In situations like that,,,,,I stand back,,,,,sip on a nice cold beer or a nice bourbon or scotch,,,
observe and ask "do you use this technique often,,,,"
grab some pork belly bao on the way home,,,,
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> Grilla Grills Pellet Pizza Oven
> Pit Barrel Cooker (gone to a new home)
> WeberQ 2000 (on "loan" to a relative (I'll never see it again))
> Old Smokey Electric (for chickens mostly - when it's too nasty out
to fiddle with a more capable cooker)
> Luhr Jensen Little Chief Electric - Top Loader circa 1990 (smoked fish & jerky)
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This is not unlike the occasional Thanksgiving when my BIL leaves a raw turkey out overnight to "come to room temperature" before cooking it. That's when I reacquaint myself with my Vegan side ... then fill up on carrot sticks and bread. I try to protect my wife from the situation ... but that usually falls on deaf ears ... so I just remember to go online and check traffic along the shortest route to the local ER for the next few mornings. Advice? Not going to try giving that again ...
Doesn't the exterior get pasteurized during cooking? If it's brought up to 165 degrees even all the germs in the interior will be killed after a few seconds.
Lost in China - I suppose the skin might indeed get pasteurized during cooking ... but while cooking to an IT above 165F should kill off toxin/spore-producing microorganisms, it won't necessarily destroy the toxins or spores themselves. Basically, due to its less acidic (than a mammal) blood PH, any fowl is just a nasty ol' Petri dish while in the 40-140F "danger zone" ... and it's far safer to spend as little time in that zone as possible.
Smile! A lot! They look like wonderful people & you did say it was a terrific time. At that point, who gives a rip about how "right" the food is cooked. Enjoy the moment!
I usually smile and nod, but there was one time...Supper club, 5 couples that met once a month. Some cooked, some chose restraunts. One couple that never cooked decided to try, with Filets. I asked how they were going to prepare them, got a really bad answer that would have ended up inedible. Chewed on that for a minute and said OK, let's go this route....
This is not unlike the occasional Thanksgiving when my BIL leaves a raw turkey out overnight to "come to room temperature" before cooking it. That's when I reacquaint myself with my Vegan side ... then fill up on carrot sticks and bread. I try to protect my wife from the situation ... but that usually falls on deaf ears ... so I just remember to go online and check traffic along the shortest route to the local ER for the next few mornings. Advice? Not going to try giving that again ...
One time my now ex-wife and I showed up for thanksgiving and Dad was (trying) to smoke a turkey. He told me he was having trouble keeping the kettle down to 160. I had to point out you cook the turkey TO 160 and not AT 160.
I have to agree that for me the best approach would be to keep quiet and simply let the other guests do what they have most likely been doing for many years and are simply doing again. May not be what makes me comfortable but that's their choice, not mine. There are a few of us who remember Will Rogers. Was it he who said, "Never pass up a chance to keep your mouth shut.?"
Mom learned in an expensive finishing school many years ago many, many rules of etiquette and manners and tried to teach them to us. Much later I learned manners are simply defined as acting in way which offends the least number of people.
In nearly six years in the far east I was truly a stranger in a strange land. I managed to simply eat what I was comfortable eating and not discuss (lying, if necessary) the rest. I would get a knowing smile from many of the natives when I talked about my allergies but we both knew what the deal was. Each of us was just polite enough not to make an issue of it.
Etiquette dictates to not give unsolicited advice.
Stopping people from poisoning themselves is not about barbecue.
Or you could play some Primus "Lacquer Head" and huff some gasoline to fit in.
First of all, good to see you posting Lost in China, hadn't seen you around until recently. Thanks for the good read, it elicits a lot of good advice from the folks above.
That said, I would have kicked the pit over after having grabbed the meat, chewed them out over their ignorance, made them go find some sticks in the woods, reset the pit, fired it back up, told them to find some citrus or other marinades to save their sorry stew meat, jack slapped the guy with the lamb and re-cooked the whole thing in front of them while continuing to berate them for being the stupid idiots they were.
And then I would have woke up from the dream like state I was in and just gotten me a stiff drink. Yet sometimes being a some-bitch pays big dividends for those lost souls out there, for those with guts to pull it off.
Anyway, good to see your post once again, keep up the good fight in the hinterland.
Last edited by Troutman; February 7, 2022, 09:57 AM.
Tough call, I've been in situations where the food is subpar and I wouldn't eat it. I would keep my mouth shut, find something that you know is edible (sides maybe) if really hungry. Or If I know I can manage to not eat until later, state that I had eaten just before coming over and I'm not hungry. Then find something when I get home or leave.
I might have mentioned something about the wood, but left the rest as is.
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