It was just me and Tiny E on Sunday, we had plans. One of which was installing and making right our new 55 gallon fresh water aquarium, the other? Smoking a slab of babybacks in the wood fired pit. That post will be up here soon, but it’s what happened after we smoked the ribs that shook us both and forced me to spill my guts here. I just need to get this off my chest.
See, we got the ribs smoked perfectly, Tiny E tends a good fire. I pulled them to rest for about 20 before I cut in. Holy crap they were good, real good. The smoke was gentle, but definitely full of deep tangles worth of flavors. Meat was tender, tasteful & beautiful all at the same time. But I could only eat about 1/3 to 1/2 the rack myself, Tiny E don’t eat much so that portion don’t count. What to do, what to do.
Give it to neighbors! I sliced up the ribs, so they could eat them right away, nothing impaired, no fuss. Rip the foil open and dig in, that was my mission.
Yeah well, all the neighbors I know were gone, out and just plain not there. All except for, Those Neighbors. Who are they? I got no idea, truly. I’ve been here 8 years and never once exchanged any verbal communication. OH sure, there was the initial smiling and waving, but they returned a dead stare with a finish of moving on as though I wasn’t there. I know who the owner is, and he’s got roomates. I can see their good people, exceptionally well built, hunks if you will. Different women coming and going each month. But they communicate with nobody, it’s as if we don’t exist. K, got it?
After checking out my friendly neighbors, I noticed one of the roomies at Those Neighbors house and his girlfriend were out on the front stoop having a light conversation in the early evening light. It was calm and I figured I’m holding some solid, “Howdee neighbor! I have quality hardwood smoked pork ribs here if’n you’d like to partake” type of greeting. I was on a mission (remember?), after 8 years they were going to know who I am, or was or whatever.
Um, do you own a dog? Do you know someone who owns a dog? Picture this neighbor roomy saying “NO” to me as though I was a dog at the table begging for scraps. By the second “NO” I grabbed my booty, the boy and I left to our warm, happy abode. As we were walking back home Tiny E said to me, “How come they don’t want our ribs, Papa?” In a hushed tone I replied, “Because they’re vegetarians honey.” Tiny E sighed and said under his breath, “That’s too bad Papa, that’s too bad.”
I replied in a Ward Cleaver sort of way, “That’s okay honey, in this country we can treat others very badly because of our personal beliefs. It has nothing to do with respect or courtesy, they’re making a statement about how they feel about something. Sometimes it doesn’t matter if they kill other people, animals or harm them in a very bad way. They feel their views are right and just, so it’s okay for them.”
Tiny E responded with a quick, “Um, yeah but we got the ribs.”
xo, Biggles
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Breakin’ the law, breakin’ the law – When cooking is more art than anything else.
I can remember days when I just this high, I Iook back and they were pretty darned fine. All except for … art. This could be music, drawing, painting and/or dancing. I have 4 internal metronomes all going at once, all at a different rate. When I play the drums or a stringed instrument, both hands do the same thing. If I attempt to split the strummins? My brain splits in half, fall over and I curl up in to a little ball. As I got older, I got smarter and started using rulers to draw, anything. I still have some of those in the garage somewheres. Drawing trees with a ruler is dumb, just in case you wanted to know. By the time I was in high school I’d pretty much given up on this whole art thing, done and over with says me.
Towards the end of high school I discovered cooking and photography, That is to say, I’d been doing those things for years, but realized that as I got older and better, my food and photography didn’t suck as much as it used to.
For today’s entry, there is no recipe, no procedure you can follow. It’s pure art, feel it, study, listen, poke & prod. You have to become one with your beef roast, zen that s.o.b. until you own its soul. MmmMMm, beef soul.
When you’ve spent many years studying your chosen form of art, you know the rules and your ways as second nature. The best part though? Is when you can break those rules, and have a masterpiece presented. This, my good people is just that. I broke one of the all-time huge rules of cooking roasts, don’t put a frozen hunk of meat in the oven.
A pork, a salt and a blow torch. One of these things …
This was one of those meals when you only have 45 minutes to get ready, the sun is setting and the children want food now. The pork roast I bought was completely devoid of visible fat and figured just cook the damned thing and get dinner over with. I had originally purchased it for the smoker (was going to wrap it in bacon). All that, and I was tired, cranky and my back was a little sore, grrrrr. Get it? Grrrr?
It wasn’t until I turned the little gem over to reveal the reversed side was completely covered in a nice layer of fat! Um, make a u-turn Biggles and get back on track. And you know what? I did just that, and quite a bit more. I totally rule, come see why.
