Where my fellow cooks at???

[count2infinity]

Just dropped $80 at the meat market here at PSU. Couldn't help it. It all looked so good.

[mac5155]

Where is there a meat market at PSU? I was always relegated to GIANT or Weis.

[count2infinity]

It's across the street from where the JoePa statue used to be. Every Friday during the fall and spring semesters, 9:30 until 3:30 (usually closer to noon since they sellout pretty quickly)

[tifosi77]

Top Chef finale:

Spoiler:

First, Eater.LA posted an article to Facebook yesterday with the result in the fcking title. So while you could easily avoid, say, the Top Chef feed, imagine my surprise when the result of the finale appeared right there on my news feed without any opportunity to avoid it.

That said, on to the show.

Correct result. When Tom Colicchio says, "The was the best [dish type] I've ever had on this show, as well as one of the best [dish type] I've ever had, period," you get to win. On Gail's blog she counts it as one of her top five TC dishes (not just deserts) ever, and among the best deserts she's ever had on the show.... and remember, she hosted two seasons a desert themed version of TC. (Of which I appeared on an episode.)

Course one, slight edge to Gregory (altho, based on their comments, I think I probably would have preferred Mei's octo)
Course two, big edge to Mei (shrimp shells????)
Course three, advantage to Mei (they never really said her dish was bad, just that it wasn't as well conceived as the rest of her menu, whereas Gregory was straight up failboat)
Course four, Mei (I don't care how good Gregory's mole was, you make a desert like Mei's you go down in TC lore)

Referring back to Gail's cast blog: "But I always felt very confident in Mei’s dishes -- there was a brush stroke of brilliance to her meal that night, a consistency and technical aptitude that I don’t believe we saw from Gregory, I don’t think we’ve seen from many chefs on Top Chef ever actually. We’ve had a lot of extraordinary cheftestants, but there is a deep talent in Mei that’s worth celebrating, and for that reason she is our Season 12 winner."

Congratulations to Ms Resting Btchface. Well done, and I applaud you.

[mac5155]

It's across the street from where the JoePa statue used to be. Every Friday during the fall and spring semesters, 9:30 until 3:30 (usually closer to noon since they sellout pretty quickly)

Dang, I never knew that.

[count2infinity]

It's little known among the student population. Everyone I ever see there are old people and grad students.

[tifosi77]

I feel bad; it would have been wasted on college age me (I didn't get into serious cooking until my 30s), but it's nice to know that such things exist.

[count2infinity]

It just takes me back to my home. I drive by those cows (inb4 slappy... "LOLOLOL COW COLLEGE!") everyday on my way to work, and I know they're out, eating grass all day, and come into the barns at night and have hay to eat there, and they live a good life before I eat them. I know that may not be important to many, but it's important to me.

[tifosi77]

It should be important to all who eat animals.

To that end, I've actually been mulling the idea of sourcing all my meat and fish from online vendors. There is an enormous cost to shopping this way, but I'm curious if it would force me to be more conscientious about how I cook. Or if it would force me to eat more veggies.

[columbia]

A friend of mine buys in bulk and always knows the nane of the cow.

[count2infinity]

we always named our cows as well...

what's everyone making for v-tines day tomorrow?

Our menu is sirloin steak, mushroom risotto and roasted asparagus.

[tifosi77]

I think naming food animals is perhaps a step too far, but that's just me.

V-tine's menu: Okonomiyaki (by request!) and black pepper soufflé.

[mac5155]

Yeah, have my half of beef already picked out for March 8th butchering. I help to butcher it as much as possible, running the vac sealer and stuffing the ground meat tubes. I just split a pig with my other buddy and it's at his farm. There are 4 of them. Should be ready, hopefully by easter, so I can have a fresh ham. Can't wait.

[Letang Is The Truth]

How much does half a cow cost

[BigMcK]

How much does half a cow weigh?

[tifosi77]

Gotta be at least 500 pounds, I would think. Thatsalottabeef.

[mac5155]

Hanging weight is about 325-350 pounds. I am paying $3.59 per pound butchered and wrapped. That is with a 10 cent discount per pound because I am vac-sealing and helping with the other half, which will be going to someone else. You pay for the hanging weight but don't get it all obviously, since there is bone and fat there too.

You usually end up with about 6 each of shoulder, chuck, and english roasts. 10 each of t-bone, porterhouse, sirloin, ribeye steaks, 2 tip roasts, 2 rump roasts, 100# of ground meat (more or less depending on how much fat you want. Mine usually comes out 90/10). Cube steaks, chipped steak, brisket, ribs... probably a few other cuts I can't think of at the moment. Usually end up with about 200# of meat.

[viva la ben]

Mac you should get the head and make barbacoa

[tifosi77]

That's a good bit smaller than I thought, but still a huge amount of meat.

Spoiler:

Phrasing.

And you should get more than a 10% discount for doing some of the work.

[mac5155]

haha, he's charging 30 cents per pound to cut and wrap. The rest is going to the farmer. So i'm getting a 25% discount as he usually charges 40 cents

[mac5155]

Mac you should get the head and make barbacoa

I draw the line at cow tongue...

[tifosi77]

Beef tongue is delicious. Lengua tacos ftw.

[Dickie Dunn]

Mac you should get the head and make barbacoa

I draw the line at cow tongue...

So did I until I had sesos in Mexico City.

[tifosi77]

Okay party people. I have two charcoal grills, both by Char Griller. The 2137 Outlaw and the 1224 Smokin Pro. They have served the Tif household well for four+ years now, but they are starting to come apart a bit.

Time to go grill shopping!

We've already decided to get a 22.5" Weber with the KettlePizza dealy bob. Kettle grills are notorious for having narrow sweet spots and uneven heat, so I will only be using it for pizza or for keeping cooked food warm.

That means a separate grill for direct heat cooking. Where I am having a hard time making a decision is if I want a grill with a side smoker attachment (like I have now), or if I want to just buy a standalone smoker.

Ideally, I'd like to get something like the Medina River Outdoor 68. But then I couldn't afford to buy any food to cook with it. So here are the grills I'm currently considering:

Dyna-Glo DGN576SNC-D

Char Broil 15202026

Landmann 591320

RiverGrille Farmer

If I go for a standalone smoker, it will most likely be the Dyna-Glo DGO1176BDC-D

[columbia]

Some thoughts on offset grills...

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_techniq ... okers.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That website has served me well, so I imagine they have some good insight on the subjecct.