Virtual Banquet Thread

[arf777]

Poutine!! Fries are organic yukon golds, gravy is button mushrooms, black trumpet mushrooms, madeira-armagnac bacon, diced sirloin, garlic, butter, bacon fat, bacon stock and beef stock. Curds are Amish cheddar.

And 1st out of the smoker today, another dry rub bacon.

And madeira-armagnac bacon IV: this time it's injected

For both of the above, the wood is 50/50 sugar maple and pecan with pecan shells. I think that's the mix I'm sticking with.

Turkey and pork sirloin in the smoker now.

Oh, and in the poutine pic, the red stuff in the bottle just above the plate is the port and vinegar NC bbq sauce. Seemed to get redder overnight. Been basting the pork sirloin with it.

 

[Buildozer]

You're killin me arf
With all the smoked meat, then that burger And now especially w/ that Duck Sandwich!!!!
Good luck w/ that B&B out in Denver, that sounds like some interesting times

You're slacking t-dub ... Where's all that smoked meat at?!
I'm not big into sweets, but I love some home made ice cream creations.. That coconut ice cream looks sooo good..

 

[arf777]

Well here's some more smoked meat. Turkey breast sous-vide cured in Jameson's whiskey and herbs, smoked over mix of maple, pecan and pecan shells. Pork sirloin needs another hour or two.

 

[arf777]

And now the pork sirloin. Here it is fresh out of the smoker. Have it sitting in more vinegar and port mop, will shred it shortly.

 

[arf777]

So the pork sirloin turned out excellent. Below is a sandwich of it, with my balsamic BBQ sauce (KC style) in addition to the NC style vinegar and port mop, sliced visalia onion, cheddar curds (left over from the poutine), kosher dills and a little mayo.

I just realized the handle of my officially blessed Shabbat challah knife is visible next to the pork sammich. I am a baaad Jew.

 

[t-dub]

Fresh PNW salmon grilled on a cedar plank, coated in olive oil, salt and pepper, on my infrared grill . . .

 

[Buildozer]

I just made some of the best burgers I've ever made..
80/20 ground beef from the butcher, pepper jack cheese, grilled red onions, bacon, grilled brioche buns, some custom BBQ/Sweet-Spicy sauce, lettuce, and a few kettle chips inside to top it off..

Not my recipe BTW, this was passed down from one of those Gourmet food trucks LOL.. I built them kind of sloppy so they didn't photograph as well as they could have.. But they're dank..

 

[EveryDayAmnesiac]

I just made some of the best burgers I've ever made..
80/20 ground beef from the butcher, pepper jack cheese, grilled red onions, bacon, grilled brioche buns, some custom BBQ/Sweet-Spicy sauce, lettuce, and a few kettle chips inside to top it off..

Not my recipe BTW, this was passed down from one of those Gourmet food trucks LOL.. I built them kind of sloppy so they didn't photograph as well as they could have.. But they're dank..

Mmm. Burger...

 

[arf777]

So my brother got married this weekend and I provided a shitload of food for one of the parties. 1st time in almost 15 years since I fed the equivalent of the public (about 100 people). Forgot to take pics- flustered by my damn gontse mishpuchah being around - but I served bbq pork sirloin I made last weekend, shredded in my balsamic bbq sauce, port wine and NC mop; turkey salad made from the smoked turkey from last weekend, in mayo, mop sauce, sour pickles and pecans; a shitload of tofu brined in marsala wine and smoked (for the vegans); two platters of bacon; and for desert plums, pears and peaches macerated in armagnac and brown sugar and then smoked. All got sucked down in about an hour. Nice to know I can still please a crowd with my food. Been a long-ass time since I catered anything.

Another smoker session tomorrow - a bone-in chicken breast in marsala brine; tomatoes, plums, garlic and shallots, which will all go in a new bbq sauce; a cornish game hen marinating in mop (always wanted to smoke one of those); and another pork sirloin, this time in a variant of the madeira-armagnac brine I use for the bacon (with fleur de del instead of kosher salt).

Also finally ordered a water oven for sous vide. Will be cooking with that starting next weekend.

 

[arf777]

First out of the smoker today - chicken breast in marsala brine and a cornish hen that soaked in NC mop.

