Adventures with anrkst.

When I see someone cooking in a park.
I always expect to see them cooking some Squirrel.

 

There’s always ducks there too. Those Chinese non flying things. I’d probably get in trouble if I had a blowgun…

 

Love to see you roast some duck. Everything else you show is so good looking. You only get in trouble if ya get caught right???

 

Korean Pork Bulgogi.
This cook up started a while back with a YouTube tutorial from one Seaonkyoung Longest. I really like this dish and I keep trying to make more spectacular versions of it. It’s well worth the look if you like fiery bbq flavors. Mine uses guajillo and Serrano peppers for a truly scorching result.


This is my sauce. It didn’t start out like this but the constant need to experiment has put some real hooya into where it started.


I like a thick chunky sauce. This sauté is dried chilis, onions, peppers, celery, tomatoes, and 2 (3?) bulbs of garlic.
I’m using ghee as an oil which adds a great flavor to the result.


This gets simmered low, reduced for about 10 minutes. Then it needs to cool. Stainless works good for this part because I can set it in an ice water bath and drop the temperature quickly.


My faithful aide. The “step over not on” is done unconsciously.


Just meat in sauce. No. That’s boring. I’m going to add some goodness, texture, flavor….

 

This is a process that I don’t think has an actual end…


I really like how the vegetable additions complement the dish. But I am me after all, putting in another 4 (5?) bulbs of barely chopped garlic.


Time for some Asian cut slices of pork loin to marinate. I perused the meat counter looking for a good pebble looking fat back.


Into the sauce and it waits in the refrigerator for as long as possible. Overnight would be best but 7 hours is all I had.


Then a quick stir with the vegetation and a 50 minute trip thru the oven at 400F.


Tender meat, flavorful vegetables that still have a bit of their texture, and eye watering sticky sauce perfectly offset by the rice. There will be food coma. I’m almost sure of it.

 

Well, New Year? Let’s have some new adventures shall we?

I wanted to find a little upgrade for my “Cooking on the Grass” blog. Sometimes I need an actual little skillet or sauté pan.
A pan fried fish, maybe a couple of over easy eggs and strip bacon…I went hunting.
There’s 2 things I’m very nearly fanatical about, #1- is weight. I have to pick this stuff up and carry it around. I’m hyper conscious of how fast ounces add up. #2- is lids or covers. Lids speed up your cooking, keep dust, leaves, bugs, rain and other contaminants out of your food. Something that comes with a fitted lid is a huge benefit imho.


Boundless Voyage Brand Titanium Frying Pan.
They make a wide variety of products and everything I’ve used has been good quality manufacturing.


It came properly packaged in a heavy duty box as well as shrink wrapped bubble wrap. At least it shows they wanted it to arrive undamaged to the end user.


It’s not huge by any means, but due to the rondel type shape its actually close in size to my Lodge 10” Carbon Steel.


A touch over 2” deep with a nicely rounded bottom edge.


Here compared to my og Snow Peak skillet which has traveled with me on numerous trips over 20 years.


Its given capacity is 1000ml which according to my conversion calculator is 4.2 cups. Here I put in 1qt/32oz of food coloring tinted water. That’s actually a decent amount. You could use this pan for Ramen or Cup-o- Soup type meals by itself.

 

Pg 2


I was determined to try this thing out, but the rain has been coming down in sheets for the past 12 hours along with a nice 8-9 mph N wind and a chilly 56-57F temperature. Not the best day for being outside.


To get as close to outdoors as possible without needing a poncho I holed up in my workroom. I opted to use my 5.9 Mora fishing knife ( makes a decent kitchen knife really. ) and the pack cutting board.
My menu is going to be a Braised Chicken Thigh with some Sauté Vegetables and a Balsamic Vinegar and Red Wine finish.
( there’s a little plastic bowl with a heaping tablespoon of plain flour and a teaspoon of cornstarch mix that didn’t make it in the picture. s.b.t. )


To try and defeat this gusty wind I’m using the won’t quit Coleman…


..and this is going to count as an outdoor cooking experience!


You know, Even if we go outside in the cold and damp these things are right there. Loyal, faithful and never questioning.
We should try very hard to be worthy of that.

 

Pg 3


That looks choice right?
Wasn’t that hard really. Oil in, Chicken in, lid on, about 5 minutes, low flame. Flip it. 5 minutes. Start staging in the vegetables turning the chicken each time. I don’t use a temp probe or a laser so when the chicken is done I stir in the flour and simmer it about 2 minutes, then add the balsamic mix for another minute or so. This makes for a nice roux gravy for sopping with piece of bread.


