My Carnitas Experiment

marysvilleksegghead

One heck of a cook!   way beyond my energy level 

smokingal

SciAggie said:

smokingal said:

GoooDawgs said:

Incredible.   Are you related to @smokingal?!  You guys are killin it with the photos these days...

@GoooDawgs If we are, he's from the saner side of the family.  The last time I made churros was back when I was smoking every single ingredient and figured out how to make smoked churros.

Not too sure about "saner" but I'm certainly honored to be included in any context with her high quality cooks. She sure raises the bar high.
I'd love to see pictures of a smoked churro but I'll admit I can't wrap my head around how that would taste. @smokingal How were they?

@SciAggie They looked like any other churros, as they were made with cold smoked ingredients (flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon).  The taste of the churro itself was only slightly changed.  Just a hint of smoke.  Man, this was 7 years ago.  I'm slacking.  

SciAggie

@smokingal See - that’s how we learn. I never thought about cold smoking the ingredients. I was somehow picturing smoking the churro after it was cooked. Thanks!

Griffin

I'm speechless. You are my hero, Sir!!

GATraveller

1000 times YES!!!!!  This is bookmarked.

Florida Grillin Girl

Excellent cook! I always enjoy the cooks you post.

caliking

So much awesome right there!! Although this cook would have taken more than one LSB for me. And more than just a couple of churros.

How long did the meat go in the lard? Any use for what's left in the pot afterwards? Looks like it would be good in something.

SciAggie

caliking said:

So much awesome right there!! Although this cook would have taken more than one LSB for me. And more than just a couple of churros.

How long did the meat go in the lard? Any use for what's left in the pot afterwards? Looks like it would be good in something.

More than one LSB was involved, trust me...
I ended up smoking the meat over hickory on the egg for about 5 1/2 hours at about 250 degrees. It was in the lard for about 2 1/2 hours at between 195 and 205 degrees. I watched the temps carefully and checked every 15-20 minutes with my thermopen. 
The meat drained really well and was not greasy at all - I was pleasantly surprised. I strained the fat just to make cleanup easier. It was actually relatively free of any undesirable material. I think you could filter it carefully and use it again with no problem. I would think you would want to refrigerate the fat since it is not longer pure lard. I chose not to keep it because a) I don't have the refrigerator space and 2) I probably wouldn't make this (or another confit type dish) before the lard went rancid.
That may have been a mistake - I should have tried chicken legs or something just to see what the flavor was like... But yes I think the fat would be useful as long as it is used in a timely manner.

TEXASBGE2018

Fantastic looking grub right there. Who else wants to see a @SciAggie vs @smokingal throwdown?

blind99

TEXASBGE2018 said:

Fantastic looking grub right there. Who else wants to see a @SciAggie vs @smokingal throwdown?

the only losers would be folks like us who can't cook like those two!

awesome cook, thanks for sharing.  and that's some great work you're doing in the classroom.

caliking

SciAggie said:

caliking said:

So much awesome right there!! Although this cook would have taken more than one LSB for me. And more than just a couple of churros.

How long did the meat go in the lard? Any use for what's left in the pot afterwards? Looks like it would be good in something.

More than one LSB was involved, trust me...
I ended up smoking the meat over hickory on the egg for about 5 1/2 hours at about 250 degrees. It was in the lard for about 2 1/2 hours at between 195 and 205 degrees. I watched the temps carefully and checked every 15-20 minutes with my thermopen. 
The meat drained really well and was not greasy at all - I was pleasantly surprised. I strained the fat just to make cleanup easier. It was actually relatively free of any undesirable material. I think you could filter it carefully and use it again with no problem. I would think you would want to refrigerate the fat since it is not longer pure lard. I chose not to keep it because a) I don't have the refrigerator space and 2) I probably wouldn't make this (or another confit type dish) before the lard went rancid.
That may have been a mistake - I should have tried chicken legs or something just to see what the flavor was like... But yes I think the fat would be useful as long as it is used in a timely manner.

Might be good for tamales, tortillas, or even biscuits. Its things like this that keep me up at night

And I'm somewhat envious of the kids who have the opportunity  to learn how to cook from you.

SciAggie

caliking said:

Might be good for tamales, tortillas, or even biscuits. Its things like this that keep me up at night

And I'm somewhat envious of the kids who have the opportunity  to learn how to cook from you.

I like the way you think my friend - tamales...
As far as the after school kids - yeah it’s a hoot. We don’t get fancy. These kids have limited resources at home. So teaching them to make meatloaf, spaghetti, mac & cheese, all the simple comfort foods is the name of the game. Hopefully they learn that cooking real food isn’t difficult and it’s affordable. 
I am excited about one thing - I had a conversation just today about the possibility of starting a high school BBQ team. There are a lot of logistical, legal, and financial issues to work through but I have several folks who want to see it happen and are willing to help. This will be a whole new adventure. Yee Ha!

EGGjlmh

@SciAggie WOW.  I do have a question about the salsa you made for this. Is that green tomatoes?  And what exactly did you put into the salsa?  Thanks!

Botch

SciAggie said:
I strained the fat just to make cleanup easier. It was actually relatively free of any undesirable material. I think you could filter it carefully and use it again with no problem. I would think you would want to refrigerate the fat since it is not longer pure lard. I chose not to keep it because a) I don't have the refrigerator space and 2) I probably wouldn't make this (or another confit type dish) before the lard went rancid.

