McDonalds McRib burer at home

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This is something that has been on my to-do list for ages. I cook pork ribs (baby backs, spare ribs etc) quite frequently, and I always think of the McDonalds faux-rib burger the McRib. I had previously tried a couple of variations - one of which, not at all remaining true to the original, being taking the ribs just past being cooked so the bones slide out real easily, cutting out a 4 bone section or so and slapping that in a bun. That was super tasty, but just the same way ribs are tasty, it didn’t really add anything to the dish and definitely wasn’t reminiscent of the original.

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BBQ smoked pork cheeks - A video walkthrough

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Pork cheeks are one of my favourite things to BBQ low-and-slow, I think. Writing this, I’m concerned that maybe I say that about everything, the problem with BBQ is that there are so many flipping tasty cooks, that when you sit down to think about and write about them, you remember how much you enjoy them. Anyway, I’m sticking to my guns, pork cheeks one of my favourites and certainly my favourite pork cuts on the BBQ.

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Reverse sear fried chicken A.K.A Sous-vide Fried Chicken (SVFC)

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1. Sous vide and the Reverse Sear

Sous vide, cooking in a water bath with tight temperature controls (to within a degree of target temperature), is often used as the first step in a reverse sear approach. Whilst sous vide shines at precise and even internal cooking, it is impossible to get a nice finish on a piece of meat or vegetable using sous-vide, as it cooks at temperatures way below those needed for searing a steak, for example.

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Sous vide ice cream

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Early on in the UK Covid lockdown, I had to work from home a lot, which meant two things: 1) I suddenly gained over two hours that would have normally been on commuting every week day 2) I was restricted to the house and garden (caveat, a lot of this time and probably more was actually used on childcare, as the kids were at home so I think I ended up with a deficit of time after all, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t use these circumstances as an excuse to get more cooking gadgets).

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Ultimate guide to chilli-con-carne - Championship chilli recipe!

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For a few years, all pre-pandemic, I attended a few UK Chilli Cook-off competitions. An annual competition where competitors meet for 4 hours to try and create the best chilli (chilli-con-carne, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be meat based!) and a panel of four judges score the chillis to decide the winner, with the winners going through to the UK finals. The competitions, both regionals and finals are normally hosted as part of a food festival - so usually in a field under a marquee, with no power source and just hoping for good weather. They were always great fun, but for one reason or another the UK Chilli Cook-Off Association seems to have paused, or at least reduced the amount of regional competitions they run. I keep hoping that they will re-instate them and I can get involved, but for now it seems they only do one a year, and that’s down in Dorset, which is a little far for me.

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