The chicken is perfectly cooked and the vegetables are tender and savory. Lower heat and longer cooking time is key.
For my part I’d rather take more time, and make something good, than speed blast/boil a ramen or heat n eat meal.
The experience is more enjoyable to me that way.


Don’t buy into the hype that you can’t cook in Ti because your food will just scorch and burn. There’s a learning process, patience and practice is your friend. The trade off of ultra lightweight and completely non reactive is worth it I think.


Ordinary dish soap and a nylon scrub pad. Good to go. If the tiny bit of stain or buildup starts to bother you, a paste of baking soda and vinegar or an abrasive like Barkeepers Friend and you can scour it back to new a million times and it will just laugh at you.

I’m pretty happy with the results here. It’s definitely going into my rotation box . Plus..I got a new recipe stored in my head now.

 

Man you never need slippers with that guy

 

Him and @Bushman5 need to have a North meets South cooking series

 

LOL! You may very well be right about that my friend. I really do wish people would eat better. Some of the things people choke down trail side is barely qualified as food…maybe I’ll inspire someone to try something more palatable

 

We did that one time. What we discovered is we are both WAYYY too competitive for that! Whole regions can be denuded of both ingredients and firewood to cook it on.

 

omg that would be insane

 

when? I don’t remember- too many concussions

 

This weather. Sheesh. Yesterday it was 82F, today it’s 52F. I was hanging out in the workshop, making a rather poor attempt at cutting straight lines. Which is why I’m not a carpenter as I measure 27 times and make several pieces of firewood until I actually get a usable sample…
and then..I got hungry..


So I thought I would try out this Merten & Storck Carbon Steel skillet I got in.
It’s a reasonably priced brand I found on Amazon. It’s decently heavy, I’d call it a “middle weight”. It’s not like the 3mm French Mauviel, Matfer or DeBuyer ones but it’s not really thin like the Bellevie or Cool Handle vintage stamped skillets the outdoors people are fond of either.


This is their 10” size, so I compared it to my Lodge 10. Although it appears bigger the lid I procured for the Lodge fits perfectly.


It’s taller but not quite as sloped. It still has the slightly bowed edge shape like it should.


The height difference is pretty significant when you see them from the edge perspective.

 

Pg 2


Because I was already in the workroom ( that is the mancave, where man goes to do manly things, and is outfitted like a miniature 1 room house, with pretty much all the same things as the regular house. ) it’s fairly simple to round up a few ingredients for a culinary experiment.
Starting with a thick cut of pork roast, a few veggies, and 2 white jars. 1 being a tablespoon of flour, a teaspoon of corn starch, and a teaspoon of “Everything Bagel Seasoning “. 2 is a tablespoon of white wine, a tablespoon of honey, a pat of butter, and 2 teaspoons of apple juice.


Then pop out into the clean air of the breezeway, so that I don’t X myself with CO poisoning.


That looks decent right?


I may be getting the hang of this cooking thing. Probably should keep practicing though huh?

 

I’ll volunteer to taste test judge and dive into garlic and capsaicin heaven!

 

This piece of kit isn't really "new" per se.
In fact based on what I've been able to find out it could be 60, 70 years old actually.


This is the item in question.
A bit of background..
This belonged to my late SIL's mother. She passed away in the early 2000's and it was left sitting in a lower kitchen cabinet in her abandoned house for close to 20 years before it was given to me.


It's basically unmarked except for the stamped 2 qt on the bottom. Being cast iron (and thus needing at least regular maintenance) I didn't use it.
It just sat on a shelf collecting dust.
Which just chaps my hide. I hate pretty much anything non functional.

Now being me, I watch a LOT of cooking videos., and these are fairly common down here close to ole Mex..


..and in one of the Asian cooks I watch she has a monster like this. Whole chili's, handfuls of garlic, whole red onions, scallions, big chunks of ginger..in it goes and she pounds it into near mush..
....LIGHT BULB....

I ordered up a froe mallet from the good people at Lehmans. Washed it,heat dried it, and flamed it with a torch while rubbing on beeswax. Until it wouldn't take anymore.


Now I've got an extra large Mortar and Pestle. Copious amounts of spices, whole peppers, hot n spicy Asian meat rubs..anything. it'll never wear out.
Wash it with water. Toss it in the oven. Maintenance season maybe once a year.

Now, nothing says you can't do this yourself, and without having to hunt down a vintage iron pot. I've got 2,3 or 4 qt triple clad stainless saucepans that would do the exact same thing. (And with less worry about cleaning, drying ect)
And I've seen some of the mallets yall have made for smacking your Esee's thru firewood. Same shape. Same principle.
I'll just get a kick out of using something that was made before I was born...and will probably be here generations after I've left too.