Is it every different variety of pork? There are a lot of different pigs out there. What if you made bacon from a wild boar?
I get this question a lot, actually. I don't know what specific protein was used in the allergy test, so it's difficult to know how far it reaches. I'm not inclined to test it, so I just avoid all pork, wild or not.
But goddamn do I want some boar ribs. Might try some one of these days just to see if it bothers me or not.
I actually had this argument the other day. I didn't do a lot of research (2 minutes tops) but from what I saw, it seemed that boars and pigs can interbreed. If that is true, it's probably all pigs and subspecies thereof.
Is it every different variety of pork? There are a lot of different pigs out there. What if you made bacon from a wild boar?
I get this question a lot, actually. I don't know what specific protein was used in the allergy test, so it's difficult to know how far it reaches. I'm not inclined to test it, so I just avoid all pork, wild or not.
But goddamn do I want some boar ribs. Might try some one of these days just to see if it bothers me or not.
I actually had this argument the other day. I didn't do a lot of research (2 minutes tops) but from what I saw, it seemed that boars and pigs can interbreed. If that is true, it's probably all pigs and subspecies thereof.
Don't worry. The lab-grown meat will be here soon enough. And when it is, they will engineer a variety without that protein in it.
In other cooking news, my parents bought me the Kitchenaid mixer I wanted. I never bought it myself only because I have no place to put it. I still have no place to put it. But hell, I am going to mix the shit out of everything bakeable.
In other cooking news, my parents bought me the Kitchenaid mixer I wanted. I never bought it myself only because I have no place to put it. I still have no place to put it. But hell, I am going to mix the shit out of everything bakeable.
I know Kitchenaid Mixers take up a lot of room but I love the one I have and its well worth the space they take up. I use mine all the time, from cake batters and cookie doughs to whipping up homemade marshmallows.
In other cooking news, my parents bought me the Kitchenaid mixer I wanted. I never bought it myself only because I have no place to put it. I still have no place to put it. But hell, I am going to mix the shit out of everything bakeable.
I know Kitchenaid Mixers take up a lot of room but I love the one I have and its well worth the space they take up. I use mine all the time, from cake batters and cookie doughs to whipping up homemade marshmallows.
They are indeed marvelous. Bread Doughs, Meringues, Cakes, Pizzas. Take advantage of that sucker because it is so unbelievably useful and makes with lots of recipes that require hand-work easy.
Worse, but that one is ridiculously beyond what any normal person needs.
Yet it is cheaper at this time.
A friend of mine bought one from that seller a few weeks ago and he does a lot of baking. He said it shipped direct from the factory and was some sort of last year's model sale.
Mainly using only pork trotters and bones, around 6lbs in total. Charred up some onions, garlic, and ginger. Not pictured, but I already parboiled the bones and drained the first set of water. The goal here is to remove a lot of the blood and dark marrow that can contribute to a much darker color than usual. I also rinsed and washed the bones to remove any remaining dark spots.
I'm using less fatback (around 0.5lbs) than recommended, and could only find salted so I also gave it a good wash before adding it to the pot.
Around three hours in, the fatback wasn't quite tender enough so I left it in for another 45 min.
Hour four, removing the fatback.
After six hours, I've already removed and stored the fatback. It's starting to take on a nice color and aroma as well. The fat droplets which were more dispersed earlier have started to collate and clump together.
Starting to roast the chashu in a mirin/soy suace/sake mixture with added shallots, garlic, ginger, and scallions.
Finished chashu to be left to chill in it's juices until serving tomorrow.
I have acquired the Lodge cast iron pot recommended by George. However, I am planning to use it to re-attempt making cider donuts, as 'tis the season. Since I am unskilled in the ways of deep frying, I have some questions.
When heating the oil up from room temperature, what setting should I put on the stove? Obviously high is crazy, but will low take too long? Even Medium on my stove is really hot. Obviously I'm going to watch the thermometer very closely, but I'm worried it might jump up too quickly if I set it too high, or I might be waiting forever if I go too low. Err on the side of low and creep it up?
For doughnuts I have to fry with shortening, which is not liquid at room temperature. If I plan on doing this multiple times, and I don't need the pot for anything else, is it safe to let the shortening stay in the pot and return to solid state for a week or two until I use it again?
If not, then I need to put the leftover into some sort of container. What kind of container is safe? Should I try to pour it out while it is liquid into a container using a funnel? Should I wait for it to be solid and scoop it out?
Oil tends to be fairly stable, but you do have to be wary of overheating. I generally start on high (because remember you'll be heating the cast iron long before the oil) for a bit and then progressively creep down to medium as I watch the temperature. Start babysitting it around 275 F. Don't go too low, or you'll lose a lot of heat.
Microbial contamination of oil is generally not a problem, because there's nothing that can live in it (except some really really really weird microflora that you will never encounter). Most places that do commercial frying just leave the oil in the fryer when it's not in use. The primary obstacle to oil shelf life is rancidity via oxidation, and that's a thing that happens over time and air exposure.
So you should be fine allowing the shortening to re-solidify in the pan. Remember to store oils at room temperature - cold oil can be extremely hazardous when heated.
Transferring to another container is easiest when it's liquid. I use to re-use old wine bottles when I was storing frying oil. Mason jars are also really handy.
