Food & Drink

[Grumpy Bear]

Infused Water

 

I was introduced to infuse water while caring for the father-in-law as a nursing home staple. Meh! 

 

Reintroduced by the wife and WOW! Seems everything thing matters and the range is wide. Patients is key. You can't rush a cold infusion. Water matters as there is little to hide its shortcomings. Container matters. Think tomato juice from a steel can. Metallic aftertaste. Something learned was that herbs can have a huge impact of the final taste. I'm no expert and still experimenting but two combinations I really like are:

 

1.) Cucumber, Lemon and Mint

2.) Orange, Blueberry and Basil. 

 

Fresher the fruit/berries and herbs the better. We use spring water and a neutral poly pitcher with an insert for the flavorings and let stand overnight MINIMUM in the frig. This has replaced much of the ice tea I drink during yard work and is an eye popper for company. 

 

If you have a favorite flavor combination....I'm all ears....

[Grumpy Bear]

Jersey Dairy & Berkshire Pigs

 

Grandfather was a hog producer born in the 1800's and as a young man I ate well from his smoke house, salt house and fresh butcher. I know what pork use to taste like and I know what pork from the common white pig taste like. Berkshire hogs....yum. That is if you really like Pork. 400 lbs packer sows rule....

 

Both sides of the family also had, mostly by marriage, dairymen. Not common high production Holstein Friesian cows either. Jersey and Swiss mostly. 

 

Quite by adventure the other day in our travels we ran across Kilgus Farm Store who deliver wholesale and we seem to be right at the very edge of their range. Oh happy me. We had a cooler full of ice so bought what we could and it did not disappoint.

 

Last time I drank un homogenized milk from a Jersey herd I was a child. I bought a pint of half/half. You shake before the pour and do that a few times and butter bits come with it. A French Press ground in my kitchen locally roasted dark roast coffee and some 4.8% Jersey half/half is heavenly. Put a couple of small farm grass feed eggs next to a timber feed Berkshire porkchop........ 

 

None of this is crazy expensive IF you take the time to find the source and cut out the middle man. Fact is the premium Jersey product was 1/3 the cost of store bought store branded product which was half the price of name brands.   

 

Farmers have become GM OEM. They don't raise hogs and milk cows...they make money and what does not make fist fulls of it it dumped in favor of what does. There are a handful of Jersey herds in the entire midwest and even fewer Swiss. White pigs rule the industry and nothing is foraged anymore outside these few who are happy to make a profit and not a killing. 

 

My brothers and I use to sit on the milk rail with the cats as Uncle Bob hand milked a small herd and he'd squirt us in the face. Thank you independent farmers! 

[Grumpy Bear]

Berkshire Pork Loin

Low and Slow

 

8/10 (eight tenths) pound loin well salted. 

90 minutes in a convection oven in an iron skillet or Braiser at 250 F. 

Rest for about 20 minutes. 

Heavenly is that simple. 

 

Rule of thumb for low and slow is 90 minutes per pound at 250 - 280 F. At 72 minutes internal temp was about 120F so I added the remaining 18 minutes. First time in this oven came out perfect. 140 F pulled from oven rising to 150 F during the rest and abating to 110F by meal time. This needs NOTHING extra. Lord what flavor. 

 

I may have to buy a quarter..... 

Edited July 20, 2022 by Grumpy Bear

[Grumpy Bear]

Melrose Peppers

 

I don't know how far outside the Chicago area these peppers have reached. My neighbor and his son introduced me to them this season. A staple in their garden for some years now. I think of them as a sweet Green Bell absent all and I mean ALL bitterness. Quite aromatic when this minute picked which brings me to the real focus of this post.

 

"Freshness"

 

Like many I expect I always equated a fresh veggie as ones not preserved. Not canned, not frozen, not pickled, not waxed and so on. Okay it's fresher than any such method but it is NOT fresh. A potato for instance can be over a year old by the time it reaches the stores "fresh produce' area. Picked our first Cucumber yesterday. The first eaten within minutes for lunch. It is a texture thing as much as the flavor but brothers and sisters....off the chain.  

 

I had the opportunity to test this out with the Melrose. I tired one finely diced in scrambled eggs and diced ham that was a few days old and while it was wonderful.....replicating this with a pepper minutes old was an eye opener. Literally hours makes a difference you can taste! 

 

Normally a dish made with Bell Peppers the absence of bitter allowed paring with fresh citrus and banana. Oranges to be exact, as a sweet side. Cinnamon on the banana slices.  I've done this combination with Bell Peppers but the bitter fights the fruit so never a Go To. The Melrose compliments it in a way that leaves you wanting more. Warm sweets...

