’s started being sick again
– my allergies are acting up
– I generally feel like crap
So yes, today is a good day.
NOT!
Current Mood:
Crappy
![[Recipe] Pulled Pork!](https://www.flubu.com/blog/wp-post-avatar/fucking_wheeee.gif)
I’ve been wanting to try this for ages, and I finally got up the courage to try to make pulled pork. I had the butcher keep me a bone-in shoulder (aka pork butt) last weekend. When I weighed it this morning, it was a touch over 10 pounds :)
I trimmed the fat and skin off of it, coated it with lemon olive oil and then gave it a good coating of dust:
Meathead’s Memphis Dust Rub Recipe
Adapted from: http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs_pastes_marinades_and_brines/meatheads_magic_dust.html
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground ginger powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried rosemary leaves, ground to a powder
I used the fast-cook method, if only because I can’t control the heat well enough on my smoker. Normally, the cooking time would be to allow 2 hours per pound at 225°F. Even though butts are very forgiving and temp control isn’t crucial, I also wasn’t keen on refueling my smoker for 20 hours.
After 4 hours of smoking at about 225°F with lots of smoke, adding a handful of soaked wood chips every 30 minutes or so, put the meat on a roasting rack in a roasting pan and pour a cup of water or apple juice into the pan. Cover the meat with foil and fasten the foil tightly to the edges of the pan so the meat is in a nice enclosed environment. Roast in the oven at 350°F for another 2 to 3 hours or until the temp hits 190°F and it passes the fork test.
When it hits about 180°F, collagens, which are part the connective tissues, begin to melt and turn to gelatin. The meat gets much more tender when this happens. And juicy. When it hits 190°F, it may be ready, and it may not be ready. But it’s time to check. If there is a bone, use a glove or paper towel to protect your fingers and wiggle the bone. If it turns easily and comes out of the meat, the collagens have melted and you are done. If there is no bone, use the “stick a fork in it method”. Insert a fork and try to rotate it 90 degrees. If it turns with only a little torque, you’re done. If it’s not done, close the lid and leave it for 30 minutes. If the internal temp hits 190°F but the meat is still not tender, reduce the heat in your cooker to about 190°F and hold it there for as much as another hour. It should then be done. If not, you’ve just got a tough butt. Wrap tough butts in aluminum foil and let them go for another hour, but don’t take them above 200°F or else the muscle fibers will start giving up moisture and toughen.
Leave the butt to rest for 30-60 minutes, then start pulling! Put the meat into a large pan to catch drippings. Pull the clod apart with gloved hands or forks. Discard big chunks of fat. If you wish you can slice it or chop it, but you lose less moisture by pulling it apart by hand since the meat separates into bundles of muscle fibers, hence the name pulled pork. Try not to eat all the flavorful crusty bits when you are doing the pulling, and distribute them evenly throughout. Make sure you save any flavorful drippings and pour them over the meat.
Adapted from: http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/porknography/perfect_pulled_pork.html
Current Mood:
Amused
![[Recipe] Gumbo, gumbo, in the pot...](https://www.flubu.com/blog/wp-post-avatar/gorgeousness.gif)
Chicken, sausage and shrimp gumbo
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 large onions, chopped
3 bell peppers, seeded, chopped (red and green)
4 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
1/2 teaspoon paprika
sea salt and whole peppercorns
1/2 cup dry white wine
leaves from two handfuls of fresh thyme
3 bay leaves
2 tins plum tomatoes with juice
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
6 smoked sausages, cut diagonally in 1/2-inch-thick slices
1.5 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pound peeled prawns
Tabasco sauce, to taste
Combine chilli flakes, sea salt, paprika and peppercorns in a mortar and pestle and grind to a fine consistency.
Brown chicken and sausages in a frying pan. This will add extra flavour. I used Hickory smoked sausages I get from the Giggly Pig lady, as they have a nice smoky flavour that really complimented the dish, and also have a bit of a kick, which also fit in nicely.
