What's for Dinner #47 - the Halfway Through The Year Edition - July 2019

Wow! Can’t believe it is July already!

After 48 hours of cooking, dinner tonight is Cuban style pork cooked sous vide. I’ll crisp it up in the oven. Sides: black beans, rice and tomato/avocado/sweet onion salad. Hopefully, this recipe is tasty because I got a huge Boston butt (7+ pounds) on sale! It will feed me and feed my freezer.

(Music blasts when you click!)

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Slim pickin’s, another pantry/fridge dinner.


Followed by bratwurst, caramelized apples, garlicky greens.

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Burgers again, with kale Caesar and tots. Watermelon for dessert - the toddler wanted a half to himself :rofl: IMG_20190701_185401

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Today, I made Red Beans & Rice for dinner. I came to love the dish after having it The Bywater in Los Gatos. It’s a hearty dish, punctuated by smoky andouille sausage.

First, I sauteed the Andouille with the Holy Trinity (bell pepper, celery, onion).

Then I added water, salted soaked kidney beans, bay leaves, thyme and a ham hock.

After about 2 hours at a strong simmer, the beans become soft and the dish becomes thick and creamy.

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I pierced many places in the meat prior to the 18-hour marinade. The flavor from the marinade is very subtle. I would skip the wine in the future - I think it creates an odd aroma when used for S.V. that I don’t care for. The texture from 48 hours at 150 F. was wonderful. Pulls apart easily, moist and succulent. I let it air dry for 20 minutes after patting it dry before popping under the broiler. Then it looked beautiful! I didn’t get a chance to make the mojo sauce tonight. I’ll make it tomorrow and report. Since the marinade flavor is hard to taste this does need something with a more assertive flavor.

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A quick Thai meal tonight, inspiration courtesy @biondanonima.

(ETA: Link to the Thai: Cuisine Of The Month thread.)

Shrimp Garlic-Pepper over sautéed cabbage with Larb dressing. Really tasty for a speedy meal! The crisp golden garlic is addictive…

Bit beige because I sautéed the cabbage and ran out of cilantro (I keep saying we need a beige meals thread…) - but very colorful in my mouth (:joy:)!
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The always popular (around these parts) Pacific Northwest Salmon, this time with asparagus and the first of my very own tomatoes. I hope you will excuse the messy plating.

Husband likes his well done. :unamused:

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Did the meat cook in the marinade?

Looks tasty! I’ll admit I ate salmon well done till a few years ago… but if it’s prepared well, it’s still beautifully moist inside!

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Thank you.
For him, well done=chalky. :frowning_face_with_open_mouth:

No. I drained it in a colander and wiped away the minced garlic. Fresh garlic can get weird in SV. It is the one time I favor dried garlic powder over fresh.

If I did this again I think I would add a rub before cooking. Plus a little liquid smoke perhaps.

Oh! I had meant to mention that I used turkey-sized oven bags for this. The roast was too big for my Foodsaver bags. I keep the oven bags on hand for brining big things so figured I’d give it a try. In hindsight, cutting the meat prior to the marinade might have lent more flavor.

I double bagged the oven bags. The interior one sprung a pinhole-sized leak after 24 hours. Water didn’t seem to be seeping in so I just kept an eye on it. The bath water was slightly discolored at the end but no coagulation, etc. I wouldn’t recommend the oven bags. Better to use multiple vacuum bags with smaller portions.

Edit: Those video guys were so enthusiastic I decided to follow the recipe and not make changes that I might otherwise have done!

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Awesome! Did you get crispy skin?

I am going to try this with “country style ribs”.

I’ve done 48 and 72h chuck roast, and the texture was wonderful.

I used the plentiful juices in the bag (and would have thrown in the marinade too but we didn’t use one) to make a rich pan sauce - the meat definitely needed the flavor boost.

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Yeah. My dad too. Shrimp needs to be “well cooked” as well. Force of habit.

Gah!

My in laws give me the side eye when my protein is not well done. Eggs, fish, shrimp, chicken breast. They are not having it.

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It crisped up. The thicker fat layer was not as crisp as if would be with complete cooking in dry heat. But it was more than acceptable!

I’ve cooked ribs in the Instapot and S.V. I prefer S.V. The Instapot leaves the meat a bit too wet. In both cases I dry the ribs and finish off under the broiler to give it some color and crispiness.

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Okay, thanks! I wasn’t sure if the video actually included skin. Pork cuts with the skin only shows up on occasion here.

I hated eggs as a child. Once I tried different preparations served elsewhere I came to love them. My family cooked them more than I like - the eggs became tough and dried. I forgot about this until I made eggs for my father on my last visit. He thought my soft scrambled eggs were vile! Different strokes…

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I’m sure I’ve shared this before, and my MIL denies it, but husband says he was told the crispy edges on his fried eggs were bacon!

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Pork is king in NC! This place will prove it!

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