 

While considered a sweet pepper the Melrose has an undertone of warmth that is hard to distinguish from the warmth of the fire it was cooked on, but it is there. Almost makes black pepper unrequired but I use some anyway. Two flavors, IMHO, that like each other.

 

Since COVID-19 lockdowns I've taken a renewed interest in cooking that laid dormant since I was about 15 working with my mother in the kitchen during harvest. I had forgotten the importance of freshness. 

 

We eat for more the sustenance. God could have made it all gray and oatmeal like and we would have survived and even thrived. But he chose to make it a real delight. Human commercial greed of factory farming has stripped most of that away. People pay a hundred a plate for food to convince themselves they are eating something special and sometimes they are if the Chief has his own garden but with a bit of effort one can make from a small garden an experience you can't duplicate for all the money in the world. FRESH..... Enjoy it while the season God provided lasts kids.  

 

 

[Grumpy Bear]

Yorkshire Iowa Cut Pork Chop

aka Pork Porterhouse.

 

1-1/4" thick with bone and loin present.

 

 

Love this time of year. Fresh veggies! 

 

Inbodens Meat Market had some nice Yorkshire Pork in Porterhouse cut. (Iowa Chops) Same weight as the Berkshire loin I did a few days ago so I picked one up for a comparison of taste, texture and moisture and to perfect a recent skill. 

 

 

Roast Turnips in Olive oil and salt. An Artisan Multigrain from the same market with butter and a ice cold raw variety of fresh picked veggies round out the simple plating. Bonnie Original tomatoes, red bell, cucumber and sweet onion in Olive oil and Cider vinegar, salt and pepper. So how bout that pork?

 

If Yorkshire pork was the only thing you had ever experienced you would have loved this example. Tender to the fork. Moist and finely textured. Mild flavor. Very little fat. Nothing about it is a put off. 

 

However....

 

     the Berkshire is more densely marbled, earthy, naturally salty and divinely flavorful. Not by an amount that leaves you saying...yea either one is fine, but in a way that has you pushing the Yorky to the back of the table and hogging the Berk.

 

Yorkshire, IMHO,  needs some help and more than salt. A nice coarse mustard preparation perhaps?, horseradish?, or a garlic sear. I don't know, but something to make it speak to the taste buds.... Perhaps more suited to the grill? 

 

 

Problem is I am now spoiled rotten both with the Berkshire and with the method. 250F for 90 minutes gave a perfect 140 F peak to this 1-1/4" thick 0.8 lb. slice of heaven that needs nothing but a bit of salt and darn little of that.  20 minute rest while the turnips roasted. Served two. Only a pig would need more 

Edited July 23, 2022 by Grumpy Bear

[Grumpy Bear]

1 minute ago, virgilcorbitt said:

I used to try to eat junk food and didn't think about what was going on with my health.

 

And now? 

[KARNUT]

I followed all the diet fads for 30 years. All cancel butter, salt, low cholesterol etc. I was over weight but had very good blood work. Finally my wife started going to weight watchers. I lost 30lbs and mostly keep it off for 15 years. I like things simple. It’s simple. I eat everything now just not all the time. I am still over weight by their numbers but I found my set point. I’m a food junky like most people. The yo yo lifestyle is gone. Diabetes runs in my family. I’m enjoying my freedom until the inevitable, possibly. My point ultimately is I found what works for me. While young eat what you want reasonably, go to the doctor yearly. Especially for blood work. When you get older you may be forced to make changes.

[shakenfake]

I don't eat anything that has added sugar. I really don't eat junkfood either or drink that much. I will drink but only during the summer and December/January, after that I probably won't touch it. 

Cutting the sugar was incredible. I really feel better I think and also can enjoy my teeth a bit more.

 

I do eat a lot of salt though. I could probably lower that a little bit.

[Grumpy Bear]

Pot Roast 

Low and Slow

 

I haven't done a pot roast since I was about 15 and didn't do this method then. More of a brazing then. The way mom did. 

 

2.17 pound Chuck Roast 

Course salted both sides and placed in a skillet

250 F oven for 5 hours. (Convection) 

20 minute rest, cut and serve a really tasty cheap cut of meat. 

 

Okay I quit at 5 hours at an internal temperature of JUST over 160 F so tender but not falling apart and to tell the truth it didn't raise a single degree over the last hour. More time would just dry it out. It gave up where the magic is just starting to happen. (160F) The breakdown of the connective tissue that makes is Pulled Beef but something you would serve anyone, anytime, anywhere. Fork tender 3/8" slices. I'll be eating this awhile. 