If you had fat to rub?
Where would you put it?
This fat rub went on a beef roast, rosemary, salt, pepper, fresh lemon juice.
xo, Biggles
Heat source, does it matter? A pork rib experiment from the lab.
The argument in regards to wood versus briquette, versus propane, versus electric heat sources in smokers has got to be way older than the one on PC versus MAC, and that’s saying something. We know that for grilling, there is an exceptional difference, but does it matter for hot smoking (approximately 200 to 250 degrees F)? It doesn’t for cold smoking (90 to 110 degrees F). I’ve always stood by the age old ways of saying, “Yes nitwit, the fire does make a difference and it’s noticeable. Real wood, charcoaled or not, does make a difference.”
Over the years I’ve had quite a few propane lovers extol the virtues of their propane powered rigs. My eyes cross, I hear buzzing in my ears and go back to my old ways of using wood to power my smokers. I never even remotely considered buying in to the procedure, especially after tasting what I pull out of my smoker. Sorry pal, you can’t reproduce this, no way, no how.
On Sunday I decided to put my cold smoker to use, finally. Instead of 100 degrees, I jacked it to 212 and hot smoked a slab of baby backs using only an electric hotplate and a smoke generator.
Please click through to read the rest of the story, “Heat source, does it matter?”
USS Hornet – Alameda, CA – OH Biggles …
Oh Biggles, don’t you cook anymore?
Um, no. No I don’t, only run the dishwasher once a week or so. Mostly full of cups, flatware and a whisk or two. Been up to other things and food hasn’t been a part. Don’t sweat it though, I’ll be back and am eating well in spite of not cooking.
Guess where I went Saturday morning? The USS Hornet at Alameda Point (old Naval base & home to St. Georges), that’s where. I knew the Red Oak was in Richmond, just needed to get off my ass and get down there. But I had no idea that Alameda housed a real aircraft carrier. Much less an aircraft carrier museum!
It ain’t cheap though, not like the Red Oak. This one is 14 bux per adult to get in and you must be led about by a docent. No wandering around on your own to stick your nose in here and in there, pull this and open that. Which is fine, it’s a dangerous place and you don’t want to die er nothin’. Especially when you pay 14 bux to do it. It kinda reminds me of the Winchester Mystery House. A huge place with tiny rooms & even smaller walkways.
If you’re interested in visiting, check out the link above. And if you’re interested in the history surrounding the Hornet, go for it. I’m not going to pretend as though I’m someone I’m not, this would be an American history buff. I know how to build a fire and cook food over it. History to me is a fire pit filled with pork rib bones and beer cans scattered about.
Here are a few snapshots of the USS Hornet I took along the way. And yes, that’s an escalator. It goes from the flight deck down a few levels. I spose the pilots were all woozy from flying and needed a safe way to descend to rest. And the cool exposure was a “mistake”. I had my camera all set from a small studio shoot I did Friday morning. It was after this shot I sat down for a bit and reset all the dials, buttons and menu choices.
Biggles
Red Oak Victory Ship – Richmond, CA
Okay, how many of you know where you live? Raise your hands. How many of you know you live in the San Francisco Bay Area? Raise your hands … good. How many of you know the SS Red Oak Victory Ship is located at the Richmond Ship Yards and is totally accessible to the general public for adventure? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
This is a P.S.A., a Public Service Announcement.
This last Sunday morning at 10:30 am found the Biggles making his way down to Pt. Richmond and then the Richmond Harbor/Ship Yards for a little adventure. I’d been about 3 or 4 years ago and it was time for a little readventure.
“Launched on November 9, 1944 as the SS Red Oak Victory, and commissioned as the USS Red Oak Victory (AK235) in December, 1944, the Red Oak Victory is the only vessel built by the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond, California that is being restored. The ship saw service in World War II, Korea and Vietnam and has the distinction of being the only ship operated by both military and civilian personnel during her career.
In 1996, by an Act of Congress, title to the SS Red Oak Victory was conveyed to the Richmond Museum Association. One of the primary goals of the museum is to preserve, restore and develop the Red Oak Victory into a viable asset that can be used, enjoyed and appreciated by the citizens of Richmond and the surrounding Bay Area communities.”
– Lifted from their web site – Photographs are mines
Holee crap this is a beauty of a ship and they’ve done an amazing job at bringing her back to life. When I arrived back in ’04, she was rusty from one end to the other, a photographer’s dream. She’s all shiny now and still the same dream come true. It’s generally a self-guided tour and you have access to nearly every part. You can climb ladders, stairs, anywhere. Plus? I was the only one there wandering about, sticking my nose here, my lens there.
