What are you eating (or drinking)?

[Weave]

I freaking love ribeye. Also, I agree with your prep -- liberal salting (I add a little pepper but not much -- it's really the salt that does the job). I usually trim the bigger fat deposits before cooking, because it's still pretty marbled even after the trimming, but that's just a personal preference.

 

My report for this thread is that I made a pork shoulder in the smoker for the first time for a decent-sized group, and it was fantastic. I think it might've been the best thing I've ever made in the smoker.

 

Here is the recipe that I used, in case anyone is interested: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Pork/Pulled-Pork.htm

 

And the perfect side dish: baked mac and cheese -- http://www.chow.com/recipes/30436-homerooms-classic-macaroni-and-cheese

 

I've got a fridge full of leftovers that I'm going to be grazing on for days.

Yesterday was smokerpalooza here. My sons HS grad party is next weekend. I smoked 50lbs of pork shoulder and a huge pot of baked beans. Took over an hour to pull it all last nigbt.

 

Todays party task is to transfer 10g of beer to keg and carbonate for the party.

[Kr632]

Moes. Steak JC.

[biodork]

Wife wanted steak for dinner. I worked this morning so she went and got it. I told her to get a ribeye 1.5" thick. Plenty for just the two of us. She came home with a 2.5" thick roast.

 

Liberally salted and warming up on the board. Gonna try the indirect cook and sear last method. Serving with beet greens sauteed with garlic and a little chardonney, roasted beets, and roasted baby purple potatoes.

Okay, how do you know how much salt is too much?  I'm a grilling noob, and on the advice of this article a while back I made steaks that probably made me hypertensive for a day after:

 

http://www.tastingtable.com/entry_detail/national/16929

 

Maybe because I had thinner cuts than you used?  Or maybe my idea of liberal needs to be revised, lol.

[Hoss]

So I'm still making my way through the many great restaurants of Buffalo. What are some "hidden gems" or favorite places? What plates?

 

I've been to:

Chef's (a million times)

Anchor Bar

Thirsty Buffalo

Cantina

Don Tequila

Pearl Street

Mighty (meh)

Bella Pizza (best pizza I've had since being here)

Imperial and a couple other pizza places

 

I'm probably missing some. And no, I still haven't had Duff's or Gabriel's

[Weave]

Okay, how do you know how much salt is too much?  I'm a grilling noob, and on the advice of this article a while back I made steaks that probably made me hypertensive for a day after:

 

http://www.tastingtable.com/entry_detail/national/16929

 

Maybe because I had thinner cuts than you used?  Or maybe my idea of liberal needs to be revised, lol.

 

I don't know how I could explain it.  its a touch, see, feel thing.  I use more for beef than I do for any other food item, but its not a crazy amount.  thickness of the cut sure would matter.  Thick cuts need to be more heavily salted.  You are sort of making up for all of the inside meat that doesn't come in contact.  For thinner cuts I'd salt like I would for anything else.

[Eleven]

I've been gone for a few days.  America's heartland.  Lots of lawn games, sports-related T shirts, and white people.

 

Anyway, I had the best short ribs I ever have had on Friday night.  As in, everyone except the guy who cooked them thought that it was steak.

 

He had de-boned short ribs, cut into chunks, cooked in a sous vide at 136 degrees for 72 hours.  This made the meat incredibly tight, but not tough.

 

Then a coffee and chipotle rub before putting them on skewers and grilling for about 5 minutes.

 

It was absolutely out of this world.

[X. Benedict]

So I'm still making my way through the many great restaurants of Buffalo. What are some "hidden gems" or favorite places? What plates?

 

I've been to:

Chef's (a million times)

Anchor Bar

Thirsty Buffalo

Cantina

Don Tequila

Pearl Street

Mighty (meh)

Bella Pizza (best pizza I've had since being here)

Imperial and a couple other pizza places

 

I'm probably missing some. And no, I still haven't had Duff's or Gabriel's

 

Tried the poorly named "Amigos" on Kenmore Ave. 

It's not a Mexican place.....but more fish and meats. 

With drinks it came to about $25 a head. 

 

I think they have their act together. It was a pleasant surprise. 

[LGR4GM]

So I'm still making my way through the many great restaurants of Buffalo. What are some "hidden gems" or favorite places? What plates?

 

I've been to:

Chef's (a million times)

Anchor Bar

Thirsty Buffalo

Cantina

Don Tequila

Pearl Street

Mighty (meh)

Bella Pizza (best pizza I've had since being here)

Imperial and a couple other pizza places

 

I'm probably missing some. And no, I still haven't had Duff's or Gabriel's

Elmo's on Millersport

La Nova

Torches

[That Aud Smell]

^ 

 

Eleven, that barbecue experience sounds insane. 

