The Official Forum Food Porn Thread

[Ron_L]

Ron, one of the great things is about living in Los Angeles is the chains of Mexican markets. Even the small independants have butchers behind the meet counter. Somewhat now lost in the American Supermarket.

If you have one in your area go in and as for carne asada preparada. They will mix it up right there. This was our tailgate menu this past weekend. The markets have some great stuff. Trader Joes good, the store bought is great.

So look around your area for one of those Mexican markets and carniceria.

There are a bunch of Mexican markets in Aurora, just south of me. I'll have to try that! Thanks for the tip. This was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I was at TJ's and someone grabbed a packed of their Carne Asada so i asked them if ti was good and they went on for five minutes about it, so I tried it. It really was nery good.

Ron, that looks awesome! I meant to tell you on another thread that your barbeque looked amazing too. The chicken looked so moist and juicy. I know better than to ask a competition man for his recipes, so I will just tell you I thought it looked delicious.

We don't do anything that most competitors don't already know about. The thighs are marinaded in Italian salad dressing overnight and then wiped off and dusted with your favorite rub. We use Bone Smoker's rub from Dr. BBQ. Then they go into the smoker at 250 degrees for about an hour to get some smoke and cook most of the way. After that they go into a foil pan and are covered in sauce to tenderize the skin for about another hour. We use Blues Hog sauce, but any sauce would work. That's it.

At home I brine my chicken instead of marinading. I use a brine that is approximately 1 cup of salt to one gallon of water but I substitute 1/4 cup of soy sauce for 1/4 cup of salt and add in brown sugar, honey and rub. The recipe is...

1 gallon water
3/4 cup salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons Honey

Put these ingredients into a pan and heat to just below boiling and the salt and sugar are dissolved. Then add 2 tablespoons of whatever rub you are going to use for the outside of the chicken and let it steep for 10 minutes. Then add 1/4 cup of soy sauce and let it cool (you can leave out some water and then add ice cubes at the end to cool it faster).

I brine chicken pieces for about an hour, no more than two and whole chickens overnight. After the brine period rinse the chicken thoroughly and let it dry for at least 15 minutes. Then season however you want and cook. I normally cook mine on the grill at home since Amy doesn't like too much smoke on chicken and I cook them indirect until done (25 to 30 minutes for bone in breasts, about 45 minutes for thighs) and then finish over the fire to crisp up the skin. Then they get a quick glaze of sauce.

[nothintolose]

Okay Liamsaunt mentioned "brining" her chicken to me and now RonL is posting about it. What is brining and what does it do?

[Ron_L]

The best explanation of now brining works was by Alton Brown on Good Eats on the Food Network, but I can't find a video of it, so I dug this up on About.com

Any lean meat (chicken, pork, fish) will stay moister if you brine the meat first. Brining—soaking lean cuts in salted water—preserves moisture. For fish, pork, chicken, or shrimp, prepare a brine with one cup of kpsher salt per gallon of water (some brines also call for a small amount of sugar). Soak chicken in brine for two to twenty-four hours, other foods for as little as an hour. Rinse well, pat dry, and cook as desired. The science behind the brine is simple; meat proteins are made up of amino acids, some of which are highly charged. They interact with the salt ions in the brine to open their structure and to dramatically increase their water-holding capacity. The salt actually moves into the meat, and extra water is also absorbed; on the grill, the salt in the meat holds on to the moisture, and so does the protein. The result is a juicier product, even from the high heat of the grill or the medium-high heat of grill roasting.

The way Alton explained it, the salt levels inside and outside of the food want to equalize, so the salt from the brine goes into the meat, carrying along with it the moisture and flavor. At some point, the meat will have absorbed more salt than is left in the solution so the salt will migrate back out, but the moisture and flavor is left behind.

Any food chemists out there want to do a better job

[Ron_L]

Tonight we had one on my all time favorite dinners...

BREAKFAST!

Homemade biscuits and fatty gravy and a couple of sunny-side up eggs.

[nothintolose]

I love having breakfast at dinner time!!!

Hey Ron - thanks for the description of brining!!!

[flip-flop]

Is it possible to gain weight just by seeing amazing food. Biscuits and gravy. YUM> you know the way to a southern girl's heart! It's the breakfast I always ask my mom for when I am home

[wontongirl]

We have breakfast for supper every Sunday night and we call it BRUPPER!

[California Girl]

Hey Wontongirl!! Where ya' been? Glad to see your little fan avatar again!

[liamsaunt]

Seeing Ron's tacos the other day inspired me to make my fish tacos last night:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/1457924663/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1354/145 ... 2ac59c.jpg" width="500" height="456" alt="fish tacos with crema"></a>

[2catlimit]

Alright Liamsaunt,
You know we're going to ask.
How do you make the fish for your tacos and what type of fish do you use? Also, what kind of sauce is that?
Thanks for all of your great recipies and advice.
Most importantly, thanks for the inspiration.
You've motivated so many of us to get creative, challenge ourselves and do something out of the ordinary.
I think so often dinner becomes routine or drudgery, and food like this is something for vacations and eating out at restaurants.
This helps us remember we can make everyday special and feel a little like vacation.
I've always been a fan of wearing or using "the good stuff" every day instead of saving it only for occasions. You get to enjoy it so much more often.
This thread, and and all of the people participating and contributing to it, are cultivating the food version of that philosophy.
Thank you all.
Carpe diem, everybody.

[nothintolose]

Liamsaunt!!!! How did you know I want to cook fish tacos??? I even have the tortillas. How did you make the white sauce on there???

What is the green stuff (not the cabbage) - is that guacamole??? Recipes please.

Oh, and what fish fry did you use

[liamsaunt]

I used haddock for the tacos, but any white fish would work fine.

NTL, nope, that is not one of your fry mixes! It's a simple beer batter with the addition of a tbsp. of cumin and a tsp. of cayenne.

The white sauce is a version of crema--it came out thicker than I wanted because I used the fage yogurt instead of regular. it's just 2 parts mayonaisse, 1 part yogurt, juice of one lime, and some chipotle powder.

The green stuff is indeed guacamole. I used one onion, one jalepeno, two avocados, a handful of cilantro, the juice of one lime, a tomato, and salt all mixed up. That's it!

Ron, thanks for the BBQ recipes. I'm getting a new grill and a smoker soon and will have to give your version a try.

[Ron_L]

Ron, thanks for the BBQ recipes. I'm getting a new grill and a smoker soon and will have to give your version a try.

No worries. I have lots. What kind of grill and smoker are you looking at?

[Jo Ann - VA]

Does anyone have the 'green egg' smoker? I really really want one!
Man are they expensive!

[liamsaunt]

Does anyone have the 'green egg' smoker? I really really want one!
Man are they expensive!

That's the one I am looking at, but yeah, it is really expensive. I tend to think about large purchases in terms of vacation cost. So, if I DON'T buy it, I could use that money for traveling!

Ron, do you have any recommendations, maybe for something less pricy?