I got a good deal on some pork loin, so I am going to make some Canadian bacon. For the record, loin bacon is also used by the Irish, so one will also hear this bacon referred to as Irish bacon; but here in the states, it’s usually called Canadian.

For one gallon of brine (boil some of the water to dissolve the salt & sugar, and mingle the spices, then add it to the rest of the gallon. Chill to fridge temp before inserting meat) Note: one gallon of brine was more than enough to cover the meat; I saved the rest to brine a venison backstrap down the road:

• 1 1/2 cups kosher salt;
• 1 1/2 cups dextrose, or 1 cup sugar, or 1 cup brown sugar (I used dextrose this time);
• 8 teaspoons pink salt
• 4 crumbled bay leaves;
• 8 crushed juniper berries;
• 3 smashed cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper;
• 1 gallon water;
• Note: this is a recipe for savory bacon. You could add any number of aromatics, such as fresh thyme or sage, or even extra sweeteners (for sweeter bacon), such as maple syrup or honey or molasses, or just increase the sugar of your choice.

For the meat:

• 5.5 pounds pork loin (that’s just what mine weighed).

Brine the meat (be sure it is fully covered–I cut my loin into two pieces and used large Ziploc bags) for 48 hours (actually, I brined one piece for 2 days, and another for 4 days. Both tasted great pan seared before smoking (chef’s perks). Rinse the meat after brining, and let it rest on a rack uncovered in the fridge for at least 24 hours to form a pellicle (this can be short-cutted by putting the meat on a rack and running the air from a fan over it for a couple of hours). Smoke the meat until an inner temp of 145 has been reached. Slice and store in the fridge, or freeze for longer storage. Pan fry or steam to reheat, or add to soups or stews.

The procedure I used was to hot smoke the meat, which took about 8 hours at sub 200 degree heat in my smoker (fall day, small fire). You could also cold smoke the meat (keeping the temp at about 90 degrees for as man as 12 hours, but you will have to consider it still raw and cook it (of course, if you brined the meat for longer and hung it, you would get a loin prociuto, but that is for another post [or you could cure the meat, simmer it to an internal temp of 150 +/-, then cold smoke it for 12 hours (or smoke than simmer) and have a loin ham}). If you hot smoke your bacon (or, if you don’t have a smoker, slowly heat it in a 200 degree oven until the internal temp reaches 145-150 degrees, you can consider it cooked and eat it reheated, or cold.

Pictures? Well, I forgot to take them. I will say that both the two day and the four day brined pieces were equally good, and it was hard to tell a difference between the two. This ham/Canadian bacon made excellent cold cut sandwiches, for the record.

Mote pillo is a hominy and egg brunch dish from Ecuador. I made it with Goya brand maiz mote pelado, and it is best served with homemade queso fresco and home-roasted coffee (naturally). In lieu of using the huge mote pelado corn, one could use Goya golden (or white) hominy corn (maiz trillado amarillo (or maiz trillado blanco)), or even canned hominy. I, however, like a beefier kernel, so the huge mote pelado is right for me. Here’s a link to the site that inspired me to try this dish.

http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/03/27/mote-pillo/

I was cooking for one when I made this, so I will not give exact ratios. Just think of this as a hominy scramble–not unlike an egg scramble–and wing it. If you are using dried hominy, you will need to have cooked it earlier–like the day before. In butter, saute a pinch of powdered anchiote, some pinhead diced red onion, followed by minced garlic. Throw in some (optional) jalapeno (green or red), and the hominy, along with a splash of milk. When the milk has evaporated and or been absorbed by the hominy, add beaten egg (I used one egg with about 2/3 cup of cooked hominy). As the egg nearly sets, throw in some finely chopped scallions, minced red bell pepper (which I included for color contrast, really), and finely chopped parsley (cilantro would have been better, but I was out). Stir to mix and break up the egg. Plate and enjoy.

Just a quick post on a great Vietnamese dipping sauce, for 2-ish cups. Here is the base:

• 5 T sugar
• 3 T  water (1/3 cup)
• 3 T fish sauce (1/3 cup)
• 8 T fresh squeezed lime juice (1/2 cup)

Definitely add: 1 or more smashed cloves of garlic; 1 or more diced hot chiles;

Consider adding: minced shallot, julienned carrot; julienned cucumber; jullienned daikon, chopped tomato, chopped cilantro, or whatever may strike your fancy.

