Bear Down Wildcats

BearDown89 wrote:

Longhorned wrote:Way to cook it up, BearDown89! Mass-produced foods are totally a legit cooking ingredient.

As for the huitlacoche, it's a food for everybody, not just an adventurous travel eater like BearDown89. It isn't strange, you don't have to "develop a taste for it", and it isn't sophisticated. It's just straight-on one of the great foods you've never tried. It's directly in everyone's taste profile already, at the level of comfort food.

Where do you find it? I'm certain the Albertson's here isn't going to have it in the produce section. Mexican market? Several of those around. Then how did you prep it? Just chop it up and sautee and use it like any old taco/quesadilla/burrito filling with fixins'?

That's a big question, BD. I usually just back into success while in the wrong gear, so I found it offered at a taqueria in Champaign, Illinois. I'd always thought I'd have to try it while traveling in Mexico, and all of the sudden there it was, and without any fanfare. The owners moved here from Mexico City, but they get their huitlacoche locally from corn farmers. Even everyday gardeners are "unfortunate" enough to encounter the "blight". My understanding is that you can buy it canned from Mexican grocers, and supposedly it's great canned, but I don't know anything about that. Either way, my understanding is that you saute it with garlic and onions.

I'm not sure what to do about it in Idaho, but on your next visit to Tucson it must exist. How could it be in Champaign and not Tucson? We didn't even get our first Mexican restaurant until 2009, and our first grocery in 2010. I suspect it's all over the place in Nogales.

i've never seen it in tucson...but i've never specifically kept my eyes peeled for corn smut. i'm sure it is widely available here. mostly in canned form though i'm sure.

scumdevils86 wrote:i've never seen it in tucson...but i've never specifically kept my eyes peeled for corn smut. i'm sure it is widely available here. mostly in canned form though i'm sure.

Also known as cuitlacoche.

scumdevils86 wrote:

Longhorned wrote:

scumdevils86 wrote:Italian "stir fry". hot Italian chicken sausage with asparagus, red onion, garlic, bell pepper, yellow squash, zucchini, tomato, mushrooms, fresh basil, chili flakes, Italian seasoning, garlic, lemon juice and a splash of good balsamic. All sauteed together in one happy pot with some parmesan on top

With bread? Nothing starchy?

Nope. Its pretty healthy when I make it this way. Just a tablespoon or 2 of oil and the chicken sausage plus a ton of veggies. I would prefer pasta or bread of course but it is a filling meal without.

My dietitian says avoid starches, so I go breadless too. This is what I made the other night. And yes, my grill grates are really that dirty.

With the heat I don't think it matters. Adds flavor.

Merkin wrote:And yes, my grill grates are really that dirty.

Just extra flavor

I think grill grates with build-up is appetizing. Those kebabs look fantastic. I guess it's spring.

Merkin wrote:

I see some beef, green peppers, large cherry tomatoes?, what else?

pearl onions and yellow peppers?

Teriyaki chicken and pineapple chunks, no beef. Rest is correct.

Not authentic in any culture, but my kids like it.

Longhorned wrote:I think grill grates with build-up is appetizing. Those kebabs look fantastic. I guess it's spring.

It's always bbq weather where I live.

It's not just the weather. Spring comes and I grill and make myself a margarita.

Longhorned wrote:

scumdevils86 wrote:i've never seen it in tucson...but i've never specifically kept my eyes peeled for corn smut. i'm sure it is widely available here. mostly in canned form though i'm sure.

Also known as cuitlacoche.

Wow. We have Herdez products here. I'll keep an eye out for it.

Made me some calimari with french fries. The wife is still away.

Spaghetti with sardines, grilled onions, green olives, capers, pan-roasted pine nuts, lemon zest, olive oil, fish sauce.

Longhorned wrote:Spaghetti with sardines, grilled onions, green olives, capers, pan-roasted pine nuts, lemon zest, olive oil, fish sauce.

sounds awesome...have a recipe? or do you just fudge it?

scumdevils86 wrote:

Longhorned wrote:Spaghetti with sardines, grilled onions, green olives, capers, pan-roasted pine nuts, lemon zest, olive oil, fish sauce.

sounds awesome...have a recipe? or do you just fudge it?

