Deviled eggs so good the Valkyrie said ““Those are the best ones you’ve ever made. Whatever you did, always do that from now on.”
What I did was take a dozen eggs, 1/4 cup of avocado mayo, 3 tablespoons of sour cream, 2 table spoons of salted grassfed butter, 2 teaspoons of mustard, and salt and pepper to taste, with the genius stroke to top with crumbled bacon. Next time: pancetta.
And then, the legit most delicious thing I’ve ever had
I took 4.65lbs of beef cheek, smoked it at 250 until 165 internal, then braised it for about 7 hours at 275 until it got to 202. I sliced a few strips like brisket, and pulled the rest. It, once again, is one of the most delicious things I’ve ever had, and I reach satiety on it CRAZY fast.
I’ve been trying to get a balsamic glazed duck or squab breast right but keep running into issues.
When I brush the glaze on before drying the skin, the glaze burns when searing. When I glaze after roasting, the skin doesn’t end up crisp
For the duck, I’m thinking I can render the fat, glaze, then let it caramelise when roasting in the oven (shorter time, higher heat)
For the squab, I’m less sure because it cooks too quickly to roast in the oven. Would searing on medium high heat, brushing on glaze, and low broil for maybe a minute work?
I’m not doing it on the crown because I can’t seem to get the flavour of the pumpkin spice and bee pollen into the meat when on the crown
That sounds good. Once the fat is rendered, I’d lacquer on some glaze every 15 - 20 minutes until the final blast of heat. That will remove water from the glaze so it starts to form a crispy shell.
Yes, but it would probably be a bit uneven. You could baste the cooked, glazed bird with some hot oil to set the glaze without imparting a lot of heat to the meat. “Arroser,” if you want the fancy term.
3lb tri tip roast. Salt and pepper rub before I put it in the sous vide bath for 7 hours at 134, pan seared in wagyu tallow in cast iron, then butter basted with garlic. Sliced against the grain and served alongside avocado. Some rice for her and the kiddo, eggs for me.
So this is kinda a sad one. It will be my wifes last meal before starting a really intensive regiment of chemo & radiation for cancer in her throat & neck. She won’t be able to taste or eat much of anything for quite a while. Possibly up to a couple years.
What?! I’m so sorry - for all of you - and sending my most effective hugs and well-wishes and prayers. You must all be so worried. Ugh, I’m sorry! Will there be any issue with talking? Praying not.
Yeah. It starts at the base of her tongue, so talking, swallowing, etc.
Discussing it with my tree buddy, Im uniquely qualified to help and understand some of the difficulties that go with that territory, so . Maybe that can be of some value.
Thank you both. I tend to clam up and become austere when I get really stressed like I’ve been and likely will be, so I’ll try being different from that.
It really was quite good. I used squeeze tube lemon zest this time, which was a quantum step ahead of the ole lemon juice.
Later in the year with fresh tomato & basil its going to be a real banger. I was actually thinking of some of our recent tomato discussion while making it.
Me too! I thought the bits of tomato looked very tomato-y and just right.
We’re here for it.
I’m often funniest and most shocking when I’m feeling cornered by life and need distraction, so if you want to do that sort of thing - maybe start some shit - we’re here for that, too.
. (Thats faux french for paper plate)
. Maybe that can be of some value.
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