More soon.

More soon.

I made a rheostat to control the power output of my 1950’s Dulane Fryryte. More on that eventually. The rheostat will also control soldering iron outputs (stained glass work), lights (dimming), fans (speed), or anything else you might desire to plug into it. The dimmer (Lutron C-1500) is rated to 1500 watts, has huge cooling fins (it is museum grade), and I have mounted it to a four-square electrical box. To the four-square box I have mounted a two-square box, which houses a dual recepticle. I plug the fryer into the recepticle, and the dimmer into the wall. Because the fryer weighs in at 11 amps, I can only run one on a circuit, and need to keep other appliance use down to avoid tripping the 15 amp breaker.

Well, I cracked and bought a vintage 1950’s deep fryer. With “vintage” coming to mean esoteric and expensive in the parlance of our times, maybe I should say I bought a 1950’s Dulane Fryryte in relatively serviceable condition. Still, disapplying vintage does not mean I did not crack.

If you are curious about a nice blog entry about this appliance’s history by a couple who have purchased a pristine Fryryte as a “collectible,” click here and scroll down to the 1-5-05 entry. You all no doubt know that if I can’t use it, I won’t buy it. But their collection is full of stuff that can be both collectible and usable.

And if you want the practical, juicy details of mine, it is an F-4B. 120 VAC, 11.5 amps, 1320 watts. The last stat–the watts–is important, because I have made a seriously heavy-duty, wallet lightening rheostat to control mine, and invested in a remote probe thermometer to hit and maintain perfect frying temperatures.

Anyway, the fryer as acquired needed a little work. When I plugged it in at the “antique shop,” the cord caught fire and nearly set the store’s carpet aflame. Seriously!, but alas, the cord only sparked and smoked and left a black smolder mark where the cord had lain on the carpet. At least I knew up front that I would have to install a new cord. The rest looked good on a practical and aesthetic level: predictable 1950’s softened rectangular (think 1950’s toaster) shape, chrome body, drain spigot (only on the “B” models, I think), wire basket and removable handle that stores inside the wire basket (which nests inside the fryer) when not in use.

Taking the toaster apart to redo the cord presented no real problems, though I did make the inevitable faux pas of a novice by cracking the thermostat dial ring (time for some crazyglue) and forgetting to unscrew the control dial counterclockwise for removal, affording me the opportunity to break the inner tab that stopped the dial at “off” counterclockwise and at 400 degrees clockwise. I also might have flexed the felted resistor piece that the thermostat tab mounts to, which hypothetically could have allowed me to control the temp and power with a stock dial. I suspect the thermostat was long kaput and never would have worked again, which is why this gem ended up in the back room at a bargain price at that overly expensive antique shop in C-ville.

OK, rant disarmed. Whether or not the dial would have worked had I not buggered parts of that area will remain a mystery. And while it is sad that I did bugger parts, I still have a usable fryer that simply shows its age now. I decided to test it, and when I did, I discovered that the fryer has two settings that operate concurrently once you plug it in: always on, and always heating at maximum, even when the oil temperature surpasses 400 degrees were I to let it (can you say smoke point? can you say flash point?!?). To control the temperature for this test, I had to periodically unplug, then plug in the machine to regulate the heat (really just the application of it) and, after my test, walked away sated with enough tasty french fries and shrimp tempura determined to add some control to my fryer. I chose to make a rheostat, which is for another post.

It is claimed in The Joy of Cooking that if the oil is at the right temperature, the food picks up or absorbs very little oil. I found this to be the case on my trial run. A batch of shoestring fries, a batch of standard fries, and about 20 shrimp (30-ish count) fed three people and, upon draining the fryer, very little oil (about 2.5T, and that was with me spilling some). Granted, if you don’t use a heavy breading, or omit breading all together, you will use very, very little oil. Try it, it’s true. I opt out of degrading the joys of eating fried food by mentioning the potential deleterious effects of eating them (the foods, not the joy).

Pictures soon.

Achtung! Caution! Alarm! Cuidado!: One thing, if you get an old fryer and decide to test it (and clean it) by boiling water in it via its own power, know that you can shock yourself if you fill the water too high. Yeah, yeah, I know this because I overfilled mine and zapped myself, first when touching the lid and, after scratching my head and wondering whether I imagined getting shocked after my nice (ghetto extension cord) wiring job, the basket handle. I shut her down and decided oil at the fill line was a superior, and safer, way to test this lovely deep frying wonder.