Also smoked the plums, tomatoes, garlic and shallots, and used them to make the sauce below (along with tawny and ruby port, balsamic vinegar, cider vinegar, ginger, bacon fat, nutmeg and various herbs). Annoyed though - my food processor broke and the new one isn't here yet (due to arrive tomorrow). So it isn't pureed and strained yet.

 

[t-dub]

@arf777 - That sauce looks almost like demi-glace . . .

 

[arf777]

@arf777 - That sauce looks almost like demi-glace . . .

Similar texture to a demi, but dark purple (from the plums, port and balsamic). The sauce on my poutine from a last week was technically a demi, but made from bacon stock and beef stock instead of just beef.

And here's the pork sirloin that was in madeira-armagnac brine. Letting it cool a bit before I shred it up.

 

[arf777]

Here's the pork shredded. Just to the side you can see the completely stripped remains of the cornish game hen. Shockingly tasty smoked.
New cuisinart (and water oven) due to be delivered today.

 

[crawdad]

do some searching for zaatar, i started following a recipe i found online but 2 ingredients i didnt have on hand and too "tired" to run to the store so used substitutes that were similar in flavor...it turned out epic.

 

[arf777]

First thing out of the new water oven - slow-poached eggs (the David Chang version - 145F for 45 minutes). Served on buttered oatmeal bread, pulled pork sirloin sautéed in sage and madeira, and with some of my wet-cured bacon. Need to practice de-shelling the poached eggs intact for presentation, but tasty and silky.

EDIT: The new cuisinart came a little later, so I could finally puree and strain the port-plum-balsamic bbq sauce. Made it much more flavorful, and the texture is perfect.

And a sandwich made with the finished sauce, shredded pork, onions and pickles

 

[t-dub]

Ill just leave this Bison burger w/fried jalapenos pic here . . .

 

[arf777]

Bacon stock was so useful, I'm making another batch today, this time from a combo of the madeira-armagnac bacon and the dry rub bacon. Meanwhile, for breakfast I did another take on sausage gravy and biscuits. This time italian- in marsala wine, garlic, various herbs. And some of my shredded bbq pork for extra smokiness. On fresh buttermilk biscuits from the Amish baker (fucking love having an Amish market two minutes from my place).

 

[momofthegoons]

Chocolate Purse (filled with raspberry mousse and fresh berries)

 

[StickyShisha2]

 

[arf777]

First meat out of the water oven - NY strip rubbed with fleur de sel and black pepper, seared in bacon fat, then in the water oven sous vide with olive oil, garlic, shallots, tarragon and a slice of bacon. The sauce is the searing pan deglazed with an exceptional chianti (La Castellina Squarcialupi '08), bacon stock, and some of the plum bbq sauce; sugar snaps are in butter, a very fruity muscatel, pecans and, of course, some bacon.

 

[arf777]

My version of fried green tomatoes. Fried in bacon fat, sauce is bacon fat, garlic, nutmeg, bacon stock, cream sherry, and cream. Garnished with parmigiano reggiano.

 

[StickyShisha2]

First meat out of the water oven - NY strip rubbed with fleur de sel and black pepper, seared in bacon fat, then in the water oven sous vide with olive oil, garlic, shallots, tarragon and a slice of bacon. The sauce is the searing pan deglazed with an exceptional chianti (La Castellina Squarcialupi '08), bacon stock, and some of the plum bbq sauce; sugar snaps are in butter, a very fruity muscatel, pecans and, of course, some bacon.

i sous vide beef with marinade then pat dry before it gets its bacon fat sear. I'll try it your way this weekend to see which is better.

 

[momofthegoons]

Baby backs with my "special" rub.

 

[arf777]

desserts have never been my specialty, but I have had a lot of success recently with smoked fruit. SO I got a used ice cream machine and am messing around with that now. First batch- tonka bean ice cream. If you have never had a tonka bean dessert, get some. Like nutmeg, lavender, vanilla and a hint of cardamom all in one, IMO. Made it sugar-free.

And another smoker day tomorrow- have a ham curing in sherry, maple and red Hawaiian salt for the smoker; a nice fatty piece of brisket curing in black pepper, Hawaiian red and fleur de sel for real pastrami; and a new wet-cured bacon - brine is a very fruity muscatel, fleur de sel and sliced peaches, will go over peach wood I just got in.

 

[arf777]

1st out of the smoker today, the bacon brined in muscatel, sliced peaches, fleur de sel and Hawaiian red salt. Made a small batch. The pastrami and ham are in the smoker.