Weekend Cooking & Drinking Thread: Huntin Weather Edition

[BeastMan]

It's the week before the super bowl so I'm sure a bunch of folks will hit the woods this weekend. Not sure what I have on tap but I'll be cooking something Saturday for sure.

[SpeckleDawg]

Fish & chips (little late on the pic) and a cornerstone ale in The Fax.



Working on a Propellar Revolution Imperial Stout now, but struggling with uploading pictures here.

ETA: pic of PEI Brewing Cross Current APA

[BeastMan]

Awesome. You're a traveling man for sure

[SpeckleDawg]

I'd rather be at home for sure, but I try to make the most of my trips.

[SapperDawg]

Slipped over to the US Embassy today and grabbed a Monte Cristo. Best I could do was haul an NA beer from the chow hall. It ain't the same, but sometimes you gotta do it. The cigar was excellent.

[BeastMan]

Slipped over to the US Embassy today and grabbed a Monte Cristo. Best I could do was haul an NA beer from the chow hall. It ain't the same, but sometimes you gotta do it. The cigar was excellent.

You gotta do what you gotta do. I had an Odouls NA recently as well. Nothing wrong with that.

[BrunswickDawg]

Sapper - glad you have solid internet halfway around the world!

Chilly, grey day here on the coast. Threw some shrimp and crab and okra in da gumbo pot. Enjoying a glass of Bulleit now.

[Uncle Ruckus]

I've had that exact setup numerous times. We'd have 12-30hr transits on the vessels headed to the job site, so there was no personnel on the deck. So, me, my crew, and several Norwegian Engineers would drink Odouls, smoke Cubans and play poker, some times for our entire 13hr shift

[BeardoMSU]

Sapper - glad you have solid internet halfway around the world!

Chilly, grey day here on the coast. Threw some shrimp and crab and okra in da gumbo pot. Enjoying a glass of Bulleit now.

TOMATOES DON'T GO IN GUMBO!!!1111!!!**

Lol, Jk, dude...it looks delicious.

[BeardoMSU]

I kept it simple tonight by making some burgers.

With my Mamaw's cast iron skillet...the only way to do it.




The GF's patty was a perfect medium, and you can see our loyal Lab doing his patented "noble begging"....


I started drinking Sam Adam's Cold Snap, now I've moved to W.L. Weller Antique (104proof). Delicious stuff.

[BeastMan]

I used the cast iron as well Beardo. Fiesta Chicken tonight. Marinated chicken breast cooked, then paced on a sheet pan, topped w/ mexi ranch (50/50 homemade ranch & salsa), sprinkled with cheddar, and then baked to melt. Plate on a bed of rice, top with fresh pico, and crush a few tortilla chips on top. Served with my special black beans which is just saut?ed onion, mixed bells, and bacon. Then add beans and a little stock. Cover and cook over low heat.

[BrunswickDawg]

TOMATOES DON'T GO IN GUMBO!!!1111!!!**

Lol, Jk, dude...it looks delicious.

I'm from the "put WTF you want in da gumbo, but you HAVE to have okra in it or it's stew" school.

[BrunswickDawg]

Slight hijack - I love skillet fried burgers and have never been able to get it right. I can't tell if it is temp, seasoning, or what. What I would love is if I could replicate how my Dad used to cook them in one of these -



I don't know what it was, but a burger cooked in one of these was always a treat.

[SapperDawg]

Sapper - glad you have solid internet halfway around the world!

Captalisim, mayne. The local Iraqi dude running the shop on post here sells wifi pucks for $40 a month with unlimited data. I get about a 2 Mbps download speed in the best of times, but it gets awful slow during peak hours. Better than nothing.

My work day is 0700 - 2130 ish, so I don't have much spare time....but I like being able to FaceTime with my girls regularly.

[BeardoMSU]

I'm from the "put WTF you want in da gumbo, but you HAVE to have okra in it or it's stew" school.

Haha, nice. Yep, absolutely HAS to have okra. Personally, I'm from the school of thought that Jambalaya has tomatoes, but Gumbo doesn't....that being said, if it's delicious, then **** it; do what you like, lol.

Btw, did you know that the vegetable okra came from west Africa, and the west African word "okra", actually means "gumbo"? Some cool cross-cultural food terms.

[BeardoMSU]

Slight hijack - I love skillet fried burgers and have never been able to get it right. I can't tell if it is temp, seasoning, or what. What I would love is if I could replicate how my Dad used to cook them in one of these -



I don't know what it was, but a burger cooked in one of these was always a treat.

Man...I haven't seen one of those in years.

