# Other Foods...NOT Grillin' or Smokin'



## Alan

I made some of this yesterday, poor man's Ricotta cheese. Horrible pic, I know.


My first foray into any type of cheese making. What's cool is as soon as the vinegar hits the hot milk it curdles instantly.. neat little science project.

I used this website for the info.:
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-homemade-ricotta-cheese-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-23326


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## Ware

Great thread idea. Thanks!


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## j4c11

Alan said:


> I made some of this yesterday, poor man's Ricotta cheese. Horrible pic, I know.


Looking good :thumbup: . My grandparents(who had a cow) used to make cheese all the time. The raw milk would get poured into these gallon pottery jugs and sit for 4-5 days in a cool room to basically turn to yogurt - the raw milk apparently contains bacterial cultures, and each culture is specific to the region. The cream would "float" to the top and get skimmed off to use in cooking or making butter, and the rest heated in a large pot to turn into cheese. No vinegar necessary, the process acidifies the milk and as soon as you heat it a little it curdles. The whey then got fed to the pigs, nothing got wasted. Anyway, I tried to replicate it using the vinegar process and failed miserably - the cheese was good but sweet, as opposed to what I remembered from my childhood which was slightly sour/acidic from the "fermentation" process.

I tried to make cheese with rennet. I found out the hard way that during ultra-pasteurization and homogenization the molecules in the milk basically get destroyed and can't curdle properly to make cheese. Bummer. I need a cow :lol:


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## Alan

I found another recipe for ricotta that didn't use any added acid(no lemon, no vinegar). They took the milk up to 190ºF, then took it off the heat and let it set for an hour and it curdled on its own. I guess if you add acid it just accelerates the process so you don't have to wait.

You can use pasteurized milk, but not the super pasteurized stuff. The more fat the better, so whole milk and if you so choose, you can add some heavy cream.

Generally when I look up a recipe for something I check multiple websites and try to get some kind of consistency/consensus of how to do something and the ingredients involved. I will also read peoples reviews and see if they made any changes and why they incorporated those changes.

If I didn't have the internet, I would probably eat the same old crap day in and day out. Simple stuff like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches...lol


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## j4c11

Alan said:
 

> I found another recipe for ricotta that didn't use any added acid(no lemon, no vinegar). They took the milk up to 190ºF, then took it off the heat and let it set for an hour and it curdled on its own. I guess if you add acid it just accelerates the process so you don't have to wait.


I must have boiled milk hundreds of times in my life and I've never seen it curdle on its own, unless it was bad to start with. If you do it pics or it didn't happen :lol:


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## Alan

Well, maybe I misspoke a little. There is buttermilk in this recipe, so maybe that's where the acid comes from??

Here's the site/cite:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/168941/sicilian-homemade-ricotta-cheese/?internalSource=staff%20pick&referringId=16108&referringContentType=recipe%20hub&clickId=cardslot%208


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## j4c11

Alan said:


> maybe that's where the acid comes from??


 :thumbup:


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## Budstl

Bacon grilled cheese burger made in a skillet.


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## Alan

Budstl said:


> Bacon grilled cheese burger made in a skillet.


I'll have 2. Looks yummy.


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## Ware

I think I gained 4lbs just looking at that. :lol:


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## j4c11

Sandwich is one thing, but those fries look amazing. Good thing it's almost lunch time.


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## J_nick

Here's my favorite grilled cheese variation. Sloppy Joe Grilled Cheese. I also make a Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese I'll post one of those once they are ready to pick, they are getting close


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## SGrabs33

J_nick said:


> Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese


Yes please!


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## J_nick

SGrabs33 said:


> J_nick said:
> 
> 
> 
> Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese
> 
> 
> 
> Yes please!
Click to expand...

Here is the recipe. I ran acrossed it on FB one day. I normally just use regular sliced cheese as we normally don't have Monterey Jack or Sharp Chedder slices. I also don't do the cilantro or Italian bread, I just use the thicker sliced "Texas toast" style bread(not the frozen kind)


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## Budstl

Sloppy joe grilled cheese looks awesome jnick.


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## J_nick

Budstl said:


> Sloppy joe grilled cheese looks awesome jnick.


Thanks Bud, it tastes even awesomer :lol: just don't get on a scale afterwards


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## j4c11




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## g-man

^ I started researching for one of this. Is it gas or wood? I want a wood one.