HoTep’s breakfast huevos rancheros. Tortillas, over easy eggs, pink beans, leftover beef brisket, and homemade cheese.

Yup, you read right. 18 pounds of smoked brisket. I only took pictures of the meat before it was cooked (cooking took about 12 hours). Outrageous, and insanely good (HottButt and DanGafro, who claim to be authorities on Texas BBQ, said it rivaled anything Texas can produce. Served with potato salad, thai spiced slaw, texas beans, fried pickle chips, fried okra, homemade potato chips (with various seasonings). Savory berry pie with rosemary for desert.

Yost, HottButt, RudeBoy, DanGafro and I paddled the James Sunday. The day was a blast, and we got caught in one heck of a rainstorm as we navigated the rock garden downstream of Balcony falls. The day was not without incident: DanGafro managed to flip his kayak twice in quick succession (in still water, no less!); HottButt once, but RudeBoy took the cake in flipping at Balcony falls.

HottButt glides over the falls

DanGafro plows through with HoTep’s landshark. 12 miles per gallon!

Imitating Slim Pickens, I ride the bomb, whooping and hat aflail.

RudeBoy flips and recovers with flair

Should you find yourself on a road trip and in Gran Marais, MN, I highly recommend the Gun Flint Tavern–a bar with a great selection of brews and good food (111 W. Wisconsin St.). Beneath the Gun Flint is the Raven–more of a bar kind of bar. Do, as I was invited, step into the Raven as well. You might meet pirate Pete and discuss Pippi Longstocking for a time; or, you might learn of some nearby free camping on the shores of Lake Superior.

DanGafro had a local, organic NY strip; I had some shrimp. Steak grilled outside; shrimp cooked in grill pan (defrost in salted water, marinade with mustard, paprika, red pepper flakes, lime juice, pepper, salt). The most curious part of the meal was that DanGafro wanted some vegetables, so he hit the market and came back with–shish kebabs! He said the veggies on the ‘babs were his veggies; but as you can see, they are mostly meat. He ate the steak, then the shrimp, but I would not let him leave the table until he “finished his vegetables.” Result: xy chromosome meat fest. Mmmm, meat.

Shrimp, eggplant and salad supper. Eggplant grilled on Lodge grill skillet. Shrimp followed on grill. TinyFoodGirl and I ate.

Lots of tacos, way more than the number of photos.

Click on the thumbnail for more tacos.

Several burger events worthy of note, but I am only providing pictures. Minimalist, ueber-rare burgers by HBD, Huge works burger by AGD, Loaded bgt  (bacon, guacamole, tomato) works burger by DanGafro, etc. Just a gallery of some burgers. Mmmmm… burgers!

Click on the photo for the gallery:

Quarry season has begun. DanGafro and I just did a recon mission. The water is crisp, but we floated around for hours. Photos soon.

Country Coburn is going to cook for the Mountain Lake biological research station. We made some sausages to contribute.

Three sausages. 18 pounds total, less a pound or two lost to the meat grinder/sausage stuffer and to casing rupture (and yes, to tasting).

Click the photo for a larger view.

Bratwurst:
6# pork shoulder, boned
1 onion, ground with meat
2 T kosher salt
1 T white pepper, ground
1 T dried ground ginger
1 1/2 t dried ground nutmeg
1 cup heavy cream, ice-cold
2 eggs, lightly beaten and chilled
1 onion, ground with meat

Chorizo del Diablo:
6# pork shoulder, boned
1 onion, ground with meat
1T black pepper, ground
2T kosher salt
1 heaping teaspoon of: ground cumin, paprika, Mexican oregano, red chile flakes, corriander
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne
5 cloves garlic, ground with meat
2 toasted New Mexico dried chiles
1 onion (minced with meat)
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
1 7oz can of Herdez salsa ranchera.

Chorizo Verde:
6# pork shoulder, boned
1 cup beet greens, stemmed and roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups spinach, stemmed and roughly chopped
3 fire scorched poblano peppers, roughly chopped
1 cup packed fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
15 peppercorns
2 heavy tablespoons kosher salt
1heaping t cumin
10 cloves garlic

Notes: I made a “salsa/sauce” of the wet ingredients for all three sausages + spices (and leafy greens and peppers) to stir in with the meat after grinding.

