What did you accomplish today?

Singlemalt

Well-Known Member
Got to sample some of the bacon I made. I smoked it on Sunday. When it was done I let it cool and then wrapped it in plastic and put it in the refrigerator. Took out a slab this morning and sliced it up. Cooked some and ate it. It was really good. It could have been better but overall I'm very happy with it. I'll give myself a B-. It had just the right salt and smoke amount. I used a combination of apple and hickory for three hours and then cherry at the end. I think I fell short with seasoning though. I didn't add any. I just did salt, sugar, smoke. Next time I'm going to use some garlic and onion powder which I think will bump me up to a B+ or maybe even an A-. We'll see. But that won't be for awhile since I have almost twenty pounds of bacon to finish off first.

Out of the smoker



Superlative
 

xtsho

Well-Known Member
Moroccan-Style Short Ribs

Serves 4

Ingredients
  1. 1 tablespoon olive oil
  2. 4 English-cut short ribs (about 3 pounds), patted dry
  3. 3 medium carrots, sliced into 1/2 inch-thick coins
  4. 1 medium onion, chopped
  5. 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  6. 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  7. 2 tablespoons ground cumin
  8. 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  9. 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  10. 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  11. 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  12. 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  13. 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
  14. 2 cups low-sodium stock
  15. 1 bay leaf
  16. 1/2 cup chopped mixed olives
  17. 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
  18. salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
  2. In a large Dutch oven, heat up the olive oil on medium high. Liberally salt and pepper the short ribs, then brown them in batches. Take your time here -- this will impart so much flavor. Set aside.
  3. Reduce the heat to medium low, then add the carrots, onion and garlic. Saute until the vegetables have softened and browned slightly.
  4. Stir in the tomato paste, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, ginger, paprika and cayenne. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes stock, bay leaf and olives. Nestle the short ribs back in the pot. Increase the heat and bring the liquid to a boil.
  5. Once the liquid has boiled for a minute, turn off the heat. Cover the pot and carefully transfer it to the oven. Cook for 2-1/2 hours, until the short ribs are tender and can be easily pierced by a fork.
  6. Transfer the pot from the oven to the stove and uncover. Skim as much fat as possible from the top of the pot. Carefully remove the short ribs from the pot (it's ok if the bones come loose).
  7. Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce by half, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently to ensure none of the vegetables stick to the bottom of the pot. Serve the short ribs with the sauce on top.

Awesome! And you provided the recipe. Even better! :D
 

xtsho

Well-Known Member
The bacon is awesome looking and so are the tatters.... I don’t see any black pepper???? are you pepper racist.... I’m certainly not I like peppers off all colors reds, greens, black, yellow, orange....well I met a orange one once that was a bit spicy and it might of been from a bad neighborhood because it was a bit seedy.
No pepper racist here. I made some with cracked black pepper on it. Picture was taken before final seasoning and eating and before the hot sauce came out. I like my hot sauce. I grow hot peppers in my garden every year and still have some dried Habs, Ghosts, and Scorpions in the cupboard. I typically stay away from the ridiculously hot ones and stick with Cayenne, Thai, Serrano, Jalapeno, and a few other reasonable peppers for cooking. I grow the real hot ones just as a hobby and to have around hoping someone will try to be tough and eat one. :mrgreen:
 

FresnoFarmer

Well-Known Member
No pepper racist here. I made some with cracked black pepper on it. Picture was taken before final seasoning and eating and before the hot sauce came out. I like my hot sauce. I grow hot peppers in my garden every year and still have some dried Habs, Ghosts, and Scorpions in the cupboard. I typically stay away from the ridiculously hot ones and stick with Cayenne, Thai, Serrano, Jalapeno, and a few other reasonable peppers for cooking. I grow the real hot ones just as a hobby and to have around hoping someone will try to be tough and eat one. :mrgreen:
I love my dried green habaneros. Adds a nutty flavor with just enough heat. The orange is something else all together. I can still dig it for clearing my sinuses though haha. I’ve got some Thai and poinsettia seeds I need to pop.
 

raratt

Well-Known Member
I love my dried green habaneros. Adds a nutty flavor with just enough heat. The orange is something else all together. I can still dig it for clearing my sinuses though haha. I’ve got some Thai and poinsettia seeds I need to pop.
I have some Boonie pepper seeds I should send you. They are small, pack a lot of heat, but with a good flavor. We use them in our Guam style marinade with ribs and chicken.
 

