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MMMMM-Good!!! The Food Thread Returns


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Does anybody here grill?  I'm out on the deck, beer in hand, grillling every over 50 degrees, non rainy weekend.  I've been in an uncreative grilling funk lately -- being busy as fuck at work and having a toddler will do that -- and have mostly just been doing wings with a variety of store bought sauces.  Sometimes salmon on a cedar plank with some potatoes or asparagus.  I'd love some suggestions.  Anything that doesn't take 4 hours of prep.  Or if you're new to charcoal grilling or want to start (no propane, come on dudes), feel free to ask questions.

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52 minutes ago, Technico Support said:

Does anybody here grill?  I'm out on the deck, beer in hand, grillling every over 50 degrees, non rainy weekend.  I've been in an uncreative grilling funk lately -- being busy as fuck at work and having a toddler will do that -- and have mostly just been doing wings with a variety of store bought sauces.  Sometimes salmon on a cedar plank with some potatoes or asparagus.  I'd love some suggestions.  Anything that doesn't take 4 hours of prep.  Or if you're new to charcoal grilling or want to start (no propane, come on dudes), feel free to ask questions.

Not only do I grill, the plan is to do a whole series of BBQ tutorials on the blog this summer.  I remember when Borders was a thing, me and my friends used to hang out there from time to time.  One day we were in the horoscope section,and found a book that not only broke everything down by sign, but you could look up your birthdate.  The only reason I remember this is that the book said, "your favorite food is grilled and/or barbecued meats."  I don't know if astrology is a real thing, but I'll be damned if that book wasn't 100% accurate on that note.  

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We're coming up on the 1 year anniversary of my dad's passing away, and also what would have been his 64th birthday. Rather than sit around and be sad we've decided to have a big fun family BBQ in his honor (it's in July). One idea we've been kicking around is getting some exotic meats because my dad was an avid hunter and meat eater. We can't afford to go crazy but will probably have about $300 to spend at max. Anyone care to recommend a particular meat? Can be bird, reptile, animal, whatever. A few we've talked about so far include Alligator, Shark, Rattlesname (it's fucking expensive though!), Python, Kangaroo, Camel and Beaver. Anyone tried them?

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22 hours ago, BrianS81177 said:

We're coming up on the 1 year anniversary of my dad's passing away, and also what would have been his 64th birthday. Rather than sit around and be sad we've decided to have a big fun family BBQ in his honor (it's in July). One idea we've been kicking around is getting some exotic meats because my dad was an avid hunter and meat eater. We can't afford to go crazy but will probably have about $300 to spend at max. Anyone care to recommend a particular meat? Can be bird, reptile, animal, whatever. A few we've talked about so far include Alligator, Shark, Rattlesname (it's fucking expensive though!), Python, Kangaroo, Camel and Beaver. Anyone tried them?

1st off, no discussion of BBQ is complete without Mike Naimark. I haven't seen him post for awhile, but let me see if I can lure him back here...

@BrianS81177: I've had most on your list and a couple that don't appear on it.  Suffice it to say that I know how to cook, so if a meat gets a failing grade, it's likely because the meat pretty much sucks and the cook did everything possible with it.

Alligator: I think that this is a problem endemic to all reptiles, there is precious little body fat to speak of, which means no margin of error when it comes to over-cooking.

Bear: In the Western US, bear seems to be not uncommon as a foof item

Beaver: I'm not going to go there, I'm just not... 

Camel: This one I've missed and for some reason, I don't think I've missed anything.

Hippo: The only one on my list not cooked by me... Back in the day there were a couple of swanky joints in Seattle owned by a gent name of Victor Rosellini, (his cousin had a term or two as Governor and  he was like the major force in the restaurant unions...) He had several restaurants, including the 410, the 610, and Rosellini's Other Place (yeah, he saved his originality for the food...) ;-)

Anyway, one of the VP's at a company that was trying to recruit me invited me to lunch at one of his restaurants. (Been so many years now that I don't recall whether or not it was the 410 or 610... In any event the waiter mentioned that they had some "fairly exotic game" on the menu that day, (FWIW: camel was one of the items), but I figured, a hippopotamus is pretty much a big. aquatic pig, so that was my first and only experience with a hippopotamus steak. 