Faffing again.

Beets: They are better than you remember, and they were never that bad to begin with!

I’m cooking beet greens tonight (having torched the beets last week in DanGafro’s DeathStar. And since I love beets, and all parts of beets, I used “the Google” and found this page. This should keep me busy for a while.

My usual beet m.o. is to roast them on the grill, or in the fireplace, or in the oven, or at the campfire. Salt and olive oil is all that is required, other than tin foil (season, wrap, cook). Maybe a squeeze of lemon over the sliced beets, or a dash of red wine vinegar if I don’t have any lemon. Beets and salt are a natural combo–sort of like cantaloupe and salt, so you really don’t need to worry about seasoning.

I have also had success with a beet and mint salad I often make for Thanksgiving. Beets are also awesome grated raw onto a salad; and if you are into the whole color thing, they look great when arranged beside grated raw carrots. Some grated cucumber could round things out. Just don’t drown your salad in dressing–leave it on the side.

Madhur Jaffrey has a beet & mushroom curry in her World Vegetarian. Tasty, too, though I always end up tweaking her recipes.

The C-ville Saturday market crew(s) will soon be bringing heirloom beets (once they are mature). There are many cool and tasty varieties.

More later.

Insanely good beef tacos, and while not deliberately modeled after “barbacoa,” they came out most similar to barbacoa in the end. I took leftover oxtail meat, heated it with onion, poured in most of a can of Herdez salsa ranchera (a perennial standby for a fast meal), reduced it back to semi-dry, and served tacos with red cabbage, cilantro, raw onions, etc. on corn tortillas.

For those who are curious, the oxtail meat is insanely tasty, and has all the fat of pork shoulder, but a fantastic beef flavor. Heart-cloggingly good. Also a good way to use up leftovers after making beef stock (as was the H-o-Y pho).

This will be the last trip for a long while, I imagine. Finally tidying things up at Antares. Gonna fill the P.O.D. and ship it. Gonna be a sad good-bye. I’ll take photos.

Antares has a huge prickly pear cactus plant in the front yard that I planted back in 1992. I bought a paddle at the OCC weekend “swap meet” and planted it (deciding to eat the others I had bought for dinner). The thing took off, and just grew and grew. I took cuttings and tried to plant them in Darwin, but a hard frost took them out within 3 years. Also, they never grew as sturdy out there, due to the altitude, wind, cold, and some sort of bugger that would nibble on them. No doubt I’ll take some more cuttings before this is over and plant them in various places where they will be undisturbed. When I come back, I’ll visit them. There used to be huge prickly pear outside the Santa Barbara mission, but recent photos betray that they have been removed. Stupid freakin’ white man.

We also have a huge staghorn fern (platycerium) in the yard. Based on its size, and watching it grow for over 20 years, I’d say it is easily close to, or older than, 100 years old. “Rosa” loved it, and taught me how to care for it, including feeding it banana peels. In 20 years, it has fallen off its mounting board twice. I have remounted it both times. First with Uptown, then with Timmy B just after “Eduardo” died. It cannot live in VA, nor would it survive outdoors in Darwin. I can take small growth portions that can survive indoors, but the fate of the gigantic mother plant is uncertain at the moment.

Besides obsessing over stuff (read: crap) and plants, I should probably plan a few things to do while I am out–revisit some favorite spots, take a bike ride along the beach, walk in the few undeveloped hills, swim in the ocean, explore some tide pools. Any ideas out there?

Itinerary: CA trip forthcoming. May 7 to 17.

IAD to LGB. Carpool to IAD with Ho-tep; LGB to IAD. Carpool with TFG’s mom.

Wednesday, May 7 9L30 pm to Monday, May 12 at noon: Hotel in Costa Mesa.

Monday to Thursday: Darwin visit–way out of “the O.C..

Friday night: Chaka’s place for a grill out–and it is going to be USDA prime steak–black and blue.

More later.

Pho: House-of-Yes style.

Oxtail based “brown” stock;
Oxtail meat;
Top round, sliced thin;
Rice noodles:
Usual accompaniments: holy basil, mung bean sprouts, hot peppers, lime wedges, rooster sauce, mint, scallions, tomato slices, onion half-moons.

Still a work in progress….

