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Food Thread: Dijon Mustard...It's Hot?

That looks like a regular jar of Dijon mustard...right? It's a French label, but the company exports a lot of it to the United States, so I am sure that most of you can find a jar of it fairly easily. It's good quality stuff, if a bit expensive, so I usually buy another brand (Roland) in bulk.

But the stuff in France is far, far hotter than the American version! Wow! Amazing stuff, delicious, but sinus-clearing hot! And the other brands we have tasted have been hotter than their American versions, so it isn't an anomaly.

And that's weird, because the frogs are not fond of spicy food. They are definitely surrender monkeys when it comes to Scoville Units!

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I don't particularly care about the use of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) in foods. I don't drink sweetened (or any) sodas, and I am an infrequent consumer of sweets. Sure, HFCS is also found in a bunch of other foods, but I don't believe the horror stories about its danger, so I am ambivalent.

What I do care about is the government distorting markets with its intrusion. Any markets...including those for food. And the federal government has been torturing the sugar markets and the corn markets for years, with subsidies and tariffs and quotas on foreign sugar, and on and on.

I am amused that President Trump has used his Bully Pulpit to agitate for Coca Cola to switch to sugar from HFCS, although there might be more pressing issues to address. But a better use of his time might be to decrease government intervention in our food markets, so we can reap the benefits of market-driven rather than law-driven pricing!

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"Helena Handbasket!" These are her "American Bresse" chickens. That's the breed in France that is famous, and famously expensive. She tells me that there isn't much of a taste difference in their eggs compared to her other chickens, but they haven't hit the pot yet. Hopefully she will keep us posted.

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Apparently BBQ is a subject that elicits some emotional responses. This is in response to my complaining about mediocre smoked chicken.

Many moons ago, as a young drunken lout, I experienced THE BEST SMOKED CHICKEN EVAH!

The Okeechobee, Florida redneck who made it became a dear friend until he passed. He taught me his secret, which I'll share with you...

Using an R2D2 type smoker (with water pan) use CHUNK hard wood (unsoaked). It's OK to use a small amount of charcoal to get the hard wood started. Use as little lighter fluid as possible, as the smoke will taste like it.

Once started, fill up the wood pan.

The key here is the WATER PAN and, trust me, follow these tips to the letter!!!

1. Prepare the water pan by preparing 2 (two) wrappers of extra extra heavy duty tin foil. I take 2 separate sheets and fold the top side together (water tight) and wrap it North to South. I make another wrapper (same way) east to west. The goal being that NONE of the liquid going into the pan touches the pan itself!!!

2. Now add the "Fluid" to the pan. Instead of water, add most of a 2 liter of coke or Dr. Pepper (I prefer Dr. Pepper). The heat of the fire will BAKE the syrup of either coke or DR.P. to the water pan - ITS A BITCH to get off, hence the tin foil). Throw in some sliced apples, some oranges, some garlic and onions to taste. Or anything else you think might enhance the taste.

3. Now add the chicken (or ribs) to the smoking racks. Leave enough room for the smoke to pass between pieces and racks. Use a wifi thermometer to tell you the internal temp. on the chicken and the interior of the smoker. Add wood as necessary until done.

Using coke or drp in the pan steams the syrups onto the meat, slowly, and it effectively marinates the meat with that unique tang.

Personally, after years of smoking meats like this, I like to dry rub the chicken or ribs before cooking, but you don't have to. I like to use dark meat chicken pieces, Personally. I have also smoked dry rubbed chicken with a beer can (meaning upright) in the cavity.

Trust me, TRY THIS!

All the best,

BILDO or Fla Bill

Anyone ever try this technique?
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And one more! Commenter "Stacy0311" really likes BBQ!

Regarding last weeks discussion about pellet smokers, I don't think this would fit on a pellet smoker!

Cooking for my HS class reunion a couple of years ago.

4 briskets, 2 pork butts, 1 ham, assorted ribs, sweet potatoes, jalapenos and pork meatballs for snacking.

That was a long day

Luckily I have 6 pecan trees in my yard that always seem to need to be trimmed, so I have an ample supply of wood.

Pecan is great wood for smoking. I like apple as well, and hickory is a good option. One I haven't had much success with is oak, but you Texans swear by it, and I have had some damned fine BBQ in Texas, so you must be onto something.
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One of the celebrity chefs whose cooking I actually respect is Anne Burrell. Most of the others are clowns, whose food is simply minor variations on typical stuff. Nothing interesting, and certainly nothing to challenge the serious home cook. But she was a real chef, and her recipes were always worth it. Here are two that I have made and were quite pleased with!
Focaccia and Ricotta will absolutely go together, so if you make one, why not go all the way and make both!
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I thought France would have good garlic, but the Frogs seem to have the same problem we have in the U.S. At least they don't import filthy garlic from China. Pork is great here, but no game, so send all of your extra antelope to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.

Who are those poor deluded souls We know who shakes their Manhattans! These are the same people who drink fine bourbon with coke, and probably shake red wine with ice too.

$1,200 for a bottle of bourbon is just stupid, insulting, and a ghastly affront to most people's palates and wallets. I think the sweet spot is $40-$60 for excellent and interesting bottles, and bumping that to $100 gets you an incremental improvement in quality, but nothing mind-blowing. More than that and I think you are paying for hype and rarity, which may look good in your liquor cabinet, but doesn't translate to more quality in the bottle.

The problem...or the solution...is to buy lots of bourbon, take tasting notes, and eventually arrive at your favorites! It should take forty or fifty years, but it is worth it!