So how was it? Pretty damn good, but here's the thing, this was the early 1980s and the tab for two approached $200. At about the same time, I took the wife to a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and with a reasonably nice wine with our lunch the tab was around $84.00 + tip, or about half the cost of the other meal. So how was the hippo?Just fine, but in the intervening years, I've never stopped and said "Let's go get a hippo steak!" On the other hand, there have been a few occasions (usually when I've received a big royalty check), where I've said, "Let's go to Ruths' (or the Metropolitan Grill) . Basically, the cost is such that it becomes a question of value/novelty and as we're now in NM, where I don't even know if hippo is available (pretty sure it is) but I do know there are several places carrying Wagyu beef, so if I'm going to drop a bundle on a meal...

Horse: Well, Alistair Overeem swears by it, but it's just one of those things that doesn't sit right with me, like turtle. I was raised to believe that turtles belong wandering about loose or in a terrarium and that horses are for riding. Neither creature belong son my dinner plate...

Iguana: Not on your list but pretty good, and if I may retreat to the realm of cliche, "tastes just like chicken". Well, a lean, bony chicken, but a chicken none-the-less. FWIW: I think most reptiles are pretty cool and I'd rather watch them running around doing reptile things as opposed to eating them. Based on the enthusiasm that our cats display over eating skinks, they must be pretty good (at least to the cats), but I'm in no hurry to try one.

Kangaroo:  Fine, but not worth the money IMHO. I'm currently working with Jack Dann on assembling a "Best of" collection of his SF stories, as he's from Oz, I should ask what the stuff goes for at the source. From pictures, it seems like the damn things wander about throughout the major cities, so unless they're protected, I can't imagine that the meat is too expensive.

Rattlesnake: (FWIW: haven't had python, but I'm willing to bet that it gets pushed as a food-source in the SE sooner, rather than later...), but rattlesnake I've had in the wild and in a restaurant and while I slightly preferred the restaurant (mainly the ambience), there was really minimal difference in the end product. Here's the thing, like most reptiles, it tastes okay, I'll default to the slightly dry, bony chicken description, but here's the thing, I grew up in the Pacific NW, eating a ton of fish, large and small, and a pet peeve of mine is bony fish...If you can't fillet a fish properly, keep that shit off my plate. Now as for rattlesnake, I don't know that it's even possible to fillet it properly. there's a LOT of bones.  I guess that the bottom line is that IMO, snake is generally more trouble preparing and eating than its worth.

Shark: Okay, now we're talking... I have had shark steaks and shark-fin soup, both are delicious. As you may well imagine, shark meat is exceptionally lean, so cook it as you would any super-lean cut of meat. Also, as with most ocean-going fish of substantial size, it doesn't need much in the way of sides or seasonings. Matter of fact, if there are more than five or six ingredients in a shark steak dish, also order a whole carp. No, carp is shitty eating, but it is a proper size to slap the chef upside the head with for fucking up a perfectly good cut of meat. ;-) 

The shark's fin soups that I've had on four occasions in four different places, once in LA, once SF, once in Portland and once in Seattle all struck me as very, very similar in that the shark's fin seemed like more of an afterthought than the central part of the dish. Since it was that way in a variety of places, I'm going to guess that that's the way it's supposed to be, in which case, yeah, it's fine, but there's likely going to be other things on the menu that are much better, like jellyfish and squid...

Zebra: See "horse" above. I've had it offered to me and couldn't work up much enthusiasm for it.

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There could be a hidden gem out there but given humanity's love of meat and how far back into antiquity that love lasts, I feel like we probably have the best tasting animals figured out and developed as far as both production and preparation go. I like a good rack of elk now and then, but honestly a filet of beef is as delicious a cut of meat as you're ever going to find. 

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On 4/16/2017 at 2:45 AM, Cristobal said:

There could be a hidden gem out there but given humanity's love of meat and how far back into antiquity that love lasts, I feel like we probably have the best tasting animals figured out and developed as far as both production and preparation go. I like a good rack of elk now and then, but honestly a filet of beef is as delicious a cut of meat as you're ever going to find. 