There a billion web and book resources on pho. I won’t pretend to be an authority. I just make it like I like it, and as is the case with homebrew, every batch is different. It takes at least two days to make good pho; some would say it takes longer. I make the broth in advance (either the day before, or it can be made in large quantities and frozen). One of these days I’ll make a huge stock batch using my 15 gallon beer brewing kettle and the outdoor propane burner!

Washington Post article on Pho.
Tigers and Strawberries blog on Pho.

Queries via comments, which are moderated and not published.

Oil painting. Queries only via blog comments (which are moderated and will not be published).

Still a work in progress… but growing.

I picked up some oxtail and decided to make “brown” beef stock with it. By “brown,” I mean, I roasted the meat in a 400 degree oven for one hour before adding it to the stock pot. I imagine I used 3# oxtail, plus a couple beef short rib bones (previously roasted by cooking), plus a pork shoulder ach bone (which I did not roast). I added a couple of carrots, a couple ribs of celery, a bunch of cilantro, an onion, several white and black peppercorns, about 5 cloves, and a pinch of Chinese 5-spice (which I really do not care for). After cooking, straining, cooling, and skimming, I decided to reduce the stock. During reduction, I added a few slices of ginger. Once reduced to desired flavor, I’ll add salt.

For reference on oxtail:

Book recipes:

• Red Wine Braise (& Chinese Themed Variant): Nigel Slater. Appetite, 364f.
• Gallina Pinta (Oxtail, Pork, and Bean Soup): Diana Kennedy. The Cuisines of Mexico, 161f.
• Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. River Cottage Meat Book, (x)

Web recipes:

• Braised Oxtail with Baked Eggs & Perfect Bloody Mary (Just Braise Blog)
• Braised Oxtail with Star Anise & Chinese Greens (Bon Appetit)
• Red Wine Braised Oxtail (Sunset)
• Faux Pho/Hawaiian Style Oxtail Soup (TSOGB Blog)

Notes: Oxtail makes a great asian style beef stock (4# oxtail, 1 onion, 5 cloves, 4oz fresh ginger, 5 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick, 1t peppercorns (your choice). 5 quarts water (to be reduced to 3 over time).
Shred the meat and use it in a soup later. Meat can be blanched in a hard boil for 15 minutes to force out most of the scum. Rinse pot and meat and proceed with recipe.

Thanks, RudeBoy!

Excerpt from Christopher Smart’s Jubilate Agno
(yes, Latin fans, you rejoice in the dative)

For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry.
For he is the servant of the Living God duly and daily serving him.
For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way.
For this is done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness.
For then he leaps up to catch the musk, which is the blessing of God upon his prayer.
For he rolls upon prank to work it in.
For having done duty and received blessing he begins to consider himself.
For this he performs in ten degrees.
For first he looks upon his forepaws to see if they are clean.
For secondly he kicks up behind to clear away there.
For thirdly he works it upon stretch with the forepaws extended.
For fourthly he sharpens his paws by wood.
For fifthly he washes himself.
For sixthly he rolls upon wash.
For seventhly he fleas himself, that he may not be interrupted upon the beat.
For eighthly he rubs himself against a post.
For ninthly he looks up for his instructions.
For tenthly he goes in quest of food.
For having consider’d God and himself he will consider his neighbour.
For if he meets another cat he will kiss her in kindness.
For when he takes his prey he plays with it to give it a chance.
For one mouse in seven escapes by his dallying.
For when his day’s work is done his business more properly begins.
For he keeps the Lord’s watch in the night against the adversary.
For he counteracts the powers of darkness by his electrical skin and glaring eyes.
For he counteracts the Devil, who is death, by brisking about the life.
For in his morning orisons he loves the sun and the sun loves him.
For he is of the tribe of Tiger.
For the Cherub Cat is a term of the Angel Tiger.
For he has the subtlety and hissing of a serpent, which in goodness he suppresses.
For he will not do destruction, if he is well-fed, neither will he spit without provocation.
For he purrs in thankfulness, when God tells him he’s a good Cat.
For he is an instrument for the children to learn benevolence upon.
For every house is incomplete without him and a blessing is lacking in the spirit.
For the Lord commanded Moses concerning the cats at the departure of the Children of Israel from Egypt.
For every family had one cat at least in the bag.
For the English Cats are the best in Europe.
For he is the cleanest in the use of his forepaws of any quadruped.
For the dexterity of his defence is an instance of the love of God to him exceedingly.
For he is the quickest to his mark of any creature.
For he is tenacious of his point.
For he is a mixture of gravity and waggery.
For he knows that God is his Saviour.
For there is nothing sweeter than his peace when at rest.
For there is nothing brisker than his life when in motion.
For he is of the Lord’s poor and so indeed is he called by benevolence perpetually–Poor Jeoffry! poor Jeoffry! the rat has bit thy throat.
For I bless the name of the Lord Jesus that Jeoffry is better.
For the divine spirit comes about his body to sustain it in complete cat.
For his tongue is exceeding pure so that it has in purity what it wants in music.
For he is docile and can learn certain things.
For he can set up with gravity which is patience upon approbation.
For he can fetch and carry, which is patience in employment.
For he can jump over a stick which is patience upon proof positive.
For he can spraggle upon waggle at the word of command.
For he can jump from an eminence into his master’s bosom.
For he can catch the cork and toss it again.
For he is hated by the hypocrite and miser.
For the former is afraid of detection.
For the latter refuses the charge.
For he camels his back to bear the first notion of business.
For he is good to think on, if a man would express himself neatly.
For he made a great figure in Egypt for his signal services.
For he killed the Ichneumon-rat very pernicious by land.
For his ears are so acute that they sting again.
For from this proceeds the passing quickness of his attention.
For by stroking of him I have found out electricity.
For I perceived God’s light about him both wax and fire.
For the Electrical fire is the spiritual substance, which God sends from heaven to sustain the bodies both of man and beast.
For God has blessed him in the variety of his movements.
For, tho he cannot fly, he is an excellent clamberer.
For his motions upon the face of the earth are more than any other quadruped.
For he can tread to all the measures upon the music.
For he can swim for life.
For he can creep.

