What NOT to make with left over pork butt!

GrannyX4 · October 2013

I have a camera class on Saturday and I wanted to play with my camera a little before the class. Clouds and drizzle for the past 2 days so I thought I would play with food and my camera. I made this recipe a while back and thought it was pretty good and might try it with pulled pork instead. It is not my favorite way to use pulled pork.

Shrimp in Red Eye Gravy

4 Tbs butter

4 ounces ham diced

1/2 tsp thyme

1 1/2 cups finely diced red bell pepper

1 1/2 cups finely diced yellow onion

kosher salt and ground black pepper

6 cloves finely minced garlic

2 med tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 cup cold black coffee

2 cups chicken broth

2 tsp hot pepper sauce

1/4 cup Madeira wine, or sherry, or brandy

4 tsp cornstarch

1 pound 16-20 count shrimp, peeled and deveined shrimp

Creamy Grits:

1 cup 5-minute grits

3 cups chicken broth

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup cream or half-and-half

1 cup Cheese

1. Melt butter in a large braising pan add ham and sauté. Remove the ham

with a slotted spoon. Add thyme, onions, and bell peppers. Sprinkle with

salt and pepper. Cook until the onions and peppers are nicely brown.

2. Add garlic, tomatoes, and ham. Cook until the tomatoes give off their

liquid.

3. Deglaze the pan with the coffee and allow the coffee to reduce by half.

Add the chicken broth and hot sauce. When the sauce comes to a simmer, mix

together the Madeira and cornstarch and add to pan. Cook until thickened.

Taste for seasoning and adjust the salt, pepper and hot sauce. Stir in the

peeled shrimp (diced is best) and cook until they turn pink. Serve over the

grits.

4. Grits:

5. In a heavy sauce pan, slowly stir salt and grits into briskly boiling

broth. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer 10 to 20 minutes

stirring occasionally. Add the cream and cheese and adjust to taste. Thin

with more cream if needed.

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Food and pictures still need a little work. Thanks for looking.....

Tailwind · October 2013

What was the problem with it? Conceptually seems like it would be a texture issue perhaps?

GrannyX4 · October 2013

Tailwind said:

What was the problem with it? Conceptually seems like it would be a texture issue perhaps?

Yes, it was mainly a texture issue. I won't be doing this again.

Eggcelsior · October 2013

I suppose it's too soft? Try adding onion straws or bacon bits for texture. Pumpkin seed would add a nice sweetness to an otherwise savory dish.

henapple · October 2013

Looks and sounds good.. Damn, I Bookmarked it.

GrannyX4 · October 2013

It was pretty good with shrimp if I remember it correctly. Notes on the recipe didn't mention if I over severed myself the night I made it for dinner. ;;)

Village Idiot · October 2013

A bit larger depth of field on the raws picture. Either stop down the aperture a an f-stop or two or back off from the subject, then crop the final picture. Otherwise, good shots. =D>

caliking · October 2013

I'll eat it! Pulled pork is the omni-meat - you can add it to just about anything and it works.

GrannyX4 · October 2013

Village Idiot said:

A bit larger depth of field on the raws picture. Either stop down the aperture a an f-stop or two or back off from the subject, then crop the final picture. Otherwise, good shots. =D>

Wow, thanks. Makes sense now. I took about 30 pictures trying to figure that out. ;;)

caliking said:

I'll eat it! Pulled pork is the omni-meat - you can add it to just about anything and it works.

That's what I thought too but not anymore.

Botch · October 2013

Replace the pulled pork with bacon and you're Golden.

I like the pics!

hapster · October 2013

I would suggest a tripod if you don't have one yet... It will allow you to keep the camera still while using the higher f/stops for the deeper depth of field, doing so will also increase the shutter speed making it open longer... It will also allow you to shoot at the lowest ISO setting which will reduce the noise in the image.

Also, when you are shooting indoors, your camera likely has a White Balance setting that you can adjust. Sometimes AWB doesn't get it right. When shooting with light from regular light bulbs, switch the WB to Tungsten, that should remove the yellow color cast.

Other than the tripod and camera shake; most of what I've described can be fixed afterward in the digital darkroom on your computer; however, and especially since you are taking a class, the goal should be to get as much technically correct when the shot is taken. Learn how to do that without thinking so much about it, and that's when the camera get's out of your way and allows you to actually capture your vision the way you first see it in your mind's eye

Have fun and the food looks great!

Lit · October 2013

Sorry that looks good I would still try it. Aperture is fun to play with but if you want more than a foot or so depth I stay at 3.5 or above. When I got my 50mm 1.4 I couldn't put it down but alot of my shots I had to make adjustments to make them even decent.

GrannyX4 · October 2013

hapster said:

I would suggest a tripod if you don't have one yet... It will allow you to keep the camera still while using the higher f/stops for the deeper depth of field, doing so will also increase the shutter speed making it open longer... It will also allow you to shoot at the lowest ISO setting which will reduce the noise in the image.

Also, when you are shooting indoors, your camera likely has a White Balance setting that you can adjust. Sometimes AWB doesn't get it right. When shooting with light from regular light bulbs, switch the WB to Tungsten, that should remove the yellow color cast.

Other than the tripod and camera shake; most of what I've described can be fixed afterward in the digital darkroom on your computer; however, and especially since you are taking a class, the goal should be to get as much technically correct when the shot is taken. Learn how to do that without thinking so much about it, and that's when the camera get's out of your way and allows you to actually capture your vision the way you first see it in your mind's eye

Have fun and the food looks great!

Thanks for all the great information. I'm starting to understand the depth of field problem and I will work on it. The WB in my kitchen is giving me fits. The picture was taken with natural light. My kitchen is yellow and the yellow cast is hard to deal with. The tungsten setting made it blue. Thanks again... ;;)

brianwdmn · October 2013

Hap provided excellent advice. As you progress to strobes, a whole new world opens up. Then you controll all the light instead of adjusting to the ambient. I liked the composition.

DMurf · October 2013

To play with DOF line up your collection of rubs and space them in 45 degree line away from your camera. As it was stated above get your camera on a tripod, now focus on a rub about 1/2 way down the line, open up your aperture all the way. Now take successive photos stopping down your f-stop 1 step for each exposure DO NOT CHANGE the point of your focus. You will end up with a series of photos where you can see the DOF increase and how your aperture impacts that change.

As for your White Balance "Get thee to a photo store" and pick up an 18% gray card. If your camera is the lease bit modern you are able to set your white balance in camera and it is easiest with one of these 8.5 x 11 cards, I keep a 5x7 version in my camera bag. Take a shot of the card in the light you are going to use then go into setup and set your white balance. This will take care of those color casts.

I know that this sounds like a bit of work but part of learning is learning how to use the tools you have and the options that are available. For every shot I have taken that I really like, I have trashed many more because I did not slow down and follow the basics.

If you do not have one I recommend a prime 50mm lens with a 1.8 to 1.4 max aperture. This is a great lens that forces you to zoom with your feet, and if you shoot wide open your DOF can be razor thin. It is a lot of fun to shoot. On my Canon T2i I have a cropped sensor so that 50mm equates to about an 80mm which is a great range for portraits.

GrannyX4 · October 2013

@DMurf, I will get that little gray card and thanks for the little project with my spices. The lining up of the spices will give me a great visual for the DOF.

What NOT to make with left over pork butt!

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