More fitting for what did you buy today thread, but this seems appropriate. Been debating buying a high end wok, when Smithey Ironware launched their own version a few weeks back. They are my ZMF of kitchen gear: bespoke, handcrafted, made in USA, and all that good stuff. Some of my most used gear is my Smithey cast iron, but this is my first dip into their carbon steel line. Really looking forward to this arriving:
Edit: here is a cool (IMO) video of how they are made:
Here is what it looks like after a week of seasoning. It has a weird handle angle for a wok that isn’t immediately optimal for movement and flipping, but I’ve adjusted. I expect it to all but fully blacken. Please forgive the mess. I deep fried in it tonight and didn’t clean up as well as I needed to:
Slow 4hr cooked winter stew here…Beef, onion, parsnip, carrot, swede, potato in a red wine and beef stock served with dumplings (google it lol) and mash potato
Today is the “international waffle day”, but i cheated and mad waffles last night instead, as a late night snack
waffles with sour cream and strawberry jam :
Last weekend i fried a nice piece of entrecote, with salad, chips and garlicy ranch. Was pretty happy with the temperature of the meat, as it was nice and pink, but not bloody or raw… :
“Assembled” burgers today for dinner. Bought the burgers ready made to fry, and the patty consisted of ground beef and bacon, for that salty smokey flavor.
Put some brioche buns in the oven with some cheddar cheese on top, the slices where too big for the buns, so the leftover cheese went on the burgers them self.
Then there was some salad consisting of cabbage and onion (forgot to buy tomatoes!), all topped with some ketchup and a local thousand island’ish dressing (milder and suits burgers perfectly)
lookie lookie what brother in law just sent for christmas… now we have christmas dinner taken care of. I just need to find a killer recipe and learn how to cook it
Turned out great. Real sweet at first with a creeping bite from the heat. Had to modify the recipe slightly due to some things not being (readily) available.
Rub: Salt, pepper, ground cayenne, and pinto bean seasoning. Wrap in plastic wrap and leave in fridge 12-48 hours.
Smoke @ 200-250°F for 8 hours (preferably with cherry chunks or chips), flipping/rotating racks/half-racks(stacking allows the juices from the rack/half-rack on top to effectively baste the one below it) every hour. During last two hours, liberally sprinkle brown sugar (had to use turbinado since the store was out of all other brown sugar) and local honey with every flip/rotation. Once a caramelized crust has formed over the bark, during last hour, rotate/flip 30 minutes apart applying light coat of favored vinegar or sugar based BBQ sauce (I typically like HEB’s Texas Style, but decided to try the Kentucky Bourbon this time).
Just fired up the grill with some marinated chicken thighs and a medley of veggies. There’s something about the sizzle and aroma of food cooking on an open flame that just screams summer to me. I like to keep it simple with a homemade marinade - a mix of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and a dash of soy sauce. It’s a crowd-pleaser every time.
Oh, and speaking of flavorful ingredients, have you ever tried incorporating high-quality spices into your marinades? They can really take your dish to the next level. I recently discovered this amazing spice blend from https://healofoods.com that’s been a game-changer for my grilling recipes.
I got a Sous Vide setup at Christmas and have been using a lot more seasoning as a result. I find that the cooking in the bag does a great job of getting the meat to the perfect doneness, it leaves it lacking on the flavor side.
I am thinking about doing an early sear, to trigger some Maillard reaction before I seal it and throw it in the Sous Vide. It might an experiment for this week, since my wife is out of town and I can use as an excuse for more steak.