Bruno Mars is singing now so this is a good time to check the progress of the pork shoulder.

 

 

 

Eight hours in.

Edited February 3, 201412 yr by Augsburger

Thanks Mike!

Reposted from my Facebook (also in Crock Life):

Most of my recipes consist of the following:

- meat
- tomato sauce
- other ingredients (onions, garlic, olives, beans, tomato chunks, etc.)
- spices
- filler

Throw together, allow to cook overnight, doctor spices to taste, add filler to texture.  

Really, that's it.

This could go in several directions -- a chilli based concoction, a spaghetti sauce based concoction, or...yeah, I don't know what to call my experiments lately.  Someone asked me, "what do you got there?"  "Chilli.  I mean, in Facebook terms, 'it's complicated', but it started life as a chilli, and it's still in the orbit of 'chilli', so I call it, 'chilli'."

So far, my favourite filler has been oatmeal -- it doesn't add starchiness to the concoction, its taste is compatible enough not to draw attention away from the intended targets, but I feel strange adding too much of it.

Experimental filler #4 yesterday/today was Trader Joe's Harvest Grains blend -- Couscous, Orzo, Garbanzo beans and Quinoa.  Again, turned out a little too starchy, but not unpalatable.  And any pasta or pasta-like substance is not going to be "_al dente_" once it's cooked beyond its recommended cooking time.

Thing is, I added so much, it's now >50% vegan...not that there's anything wrong with that.  So I'm tempted to take a stab at a vegan concoction.  (And the meat is 99% lean turkey, so it's pretty [waves hand] healthy, which is the point.)

So the question arises -- which of these things retain their texture in a crock pot, and which become mush?  Some mush is fine, as long as it's not all mush.  I know eggplant skins and olives and mushrooms all retain their texture.  Chestnuts?  Butternut squash?  Garlic.  I know I don't mind running into a cut clove of garlic, but how many of you mind?  I love onions and beans and...(Yes, I fully intend to get experimental.)  Cauliflower?  Broccoli?  Bamboo shoots?  Water chestnuts?  Cloud ear fungus?  Asparagus?  Carrots?  Eggplant?  Peppers?

Veggie lasagna for lil bro and his gal.

Just made some chocolate and coconut biscotti so at least the start of days should be good this week.

Looking for a good braised rabbit recipe for tomorrow.  Anybody have any ideas?

Roast leg of lamb

Rosemary, white and black pepper, and cinnamon

Pulled pork

I made some slamming meat sauce yesterday -- ground turkey, tomato sauce, olives, garlic, more garlic, oregano, dill, thyme, marjoram, and some wine, both in and out of the sauce.  :groucho:

 

Crock pot + garlic ==

Pulled pork

Great minds think alike. Got our own batch resting on warm as we await Colin (and hopefully John) for a later dinner.

Mmm, dinner. Just landed, shouldn't take too long to get there.

Great minds think alike. Got our own batch resting on warm as we await Colin (and hopefully John) for a later dinner.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1393548253.283329.jpg

That was really good, thanks!

Mmm, dinner. Just landed, shouldn't take too long to get there.

Nice to see you, Colin! Too bad you didn't bring the sous vide!

Edited February 28, 201412 yr by jvlgato

I got my hacked-together sous vide up over the weekend. While I was fiddling with it, I made a few just perfect poached eggs. Tonight I am attempting burgers.

 

I used Adafruit's guide to convert one of my rice cookers to a sous vide. It's rather finicky, has a limited capacity and, considering everything, getting real close to the cost of the Anova.

Have never had a Japanese curry ...

I love Japanese curries. My favorite part is the Japanese now think they were first and disregard Indian curries.

Alternatives? Kola Bear head?

I've been doing a lot of meat sauces lately.  Brown meat and onions, throw in crock pot with tomato sauce, add spices, turn temperature down to low, add garlic.  If I add beans, I call it "chilli"; if I add olives and oregano (and other more "Italian" herbs), I call it an arrabiata variant, but otherwise the recipe is the same, lollers.  I've stopped doing both (olives and beans), mostly for variety. 

 

Need to start figuring out some Thai recipes.  Am also going to try that Japanese curry and some stews.

I got my hacked-together sous vide up over the weekend. While I was fiddling with it, I made a few just perfect poached eggs. Tonight I am attempting burgers.

 

I used Adafruit's guide to convert one of my rice cookers to a sous vide. It's rather finicky, has a limited capacity and, considering everything, getting real close to the cost of the Anova.

I have no experience with any other sous vide device but the Anova works well. Made my second sous vide meal, a chuck roast. I figured it was cheap and if I screwed up, not too much money down the drain. It came out pretty good. Gail is not a beef fan but said it was or of the better beef dishes I've made. It wasn't but it was still very good.

Out of the bag

After searing

Sliced

That Japanese curry recipe looks really good. Pig head not so much. Suckling pig is fantastic, though haven't had it for a while and in my old age, I might feel bad for Babe now. Pork belly is delish, but incredibly fatty.

Hi All;

 

 

Need to start figuring out some Thai recipes.

Now you're talking.  Love Thai food.  I have done a bunch of recipes from here.  Mostly authenic.  All are great.  This is also a great place to pick up some of the ingrediants that may be hard to find locally.

http://importfood.com

 

Me

yup, I've made a few of importfood's recipes.  Their crying tiger is awesome.

Mike, that roast looks fantastic.

 

I recently tried a chicken breast and asparagus and the chicken came out better than I could have imagined. The asparagus was good but not exceptional. I decided I'm getting an Anova sooner rather than later.

 

For Japanese curry, it was always a thing I ate growing up. It's best with leftover ham and whatever vegetables are available. That said I have made this recipe and highly recommend it. The only thing I couldn't find and was too lazy to make was the torigara stock so I substituted half dashi and half chicken stock.

an Anova is on my list, when I have some spare cash.

So far I am 2 for 2 on good results with the Anova.

Mike, besides being good, is the Anova cooked food actually better or at least different enough from regular grilling or frying that you've found it worthwhile?

 

If I don't cook Japanese curry, I'll definitely have to look for some at a restaurant!

Mike, besides being good, is the Anova cooked food actually better or at least different enough from regular grilling or frying that you've found it worthwhile?

 

If I don't cook Japanese curry, I'll definitely have to look for some at a restaurant!

Better, I haven't looked at it that way.  To me it is a different way to cook food which lends itself to a different but good flavor.  Sometimes I grill a piece of meat and sometimes a smoke it.  One is not necessarily better than the other but there may be a time issue, so smoking is not practical or I may just want something grilled. The nice thing about sous vide, is you get it set up and leave it alone until it's done.  No watching, flipping, etc.  I hope that makes sense.  The chuck roast I made, was seared after the cooking was done to give it a grilled look and taste.  What I have found from sous vide is the meat is very tender which is not always the case with grilling and smoking.