 

My next run at this will be around 275 F for 5 hours. See if I can get it to 180/190F without drying it out. 

Until then I have some really good cheap beef to eat.

 

[Grumpy Bear]

Small Batch

 

 

This isn't half bad 

 

[Grumpy Bear]

Pot Roast Redux

 

 

2.4 lbs (38.4 oz) Chuck Roast $7 a pound.

 

5 hrs. @ 275 F Convection Roast with a cup of water in a Pyrex measuring cup in the bottom. Center Rack in a shallow skillet. This gave an internal temperature of 180 F. Still a hair short by temp but perfect by tooth. Nice bark. Fall apart in your mouth but sliced in 3/8" slices moves to the plate without drama. 

 

Salt and pepper, both coarse, both sides. No sear. 

 

Prep time 5 minutes tops. 

20 min rest on a wire rack.

 

Carving excess fat and connective tissue away yielded 14 ounces.

$19.20 / lb. plated.  63.5% loss. and why people prefer to braze. Less loss. 

 

This is WICKED good and my technique search complete for this dish. 

 

A baked tatter and some fresh slice tomato and mellon.... Can't wait. 

 

 

Edited August 19, 2022 by Grumpy Bear

[Grumpy Bear]

Berkshire Pork Shoulder Roast

 

 

We made the trip to Kilgus Farms Tuesday where I scored a 3.8 lb shoulder roast bone in. Berkshire at it's best. You pay more for tenderloin but get more natural flavor on the shoulder.  

 

This time I did it in an enameled cast iron 3.5 qt. Dutch Oven with the lid on and convection roast at 275 F or 5 hours straight up. 

 

Nothing in the pot but the meat and coarse sea salt all over. Perfecting the methods. 

 

I was rewarded with a spot on 190 F internal temperature of falling apart best pork ever. It's resting as I write and as long grain white rice comes to perfect and fresh raw tomatoes and cucumbers are sliced. DINNER BELL

 

BYE!!

 

********************************

 

22:30 hrs. 

 

Rice was less than perfect but the rest was....WOW!!! Veggies from our garden and the pork was off the hook. Sorry Grandma. This was better...  Way... Grandma would have been proud. 

 

I'm going to look into finding or having made a stainless wire rack made for the Dutch Oven to stand it out of the fat renderings. 

 

Having the lid on without water made a difference in moisture but not taste. Texture is one of the five senses we eat with, right? One more and I think I have this nailed down. 

 

Now I have to figure out the handle I lost on the rice.    

 

Edited September 10, 2022 by Grumpy Bear

[Grumpy Bear]

Left Overs

 

My neighbor brought us a bag of cleaned "Hen of the Woods" mushroom pieces. Does every year. I relish these gems. Like Morels it's a short season. I sauteed an ounce small diced in some butter and salt along with part of a  fresh 5 seconds ago Green Pepper of like weight in a larger dice. Added about 2 ounces of the left over Berkshire Pork Roast shredded to heat then added two whipped eggs with an ounce of fresh Guernsey Half/Half, a hint of water and a pinch of salt for a moist coarse scramble. 

 

I don't know what I was expecting this to taste like but whatever that was, this wasn't.

 

Warm and earthy. Something hinting toward oysters. Which had me reaching for a bit of horseradish. A good multigrain bread and a half a banana sliced with a dusting of cinnamon and a cup of black coffee.  I love a good surprise. 

 

Rex is begging all my left over pork 

[Grumpy Bear]

Butterkäse

 

https://www.wisconsincheeseman.com/blog/cheese-nation/butterkase-wisconsins-little-known-butter-cheese/

 

I don't know how widespread this cheese is but if you get a chance to try it, don't pass. 

 

I did an Avocado toast today which I've featured in a previous post with the addition of some very thin slices of this cheese and was very happy with the result. It didn't hurt the tomato was out of my garden picked in the last 12 hours or that I've sort of perfected the toasting of the multigrain artisan bread I love so much. Cracker like crunch all the way through.

 

But the cheese..... set it off.

[customboss]

2 minutes ago, Grumpy Bear said:

Butterkäse

 

https://www.wisconsincheeseman.com/blog/cheese-nation/butterkase-wisconsins-little-known-butter-cheese/

 

I don't know how widespread this cheese is but if you get a chance to try it, don't pass. 

 

I did an Avocado toast today which I've featured in a previous post with the addition of some very thin slices of this cheese and was very happy with the result. It didn't hurt the tomato was out of my garden picked in the last 12 hours or that I've sort of perfected the toasting of the multigrain artisan bread I love so much. Cracker like crunch all the way through.

 

But the cheese..... set it off.

YUM frickin YUM