What's for Dinner?

[Johnd]

Gumbo for dinner tonight. Made it yesterday, cooked down two dozen quail and picked the meat, used the stock, added to a medium dark roux. Cut up and browned a few pounds of Cajun venison sausage, plus an array of spices, simmered and seasoned for several hours, cooled and refrigerated overnight. Always better the second day, so we don’t eat it the first day.....

 

[ibglowin]

This was amazing tonight! Perfect sauce, perfect meatballs, perfect pasta!

 

[sour_grapes]

This was amazing tonight! Perfect sauce, perfect meatballs, perfect pasta!

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Bucatini?

When I have bucatini, I always wonder: If Lady and the Tramp ordered bucatini, would their famous kiss ever have happened?

 

[Boatboy24]

Comfort food tonight. Roast chicken and veg. Got the 'innards', and some leftover wing tips from another project browned up, along with some onion, carrot and celery. It's all now simmering in a pot, along with some sage, rosemary, and thyme. House smells awesome.

 

[Johnd]

Been craving some turkey, and Mrs. John D loves turkey legs, so I picked up a 22.38 lb bird yesterday. Got it in a little brine at the moment, and tomorrow it’s got a date with the Primo. Just gotta decide between mesquite and pecan, hard to pass up mesquite though......

 

[ibglowin]

Pecan, definitely pecan. Turkey absorbs smoke like crazy and mesquite is a REALLY strong smoke flavor. I did my first Turkey on my Pit Boss last year and used lump charcoal and one nice stick of pecan and it was the best turkey I have ever eaten. Moist, flavorful and perfectly smoked!

Been craving some turkey, and Mrs. John D loves turkey legs, so I picked up a 22.38 lb bird yesterday. Got it in a little brine at the moment, and tomorrow it’s got a date with the Primo. Just gotta decide between mesquite and pecan, hard to pass up mesquite though......

 

[Boatboy24]

Been craving some turkey, and Mrs. John D loves turkey legs, so I picked up a 22.38 lb bird yesterday. Got it in a little brine at the moment, and tomorrow it’s got a date with the Primo. Just gotta decide between mesquite and pecan, hard to pass up mesquite though......

Definitely pecan. Mesquite can get bitter on longer cooks. For poultry, I tend to go with fruit wood. Cherry, apple, etc., but pecan should work pretty well.

 

[Johnd]

Pecan, definitely pecan. Turkey absorbs smoke like crazy and mesquite is a REALLY strong smoke flavor. I did my first Turkey on my Pit Boss last year and used lump charcoal and one nice stick of pecan and it was the best turkey I have ever eaten. Moist, flavorful and perfectly smoked!

Definitely pecan. Mesquite can get bitter on longer cooks. For poultry, I tend to go with fruit wood. Cherry, apple, etc., but pecan should work pretty well.

When I use mesquite on poultry, it’s used sparingly, I love mesquite flavor on BBQ. You both make good points. Guess I’ll sleep on it and make a game time decision at 5AM.

 

[dralarms]

Pecan, definitely pecan. Turkey absorbs smoke like crazy and mesquite is a REALLY strong smoke flavor. I did my first Turkey on my Pit Boss last year and used lump charcoal and one nice stick of pecan and it was the best turkey I have ever eaten. Moist, flavorful and perfectly smoked!

Try 1/2 pecan, 1/4 cherry and 1/4 apple. It will blow your mind

 

[Boatboy24]

Well, I'd post pics of my dinner, but they are apparently too large. Weird, the pic I posted of last night's wine was taken with the same device and in the same manner. No issues w/ that one.

 

[GreginND]

At the American Wine Society conference in the Poconos. The hotel made some pretty darn good vegan food for me.



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[Johnd]

Ended up going with a pecan and cherry mixture. The cherry wood chips smoked up first, the larger pecan took a bit longer to get going, but had some longevity. Bumped temps from 250 - 350 after the first hour, now just plugging along looking for 165........

 

[geek]

At the American Wine Society conference in the Poconos. The hotel made some pretty darn good vegan food for me.

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I'm not vegan, but I'd eat that all day long, looks yummy...

 

[ibglowin]

BFF's were in Santa fe yesterday and brought home pizza from one of our favorite pizza places. Back Road Pizza https://backroadpizza.com. This place is always voted best pizza joint in Santa fe every year. It was also featured on an episode of Guy Fieri's Triple "D" show. Always a great pie! Went well with............

 

[ibglowin]

Maiden voyage of the Anova Sous Vide cooker I scored on Amazon Prime day awhile back. I have a nice 3.5lb whole beef tenderloin. This is my $15 Sous Vide container I found at my local hardware store. Sure beats the $35 ones sold online. I think I will try 135F for 1.5 hour. Should I sear first and then quick sear afterwards or just sear afterwards? (~5 min sear)

 

[Boatboy24]

I

Maiden voyage of the Anova Sous Vide cooker I scored on Amazon Prime day awhile back. I have a nice 3.5lb whole beef tenderloin. This is my $15 Sous Vide container I found at my local hardware store. Sure beats the $35 ones sold online. I think I will try 135F for 1.5 hour. Should I sear first and then quick sear afterwards or just sear afterwards? (~5 min sear)

I imagine I'm too late to answer your question, but I don't see much reason to sear before. I'd S&P that tenderloin, along with maybe a pat of butter and some thyme, then SV and sear. While searing, you can make a reduction sauce with the juices from the SV bag, if you're feeling motivated.

 

[ibglowin]

Not too late as I just tossed it in to the pool. I decided to not sear and then use the propane grill on high to sear. I am going to cook at ~130-133F I think and then sear for about 10 min until it looks good on the outside. I might just probe it to make sure I don't overcook it. I seasoned and then added some rosemary, thyme to the bag as well. So far so good.

I imagine I'm too late to answer your question, but I don't see much reason to sear before. I'd S&P that tenderloin, along with maybe a pat of butter and some thyme, then SV and sear. While searing, you can make a reduction sauce with the juices from the SV bag, if you're feeling motivated.

 

[Boatboy24]

Not too late as I just tossed it in to the pool. I decided to not sear and then use the propane grill on high to sear. I am going to cook at ~130-133F I think and then sear for about 10 min until it looks good on the outside. I might just probe it to make sure I don't overcook it. I seasoned and then added some rosemary, thyme to the bag as well. So far so good.

10 min might be too much, depending on your preferred doneness. I haven't done a whole tenderloin, but with filets, or other thick steaks, I usually go 130, then sear for about 2 min per side. Obviously, there is a wide range of acceptable temps, based on your preference.

 

[sour_grapes]

I made Cafe Zuni roast chicken for guests last night. It was great, but I was too drunk to post about it!

Should I sear first and then quick sear afterwards or just sear afterwards? (~5 min sear)

Just wanting to chime in on my thoughts on searing for sous vide. I feel it best to sear like you would for normal cooking. That is, if you conventially sear before a long, slow cook (like lamb shanks or short ribs or stew), then do that for SV, too. If, instead, you do NOT sear ahead of time, then wait until after SV to sear, like for steaks and chops, etc.

 

[ibglowin]

Did not suck...........