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View Full Version : Mom always said, "Don't Play With Your Food!"


jwtseng
04-27-2016, 11:28 AM
That probably has a little to do with the kind of adult I've become. :crazy: Anyways, I like to have fun with my food every once in a while, and I think my kids are definitely becoming accustomed to Dad effing with it all. They think it's funny sometimes, keeps them moderately interested in the cook, and overall they end up eating more protein and veggies for it. That is, I bamboozle them into eating what they normally would take a pass on.

Thus begins another adventure with meat glue lol...

jwtseng
04-27-2016, 11:37 AM
This is gonna be semi sort of a live cook thread over the next few days. That's because some of the prep work takes time, like the moogloo taking its sweet time to do its thing. And also because, I really don't know what is ultimately going to happen...so it's sort of an open-ended cook. I figure documenting stuff here will keep me on the up-and-up and spur me on to the finish, regardless of how crazy it gets.

jwtseng
04-27-2016, 12:49 PM
I'm starting with two perfectly good racks of SLC spares.

http://i.imgur.com/xRoyCkyh.jpg

But you know how every rack of ribs you get comes with some runt bones on the cartilage end and the really flat ones on the other end of the rack? I'm sure that's just how hogs are made, but why can't I have a perfect rack of ribs??? Or maybe I can...

http://i.imgur.com/A8F2zq9h.jpg

Here are all the nicest bones all cut apart and arranged together. How many ribs usually in a full rack? 13? But you only ever get maybe 5 or 6 real good ones. I wasn't keeping count, but I think I ended up with a rack of 12 ribs...finally, a perfect rack of ribs? Lol.

I sprinkled these with some MG and let them them sleep all cozy with one another in a vac-pack:

http://i.imgur.com/abMmzbth.jpg

We'll see what happens...

dadsr4
04-27-2016, 12:52 PM
Are you going for the "I Am The Creator!" Throwdown ?
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=228910

Evil-g
04-27-2016, 01:19 PM
:clap:

jwtseng
04-27-2016, 01:25 PM
Are you going for the "I Am The Creator!" Throwdown ?

The pork belly asian bao bunshttp://i.imgur.com/nlGxvhLt.jpg (http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=229051) I made the other day ended up not qualifying for the "On a Bun" TD, so I entered these bacon bun bratwursthttp://i.imgur.com/5Txb5DRt.jpg (http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=229056) that I was prepping for the "creator" challenge as a bun entry as well. Two birds, one stone.

jwtseng
04-27-2016, 08:22 PM
On a different but soon to be related front, I found these wonderfully thick pork loin chops at the market.

http://i.imgur.com/gK8mlzHh.jpg

Brined them for 6 hours with salt, maple syrup, asian five spice, MSG (the sixth asian spice), and just a pinch of Jalabellanero Wake-up Dust (http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=228640). Here they are out of the brine:

http://i.imgur.com/Oy6j8Jch.jpg

Going into the smoker to soak up as much cold smoke as one baby split of burning cherry wood makes...about an hour:

http://i.imgur.com/9tsnH7Nh.jpg

mikemci
04-27-2016, 08:26 PM
Sometimes moms are wrong. Following along here.

jwtseng
04-27-2016, 11:50 PM
Some really good deals at the market today...Got a max pack of chicken leg quarters...6 big ones for $4 and change. Also picked up a 3-pack of 1" thick chuck eye steaks for under $4. But here's the best part of the chicken bar none:

http://i.imgur.com/Rh1wqb7h.jpg

For anyone who has tried Sean Brock's recipe for fried chicken skins with hot sauce and honey (http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/10/fried-chicken-skin-with-hot-sauce-and-honey-f.html) you know what I mean...life-altering.

:thumb:

jwtseng
04-28-2016, 11:06 AM
Looking like a rack of ribs again...

http://i.imgur.com/YERM2G3h.jpg

Going back into another vac-bag for some MG touch-up and shaping!

dufftj
04-28-2016, 12:22 PM
Franken ribs!
I live it.

jwtseng
04-28-2016, 10:34 PM
Pork chop progress...