 

Elmo's on Millersport

La Nova

Torches

 

I read (link below) that those guys were getting out of that business in order to focus on, of all things, their barbecue venture.

 

http://buffalo.com/2015/02/20/featured/torches-sale-kenmore/

[That Aud Smell]

As for recommendations, I am strongly in favor of the following (in no particular order):

 

Oshun (downtown. serious about seafood, and seriously good at it. sister restaurant of Shango in the University District)

Buffalo Proper (northern edge of downtown - local-sourced, foodie type place.)

Black Sheep (lower west side - also a joint focused on local sources and new takes on familiar dishes. i like how they do the small plate/large plate thing.)

Black Iron (lackawanna, i think. they have a meatball burger with marinara, mozz, and a fried egg that was the best thing I ate in all of 2014)

Hydraulic Hearth (brick oven pizza and craft beer - you can't beat the scene.)

Toutant (downtown. cajun. unpretentious. super tasty.)

[plenzmd1]

I freaking love ribeye. Also, I agree with your prep -- liberal salting (I add a little pepper but not much -- it's really the salt that does the job). I usually trim the bigger fat deposits before cooking, because it's still pretty marbled even after the trimming, but that's just a personal preference.

 

My report for this thread is that I made a pork shoulder in the smoker for the first time for a decent-sized group, and it was fantastic. I think it might've been the best thing I've ever made in the smoker.

 

Here is the recipe that I used, in case anyone is interested: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Pork/Pulled-Pork.htm

 

And the perfect side dish: baked mac and cheese -- http://www.chow.com/recipes/30436-homerooms-classic-macaroni-and-cheese

 

I've got a fridge full of leftovers that I'm going to be grazing on for days.

 

I smoke aot of butts. I always partition the leftovers into individual servings into baggies and freeze them. Makes for a great quick lunch, great for kids to pu out and microwave as well when they need to make their own dinner. I wrap them in plastic wrap first to keep away the dresser burn, last a good 2-4 months and still delicious even microwaved.

[Weave]

As for recommendations, I am strongly in favor of the following (in no particular order):

 

Oshun (downtown. serious about seafood, and seriously good at it. sister restaurant of Shango in the University District)

Buffalo Proper (northern edge of downtown - local-sourced, foodie type place.)

Black Sheep (lower west side - also a joint focused on local sources and new takes on familiar dishes. i like how they do the small plate/large plate thing.)

Black Iron (lackawanna, i think. they have a meatball burger with marinara, mozz, and a fried egg that was the best thing I ate in all of 2014)

Hydraulic Hearth (brick oven pizza and craft beer - you can't beat the scene.)

Toutant (downtown. cajun. unpretentious. super tasty.)

 

 

I think its been close to 10-12 years since I've been in Shango.  Was terrific from what I recall.

I've been gone for a few days.  America's heartland.  Lots of lawn games, sports-related T shirts, and white people.

 

Anyway, I had the best short ribs I ever have had on Friday night.  As in, everyone except the guy who cooked them thought that it was steak.

 

He had de-boned short ribs, cut into chunks, cooked in a sous vide at 136 degrees for 72 hours.  This made the meat incredibly tight, but not tough.

 

Then a coffee and chipotle rub before putting them on skewers and grilling for about 5 minutes.

 

It was absolutely out of this world.

 

One of these days I am going to rig up my brewing setup and do sous vide.  Just because.

[biodork]

I don't know how I could explain it.  its a touch, see, feel thing.  I use more for beef than I do for any other food item, but its not a crazy amount.  thickness of the cut sure would matter.  Thick cuts need to be more heavily salted.  You are sort of making up for all of the inside meat that doesn't come in contact.  For thinner cuts I'd salt like I would for anything else.

Hmm.... maybe just an issue with a thinner cut, then.  I did a fairly even coating of Kosher salt across the entire outside, and even though the first bite was delicious, I had to add water when re-heating the leftovers to draw out some of the excess salt, so clearly I overdid it!

[Ogre]

^

I've always had a tough time with eyeball measurements in cooking. I've ruined enough dinners to stumble upon brining. I don't do beef that way unless it's a "less expensive" and normally tougher cut. Chuck, brisket, etc... I grew up on a beef farm though. My dad would FLIP if you did anything to it but cook it! I won't grill pork or chicken without a soak in brine. Like I've said. I've ruined enough dinners. A quick Google will give you an easy recipe.