Yeah I based it on this...

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013 ... and-capers

... with the addition of pan-toasting some pine nuts and adding green olives and a little fish sauce at the end. And I didn't have parsley on hand.

Three (3) chili cheese dogs made of the cheapest ingredients available.

Awaiting repercussions of my poor choices now.

BearDown89 wrote:Three (3) chili cheese dogs made of the cheapest ingredients available.

Awaiting repercussions of my poor choices now.

BearDown89 wrote:Three (3) chili cheese dogs made of the cheapest ingredients available.

Awaiting repercussions of my poor choices now.

From your colon?

azgreg wrote:

BearDown89 wrote:Three (3) chili cheese dogs made of the cheapest ingredients available.

Awaiting repercussions of my poor choices now.

From your colon?

Longhorned wrote:

BearDown89 wrote:Three (3) chili cheese dogs made of the cheapest ingredients available.

Awaiting repercussions of my poor choices now.

No regrets. No discernable repercussions.

What happened is that on Wednesday nights I have a guitar lesson with this cool grizzled old hippie who's been playing for over 50 years. He can be a first-class trip. Technically it's $20 for a half hour lesson, but we always end up hanging out for close to an hour. We generally chat about his various maladies and holistic remedies, talk about music, pluck around on the guitars. He plays lead while I strum some basic rythm or blues riff. He gives me something to work on for the week. Last week he greeted me with, "I'm stoned as a goat." It's my favorite hour of the week and $20 well spent regardless of my guitar playing progress. It's really up to me anyway. I mean, we talkin' 'bout practice . . .

Afterwards I typically stop at a little dive on the way home for a couple of frosty domestic $3 mini-pitchers. Sometimes the friendly Canadian GF joins me as she did last night. Except for the wings, the food is otherwise pretty mediocre at this place. I did, however, notice a variety of hot dog offerings on their menu board and it got me to thinking, but I didn't want to pay them $6.75 to make me a hot dog. It's really more about the frosty $3 mini-pitchers after my weekly music session with the trippy hippie.

So that's where the chili dogs came in last night when I got home. I generally save that meal for the MLB All Star Game in July, but given that the season is upon us and there was lots of baseball talk on sports radio yesterday it all came together nicely.

Norwegian fjord trout roasted with potatoes

Shrimp & Sausage Gumbo

Swedish meatballs, garlic mashed potatoes, and mixed veggies.

Chicat wrote:Shrimp & Sausage Gumbo

Do you have skills from your time in New Orleans?

azgreg wrote:Swedish meatballs, garlic mashed potatoes, and mixed veggies.

That's more work than I can give a weeknight.

Longhorned wrote:

azgreg wrote:Swedish meatballs, garlic mashed potatoes, and mixed veggies.

That's more work than I can give a weeknight.

Had a craving.

Anybody in here got a smoker? I've had my Pit Barrel about a year now and try to smoke something at least once a month, twice in a good month. Got my thermapen in today and am going to put it to work on a pork butt this weekend. Gonna try a new east North Carolina bbq sauce I have been dying to make too.

Outside of the gym, getting tanked and smoking some good bbq is the best release for me these days

rgdeuce wrote:Anybody in here got a smoker? I've had my Pit Barrel about a year now and try to smoke something at least once a month, twice in a good month. Got my thermapen in today and am going to put it to work on a pork butt this weekend. Gonna try a new east North Carolina bbq sauce I have been dying to make too.

Outside of the gym, getting tanked and smoking some good bbq is the best release for me these days

Definitely Merkin. I may be in the market for one. Not sure where to start. I don't need to smoke 35 pounds of meat at a time. But I looked into the Green Egg line and had some problems with those.

I do, but not as often as I like, but will be doing a ham for Easter. I switched from charcoal/oak to electric due to taking out my lawn and putting wood chips in. Start one fire and the wife never lets you forget it.

Does Dill post on the lower boards? Texans know how smoke and I think he has quite the setup IIRC from TOS.

