Tag: technique

Curly “Q” Sausage – Get It Twisted

Someone sent me a video link last summer, showing someone
spiral cutting a hot dog. The wienercision was done by Blake Smith from
Chow.com, and I remember wondering if this technique would work with parboiled
Italian sausage.

Oh, it worked. It worked real good. By the way, I was going
to provide a link to the aforementioned video, but Blake ended the demo by
putting ketchup on his hot dog, so forget it. Okay, fine, since I did steal his technique, here you go.

Not only does this look very cool, the technique also
provides a significantly greater amount of surface area, and when you’re
talking about grilling meat, it’s all about the surface area. You could brush
barbecue sauce on an un-helixed Italian sausage, but here you’re literally
flavoring the sausage inside and out.

And if you’re skeptical about how well barbecue sauce goes
with Italian sausage, take it from someone who ate one; it’s a match made in
backyard barbecue heaven. I’d like to wish all you a safe and very festive
Memorial Day weekend, and I hope you “spring” these curly “Q” sausages on your
guests. Enjoy!

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Apparently Size Doesn’t Matter for Prime Rib "Method X"

This is what our 6-pounder looked like. Would a
20 pounder work as well? Spoiler Alert: Yes.

The most common question after we posted our now famous
“Method X” for making perfect prime rib was “will this work with much bigger,
full-size roasts?” Since I‘d only used the method on smaller specimens, I was
hesitant to green-light much larger pieces of beef without having tested it
myself.

Well, thanks to Bill in Salt Lake City, we now have visual
proof that this great technique does work on the big boys. Here’s what the
fearless cook had to say:

“Your recipe does indeed work on larger bone-in prime rib roasts. I followed the recipe to the tee, on
three 18 to 21 lb. roasts using three different ovens in three separate ski
condo ovens, all with different thermostats. All came out perfectly. I had 29
very pleased snowmobilers!”

As everyone knows, there are few groups harder to please
than a bunch of starving, probably drunk snowmobilers, so this must have really been
amazing. Below you’ll see pictures of Bill’s fine work, along with the video
showing this easy method. By the way, after seeing the size of Bill’s slices,
if you ever get invited to one of his prime rib dinners, you should
definitely go. Thanks for sharing, Bill!

To read the full post, which includes the exact time/tempformula, click here. Enjoy!

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Make-Ahead Turkey Wing Gravy, Because You Have Better Things to Do

I’m not a big fan of “make-ahead” recipes, but when it comes
to Thanksgiving, the less we have to do before dinner, the better. This turkey
wing gravy will not only free up valuable kitchen time, but chances are it will
look and taste even better than those frantic, last-minute versions.

A world-class gravy, while not a difficult procedure, does
require a little bit of finesse and attention to detail. Of course, screaming
kids, chatty relatives, and alcohol consumption are the natural enemies of
finesse and attention to detail, so for that reason I’m a big fan of this
alternative technique.

By the way, as I mentioned at the end of the video, just
because you’re making this ahead of time, doesn’t mean you’re throwing away all
those amazing pan drippings. While your turkey’s resting (should be at least 30
minutes), pour off the juices, skim off the fat, and add it to your gravy.

For this reason, I’ll generally make the gravy a little
thicker than I want, knowing I’m going to dump another cup or so of liquid in
later. Speaking of thickness, as with all the sauces we do, you are in complete
control. If you want thicker gravy, use more roux and/or reduce further. If you
want something a bit lighter, use less roux and/or more stock.

Either way, making the turkey gravy ahead of time is just
smart logistics, and frees you up for more important things, like watching
football and fishing for compliments. I hope you give this a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

For the stock:

1 large onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

2 tsp vegetable oil

2 large turkey wings

10 cups cold water (1 or 2 to deglaze the pan, and 8 to add
to stock)

4 springs thyme

2 cloves garlic, optional

For the gravy:

2-3 tablespoons reserved turkey fat

3 tbsp butter

1/2 cup flour

about 6 cups reserved, strained turkey stock

salt and pepper to taste

pinch of cayenne