Tailgating Tech – Homecoming edition 2014

Yes, Mitch, It is Homecoming weekend and Orange Effect. So, lets get it on.
Another wonderful Saturday for VT Football

Check eshiben5s weather thread.
http://www.thekeyplay.com/content/2014/september/25/weekly-weather-report-rebound-edition

Then check the events for the weekend. VT Homecoming schedule of events.

From the Whit gets it file-
As we've seen on these pages, AD Whit is escorting the ACC to the woodpile for scheduling us 3 noon kickoffs in a row. Seems he doesn't think its good for business or the fans. Go Whit
It should be easier than this.
When you are cooking breakfast for your 10th noon tailgate in 2 seasons, do you have problems with the pancake batter falling through your grill grates before it has a chance to set up? Well fret no more, we're here to solve all the problems in your world.

Cast iron is the way of the serious cook. Cast iron evens out heat and retains it, releasing it to the food in a slow and burn reducing manner.
I have a double sided griddle, one side is ridged, the other flat. I happened to find one that fits perfectly on my Coleman double burner. Use the ridged side for steaks, burgers, dogs, etc. The ridged side is also good if you like to cook your bacon off of the grease. The flat side for more bacon, pancakes, toasting bread, anything that will fall through. Its heavy but durable.
Mine is a Lodge, they are a bit more expensive but, it's because there is more cast iron in them - that helps with heat retention. A thin one will lose more heat to the food when it hits and be more difficult to cook on.
DO NOT get one that is non-stick and quit using the baking sheet from home.

Buying them online is kinda expensive on shipping. If you are in Roanoke, Northwestern Hardware on Williamson Rd has a large selection. Anyplace else you guys go for cast iron cooking stuff?

Whats Brewing? heh, heh. I make joke.
These guys are from Kalamazoo Michigan. Cool name that, Kalamazoo. Seems like a party town with a name like that. Area code 269. Kalamazoo has a pop of about 74,000 people and boast 10 local brewery type things. Not a bad ratio. The local guys even have a map online so you can find them.
http://is0.gaslightmedia.com/discoverkalamazoo/_ORIGINAL_/fs92-1406125900-84209.pdf

We'll talk about 1 of them because its the only one you'll be able to get in Blacksburg environs.
Bells Brewery, Inc. these guys know what they are doing and produce some fine product. Bells 2 Hearted Ale is their signature IPA and regularly found on lists of the best beers I the U.S. It is very common to see their beers on tap in place that cater to craft beer. Look especially for the Bells Best Brown this time of year. Oberon is also available as well as 2 Hearted at local grocery and specialty stores.

http://bellsbeer.com/

FOD
Ok, its another lunch time kickoff. Its time to come up with something different for dinner for after the game. It has to be fast to cook and prep and taste good. So, Im thinking pork chop sammiches. Yes, really, pork chops. Succulent, juicy, tender sweet, gimme another pork chop. No? that's not what a pork chop is? (My Mom did'nt think so either.)
Let me re-introduce osmotic action to you. Yes, that stuff your middle school teacher taught you that you seemed like an utter waste of time.
Brining Soaking food to be cooked in a salty solution.
Ok, here's the deal, we know pork chops, chicken tits and turkey can be dry if ya do not do it exactly right. Brining is a salty, sugary solution that, when ya drop in yer meat (get your head out of the gutter), the high concentration of stuff in the cells means it draws water from the solution. Well, since there is salt, sugar and other tasty stuff dissolved in the water, the concentration stays high and draws in more water, etc, etc. If you just soak your meat in water, it'll get juicy but, it'll also transfer the tasty parts into your water and you will have a bland but juicy meal.
Also, salt will denature some of the proteins in the cell meaning it'll trap more water in during the cooking process, keeping it moist and providing you, the newly minted chef genius, with a buffer that allows you to miss that final temp by quite a lot and still have a hunk o turkey that's moist. For instance, turkey is usually done at 165F. A good brining will allow you to float high by as much as about 15F and still not resemble the Griswold bird.

So, here's how we do it right. Brine the thing. It'll add flavor and moisture thatll stick around to the end.
Ok, so rule of thumb - which will be broken- for a large cut of meat (like a pork loin or whole bird) with every quart of water you have cup of salt and cup of brown sugar. That sounds like a lot and, it is. You can cut down on the salt a bit but, do yourself a favor and don't go lower than this with the sugar. You can brine for as little as a hour for a larger cut but, do yourself a favor and make it 8-24 hours. For something like shrimp (yeah buddy, I love these things) drop the salt some and brine a very short amount of time.
Also, note that if you introduce something else that has some flavor to it especially sugar or salt, like orange juice (excellent choice by the way), reduce your salt and sugar a bit to compensate and do not be stingy with your orange juice either, add the whole quart and reduce your salt by cup. A word about salt. Kosher salt has no iodine. Table salt does have iodine. Use kosher salt for this as the iodine will taste horrible in concentrated form in the cells. Sugar- use brown sugar, it ads lots of flavor and keeps the meat from tasting too sweet. Also, try molasses as a substitute or boiled down apple juice, etc. If you use one of these, remember to add more than if it was brown sugar by about 2-1.
Now, on to the method and I will introduce a recipe for a basic brine I use a lot for pork. Its a good one for this case as itll be good for a longer brining session such as overnight here.
Basic brine:
Quart of water
1.5 cups of kosher salt
.5 cup of brown sugar
1.5 quarts of ice
for additional flavor toss in black peppercorns, juniper berries, bay leaves, cloves, garlic etc. in the volume of about 1 tablespoon per spice.
Bring the quart of water to a slight boil, add the salt, brown sugar and spices into the water and stir. When the salt and sugar are dissolved, take it off the heat and add the ice. You can use a cooler if you want to, the object is to cool the brine and drop in the meat. Dont worry too much about diluting; keep the meat cold until ready to cook.
For the tailgate, I will preslice the meat, in this case, I will get a whole pork loin and slice it into about 3/8 inch slices and put about 10 slices into gallon ziplock bags and pour the icy brine into the bags and put the filled bags into a plastic container to prevent and spills of raw meat from getting onto other food.
To cook, were going to cook them like steaks, high heat and fast. Using tongs (that will not be used to touch cooked meat), take out the slice and put it onto paper towels to get rid of the water on the outside (we dont want to steam it, we want to grill it). Pat dry on both sides, DO NOT ADD MORE Salt, add a little pepper and maybe some smoked paprika.
Drop it on the grill and cook it like a steak, 2 minutes, turn 90 degrees and cook until that side its done then flip and repeat. In about 5 minutes you have a perfectly cooked pork chop. Drop it on a roll and serve like a burger.

For something like shrimp. 1/2 hour of brining or it'll just be weird feeling. Chicken breast can go short as well, no more than an hour or so.

This post was powered by

Yeah, yeah, I know I'm tooting my own horn here but, we just release the updated recipe on this, changed the yeast mostly, and its a bit more Belgian in character. It has been my new go to beer lately.
Remember, any products mentioned here do not constitute an endorsement of the product as it will require you to evaluate it for your specific situation. Opinions of the writer are mine alone and do not imply endorsement or support by TKP, its staff, sponsors or owners.