Dumb question. Not a chance, for sure the opposite.
This is a life long work, struggle, experiment and training exercise to many an individual. The reason I cook today is because for decades I have been chasing my grandmas rice, beans, tortillas, salsa and chorizo with crunchy taters.
All of this is particular to an individual.
You my friend have officially fell down this Rabbit Hole.
Welcome.
edit: a favorite of mine is folding in salt and honey to mascarpone. Fold into that grilled stone fruit (fresh peaches are great) and berries with basil. Let refrigerate a couple hours or eat.
Not new but easy money. So, so good.
This is the 2nd rabbit hole I fell down this year For some reason, the idea of flavor bombs with interesting layers and textures has caught my attention. Sure BBQ is good, no doubt but with the right contrasts and layers, it can be a symphony playing on your tongue. I stumbled on that recently and now it is becoming an adventure.
I will give your grilled stone fruit with salt & honey a try, sounds very tasty.
I was the same way a year or 2 ago, combined with a desire to not be a slave to recipes or techniques. I wanted to be able to cook something with what I have on hand instead of always going to a book or a website, and it's made my kitchen/grill/smoker experiences MUCH more enjoyable.
Luscombe I have been sitting on this a couple of days. Let's look at crunchy things. Carrots, radishes, cabbage, turnips, rutabagas, celiac, and others. If your making a sandwich breads vary wildly from crunchy, crisp French, to a soft Brioche. Meats are indefinite, hard dried, soft aged sausage, roasted rib roast, turkey, duck, pork, chicken, lamb,, goat all can be cooked to different degrees of crispiness, you name it . Toppings can vary from fine to course chopped and from spicy to mild and from sweet to very hot.
mountainsmoker, thanks for the insights. The different combinations is overwhelming when you think about it. I am convinced that there are folks who have favorite recipes, like JGo37 below that create what I am talking about. I hope to hear from more with specific suggestions.
Thanks,
Asian Pacific combos. When I smoke a beef product that I'm going to slice thin, I often wrap it in Boston / Butter lettuce with sautéed carrot, red onion, and chilies with fish sauce and fresh mint. A sweet chili sauce on the side adds that last explosion layer.
I was at a construction trade show this afternoon manning our booth. Started talking with the lady next to me and turns out she used to work at Culver's, think the Wisconsin version of Chic fil a, anyway she was in charge of the research and development of their food products and was responsible for developing their chicken nuggets and corresponding breading. She has a food chemistry degree of some kind.
We will be grabbing coffee to discuss how she goes about creating flavor and texture layers.
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
Put a Peanut M&M on a Fritos scoop. Good road snack while husband is driving.
I love the bite of a piece of flour tortilla smeared with refried beans topped with a spoonful of chile colorado and finished off with a slice of fresh jalapeno on top. Eat and repeat.
I will add those to my list.
Just received the "Salt Fat Acid Heat" and "Kitchen Creativity" books today.
Looks like I am going to be busy for a while.
Thanks to all and please continue to share your favorites.
Thanks everyone for the recommendations on books and recipes. As luck would have it, the author of Salt Fat Acid Heat was in town this week talking about her book. I took mine listened to her cooking journey and she signed my book. That was kinda cool.
Yesterday I made mango salsa and sprinkled on several dashes of balsamic vinegar. That was pretty tasty.
For some reason, the idea of flavor bombs with interesting layers and textures has caught my attention. Sure BBQ is good, no doubt but with the right contrasts and layers, it can be a symphony playing on your tongue. I stumbled on that recently and now it is becoming an adventure.
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