[MattPie]

No breakfast pizza for me either. i do love the plain Greek yogurt with fruit I throw in...just awesome

 

Plain greek yogurt with maple syrup is pretty good too. We can't give LPM honey until 1 yr so I was looking for something to replace it. I'm using "real" syrup so I'm not sure how the corn syrup based stuff would work.

[plenzmd1]

Plain greek yogurt with maple syrup is pretty good too. We can't give LPM honey until 1 yr so I was looking for something to replace it. I'm using "real" syrup so I'm not sure how the corn syrup based stuff would work.

Hmm, what is LPM honey? I like the raw honey from the farmers market , and I always see the 1 year warning on there .

 

Hoss, in terms of restaurants we ate at the Liberty Hound before the opener last year....enjoyed it. Right down at Canalside.

[biodork]

Hmm, what is LPM honey? I like the raw honey from the farmers market , and I always see the 1 year warning on there .

 

Hoss, in terms of restaurants we ate at the Liberty Hound before the opener last year....enjoyed it. Right down at Canalside.

I'm gonna guess that was an unintentional transposition by MattPie from LMP (Little MattPie) to LPM, since I've also heard kids shouldn't have honey until 1 yr old. ;)

Edited July 8, 2015 by biodork

[Doohicksie]

Pulled pork, the quick & easy slow-cooked way.

 

On my way out the door this morning, I opened one of those Hormel 1.5 pound pork roasts, threw it into the crock pot with a bottle of BBQ sauce and covered it over with water and set it on Low.

 

I came home at 6:30 and YUM.   :w00t:

Edited July 8, 2015 by Robins Egg

[biodork]

Pulled pork, the quick & easy slow-cooked way.

 

On my way out the door this morning, I opened one of those Hormel 1.5 pound pork roasts, threw it into the crock pot with a bottle of BBQ sauce and covered it over with water and set it on Low.

 

I came home at 6:30 and YUM.   :w00t:

What's your sauce of choice?  In my mind pulled pork is always sauced, so it took some getting used to going to more authentic places where the "barbeque" referred to cooking style vs. flavoring.  Even if it's tender pork, I still want sauce, dammit!  But I tend to favor vinegar-based (Carolina style?) bbq vs. the sweeter sauces.

 

P.S. - why the water?

Edited July 8, 2015 by biodork

[plenzmd1]

What's your sauce of choice? In my mind pulled pork is always sauced, so it took some getting used to going to more authentic places where the "barbeque" referred to cooking style vs. flavoring. Even if it's tender pork, I still want sauce, dammit! But I tend to favor vinegar-based (Carolina style?) bbq vs. the sweeter sauces.

 

P.S. - why the water?

I have found these to be my favorite store bought sauces. We tend to use either the Carolina(vinegar based) or the Hot Smoky. Will not find sugar listed until like the 8th ingredient in any of their sauces. Can usually find both of them at Fresh Market of Crate and Barrel. If you want some of the more esoteric ones, you can order from the website. Looks like a few new ones on there I will be ordering. Yummy , yummy stuff. Well worth the postage!

 

https://www.lilliesq.com/our-sauces/#.VZzI54r3bCQ

[biodork]

I have found these to be my favorite store bought sauces. We tend to use either the Carolina(vinegar based) or the Hot Smoky. Will not find sugar listed until like the 8th ingredient in any of their sauces. Can usually find both of them at Fresh Market of Crate and Barrel. If you want some of the more esoteric ones, you can order from the website. Looks like a few new ones on there I will be ordering. Yummy , yummy stuff. Well worth the postage!

 

https://www.lilliesq.com/our-sauces/#.VZzI54r3bCQ

Awesome -- thanks!!

[Hoss]

Thanks for the suggestions everybody. I'm going to get around to most of these eventually.

 

Meanwhile I'm drooling over the idea of Chef's having a food truck now.

[Eleven]

Thanks for the suggestions everybody. I'm going to get around to most of these eventually.

 

Meanwhile I'm drooling over the idea of Chef's having a food truck now.

 

A Chef's food truck?  I can see it now:  A case of Franco-American spaghetti, a microwave, and fifteen tons of mozzarella cheese.

[MattPie]

I'm gonna guess that was an unintentional transposition by MattPie from LMP (Little MattPie) to LPM, since I've also heard kids shouldn't have honey until 1 yr old. ;)

 

You got the context right, I was referring to my daughter. The acronym is "Little Poop Machine" though.

[That Aud Smell]

A Chef's food truck?  I can see it now:  A case of Franco-American spaghetti, a microwave, and fifteen tons of mozzarella cheese.

Is that a dig at Chef's? Food trucks? Both? (Neither?)