http://blogs.masturbacon.com/masturbacon all goods small Fri, 28 Nov 2008 07:21:34 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The chicken's brining, and the sausages are made. They're a little dry (partially due to their low fat content), but I think they'll be fine as long as they're cooked fast. I'll be skipping the smoked chicken breasts and, instead, lightly smoking the ginger-szechuan chicken. Ribs will be made on-the-fly tomorrow. I've scaled back ... http://blogs.masturbacon.com/masturbacon/2008/11/meatfest-preparations/ Meet SAUSAGETRON, from planet chorizo: As an aside, I used MUCH less cumin this time, and the result is a much more complex and subtle flavour. http://blogs.masturbacon.com/masturbacon/2008/11/i-am-sausagetron/ I'll be hosting the annual masturbacon meatfest next Saturday. Currently on the menu: Mild italian pork sausage Mexican-style chorizo Ginger-szechuan brined chicken Smoked chicken breasts with maple-pomegranate glaze Satan ribs (if I can be arsed) http://blogs.masturbacon.com/masturbacon/2008/11/meatfest-2008/ Unfortunately, I ruined the entire batch of 34 sausages at the last minute. Which was a pity; they were great (although a little dry). I'll be uploading the photos tomorrow - there were a LOT of sausages. And the smell was awesome (garlic, red wine, and gin). http://blogs.masturbacon.com/masturbacon/2008/11/boar-sausage-fail/ I just picked up around 3.5kg of boned boar leg. This weekend, I'll be making boar sausages! Stay tuned... http://blogs.masturbacon.com/masturbacon/2008/11/boar-sausages/ I brewed up a batch of maple-bourbon brine, which I used to cure a couple of pork tenderloins. Once cured (around 12 hours, since the tenderloins are quite thin), I dried them out in the fridge for 2 hours, and then smoked them. Since I hot-smoked the tenderloins, they're basically cooked ... http://blogs.masturbacon.com/masturbacon/2008/11/maple-bourbon-cured-ham/ While my first attempt at Mexican-style chorizo was not entirely successful, their texture and flavour have vastly improved after being dried in the fridge overnight. The flavour is definitely...intriguing. But the following flaws prevent this batch of sausages from being all they could be: A little too much cumin (I suspect this ... http://blogs.masturbacon.com/masturbacon/2008/10/chorizo-that-was/ Tonight, I'm going to be trying out a new recipe for Mexican-style Chorizo sausage. It includes Ancho and Chipotle chillis, and tequila. Stay tuned... http://blogs.masturbacon.com/masturbacon/2008/10/chorizo-to-be/ I'm slowly refining the Spicy Italian Sausage recipe from Charcuterie. I love the spiciness of the toasted coriander seeds, balanced with the sweetness of the toasted fennel seeds (and just a hint of chilli, of course). This batch is a special request for mum; unfortunately, the meat I've been given for this ... http://blogs.masturbacon.com/masturbacon/2008/10/sausages-spicy-italian/ Mineral salt 451, or sodium tripolyphosphate, is an additive used in food production to increase water retention. That's right - they charge by weight, and then make sure as much of what they sell you as possible is water. Fucking. Water. This means less flavour, and a rather unpleasant mouth-feel (read: soggy smallgoods). http://blogs.masturbacon.com/masturbacon/2008/10/if-your-smallgoods-contain-additive-451-you-must-be-some-kind-of-cunt/