Hello all!
I am a world traveler, and I have a healthy curiosity. This is a treacherous combination at times! From seeing the chef squatting on his haunches, hacking away at bushmeat on a tree stump cutting board, machete in hand, to trying kalia while surrounded by Moroccan prostitutes who had adopted me as a kind of mascot, I've had some culinary adventures (Andrew Zimmern won't eat kalia... I kinda liked it).
I have a family background of grilling, but not real BBQ. I've managed to perfect a few items - my baby back ribs are awesome - but more by trial-and-error than really having a feel for it. When traveling made the dizzying array of European sausages available for sampling, I went crazy, discovering new favorites. Only to find that products with the same name here in the US were ersatz fakes, with nothing of the same character. Even my old friend bacon got the slap-down from superior "proper bacon" in Ireland and England.
Yeah, you can find good bacon (Benton's here in TN is very good), if you can afford it. But find me a mortadella, studded with tiny cubes of pork fat, and an interior garnish of pistachios. Don't get me started, I can complain all day.
I happened upon this site, and made me some bacon - best damned bacon I've ever had. I have questions about that (curiosity, remember?), but it was a hit. As I hope the BBB I have ready to smoke will be. And the pancetta I have drying. And the 10 pounds of sausage I have ready to stuff (half Italian, half chorizo). I'm meat-crazed! And it's your fault. ;)
I also traveled the US recently on a BBQ tour, which makes me want to get serious about the subject. The regular stars were all good, but I did have a few standouts. Honey Bears in Phoenix, of all places. LC's in KC for burnt ends. Bar-B-Q Center in Lexington for coarse chopped pork, and South Carolina's mustard BBQ sauce. Maybe it's not your fault after all.
Thank you for the bacon assistance, and I apologize in advance for the bombardment of questions I will undoubtedly have as I try all of this stuff out.
Lowell
lrfiv
I am a world traveler, and I have a healthy curiosity. This is a treacherous combination at times! From seeing the chef squatting on his haunches, hacking away at bushmeat on a tree stump cutting board, machete in hand, to trying kalia while surrounded by Moroccan prostitutes who had adopted me as a kind of mascot, I've had some culinary adventures (Andrew Zimmern won't eat kalia... I kinda liked it).
I have a family background of grilling, but not real BBQ. I've managed to perfect a few items - my baby back ribs are awesome - but more by trial-and-error than really having a feel for it. When traveling made the dizzying array of European sausages available for sampling, I went crazy, discovering new favorites. Only to find that products with the same name here in the US were ersatz fakes, with nothing of the same character. Even my old friend bacon got the slap-down from superior "proper bacon" in Ireland and England.
Yeah, you can find good bacon (Benton's here in TN is very good), if you can afford it. But find me a mortadella, studded with tiny cubes of pork fat, and an interior garnish of pistachios. Don't get me started, I can complain all day.
I happened upon this site, and made me some bacon - best damned bacon I've ever had. I have questions about that (curiosity, remember?), but it was a hit. As I hope the BBB I have ready to smoke will be. And the pancetta I have drying. And the 10 pounds of sausage I have ready to stuff (half Italian, half chorizo). I'm meat-crazed! And it's your fault. ;)
I also traveled the US recently on a BBQ tour, which makes me want to get serious about the subject. The regular stars were all good, but I did have a few standouts. Honey Bears in Phoenix, of all places. LC's in KC for burnt ends. Bar-B-Q Center in Lexington for coarse chopped pork, and South Carolina's mustard BBQ sauce. Maybe it's not your fault after all.
Thank you for the bacon assistance, and I apologize in advance for the bombardment of questions I will undoubtedly have as I try all of this stuff out.
Lowell
lrfiv
