Gravy's Cooking Thread

BrutulTM said:

My brother raised some Mangalitsa hogs a couple of years ago. They are a Hungarian breed that has long hair and does well in winter along with being what they call a "lard pig" meaning they have TONS of fat on them. The pork chops, besides having a 1" thick layer of fat all the way around them, are almost as dark colored as beef and actually have marbling. The taste of it is off the charts compared to the sawdust flavored pork you get at the grocery store. You also get pounds and pounds of pure fat that you can render down into lard. The only downside is the bacon is so fatty that it kind of just melts in the pan and it's tough to grill the pork chops without causing a towering inferno on your grill but it's a small price to pay. He's taking a couple years off from raising them while we do some renovations around the ranch but I can't wait until he gets them again.

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Oh my God I would kill to have a couple of those pork chops so throw into a pan or onto the grill. That's a much darker meat than what you typically see. If I'm doing a special pork chop meal I'll typically buy the big tomahawk with the big fat band stuff from the store, and it's good but that's got to be probably a much stronger pork taste.

I'm obviously buying stuff from the grocery store but picking and choosing what I want, and if I buy any pork I go for the darkest.

It's hard to beat fatty pork and there are times where I think I prefer it to beef. But they all have their own place and they're all delicious, but when you're in the mood, you're in the mood, and it's extremely hard to beat crispy pork fat.

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Aldarion said:

Our American Guinea Hog chops are red like that too, but not as marbled. Those look awesome.

Havent bought grocery store pork in years, and every time I look at it I wonder WTF they feed them to make such pale meat.

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I will occasionally see the really good chops at the store, and surprisingly they put the darker red ones on sale because your average person doesn't buy them because they don't associate pork looking like that, and I don't think it's sells as well. I got no problem buying meat on clearance as long as I know what to look for.

You know I don't like magicians, but dark meat is typically better, but I cannot imagine those pork chops probably aren't some of the tastiest I would have ever had.

Gavinmad said:

The cheapness of pork loin is its primary appeal. I grant that it isn't the most flavorful meat off the hog but "great big piece of dry, flavorless protein" is a bit ridiculous, especially since the loin is not a uniform piece of meat. I usually turn two blade ends into a slowcooker full of pulled pork, the center rib and center loin will variously end up as chops and roasts, and the sirloin end will mostly end up cubed.

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Guess it's cheap sometimes because people just don't typically buy it or know how to make it? I don't roasting a little one in a dish with some potatoes onions and carrots or whatever. I'll get a head start on the vegetables and then I'll toss the meat in when I think the veggies are going to be done, but as long as it's 150 internal or about there, you just slice and serve.

It's definitely in the same ballpark as white meat chicken as far as it just being a blank canvas, but you can look at that type of pork like a canvas that has gesso for what it's worth.

I think the best thing to do though is cut it in the thick chunks pounded out and do breaded little chops. Mashed potatoes and gravy or rice and gravy and some nice green steamed vegetables, and it's a very simple and easy meal.

Not everything has to be the most amazing but you can still take something like that and elevate it if you just cook properly.

How many people here jizz all about stupid Chick-fil-A? None of the protein they serve there is anything to write home about, and the only reason is typically tasty is because of whatever brine they're tossing all of their chicken into.

I do like some of their different sauces though.

Trying to mow through stuff we have in the freezer, so did some honey teriyaki chicken legs, and cut up a rack of baby backs for finger ribs. Basically the Chinese barbecue ribs or chicken my mom used to make. I guess I also call the ribs sticky ribs or whatever.

I don't believe she ever used five spice but we both love it, and just a nice honey and hosin glaze, some lime juice and rice wine vinegar for acidity, and a bunch of ginger.

Made a big deal of white man's Superior fried rice, but the vegetables turned out perfect, still nice and crunchy and it'll reheat extremely well. We just like a lot of different vegetables, especially for cleaning out the drawer.

Had made anything like this in a while but it was pretty good. Just wish I would have gotten crispier skin on the chicken but I realized I overcrowded the pan, but it definitely ended up being more tender from essentially brazing.






Was pretty happy with it and I know my wife loved it. I think I can toss the chicken legs into our little air fryer that high heat for very short time to reheat and I'll probably get some crispy skin. The ribs were that perfect line between fall of the bone and still have some bite.

It's just nice that we've got this weird warm weather now where we've been making cold weather food, and I like being able to shift over to something for warmer conditions. He seems that when we cook stuff that's a lot of the times based on seasons.