That may have been a mistake - I should have tried chicken legs or something just to see what the flavor was like... But yes I think the fat would be useful as long as it is used in a timely manner.

For What It's Worth-
I've never saved rendered lard from a large chunk of pork before, but I pour my bacon grease into a 28-oz tomato can every morning before breakfast, maybe about a tablespoon at a time.  It takes me a couple months to fill a can, and there are plenty of browned bits mixed in.  I've never had one go rancid with no refrigeration, and use it to cook some things.  Granted, Oscar Meyer has a bunch of multi-syllabic chemicals added, and may never go rancid, but I also know my grandparents saved hog lard and used it all winter, "scraping the bottom of the barrel" by end of spring, and they're probably healthier than I am (except they're dead now).  
A few cooking uses:  my favorite is frying corn tortillas in the bacon grease until soft, to make enchiladas, either rolled or stacked; its not authentic Mexican at all, but they're delicious.  
Try sauteing raw green beans in bacon grease.  Or fresh corn-off-the-cob (mix in some small amounts of minced red & green pepper, onion, and garlic, for a great-tasting succotash).  
And about a month ago I baked up some Pillsbury biscuits, out of a shiny blue tube, to have with my ribeye.  I was out of butter!   so I melted some bacon grease in a small frypan, split the baked biscuits in half, and dabbed them split-side down into the grease, and ate them that way.  Screw butter!  

SciAggie

EGGjlmh said:

@SciAggie WOW.  I do have a question about the salsa you made for this. Is that green tomatoes?  And what exactly did you put into the salsa?  Thanks!

Those are tomatillos in the salsa. They are ubiquitous in this part of the world. You might have to look in the produce if they have a hispanic section - they will be in a green husk and you have to peel the husk off. They will have a slightly sticky residue also but it rinses off easily. 

I bought:
about two pounds of tomatillos.
A couple of jalapeños
A couple of Anaheim peppers
one poblano pepper
two Roma tomatoes
one yellow onion

Put all this on a baking sheet and pop it under the broiler until it all has some nice char. You might turn it and be sure to char it all over. How much is up to you - don’t be afraid to get a lot of char - it will taste fine.
When you bring it out of the oven drop everything in a big bowl and cover it with foil or something. You want to let it all steam for 5 minutes or so. Everything will cook through. The tomatillos will lighten in color and everything else will get soft. Remove the stems from the chilies. I don’t worry about removing the seeds. 
Then drop it all in a blender. Add salt and pepper - maybe 1- 1 1/5 tsp of salt? Blend it all together. Add the juice of 1-2 limes and check for taste. Adjust seasoning to make you happy. 
When it cools I’ll chop a bunch of cilantro and add that in. If the salsa is thicker than you like, thin it with some water. 
Use whatever peppers you like. Right now my wife is taking some medication that makes her a bit sensitive to hot stuff. That’s why I added the Anaheim and poblano pepper. If you like it hotter use hot peppers.

SciAggie

@Botch You are right. When I was a kid my mom always had a can of bacon grease on the counter beside the stove. I didn’t die... All of the uses you mention sound great. 

I guess I’ll be forced to make some more and save the fat for further use...

EGGjlmh

@SciAggie
Thanks for the write up about the salsa. I have never even heard of tomatillos. Will definately give it a try

caliking

SciAggie said:

caliking said:

Might be good for tamales, tortillas, or even biscuits. Its things like this that keep me up at night

And I'm somewhat envious of the kids who have the opportunity  to learn how to cook from you.

I like the way you think my friend - tamales...
As far as the after school kids - yeah it’s a hoot. We don’t get fancy. These kids have limited resources at home. So teaching them to make meatloaf, spaghetti, mac & cheese, all the simple comfort foods is the name of the game. Hopefully they learn that cooking real food isn’t difficult and it’s affordable. 
I am excited about one thing - I had a conversation just today about the possibility of starting a high school BBQ team. There are a lot of logistical, legal, and financial issues to work through but I have several folks who want to see it happen and are willing to help. This will be a whole new adventure. Yee Ha!

Let me know if the bbq team idea gains traction. I'd like to contribute.

All I want in return is a tshirt that says something like "Sciaggie knows things"

SciAggie

@caliking I will keep you posted. There is genuine interest for sure. And it’s all about the t-shirt I know - so I’ll hook you up. 

SGH

SciAggie said:

Now I see it brother 👍

SGH

What a great post brother. Sorry I missed it when it first hit the forum but I was offshore. 

Jupiter Jim

That is just to good.... Nice cast iron pan, is it Griswold?

JohnnyTarheel

I am not worthy.... dang what a fantastic cook... BRAVO!!!

SciAggie

Jupiter Jim said:

That is just to good.... Nice cast iron pan, is it Griswold?

It’s a Birmingham Stove & Range. I had a friend give it to me - if I hadn’t taken it they were going to throw it away. I have the matching lid and it’s in perfect shape. A pretty cool little skillet. 

SciAggie

JohnnyTarheel said:

I am not worthy.... dang what a fantastic cook... BRAVO!!!

Thank you. This cook was a lot of fun.