Reunited with MooGloo (it's derived from pig blood):

http://i.imgur.com/GIqLZ9Eh.jpg

Chicken costume:

http://i.imgur.com/Kw9I9Rgh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3bhv1XPh.jpg

At this point a little bacon was added and the whole package was vac-packed to set...Here is the fully set bacon and chicken skin wrapped mashup:

http://i.imgur.com/EAkcLmKh.jpg

Hot smoke to 120 with cherry/apple woods:

http://i.imgur.com/E0P5Tg8h.jpg

Chicken skin and bacon wrap are hanging on! Back into a vac-pack for the smoke, pork, and chicken flavors to meld overnight:

http://i.imgur.com/5woWEf8h.jpg

jwtseng
04-29-2016, 09:48 PM
Ribs went on the smoker earlier:

http://i.imgur.com/C7p0DKUh.jpg

Here they are before the wrap:

http://i.imgur.com/XfABZych.jpg

Stingerhook
04-29-2016, 10:04 PM
[QUOTE=jwtseng;3537179]I'm starting with two perfectly good racks of SLC spares.

http://i.imgur.com/xRoyCkyh.jpg

If nothing else that is one of my favorite sippy cups.

jwtseng
04-30-2016, 11:05 AM
A bit muted on the WOW factor, but the ribs came out great. Every rib was meaty without any scrawny ribs or thin cartilage/flap ribs.

http://i.imgur.com/K9xXrmCh.jpg

The ribs looked like big double cut ribs with the bones alternated on either side. The meatglued rack of ribs stayed glued together throughout the cook, even after the wrap.

http://i.imgur.com/lViHY6th.jpg

I call these "Pull Apart Pork Ribs" because the ribs were not only tender but they also pulled apart into perfect ribs without a knife right along the meat glue seams! lol

All in all, I can see the benefit of doing ribs this way. For a party, a "normal-looking" whole rack of ribs can be laid out for everyone to see, and then people can literally pull apart perfectly cut individual ribs without the bone pulling out of the meat. Fun stuff, meatglue. :thumb:

Learning to BBQ
04-30-2016, 12:19 PM
That's awesome! :thumb:
You are one mad scientist! :bow:

jwtseng
04-30-2016, 05:51 PM
I buy bacon in 5 pound bulk packs, so after a while I get tired of vac-packing the leftovers over and over. I figure, why not glue them all together!

http://i.imgur.com/pdpGtL6h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/jctyybNh.jpg

:loco:

jwtseng
05-01-2016, 01:41 AM
Finished the cook at had an excellent meal tonight, me and the missus. Here's all the rest of the pron:

The cold-smoked, chicken skin and bacon glued, then hot smoked pork chops went into the sous vide at 136 for two hours along with the meat glued bacon roll:

http://i.imgur.com/8Um3ecqh.jpg

Here's the bacon roll after sous vide and chilling for easier slicing:

http://i.imgur.com/eHzVFueh.jpg

Sizzling up some bacon chips in cast iron:

http://i.imgur.com/Ok1igFuh.jpg

Here you can see the finished bacon chips along with sides of braised red cabbage and spatzle:

http://i.imgur.com/2J5wGtoh.jpg

Pork chops fresh out of the sous vide...they smelled so good already:

http://i.imgur.com/G5jKOZWh.jpg

Bourbon added to a buttermilk wash is the secret to a "shatteringly" crunchy battered crust...nothing says fried chicken like crunchy battered fried chicken skin!

http://i.imgur.com/I8mD6ajh.jpg

Here Batter, batter, batter, batter...

http://i.imgur.com/jQCo1Yyh.jpg

The perfect oil temp for frying stuff:

http://i.imgur.com/sPf4azgh.jpg

Look at that crust! (Remember, this is a chicken skin covered pork chop!)

http://i.imgur.com/T47hhU1h.jpg

The finished meal!

http://i.imgur.com/NgQbQhmh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/2uQy29Sh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/G7m0WNzh.jpg

This was the best pork chop I have ever made. It was worth every step of the process...brine, smoke, chicken skin, bacon, sousvide, batter and deep fry...all the flavors came through. My god...so farking delicious.

jermoQ
05-01-2016, 08:21 AM
I am intrigued by some of the stuff that lands in your kitchen! I also am hearing the theme song "Weird Science" playing while I am watching.:thumb::thumb:

jwtseng
05-01-2016, 09:23 PM
Almost better than the first time around!!!

http://i.imgur.com/0987kH7h.jpg

Shagdog
05-01-2016, 10:33 PM
Awesome, James! Loving the pork chop especially. Crazy good stuff

jwtseng
05-02-2016, 07:36 AM
Thanks Matt...a lot of times the result of these long and convoluted cooks ends up being underwhelming after all the buildup...I'm happy to say that these pork chops really lived up to the anticipation.

wbzipf
05-02-2016, 08:11 AM
This was an amazing cook. I followed all you did, but I don't know that I would have the patience to pull it all together.

With such a good looking finished product, I would have to try. Now where do I get a sous vide machine?

nmeyer414
05-02-2016, 09:07 AM
BRAVO!


I just messed myself!

jwtseng
05-02-2016, 10:32 AM
This was an amazing cook. I followed all you did, but I don't know that I would have the patience to pull it all together.

With such a good looking finished product, I would have to try. Now where do I get a sous vide machine?

Thanks for such kind words and thank you for following along!

It's not patience that you will need when you try this cook...it's the fortitude to not eat the whole d**n thing before it's finished! Totally worth it, so I'd say go for it.

I used the sousvide after hot-smoking the chops to an internal temp of 120. I didn't want to risk doing the whole thing in the smoker to 145 and drying out the chops, especially since by that time I had already read about using bourbon to make really crunchy deep fried crust and knew what these chops were destined to become. Setting the sousvide to 136 also bought me some time to prep the buttermilk wash (with bourbon) and clean up a big mess I made with the flour dredge. By the time meal time rolled around, the pork chops had been at 136 for a couple hours already, the oil was hot, and it was ON!

These days you have a lot of choices for an immersion circulator (sousvide machine). Prices have come way down. I use a first generation Anova. Here is the current one with nice bells and whistles:
Amazon.com: Anova Culinary Bluetooth Precision Cooker, Black: Kitchen & Dining@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31qzlpLHQcL.@@AMEPARAM@@31qzlpLHQcL
But if I were buying another unit, this is the one I'd be looking out for: Joule (https://www.chefsteps.com/joule)

TXBronco
05-03-2016, 09:26 AM
Yes please!! That looks delicious!

Thinking about cooking up some pork spare ribs and using that asian bbq sauce. Almost ate the entire goody box and remembered I didn't take a pic.

You got my vote!

jwtseng
05-03-2016, 12:12 PM
You taste the asian bbq sauce yet? It's one of my childhood and adulthood favorites. I always forget that I have a big can of it in my fridge, but now that you mention it, I am craving putting it on a burger or maybe some tater tots! Enjoy it! Mmm!

CakeM1x
05-03-2016, 01:07 PM
Love all the techniques. Awesome cook!

THoey1963
05-03-2016, 01:35 PM
You crazy man... Love it. :mrgreen:

jwtseng
05-03-2016, 11:35 PM
Love all the techniques. Awesome cook!

You crazy man... Love it. :mrgreen:

Thanks y'all! Had a lot of fun doing it and the end result was worth it. Looking forward to the next cook!

Norm
05-07-2016, 06:56 PM
Wow!

Mad skills dude, I'm impressed.

jwtseng
05-07-2016, 09:25 PM
Wow!

Mad skills dude, I'm impressed.

Thank you, Norm! One thing's for sure...I'm always looking to mix it up. Most of what I do involves making sort of normal meals interesting so that my kids will venture to eat it. Every blue moon I'll hit on something that is especially tasty...this pork chop was one of those meals! The kids might not have cared for it, but that meant more for Daddy!