Bareback

Well-Known Member
No pepper racist here. I made some with cracked black pepper on it. Picture was taken before final seasoning and eating and before the hot sauce came out. I like my hot sauce. I grow hot peppers in my garden every year and still have some dried Habs, Ghosts, and Scorpions in the cupboard. I typically stay away from the ridiculously hot ones and stick with Cayenne, Thai, Serrano, Jalapeno, and a few other reasonable peppers for cooking. I grow the real hot ones just as a hobby and to have around hoping someone will try to be tough and eat one. :mrgreen:
Sorry about the racist comment, I was only using it to setup my joke. I actually was a little worried you might not appreciate the humor but I didn’t think you be bothered with a corny thing like that so I went for it.

Btw I have made three attempts at starting onion seed and I have zero to show for it the first two where the same seed and the third was a different one just planted number three yesterday so it might work . But either way I’m moving on to peppers and tomatoes soon.
 

Bareback

Well-Known Member
I just used onion starts, basically baby onions. I made some green red onions, those were really good.
When the stores get the sets I’ll grab some, they wasn’t in last week , I’ve been checking every week for a month.

But here’s the real deal I’ve tried to start from seed a bunch of times and failed every time and I don’t like to lose . Now it’s more about the challenge, about figuring out why I keep failing. I have way more invested than onions well every be worth but it is driving me nuts to fail over and over.

So let me ask you what your peaches, do you do any spring prep. I know your back is bothering you but on a year when you’re feeling good.....fertilizers?...... pruning? .....pesticides? I prune, spread and layer of fresh compost but that’s it , most years a late freeze will kill most of the blooms and some other pests or disease also usually kill what’s left.
 

raratt

Well-Known Member
When the stores get the sets I’ll grab some, they wasn’t in last week , I’ve been checking every week for a month.

But here’s the real deal I’ve tried to start from seed a bunch of times and failed every time and I don’t like to lose . Now it’s more about the challenge, about figuring out why I keep failing. I have way more invested than onions well every be worth but it is driving me nuts to fail over and over.

So let me ask you what your peaches, do you do any spring prep. I know your back is bothering you but on a year when you’re feeling good.....fertilizers?...... pruning? .....pesticides? I prune, spread and layer of fresh compost but that’s it , most years a late freeze will kill most of the blooms and some other pests or disease also usually kill what’s left.
I prune every fall, mostly to keep it at a manageable height so I don't have to climb to the top of a ladder. I also spray with a dormant fungicide to prevent curly leaf, there is copper spray that works great for that but I have another fungicide I'm going to use this year with some neem as a wetting agent to keep it on the tree when it rains. It is in my back yard so it gets water when the lawn is watered, but I give it more water when the fruit is ripening to get really juicy peaches. @doublejj stopped by and picked some up so he can tell you how they are. I don't even fertilize it. it is a Red Haven peach, freestone, and I think they are one of the best ones around. You don't see many of them, my friend down south picked up the tree for me years ago because he found one when I couldn't. There is a big commercial crop of peaches around here, among many other fruits. Birds are my biggest enemy.
 

shrxhky420

Well-Known Member
Everyone checked out ok from the wreck. A little muscle soreness, but that's it. Relieved for sure.

I've been bothered by some carpel tunnel in my wrist and "tennis elbow" for a while. Saw an orthopedist and got a cortisone shot in each elbow, today. I don't mind needles, kinda enjoy them, but Faaaahk that!!!
I'm REALLY sore, now.View attachment 4473361
Glad to hear everyone is ok

SH420
 

Laughing Grass

Well-Known Member
Everyone checked out ok from the wreck. A little muscle soreness, but that's it. Relieved for sure.

I've been bothered by some carpel tunnel in my wrist and "tennis elbow" for a while. Saw an orthopedist and got a cortisone shot in each elbow, today. I don't mind needles, kinda enjoy them, but Faaaahk that!!!
I'm REALLY sore, now.View attachment 4473361
rear ended at 65 wow. Did your car survive?
 
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