Obviously transferring is easiest when it's liquid. Since I was told not to put my oil down the train, I've been using a funnel to put it into an empty plastic orange juice bottle.
The problem is that unlike canola or olive oil, shortening is solid at room temperature. If I transfer it while it is liquid, it's going to be hot. I don't really want to pick up and pour a pot of hot shortening. Also, if I transfer it to a container, it has to have a large enough opening that I can scoop the solid shortening back out of it. I'm thinking a pail/bucket with a lid would work best.
It should be a liquid at a warm-but-not-burning temperature, maybe around 120.
How much shortening are we talking? A good bucket made of HDPE will withstand some serious temperature abuse (I dump 5 gallons of boiling wort into HDPE buckets all the time).
I use these guys for lots of general food purposes (they make great fermentation pails for sauerkraut, or soaking tubs for pickles, or whatever):
Just FYI, when I was frying french fries for everyone I had the stove on high pretty much constantly. Oil has a really high thermal coefficient, second only to water as far as everyday things are concerned. When I would throw the fries in the temperature would drop very quickly, so I kept it on high to bring the temperature back up to frying temp in between batches. I don't know if your donuts will behave the same way.
Comments
Now I need to decide how to cook it.
Pork allergy shmork allergy, I'm getting some bacon!
Smoked beef breakfast strips, made from cheapass ground beef.
Doesn't taste completely like bacon, but it's similarly satisfying.
Fuck you, nature. I win.
But goddamn do I want some boar ribs. Might try some one of these days just to see if it bothers me or not.
In other cooking news, my parents bought me the Kitchenaid mixer I wanted. I never bought it myself only because I have no place to put it. I still have no place to put it. But hell, I am going to mix the shit out of everything bakeable.
I will be making pasta, bread, cookies, everything with it. Tired of doing it all by hand.
KitchenAid KSM150PSER Artisan Series 5-Quart Mixer, Empire Red
A friend of mine bought one from that seller a few weeks ago and he does a lot of baking. He said it shipped direct from the factory and was some sort of last year's model sale.
http://www.hobartcorp.com/products/food-prep/mixers/legacy-floor-mixer/
The eBay link is a very reasonably-priced high-quality mixer.
Mainly using only pork trotters and bones, around 6lbs in total.
Charred up some onions, garlic, and ginger.
Not pictured, but I already parboiled the bones and drained the first set of water. The goal here is to remove a lot of the blood and dark marrow that can contribute to a much darker color than usual. I also rinsed and washed the bones to remove any remaining dark spots.
I'm using less fatback (around 0.5lbs) than recommended, and could only find salted so I also gave it a good wash before adding it to the pot.
Around three hours in, the fatback wasn't quite tender enough so I left it in for another 45 min.
Hour four, removing the fatback.
After six hours, I've already removed and stored the fatback. It's starting to take on a nice color and aroma as well. The fat droplets which were more dispersed earlier have started to collate and clump together.
Starting to roast the chashu in a mirin/soy suace/sake mixture with added shallots, garlic, ginger, and scallions.
Finished chashu to be left to chill in it's juices until serving tomorrow.
When heating the oil up from room temperature, what setting should I put on the stove? Obviously high is crazy, but will low take too long? Even Medium on my stove is really hot. Obviously I'm going to watch the thermometer very closely, but I'm worried it might jump up too quickly if I set it too high, or I might be waiting forever if I go too low. Err on the side of low and creep it up?
For doughnuts I have to fry with shortening, which is not liquid at room temperature. If I plan on doing this multiple times, and I don't need the pot for anything else, is it safe to let the shortening stay in the pot and return to solid state for a week or two until I use it again?
If not, then I need to put the leftover into some sort of container. What kind of container is safe? Should I try to pour it out while it is liquid into a container using a funnel? Should I wait for it to be solid and scoop it out?
Microbial contamination of oil is generally not a problem, because there's nothing that can live in it (except some really really really weird microflora that you will never encounter). Most places that do commercial frying just leave the oil in the fryer when it's not in use. The primary obstacle to oil shelf life is rancidity via oxidation, and that's a thing that happens over time and air exposure.
So you should be fine allowing the shortening to re-solidify in the pan. Remember to store oils at room temperature - cold oil can be extremely hazardous when heated.
Transferring to another container is easiest when it's liquid. I use to re-use old wine bottles when I was storing frying oil. Mason jars are also really handy.
The problem is that unlike canola or olive oil, shortening is solid at room temperature. If I transfer it while it is liquid, it's going to be hot. I don't really want to pick up and pour a pot of hot shortening. Also, if I transfer it to a container, it has to have a large enough opening that I can scoop the solid shortening back out of it. I'm thinking a pail/bucket with a lid would work best.
How much shortening are we talking? A good bucket made of HDPE will withstand some serious temperature abuse (I dump 5 gallons of boiling wort into HDPE buckets all the time).
I use these guys for lots of general food purposes (they make great fermentation pails for sauerkraut, or soaking tubs for pickles, or whatever):
http://www.amazon.com/Cambro-RFS6PPSW2190-6-Quart-Food-Storage-Container/dp/B002PMV77G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412007132&sr=8-1&keywords=food+storage+tub
You probably want something opaque, though. Could hypothetically wrap these up in foil.