I agreed with this 100% until you typed "filet of beef," that may be my least favorite cut on the entire animal.  The issue I have filet is the same I have with most game meats. They are too lean.  Other than waterfowl, who need extra fat to stay warm, wild animals generally have very little extra fat on them.  A cow that spends it's entire life laying around in a pasture eating all the grass it wants is going to be much better tasting than an elk that spends its entire life running from wolves.  Give me all the fat, lazy, farmed animals.  Matter of fact, we need to go back to raising pigs for their fat as much as their meat.  

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Personal preference, there. Lean cuts are much less forgiving then the fattier bits, but if done right IMO they're just as tasty if not more so. Also I like a good bit of duck but duck-fat fried anything tends to be too rich for me unless it's been properly balanced out.

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Had a wickedly good Nashville Hot chicken sandwich and sweet potato fries from Applebee's. Really good stuff. As I sipped my PBR I complimented the server on their salad and asked who their produce supplier was because the salad was that good. The first lady never came back with an answer. The second one had to ask the bartender. When I said I work for their produce supplier I got one hell of an eye roll.
I'm not sure how far this has made it out into the civilian world, but all things lettuce related are in short supply and prices are going up on the daily. I had a Jimmy John's complain that they were paying $35/case for Iceberg and all I could do was laugh. They are locked in at that price. Little did they know that others are paying $55/case(24 heads) for Iceberg or $64/case for Romaine. Shit is ridiculous and is very reminiscent of the "Egg Controversy" of two years ago when a case of 15 dozen eggs wen from $8/cs to $50/cs. Produce is freaking insane. I'm glad that all I have to do is deliver it.

 

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I LOVE red beans and rice! My favorite thing to have any time I go to a Popeyes (which has the best sides of any fast food place by a mile).

Tonight I am pulling an all nighter to watch the traditiona Anzac Day AFL match between Essendon and Collingwood. At 5AM I go into work but get off at 10AM so I can crash when I get home. Will be fueled by pots of Tim Hortons coffee.

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Please do not eat kangaroos, they are too cute and loveable. They should be used as pets and also be taught to box so they can guard your house. I for one await the day where we have junkyard kangaroos and that ends up a gimmick for an Australian wrestler 

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3 hours ago, sabremike said:

Please do not eat kangaroos, they are too cute and loveable. They should be used as pets and also be taught to box so they can guard your house.

Right? Look at this guy... 

gSmsJCK.jpg

...I mean come on. 

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Just had Smashburger for the first time. To say they overseason the burger is an understatement. Tasted like they doused the thing in salt. Whalbergers and 5 Guys were WAAAAAAY better. They do get points for having Honest Tea as a fountain beverage option though.

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Interesting. Sadly, we have none of the three out this way. Blake's Lotta Burger pretty much has a monopoly on New Mexico. They aren't bad, but they charge for damn near every condiment, so by the time you get done ordering, your $3.50 burger is now $7.00! We also have Carl jr's, which is awesome, my only complaint is that the burgers are too big. Yes, it's possible for a burger to be too big for a 260-lb man to feel comfortable eating in one sitting. I'm having fucking lunch, not preparing to hibernate for the winter...  I really miss the two polar opposites available in Seattle, the gourmet, served up by Red Mill Burgers and the gutbomb, otherwise known as the Dick's Deluxe.

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Funny you mention Carl Jr's as one of the best burgers I ever had was at a Hardees in Ohio. Better than vastly overrated Shake Shack. Any smart person here avoids the Soviet bread lines at the Shake Shack and goes to 5 Guys. Way better burger for less money and way less waiting.

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On 5/7/2017 at 2:15 AM, sabremike said:

Funny you mention Carl Jr's as one of the best burgers I ever had was at a Hardees in Ohio. Better than vastly overrated Shake Shack. Any smart person here avoids the Soviet bread lines at the Shake Shack and goes to 5 Guys. Way better burger for less money and way less waiting.

Schnipper's & Lucky's Famous are good cheap alternatives as well. Personally, I rather spend a few bucks more and hit Black Iron as it's only a few blocks from my office on 27th. My buddy runs http://www.burgerweekly.com/ and I handle Long Island reviews for him, feel free to check it out. 

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