Gavinmad said:

No pictures but I finally used some of that marrow compound butter I made on some ny strips last night...almost seemed like a waste. The butter is so fucking good you could serve actual charcoal briquettes and nobody would complain as long as they were slathered in it. Still have a ton of it left too, it will keep for a little while in the fridge but not forever.

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Well just cook some more with it and share a photo. I honestly need to figure out the next meal to try to do that. I don't know if I want to do some sort of really lean protein and then use that marrow butter to introduce that richness. We got some lamb chops, not the rack kind but the ones that look like T-Bones. I think I've got four packs so eight Chops total.

Was talking with my wife because she said we needed to go ahead and use them. I said what the hell do you want me to do with them. Thought I might do something Mediterranean, but my conclusion is to do more heavy French. Try to do a demi-glace or at least like a hyper reduced red wine sauce, with pearl onions and mushrooms, kind of like a hunters chicken. I could take the bone marrow butter and whip it into some mashed potatoes, and that would probably work.

Also, nothing revolutionary but it might be helpful for people that don't know how to roast a chicken.

Lamb is underrated. Well cooked it's not that different than beef.

BrutulTM said:

Lamb is underrated. Well cooked it's not that different than beef.

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I don't know about that, but I do agree it's underrated. I just find it to be a hell of a lot more expensive nowadays but I haven't looked at it in a while, same thing with veal. I do know my wife bought some chops that were on clearance at HEB and we threw them in the freezer. I don't remember the price per pound but it was substantial enough that even she noticed that it was something budget friendly for planning a nice meal.

Figured I'd probably pan sear with rosemary and all of your other aromatics, and do a red wine reduction, with some roasted garlic mashed potatoes, and some roasted root vegetables of some sort.

They definitely have a distinct flavor to me from beef, but it's delicious. I don't mind the gaminess but sometimes when I've had it, the fat can be a little funky, but that's all right. It does not taste like beef whatsoever that, and that's what makes it enjoyable.

TJT said:

Got a lamb leg from Costco that was surprisingly inexpensive.

Going to try smoking it.

Smoked Leg of Lamb (Boneless or Bone-in)

How to smoke a leg of lamb, whether boneless or bone-in. Enjoy tender, juicy meat with pleasant smokiness.

www.craftbeering.com

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Yeah surprisingly Costco has the best price on lamb that I've ever found, even over HEB. Back I guess I'm a little 2000s typically around Christmas I would go and buy a couple of racks, or a leg, and barbecue with my family.

I don't care for chain restaurants much but I've always loved outback since I was young, and one of the things I always got there was their rack of lamb, which was typically delicious, but those assholes pulled it off the menu because apparently people don't like lamb.

Make sure to post some photos of the results, I'm sure it'll be tasty.

lurkingdirk said:

Lamb. It's a conundrum for me. When it is just cooked - I prefer cooking it on a bbq mostly, though there are plenty of good ways to cook it - just cooked and fresh and hot it is bloody delicious. Any kind of lamb leftover just isn't great. Once it has cooled off and reheated it tastes...off? to me. I'll cook lamb because my family loves it and we grow our own, but the leftovers are for anyone but me.

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Yeah, that's when that gameiness or funkiness kind of starts popping out, especially if it's a pretty fatty piece.

Only way I found to rectify that so do one of those Mediterranean yogurt marinades with lots of herbs, garlic, and lemon, especially if it's a leg. You can at least slice it then and throw it on pita with tzatziki and all of the appropriate accoutrements. Just have to heat it up gently, and it's pretty close to being as good as the day it was cooked.

If it's directly grilled, it never tastes the same. If I had a guess it's got to be the enzymes in the yogurt the bed makes it more palatable for leftovers.

You could always take it though and turn it into a stew or shepherd's pie. I guess just brazing it in red wine also keeps the flavor pretty consistent even after a reheating, just like a pot roast or whatever.

lurkingdirk said:

Lamb. It's a conundrum for me. When it is just cooked - I prefer cooking it on a bbq mostly, though there are plenty of good ways to cook it - just cooked and fresh and hot it is bloody delicious. Any kind of lamb leftover just isn't great. Once it has cooled off and reheated it tastes...off? to me. I'll cook lamb because my family loves it and we grow our own, but the leftovers are for anyone but me.

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Sheep fat is not great.