I have a homemade smoker that my neighbor made. But sadly I only smoked something once (brisket). It was really good, and had some great bark to it, but holy crap it was a lot of work.

Longhorned, I highly recommend the Pit Barrel. Numerous respected bbq websites rave about it, it's been named the best smoker under $500, etc. i believe it still has a 4.9 rating on Amazon too. Worth looking into, the guy who makes them puts his cell # on each unit and he actually answers. Really nice dude.

It's super easy. Takes no skill whatsoever. My first cook was three racks of ribs, first time I have ever smoked and they were "competition worthy" per my friend who does competitions. He has a couple of thousand invested in smokers and he now has a Pit Barrel and uses it more than his others now. I've put four or five other people onto it as well and they are happy.

It's set it and forget it. Consistent results and I was a beginner. $300.

Thanks, rg. That's exactly the one I was looking at most closely last summer. I first found it on a recommended list online. I like the look of it, too.

First time smoking



Tri-tip



Thanksgiving Turkey

Longhorned wrote:[/url]image by offaluk, on Flickr[/img]

I did this slab on a regular Kingsford grill last summer, using a water pan and constantly managing the coals and firing new ones. Complete pain in the ass. The end product wasn't very good, either. It looks better than it was. That's when I knew that I can't get by with just a grill no matter what.

Longhorned wrote:

Longhorned wrote:[/url]image by offaluk, on Flickr[/img]

I did this slab on a regular Kingsford grill last summer, using a water pan and constantly managing the coals and firing new ones. Complete pain in the ass. The end product wasn't very good, either. It looks better than it was. That's when I knew that I can't get by with just a grill no matter what.

I've been grilling over Kingsford charcoal on a Weber kettle for decades and I've got it down cold. I tried to smoke ribs last summer just as you've described and got the same exact results. Very disappointing after all that work and anticipation. This Pit Barrel looks promising and affordable to boot.

I'm full from dinner but I want some ribs now.

ASUHATER! wrote:I'm full from dinner but I want some ribs now.

I'm looking at these pics at 5:48 in the morning and want some for breakfast.

Sorry, yeah, I meant a Weber grill.

Yeah, once I get ribs on my mind I get antsy. Sometimes I will stop by Costco on my lunch break and pick up some racks and head home, throw them on real fast and let em smoke while I am teleworking. I wouldn't do it so much if it wasn't so easy. My wife had to intervene because I was spending $40-50 per week in meat to smoke.

The Pit Barrel dude has youtube videos if you haven't seen them to kind of gauge how damn easy this thing is. I can set up mine in 40 seconds, no lie.
For a rack of ribs:
1) dump kingsford in the basket til it fills even to the top. 2) soak the coals thoroughly with lighter fluid (it cooks off so no taste) or use a chimney 3) put basket in Pit Barrel and light 4) depending on your elevation, let the coals heat for 15 or 20 minutes (I believe 15 is for people at sea-level, he explains in his videos), after 20 I drop in a few chunks of apple wood or hickory wood 5) hang your ribs 6) put on the lid and look for something to do the next 3.5 hours.

At 3.5 hours i pull them and do the bend test to see if they are ready to go. Every once in a while, depending on the rack, sometimes they need 10-15 more. But typically 3.5 is the magic number here. I sauce them and hang them for 15 more minutes to let the sauce carmelize a little. Then pull em and let em rest.

Any time I am doing a new meat I will put in whatever the meat is and "pit barrel" in Youtube and someone has done it and has a video, usually him. I have not had one bad cook on this thing.

If you ever want badass beef ribs try this:

Get a cookie sheet or pan.
Fill with 1/4 inch water.
Get your rack of beef ribs, top with a little olive oil, season with whatever rub you like, wrap in foil and place in pan directly on top of the water.
Put in pre-heated oven set to 250 degrees.
Bake for 3 hours.
Remove from oven.
Finish the ribs on an open flame for 10 minutes or so, turning frequently.


The meat will fall right off the bones.

I like beef ribs. One more day of Lent and I'm there.