In a large cast iron pot, make a roux with the oil and flour (see below). Add chopped onions, chopped bell peppers, and chopped celery and cook until onions are soft and brown, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.
Add seasoning, wine, tomatoes, stock, thyme, and bay leaves; bring to boil, stirring occasionally.
Add sausage and chicken, reduce heat and leave to simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid letting the roux catch and burn.
Add shrimp to pot and cook shrimp until just opaque in center, stirring often, about 5 minutes.
Season gumbo to taste with Tabasco.
Garnish with minced parsley and serve with steamed rice alongside.
How to make a roux
1. Heat 1/2 cup of oil, or other fat in a heavy skillet over very low heat.
2. Gradually sprinkle the hot melted fat with the same proportion of flour and immediately begin stirring.
3. Stir the mixture constantly until it reaches the desired color, which may take from 15 to 30 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and continue stirring until it has cooled down a bit and there’s no risk of burning.
5. Add herbs, vegetables, or whatever your recipe calls for or store roux tightly covered in the refrigerator for later use.
Tips
1. A dark roux will thicken less than light roux.
2. If black specks appear in the roux, it has burned and you’ll have to start over.
3. If roux is made ahead and refrigerated, pour excess oil from the surface before reheating, or let it return to room temperature.
4. Gumbo tastes even better the following day, as the flavours will really develop.
Current Mood:
Good
People, en masse, are whiny and selfish. You give them free wine, and they complain about the lack of choice or where it comes from. You give them free movie tickets, they complain about the fairness of how you’re handing them out. However, if you ask them to participate in the organisation of events, the silence is deafening.
Current Mood:
Aggravated
Ever since we had Tolstoy shaved, yet again, he always spends the night on Bean’s bed. He won’t go near the Beastie during the day, but it’s impossible to get him out of that room at night.
More awesome than a zombie dinosaur being ridden by a robotic ninja!
Current Mood: Amused
I’ve been working at my current job for the last 6 years. It’s been mostly good, with some very high times and a few low ones as well. I’ve come to the realisation though that I need to start looking for something different, because I’m no longer happy doing what I’m doing. If money weren’t an object, I’d start my BBQ restaurant, or combine that with the B&B idea that Katy and I have been kicking around as a pipe dream for years. Alas, money is always an object, so I need to keep slogging at it until somebody makes me an offer I can’t refuse. Or I go postal at work. Whichever comes first, I guess.
Current Mood:
Pensive
Every weekend, when we can, we go to Scottsdales on a Sunday to feed the Koi, have some food and generally spend too much money. Bean loves it there and Scottsdales is a word that he can say very clearly.
![[Recipe] Dutch apple cake](https://www.flubu.com/blog/wp-post-avatar/foodgasm.jpg)
From the Rachel Allen cookbook. I was bored today and felt like cooking.
Ingredients:
Two eggs
175g caster sugar
Half tsp vanilla essence
75g butter
75ml milk
125g plain flour
Half tsp ground cinnamon
2¼ tsp baking powder
Two small or one medium cooking apple
A separate 15g caster sugar
Preheat the oven to 200ºC, Gas Mark 6. Grease, and line with parchment paper, an 8″x 8″ square tin.
Whisk the eggs with the 175g caster sugar until the mixture is thick and mousse-like and the whisk leaves a figure ‘8’. (about 5 minutes)
Melt the butter with the milk and pour onto the eggs, whisking all the time. Sieve in the flour and baking powder and fold carefully into the batter so that there are no lumps of flour. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.
Peel and core the apples and slice into thin slices. Arrange them over the batter. They’re going to sink, that’s normal. Sprinkle with the remaining 15g of sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180ºC, Gas Mark 4, for a further 20 to 25 minutes, or until well risen and golden brown.
Cool in the tin and serve warm. Delicious with cream, or, of course, custard.
Current Mood: Amused
Tolstoy clawed me in the chest and the face yesterday.
Bean bit me on the bicep today.
I lost the thumbring that Katy bought me for my birthday a few years ago.
I am not having a good day.
Current Mood: Aggravated