I used to have trouble with burgers too, honestly. The thing that made it all click was deciding not to mess around with it too much. All those recipes that call to put onions, or egg, or seasoning, etc. folded into the meat makes something more akin to a meatloaf than a burger patty. The best thing you can do is buy a good quality 80/20 beef, and don't **** it up by over-working it by kneeding things into it or seasoning with a bunch of stuff. I weigh out a bunch of beef to 1/2 lb, then gently form it into a patty, making sure to not work it too much; essentially, you just want to form it into shape. Use a dry skillet and flip once. The only seasoning I use is good kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.

This is a great example of the kind of burger I love to make and eat.

[SpeckleDawg]

Some solid posts in here tonight.

Nothing of substance from me, but finishing off a Garrison Imperial IPA.

I get about a 2 Mbps download speed in the best of times, but it gets awful slow during peak hours. Better than nothing.

My work day is 0700 - 2130 ish, so I don't have much spare time....but I like being able to FaceTime with my girls regularly.

Not the best for sure, but I'm sure that helps get by. I bet that cigar hit the spot too.

[SapperDawg]

Slight hijack - I love skillet fried burgers and have never been able to get it right.

My method, perfected in the long, snowy PA winter of 2014. I was really searching for savory/umami here.

1. Ground chuck.
2. Thin, flat patty about 1/2" large in diameter than the bun. not thicker than a finger.
3. Kosher salt, powdered shiitake mushroom, black pepper, a bit of cumin. Do not mix seasoning in meat, only sprinkle on outside. I was watching Mind of a Chef with David Chang and he was talking about his love for MSG, the chemical makeup and how it makes everything taste better. Noted that shitake mushrooms are basically the natural form. So I grabbed some dried ones and powdered them in a grinder. I use this all the time.
4. Med high skillet, just a bit of oil or butter.
5. Sear (flipping once) ensuring outside is good and crusty.
6. Saut?e sliced shitake shrooms while burger is resting.
7. Get a soft potatoe roll and slather with mayo on both sides. Dont get stingy here.
8. Put the shrooms on the bottom. Next is the patty. Then top with Texas Pete or Crystal hot sauce.
9. Close it up and enjoy with a nice IPA or session lager.

Cheese is really a dealers choice here. I generally dont use it with skillet burgers as I want to feel that crusty texture, but hey, go wild.

[BrunswickDawg]

Haha, nice. Yep, absolutely HAS to have okra. Personally, I'm from the school of thought that Jambalaya has tomatoes, but Gumbo doesn't....that being said, if it's delicious, then **** it; do what you like, lol.

Btw, did you know that the vegetable okra came from west Africa, and the west African word "okra", actually means "gumbo"? Some cool cross-cultural food terms.

I did know that - I live in the heartland of the Gullah culture, and okra is almost sacred food to them. They have okra in everything.

West African impact on food in this are is strong. My daughter was asking me the other day if it was true that our Brunswick was the home of Brunswick Stew. I said - Brunswicks in VA, NC, and GA all claim it, and all of the traditional recipies are very similar, but think about WHO was originally cooking in these 3 places who were connected. All 3 had enslaved West Africans, and more than likely Brunswick stew is a take on their food rather than something invented here.

[BeardoMSU]

My method, perfected in the long, snowy PA winter of 2014. I was really searching for savory/umami here.

1. Ground chuck.
2. Thin, flat patty about 1/2" large in diameter than the bun. not thicker than a finger.
3. Kosher salt, powdered shiitake mushroom, black pepper, a bit of cumin. Do not mix seasoning in meat, only sprinkle on outside. I was watching Mind of a Chef with David Chang and he was talking about his love for MSG, the chemical makeup and how it makes everything taste better. Noted that shitake mushrooms are basically the natural form. So I grabbed some dried ones and powdered them in a grinder. I use this all the time.
4. Med high skillet, just a bit of oil or butter.
5. Sear (flipping once) ensuring outside is good and crusty.
6. Saut?e sliced shitake shrooms while burger is resting.
7. Get a soft potatoe roll and slather with mayo on both sides. Dont get stingy here.
8. Put the shrooms on the bottom. Next is the patty. Then top with Texas Pete or Crystal hot sauce.
9. Close it up and enjoy with a nice IPA or session lager.

Cheese is really a dealers choice here. I generally dont use it with skillet burgers as I want to feel that crusty texture, but hey, go wild.

Mind of a Chef is one of the best shows you can find on cooking and chef stuff. Chang is awesome, but my two favorites are Sean Brock and Magnus Nilsson. The episode where Chang and Brock visit the Buffalo Trace distillery is one of the best, IMO.