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## j4c11

g-man said:


> ^ I started researching for one of this. Is it gas or wood? I want a wood one.


It's gas. There's a burner on the right side and the turntable rotates with the pizza. There's a stone above the pizza as well.


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## SGrabs33

Great set up! That pizza looks delicious.


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## Togo

I've been making pizza on a stone but in the oven. It works well but damn if that pizza oven you have doesn't look great!


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## j4c11

Togo said:


> I've been making pizza on a stone but in the oven. It works well but damn if that pizza oven you have doesn't look great!


I started with a pizza stone in the oven as well, made good pizza that way for years. The BlackStone produces much better crust though and you can push the temp up pretty high - I think it will go to 800 though I never tried it, I normally drop at 600. 
There's mods to take it up to 950 - neapolitan anyone? :thumbup:


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## Togo

j4c11 said:


> Togo said:
> 
> 
> 
> I've been making pizza on a stone but in the oven. It works well but damn if that pizza oven you have doesn't look great!
> 
> 
> 
> I started with a pizza stone in the oven as well, made good pizza that way for years. The BlackStone produces much better crust though and you can push the temp up pretty high - I think it will go to 800 though I never tried it, I normally drop at 600.
> There's mods to take it up to 950 - neapolitan anyone? :thumbup:
Click to expand...

That sounds awesome! Maybe down the road I'll pick one up. I have lots of deck space and a LP tank on the side of the house for the stove and grill, I could always add another hook up.


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## J_nick

J_nick said:


> SGrabs33 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> J_nick said:
> 
> 
> 
> Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese
> 
> 
> 
> Yes please!
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Here is the recipe. I ran acrossed it on FB one day. I normally just use regular sliced cheese as we normally don't have Monterey Jack or Sharp Chedder slices. I also don't do the cilantro or Italian bread, I just use the thicker sliced "Texas toast" style bread(not the frozen kind)
Click to expand...


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## g-man

I dry aged a stand rib roast and it is currently in the oven for Christmas Eve Dinner. It is a small one since it is just me and my wife this year. Merry Christmas to all.


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## Ware

g-man said:


> I dry aged a stand rib roast and it is currently in the oven for Christmas Eve Dinner. It is a small one since it is just me and my wife this year. Merry Christmas to all.


Sounds awesome - upload a pic for us when it's done. :thumbup:


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## g-man

Rest temp was 2 degrees above my target temp. 

Then we had my wife's cheesecake made with fresh strawberries from the summer she saved in the freezer along with store bought ones. Nothing beats local strawberries.


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## SGrabs33

Slicing up some tenderloin for filets tonight!


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## SGrabs33

Here is the finished product. With some herb potatoes and asparagus. Extra blue cheese butter drizzled all over.


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## Ware

SGrabs33 said:


> Here is the finished product. With some herb potatoes and asparagus. Extra blue cheese butter drizzled all over.


Nice - what is your recipe for those potatoes?


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## SGrabs33

Ware said:


> SGrabs33 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Here is the finished product. With some herb potatoes and asparagus. Extra blue cheese butter drizzled all over.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Nice - what is your recipe for those potatoes?
Click to expand...

My wife was the mastermind behind this cook so I had to ask her for the recipe. Only thing she changed was a shorter cook time because I prefer the smaller potatoes size for more crispyness.

Filets are just seared on the cast iron pan and then thrown right into the oven for around 5 minutes.


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## SGrabs33

g-man said:


> I dry aged a stand rib roast and it is currently in the oven for Christmas Eve Dinner. It is a small one since it is just me and my wife this year. Merry Christmas to all.


Very cool. How long was the dry age? It looks great. Have a cut pic of the inside?


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## g-man

I did 7 days for this small one (~6lb), but I prefer 28 days for larger ones. Make sure it is bone in with fat cap. I do apply salt to the outside, so technically a dry brine or curing. I trim and season a day before. I sear it and cook it at 250F for an hour or so and then drop it to 200F as it approaches 135F. I dont have a picture for the inside. It was super tender.


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## SGrabs33

g-man said:


> I did 7 days for this small one (~6lb), but I prefer 28 days for larger ones. Make sure it is bone in with fat cap. I do apply salt to the outside, so technically a dry brine or curing. I trim and season a day before. I sear it and cook it at 250F for an hour or so and then drop it to 200F as it approaches 135F. I dont have a picture for the inside. It was super tender.


Very nice. After my charcuterie finishes I plan do age a piece of beef!


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