What's For Dinner?

[alphawave7]

Are we still talking salt? Or another kind of rock that one smokes... Because, well...

Salt, o'course! :P

Steak was great! Wife remarked it had a new, interesting flavor combo...'kinda like having steak sauce built-in' she said. We didn't use any sauce. I might cut back even more on the salt, or simply salt the meat first, and let it sit, then put the rub on later. Prime was tender as expected, and the carmelised brown sugar seemed to make the steak 'richer', if that makes any sense..I was full faster. Thanks Fuzzy!
Now..a stack of Girl Scout Thin Mints and a glass of milk...

[furbearingmammal]

Nice dessert, and glad you liked it!

I always thought it kinda tasted like "fresh" jerky, if that makes any sense. :D But all I can say is some people I've served it to have sounded more like Wookies than humans eating it... I LOVE it.

[RayBan]

@vuarnet As a matter of fact, I DO have those pink crystals in the cupboard...haven't unwrapped it yet, now I'm curious! :D

you should *totally* give it a try next time ... hawaiian pink is a very good salt. it's quite good for brining, because it's more subtle yet than either kosher salt or typical white sea salt ... but IMHO there's nothing better than fleur de sel... man o man. if you are looking for a truly perfect flavor, there is nothing substitute. downside? yeah... it's pricey. it's harvested on an island off the west coast of france called île de Ré and is still harvested using the same method for hundreds of years. it's one of the only salts you can put on your finger and taste it without puckering the least bit.

the difficulty with brining is that the salt can so easily overpower the meat, especially depending on what cut you use, especially a filet mignon. NY strip is my favorite cut because the flavor of the meat itself tends to be quite a bit stronger. and combined with a rare cooking, the "meatiness" actually makes it to the plate. i would try the pink hawaiian salt with salmon. one of my favorite, simplest recipes for salmon is to put pure canadian maple syrup (the good stuff!), pink hawaiian sea salt or fleur de sel, a touch of balsamic vinegar and 2-3 tbsp of minced garlic and mix it all in a ziploc bag (the maple syrup is the primary substrate, but you can experiment with the portions of each...it is quite a versatile recipe. i usually end up using about 1/4 C of maple syrup for two filets). make a pouch for the salmon out of parchment or nonstick aluminum foil (or you can use banana leaves if you can find them, which is really the best and über-cool for presentation) and put the salmon in it, and drizzle the mix on top and cook it in the oven. let it sit for about 5 minutes after you take it out though, because the moisture will re-settle inside the salmon so it'll be nice and moist (same reason you never cut meat right after it's grilled!).

@alphawave7: i got a peugeot grinder set for xmas last year and boy have they seen some serious use! soooo awesome

[RayBan]

also.... a great dessert for this is berries in cream

just get (european if available, it's slightless less sweet) heavy cream and beat it virgorously with a wire whisk while gradually adding about 1 C (or more if you have a sweet tooth!) of superfine sugar (similar to that used in crème brulée) until it will hold soft peaks if you lift the whisk up out of the cream. grab some fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries(!), raspberries...etc) and plop them right in. voila! DONE! ...don't overbeat it though, or it'll fall and you'll be back where you started lol

...and don't expect to use a cream charger and fold in the sugar later... it's just not the same!

[verwon]

Hmmmm.... I can enjoy a thread like this, but do we have anything without all the salt?

Beamed down to the earthlings from my eVo

[RayBan]

Heck yeah! I'm having good ole fashioned southern BBQ tonight

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[verwon]

Heck yeah! I'm having good ole fashioned southern BBQ tonight

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Sounds tasty!

Beamed down to the earthlings from my eVo

[furbearingmammal]

Oatmeal pancakes, breakfast sausage links, and locally-sourced maple syrup.

[verwon]

I'm going to make salmon and rice, with lemon pepper and Asiago.


Beamed down to the earthlings from my eVo

[zmann]

Tonight I just had chicken sandwich on a toasted wheat bagel with spicy dejon mustard

Evo-lution