There is no better place to spend 5 dollars in this entire area. You should go. When friends or family come to town, you should go. Bored some weekend, you should go. However, if you have small children or can’t safely climb gangways or ladders, you should not go. You have to keep your wits about you and pay attention to the fact you’re on a real ship, not at Disneyland. It’s so exciting!
Interested in seeing more of her? Check out the rest of my images of Red Oak Victory Ship.
A Grand Day Out, indeed.
xo, Biggles
ps – So I can redeem myself here and include a food related point, they do have pancake breakfasts scheduled on the weekends as a fundraiser. Contact them or visit the ship for details.
No image required
Yow, been really busy, can you tell?
Early Saturday morning I found myself making coffee, quiet house, sun not quite up yet. All that could be heard were my feet across the creaky old floor and some clanking of dishes. With the kitchen door open to the outside, crisp bay air was flowing through the house with glee.
Oh boy, I can hardly wait for that first cup!
No half and half, oh well. Chores & coffee, the day was looking up. I set my cup on the butcher block table to the right of the stove. This table houses large jars of wooden and shiny metal implements, salt pig and a scattering of items that either need washing or putting away. On the wall at the back of the table are at least a dozen kitchen knives and 4 sharpening steels, looks cool and very functional. Above, is an open cabinet filled with boxes of cocoa, oatmeal, coffee supplies, all kinds of kitchenny stuff. This, is my command center.
I stand at this table and go for that last glug of coffee. You know the one? The last slam of goodness that signals the next step in the day. The one that sends you in to overdrive, inspiration to get your day on!
GLUG, … hiccup, burp, COUGH. All at the exact same moment.
Normally, it’s not such a big deal. Gross, I’ll admit. But with a mouthful of black coffee? That’s right, I got a 3.5′ cone of black coffee spewed over all. Up in the cabinet, covered the knives & steels and whatever was on the surface of the little table was covered.
If that wasn’t bad enough, it began to drip. Yup, drip. So, not only now was everything splattered, but it was now running down the wall, down the blades, down the wooden spatulas and in to the jars and gently soaking in to my kosher salt.
Bring it on Monday, I can totally kick your ass.
Biggles
Impulse buys – When window shopping pays off
I know many people who go shopping for food and have a list, I’ve tried it. Yeah well, my list is usually the one blowing through the parking lot after it falls from an ill placed spot in my front pocket. I’ve given up long ago at keeping up with the routine and figure if I miss something, I can come back tomorrow.
Yeah, so I was shopping for tonight’s dinner at my local Latino market, Joya de Ceren. All I needed was a pound of Molida (ground beef), but the pork caught my eye. And because I’ve made friends with the butcher, I knew I could get other cuts, like right now. We do loin chops frequently, but what about a roast? Pork loin roast.
I made a few gestures, pigeon Spanish and Carlito was dragging out a full pork loin! I motioned about yay big. Um, that comes to 8.25 pounds in English. Did I have any plans? Nope. Do I now? Nope.
The fruit shown are all gifts from friends. The peaches are from Zoomie at Zoomie Station, large pears from from Cookie of I’m Mad and I Eat, and the cute little juicy pear rigs are from Claire of Clutter Coach.
Anyone got any idears? What you gots?
xo, Biggles
Joya de Ceren
12545 San Pablo Ave
Richmond California
(510) 235-5315
Tent with foil? That’s so 1969.
I asked Z what he wanted for dinner, it’s Saturday after all. I ran down a short list, but his eyes lit up at Beef Roast. I can do that, so I headed off to our local mart that’s going through some renovation (it’s time they put some money in the poor ol’ gal).
Hurm, the meat department is still under construction and the choices were either this chuck roast or spending nearly 30 dollars on some fancy cut. Considering the source (no ideas), I opted for this 3 pound rig. I figured if I cooked it gently, with some flavors, pulled at 130 or so, we’d get something we could sink our teefs in to. This remains to be seen since it just went in to the oven.
Extra virgin, s&p, fresh rosemary, tent with bacon on the little end. Install to 14″ cast iron fry pan with trivet in to 325 degree oven. Jack heat to 350. In an hour, will drizzle with red wine, squeeze of fresh lemon juice with a few pats of butter. When done, I’ll pull and let rest.