Cheese, bread, olives, and salad. The cheese was talegio and gorgonzola dolce.

Bistella, mechoui, cous-cous, and Moroccan carrot salad.

Chicat wrote:Bistella, mechoui, cous-cous, and Moroccan carrot salad.

I'm having trouble finding any lamb whatsoever for Easter.

Longhorned wrote:

Chicat wrote:Bistella, mechoui, cous-cous, and Moroccan carrot salad.

I'm having trouble finding any lamb whatsoever for Easter.

They have 10lb legs at my grocer but I went with the 2lb shanks. It was delicious.

Chicat wrote:

Longhorned wrote:

Chicat wrote:Bistella, mechoui, cous-cous, and Moroccan carrot salad.

I'm having trouble finding any lamb whatsoever for Easter.

They have 10lb legs at my grocer but I went with the 2lb shanks. It was delicious.

I don't get to choose where I live. But I'd buy a shank or shoulder for sure.

Trader Joes makes a fresh ravioli with girasoli ricotta and lemon zest. Added a touch of lemon olive oil (EVOO crushed with california lemons), fresh basil and dried thai pepper flakes (both from the garden), a few runs of romano cheese along the microplane, a few grinds of my special salts and peppers mix (4 different salts, 4 different peppercorns, and dried chiltepines), and some canned (TJ's) sardines in harissa served over the top.

Never had a problem smoking with a weber grill when I had one, the side racks were the key, and the only pain was the fire maintenance, but the end product was always good.

Longhorned wrote:

Chicat wrote:

Longhorned wrote:

Chicat wrote:Bistella, mechoui, cous-cous, and Moroccan carrot salad.

I'm having trouble finding any lamb whatsoever for Easter.

They have 10lb legs at my grocer but I went with the 2lb shanks. It was delicious.

I don't get to choose where I live. But I'd buy a shank or shoulder for sure.

Time to move out of the sticks.

Oh wait, that's where I live too....

Reydituto wrote:Trader Joes makes a fresh ravioli with girasoli ricotta and lemon zest. Added a touch of lemon olive oil (EVOO crushed with california lemons), fresh basil and dried thai pepper flakes (both from the garden), a few runs of romano cheese along the microplane, a few grinds of my special salts and peppers mix (4 different salts, 4 different peppercorns, and dried chiltepines), and some canned (TJ's) sardines in harissa served over the top.

Never had a problem smoking with a weber grill when I had one, the side racks were the key, and the only pain was the fire maintenance, but the end product was always good.

I love those ravioli. I asked a great Italian cook, who used to sell fresh ravioli with ricotta and lemon in her store, what's the best way to serve it. She said with a sauce of tomato "molto semplice". So I did, and from then on I've loved what happens when cherry tomatoes meet lemon.

I hear what you're saying about the Weber. It's just that I can own a smoker for $300 that requires no effort at all.

Where should I send it?

Longhorned wrote:

Reydituto wrote:Trader Joes makes a fresh ravioli with girasoli ricotta and lemon zest. Added a touch of lemon olive oil (EVOO crushed with california lemons), fresh basil and dried thai pepper flakes (both from the garden), a few runs of romano cheese along the microplane, a few grinds of my special salts and peppers mix (4 different salts, 4 different peppercorns, and dried chiltepines), and some canned (TJ's) sardines in harissa served over the top.

Never had a problem smoking with a weber grill when I had one, the side racks were the key, and the only pain was the fire maintenance, but the end product was always good.

I love those ravioli. I asked a great Italian cook, who used to sell fresh ravioli with ricotta and lemon in her store, what's the best way to serve it. She said with a sauce of tomato "molto semplice". So I did, and from then on I've loved what happens when cherry tomatoes meet lemon.

I hear what you're saying about the Weber. It's just that I can own a smoker for $300 that requires no effort at all.

I made a smoker out of a flower pot from home depot. Alton Brown had a show on it and you can find directions to make one easily on youtube. I think it cost me like 40-50 bucks total and works great. AB's theory being that nothing cooks meat like a pit in the earth, and the closest thing to that is a terracotta pot.
It's a fun little project to undertake anyway