Rant on:

The title says it all. And while the claim “Saranac Caramel Porter is the worst beer ever” is my opinion, I will also say that I have never found anyone who likes it. In fact, everyone I know who has bought it wishes that they never had.

Sorry, Saranac. I do enjoy your pale ale and IPA.

Rant off.

Is this a rant?

No photos. Just a catalog of ingredients.

Tuna, fresh, marinated with….

2 cloves crushed garlic;
grated fresh ginger (similar mass to 2-cloves of garlic);
tamari sauce (or substitute soy);
mirin wine (or substitute sake or rice wine vinegar + sugar);
ground pepper;
olive oil.

Sauce:
leftover marinade, garlic removed;
splash more of mirin to degalze pan;
pad of butter (east meets west–try combining oyster sauce and butter sometime!).

Accompaniment: Spinach salad.

I winged the marinade ratios, but I was shooting for 1 part tamari to 2 parts mirin, then added olive oil at about 1/2 the volume of tamari. You really can’t mess this up.

Cook 1 minute per side max (I’ve gone as short as 30 seconds per side in a screaming hot cast iron skillet). You want a good sear (not a severe char) on the outside of the fish; and, of course, you want the inside raw, which is usually euphemized in the restaurant industry as “rare.” Fact is, it is raw, and only as warm inside as the ambient temp where the fish was stored prior to cooking, and that is awesome. Just let your fish warm up to room temp before you cook it. For the sauce, deglaze the pan and add the strained marinad. Bring to desired consistancy by adding more mirin (or even water).

Updates:
3-26-08: Curious about a wasabi pea version of tuna served with a dipping sauce? Click here.

Burgers–rare to medium rare. Hand ground top sirloin, no seasoning save salt and pepper while cooking, about 3 burgers per pound. Ridged grill pan, screaming heat, 3 minutes per side, 5 to 8 minute covered rest. Great. Make sure meat reaches room temperature after grinding.

Other burgers:
1) 4 minutes per side in flat grill pan (turned out medium). Not that good.
2) two minutes per side in ridged pan, 8 minute rest, 2 to 3 minutes back on heat. Really good. Maybe even the way to go. Nice cross hatched grill marks.

TimmyB says more fat needed. I argue that fat will not melt with rare burgers, and that nobody likes cold fat. Next time: chuck vs. top round, or perhaps top round + added fat vs. my leaner pure top round burgers.

Not that anyone cares, but…

My 3 megapixel digicam died. That was before my hiatus, thus no photos for a long while now. I’m working on changing that. Even I find my blog boring without photos.