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Pulled pork

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A week or two ago, Cub had a sale on pork shoulder for 99c/lb (and 5 pounds of potatoes for $1.77), so I just had to make pulled pork. The dry rub and instructions are directly from Chef John and adjusted for convenience. Dry rub - 1/4 cup of salt - 2 tsp garlic powder - 2 tsp black pepper - 2 tsp (smoked) paprika - 2 tsp cumin - 1 tsp rosemary - 1 tsp thyme - 1/4 cup brown sugar - half pack of leftover instant ramen seasoning, just because I have it lying around Directions 1. Cover the shoulder thoroughly with the dry rub, put in deep dish baking tray, and tent with foil 2. Bake at 210F until tender (12-18 hours or until internal temperature registers 190F-210F). 3. Shred/chop to your liking. I ended up adding all the liquid back into the shredded meat. Cub sells the pork shoulder in a pack of two for a total of 16lb of meat. With moister loss from cooking, we're looking at maybe 10lb of cooked meat here, which is still quite a lot. Made a few meals with it so far: - Standard BBQ ...
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Roasted carnival squash risotto with grilled Argentine red shrimp

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You might have noticed that I have changed plans from butternut to carnival squash and from cod to shrimp. I went grocery shopping at night after I was done with the gym and found out the cod was behind the butcher's case. I thought about going back another day, but then I saw 16/20 argentine red shrimp on sale for $6.99/lb. Seems like a reasonable substitute in exchange for not making another trip. Will have to go back during the day for the prime steak that's also in the case though. I was distracted by gorgeous arrangement of the squashes I've never worked with (or even heard of): blue hubbard, carnival, sweet dumpling, red kuri, buttercup, delicate, turban. Carnival squash seems just about the right size for this recipe, so I grabbed it instead of butternut. Anyhow, here's my thought process while putting everything together: Risotto usually involves around 1:3 rice-to-stock ratio. Aromatics in oil/butter, toast the rice, add the wine, then stock a bit at a time. St...
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Homemade chicken stock

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One of the ingredients for the upcoming carnival squash risotto with Argentinian pink shrimp (I have a reason for changing plans, promise!) is stock which I don't have any at hand. Fortunately, I still have more celery in the fridge, and organic carrots were surprisingly cheap at Fresh Thyme. Moreover, Costco rotisserie chicken still stands the test of time against inflation at $4.99 each. Store-bought stock (with no salt) is fine, but homemade stock is easy and amazing and makes my dog look at me with unmet expectations. Here's my general understanding of bone stock. The larger the bones, the longer it takes to simmer. Chicken stock is probably 3-12 hours. Roast the bones and vegetables if you're looking for brown stock. If you do roast, deglaze the fond (brown sticky bits) in your roasting pan with boiling water and add that too. Onion, carrot, celery in 2-1-1 ratio. Maybe some thyme, bay leaf, garlic. Simmer and skim the scum if you want a clear broth. Vigorous boil if y...
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Squash risotto and pan-fried cod (preview)

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A colleague introduced me to Fresh Thyme Market a few years ago, and it's been one of my favorite grocery stores in the Twin Cities ever since. A lot to love with local produce, friendly staffs, and good deals. Also quite close to my gym, which is a big plus. Earlier this year, I started playing Ironsworn, a tabletop role-playing game where players and/or gamemasters get to write their own stories and quests. If they run into writer's block, the game has "the Oracle" to randomize some key words for inspiration. So what ties grocery deals and Ironsworn together? I usually have a pretty good idea of what I want to make when I spot something I like on a grocery flyer in combination with what I already have in the fridge. However, if I need extra help for this experimental blog, this chart from  Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat will be my oracle. For this week, I'm eyeing the following items from Fresh Thyme ads  (your location might have slightly different price) $5.99/lb Ice...
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