The jury is out, but I’ll bet you dimes to limes, this roast will do just fine.
xo, Biggles
It’s hot – A Meathenge Labs Technical Letter
Um, we’re in the middle of some kind of summer thing, heat. Oh sure, we’re near the bay (a little cooler) and the inland areas are shooting upwards of 109. But our fog is gone since last week and there hasn’t been our usual wind storm in the afternoons either. This means we just sit and bake. We don’t usually get our warm days and evenings until October, and it’s mild even then. Nope, I just checked the thermo meter at about 4pm and it’s 86!
Dude, I’m totally sweating. Just sitting here, sweating. I don’t get it and I don’t like it.
What does one do in such desperation? Cut the legs off yer jeans. Problem solved. This is a Meathenge Approved Tech Note and I approved it personally.
Biggles
ps – Yeah, I have 4 pairs of speakers in the living room. There’s 5 more pairs on the property. And yes, Spongebob Squarepants is also Meathenge Approved.
Trash? Recycle bin? I don’t think so. Old Smoker, I love you.
This post isn’t for you people who are already hip to the love of an old, well used smoker. But for those of you who may feel they need the new stuff, the bells and even a few whistles. As with many crafts, it’s about the person wielding the brush, not the brush itself.
Yeah well, before we left for Calistoga Jeffrey said a friend had given him an old smoker that someone had tossed out. It looked complete, but old, rusty and kinda funky. He sent me a picture and it looked serviceable. While I have used and owned a few of those bullet shaped smokers, I’d never actually used one with no visible air vents or access door to the fire.
Squeezing Summer for all it’s worth
Where or where is our little meat henge, where or where could it be?
Fishin’, bikin’, hikin’, eatin’, basically just goofing off and attempting to enjoy every last moment of summer. That’s where. See, for many of youse guys, summer is when it’s warm. For persons such as myself, summer ends when school starts, this would be next Tuesday.
The image to the right is Tiny E at Highland Lakes, 8600 feet up in the Sierra mountains off hwy 4. See? That’s what we’re up to!
Yay for us. See ya’ll later, bye!
Biggles
Here come the judge – 5th Annual West Coast BBQ Championship
You heard that right, myself, Chilebrown and Ms. Goofy will be officiating this food related event. How’d we get to hold such a position? We were asked, that’s how. We’ve never done such a thing, so we’re really looking forward to it.
Our day starts early, but you don’t have to. I think the judging starts about noon, so you’ll wanna come by a little earlier than that to see what all the hubub is about. Where?
The general vicinity of Texas and Jefferson Streets (and surrounding areas), Fairfield, CA. Comon by and enjoy yourself, there’s tons of stuff going on, tomato festival, vendors, games & clamato.
xo, Biggles
ps – Am writing this at 4am and not quite right with the world yet. Am taking the boys to the mountains, 8600 feet up! Whar’s muh coffees foo?
Operation Cold Smoke – Update #1 – Make up your damned mind Biggles !!!
For the last 10 years I’ve dreamed about making a cold smoker. Bacon, ham, sausage, pork chops, fish & chile peppers oh my! Cold smoking ain’t quite as straight forward as hot smoking, plus the equipment is different. This coupled with being dead lazy, I’m only now taking the project on.
The cold smoking thing all came together when Salvage sent me a link to a Cold Smoke Generator on ebay, I bought it that moment. The wheels spun and I posted last week about making a cold smoker out of a 55 gallon drum. I thought I had it made, but I was wrong. The drum was “lined”, that means it’s bad for food related craft projects. The protective coating keeps organic solvents from attacking the steel, good for them, bad for us. You want an unlined, clean, steel drum for such things and this was not it. And then? Creepy E took the week off so it was going to be 9 days before the new drum could be ordered. I have an attention span of a gnat and I needed satisfaction, needed it like now.
I figured I could use my hot smoker and talked to Salvage about it. Sure, not a problem, but you have to be very careful about Ptomaine and Botulism. See, with a hot smoker you got fats/juices all over the darned place and they’re generally cleaned up by a good hot fire. But cold smoking rarely goes above 120 degrees F. This means whatever nasties are there, they incubate. Here’s what he has to say on the subject.
Ptomaine is the enemy you can smell. Botulism is the real culprit in this realm. It wants 3 things, the spores, absence of Oxygen, and temperatures between 70 deg and 140 deg F. You are building the Botulism incubator. Hmmmm It is odorless and tasteless. The good thing is that Botulism and Ptomaine do not get along at all. So, if it smells rotten it will only make you very sick. If it smells good it can kill you dead. Heat botulism to 265 deg F and the organism dies, but the poison remains and you still die. So the moral here is to never grow Botulism. Like genital warts, you have to catch it from somewhere.
Saturday morning’s ToDo List:
Clean up a few grates, drill a hole for the generator and find some smokable food stuffs.