Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Options
mollyshark
mollyshark Posts: 1,519
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
The good: EliShark is about to get a mini for Hanukkah so expect to see him posting here shortly. I'm getting tired of cooking so figured it's time for him to take over!

The Bad: Pork loins. For those of you who were at OKCfest last year you may remember I did a pork loin class. These are pretty foolproof things..except...that once. Bought one from a local store instead of bringing it with from Costco and it was a disaster. The texture after cooking was like it had been pre-chewed. Well last night made a Costco loin on firewire with pineapple and a bunch of teriyaki sauce and while not as pre-chewed as the OKC loin, it was close. Dry as a bone and almost mush on the outside. What in the world is up with pork loins? Are they injecting tons of tenderizer in them to make up for all the marbling the took out? Where have all the fat pigs gone?

The Ugly: Turkey legs. Ya know, it is hard to find a nice turkey leg. I'm a white meat person myself, but LeahShark likes the legs and truthfully I don't know how the turkeys stand up. Dolly Parton has nothing on these turkeys. They have these spindly little legs and I'm telling ya, if the servers at Hooters were made like these turkeys, they would have a lot more business. The legs had tough little tendons right under the skin and hardly any meat on them. How does one find a nice turkey leg?

Finally got the kitchen put back in one piece. No, it wasn't Thanksgiving that did it. It was having the kids home. Got my pansies planted and it looks like a bubble bath, red zin, popcorn, and Toy Story 3 night. Hope you're all having a nice holiday weekend.

mShark
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • AZRP
    AZRP Posts: 10,116
    Options
    Hope you're having a good weekend too Monika, hi to Alexshark. -RP
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Options
    Monica,

    I was served a leg just like that for Thanksgiving dinner.

    Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Egg Master 3000
    Egg Master 3000 Posts: 323
    Options
    Maybe at your local renaissance fair?

    :)
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Bobby-Q
    Bobby-Q Posts: 1,994
    Options
    Perhaps the pineapple was doing it's thing on the outside of the pork?

    Have you ever seen the late stages of a commercial turkey's life? They don't stand much because of the weight on top.

    Glad to hear you had the whole family having a great time with you.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
    Options
    Mollyshark: I have to completely agree with Bobby-Q here on the pork issues. Pinapple contains Bromelain, an enzyme which actually digests proteins. (remember when you used to get a dish of pinapple at the end of the meal at a chinese restaurant? It is to help aid digestion.) I suspect your marinade was the issue, if it in fact included pineapple juice (and pineapple), and the enzymes were doing what they were created to do! I've been having the reverse issue, with pork chops and loins that are pretty tough, even when cooked properly. Frustrating, I know. :) Happy Holidays to you!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • mollyshark
    mollyshark Posts: 1,519
    Options
    Will experiment although would have thought it would take a little longer to have that effect. I have half a pork loin left. Will coat one with pepper rub and one with this teriyaki and see what happens.

    Trying to remember what I did the one in OKC with. Don't THINK it was teriyaki or anything enzymey, but will report back.

    mShark
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jeffinsgf
    jeffinsgf Posts: 1,259
    Options
    One of the "Next Iron Chef" contestants got kicked out over mushy pork that she had marinated in pineapple.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jeffinsgf
    jeffinsgf Posts: 1,259
    Options
    Selective breeding (hopefully, that's all it is) at its finest. Huge breasts with no flavor and drumsticks that look like a medium sized chicken.

    There are growers out there raising heritage breeds of turkeys, but the prices they want for them at this stage are ridiculous...I don't wan to spend $150 for a holiday turkey.

    Wish I wasn't squeamish about killing my own food. I'd really like to raise my own chickens and turkeys.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • RedBag
    RedBag Posts: 72
    Options
    We always bought the loins and cut them into loin chops. My wife used to say if I never cooked anything on the Egg but those chops it was worth it because they came out so good. We stopped buying them over a year ago because no matter what I did they came out dry and tuff. My method didn’t change. So it had to be the pork.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories