I have done it again. I made something last fall that turned out fantastic, something I rarely make, better than ever before, and I didn't take notes on what I did. Tried tonight to make the same thing, with a recipe for it online. Wasn't nearly as good. Lesson learned.
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Always take notes!
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Administrator
- May 2014
- 19026
- Clare, Michigan area
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Follow me on Instagram, huskeesbarbecue
Smokers / Grills- Yoder loaded Wichita offset smoker
- PBC
- Grilla Silverbac pellet grill
- Slow 'N Sear Deluxe Kamado (SnSK)
- Masterbuilt Gravity 560
- Masterbuilt Digital Charcoal Cabinet
- Weber 22" Original Kettle Premium (copper)
- Weber 26" Original Kettle Premium (light blue)
- Weber Jumbo Joe Gold (18.5")
- Weber Smokey Joe Silver (14.5")
- Brinkmann cabinet charcoal smoker (repurposed)
Thermometers- SnS 500 4-probe wireless
- (3) Maverick XR-50 4-probe Wireless Thermometers
- A few straggler Maverick ET-732s
- Maverick ET-735 Bluetooth (in box)
- Smoke X4 by ThermoWorks
- Thermapen MkII, orange & purple
- ThermoPop, yellow, plus a few more in a drawer for gifts
- ThermoWorks ChefAlarm (wife's)
- Morpilot 6-probe wireless
- ThermoWorks Infrared IRK2
- ThermoWorks fridge & freezer therms as well
Accessories- Instant Pot 6qt
- Anova Bluetooth SV
- Kitchen Aide mixer & meat grinder attachment
- Kindling Cracker King (XL)
- a couple BBQ Dragons
- Weber full & half chimneys, Char-Broil Half Time chimney
- Weber grill topper
- Slow 'N Sear Original, XL, and SnS Charcoal Basket (for Jumbo Joe)
- Drip 'N Griddle Pans, 22' Easy Spin Grate, and Elevated Cooking grate, by SnSGrills
- Pittsburgh Digital Moisture Meter
Beverages- Favorite summer beers: Leinenkugels Summer & Grapefruit Shandy, Hamm's, Michelob Ultra Pure Gold
- Fav other beers: Zombie Dust (an IPA by 3 Floyd's Brewing), Austin Bros IPA, DAB, Sam Adams regular, Third Shift amber or Coors Batch 19, Stella Artois
- Fav cheap beers: Pabst, High Life, Hamm's & Stroh's
- Most favorite beer: The one in your fridge
- Wine: Red- big, bold, tannic & peppery- Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauv, Sangiovese, Syrah, etc
- Whiskey: Buffalo Trace, E.H. Taylor, Blanton's, Old Forester 1870, Elijah Craig Toasted, Basil Hayden's. Neat please.
- Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About me
Real name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan- near Clare. (dead center of lower peninsula)
Occupation:- Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
Amen. My wife made an awesome marinara sauce once, better than Prego (and I love Prego traditional, could drink it) and didn't write it down. She hasn't been able to duplicate it since.
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Club Member
- Jun 2016
- 2377
- Beautiful Downtown Berwyn
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Grill: Grilla Original / Weber Genesis EP-330 / OK Joe Bronco Drum
Thermometers: Thermapen / iGrill 2 / Fireboard
For Smoke: Chunks / Pellet Tube / Mo Pouch
Sous Vide: Joule / Nomiku WiFi (RIP Nomiku)
Disqus: Le Chef - (something something something) - it changes
The problem with notes... many food items have great variability, either from season to season or item to item even. Those summer tomatoes from the farmer's market may make the best sauce, but you won't be able to make it as good with tomatoes harvested a couple weeks later, or different varietals. Slight temperature variations change proofing times, yeast activity, and more, so the same bread may come out differently based on seasons, even if the process is replicated to the letter.
And that's before the context of tasting comes into play. My wine palate has a great deal of variability from year to year. I notice certain things taste better or different on different days. Just consider how some food tastes smokier the next day, because you were outside with the smoker the day you cooked it, and your sense of smoke is, for lack of a better word, smoked on the day of service. You have a shower and a sleep, and that pork butt leftover tastes smokier.
I like taking notes, but I have come to accept that everything I make is context dependent to a greater or lesser degree, and each meal is to be enjoyed for itself and likely never repeated.
Of course, if you use nothing but processed foods in your cooking, you will have much less variation. But variance is the spice of (statistical) life.
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I keep all my recipes in Google Drive. Any notes or variations are added in a different color font. This allows me to keep track of various changes as I go along. If somethings comes out not as good as expected, I have a point I can go back to. It's easy to add pictures, links back to the original online author of the recipe.
I also copy and paste a list of ingredients into Google Keep and have a checklist I can tick off on my phone when at the store.
This smartphone thing is going to be popular.
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Club Member
- Aug 2017
- 9998
- Hate Less, Cook More
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I find that I do keep small notes on my Fireboard sessions but rarely go back and look at them. I am a recipe horder though, I really like the app called Paprika 3, super easy to copy interweb recipes and organize them. Other than that it's a lot of seat of the pants remembering.
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Founding Member
- Jul 2014
- 5334
- Blue Earth, Minnesota
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LSG Adjustable Grill/Smoker, MAK Pellet Grill, Large BGE with Several Attachments from the Ceramic Grill Store, Weber Gasser, Cast Iron Pans & Griddle, Grill Grates, Mostly Thermoworks Thermometers, Avova SV Stick, BBQ Guru Controller and Fan
I keep lots of notes. Maybe too many? Nice to have especially when learning a new technique like Sous Vide.
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