OT: What changes are you and family making to your lifestyle due to coranavirus?

[storrsroars]

I've finally broken down and decided to take up bread baking. I'm not doing sourdough, too high-maintanance. Like housebreaking a puppy. Just regular old yeast breads. I've made lots of different types of pizza crusts over the years with decent success in mimicking various styles, but not bread. And bread is frustrating for someone who's a good cook but loves to riff of existing recipes and just go with gut on subs and fusing different cuisines. Baking is too much damned science.

I'm fortunate enough to be good on yeast and flour. What I need more of is patience. I've added terms like autolyse to my vocabulary, am studying hydration levels, pre-starters, using different covers over my loaves and whatnot in hopes of achieving an airier crumb. But since I can really do only one recipe a day, I am not getting the immediate gratification I get from cooking.

 

[DCHuskyFan]

I have been a member of the BY for 22 years, and posted less than 200 times, but my posting pace has picked up during the coronavirus pandemic. The things we will do to feel connected.

 

[Husky25]

I've finally broken down and decided to take up bread baking. I'm not doing sourdough, too high-maintanance. Like housebreaking a puppy. Just regular old yeast breads. I've made lots of different types of pizza crusts over the years with decent success in mimicking various styles, but not bread. And bread is frustrating for someone who's a good cook but loves to riff of existing recipes and just go with gut on subs and fusing different cuisines. Baking is too much damned science.

I'm fortunate enough to be good on yeast and flour. What I need more of is patience. I've added terms like autolyse to my vocabulary, am studying hydration levels, pre-starters, using different covers over my loaves and whatnot in hopes of achieving an airier crumb. But since I can really do only one recipe a day, I am not getting the immediate gratification I get from cooking.

You want to test your patience? Try smoking meats and fish. I'm pretty good with chicken and ribs. I need to try my hand at brisket again. The Sourdough of BBQ.

 

[storrsroars]

You want to test your patience? Try smoking meats and fish. I pretty good with chicken and ribs. I need to try my hand at brisket again. The Sourdough of BBQ.

Just MHO, but on brisket, I've never aimed for a perfect smoke ring. I've gotten them, just not as thick as a seasoned pro. But I realized what I'd made was still delicious. To me, it simply wasn't worth investing more in it to get from 93% of the way or whatever to 100%. My hacks at turning an old Genesis gas grill into a smoker was "good enough". With the bread, the crumb is everything. Even with a great crust, if the inside is too tight a crumb, might as well be Wonder bread. There will be a "good enough" level with that too, but right now I'm nowhere near it.

 

[Husky25]

Just MHO, but on brisket, I've never aimed for a perfect smoke ring. I've gotten them, just not as thick as a seasoned pro. But I realized what I'd made was still delicious. To me, it simply wasn't worth investing more in it to get from 93% of the way or whatever to 100%. My hacks at turning an old Genesis gas grill into a smoker was "good enough". With the bread, the crumb is everything. Even with a great crust, if the inside is too tight a crumb, might as well be Wonder bread. There will be a "good enough" level with that too, but right now I'm nowhere near it.

Went to a largely Mediterranean Diet over the last 3-4 months. I can abide my protein mistakes far easier than those of simple carbs.

 

[Chin Diesel]

You want to test your patience? Try smoking meats and fish. I'm pretty good with chicken and ribs. I need to try my hand at brisket again. The Sourdough of BBQ.

Any suggestions on how to smoke mackeral? Not the cleanest taste but I've heard smoking is best way to make it work.

 

[Husky25]

Any suggestions on how to smoke mackeral? Not the cleanest taste but I've heard smoking is best way to make it work.

Never done mackerel. Looks like a challenge.

I got my smoker about 11 months ago and I still get some of my technique from the Googles, so I'm also a beginner. I may not win Kingsford Smokemasters, but my kids like my chicken. That's good enough to make me champion.

 

[Palatine]

Does 100% die in 180 seconds?

No, 90 seconds is the half life of the virus. It quickly becomes ineffective for practical purposes.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

My wife did a telemedicine Dr appointment. Pretty cool .
She did have to go to the office for blood work They also did an antibody test. We’re waiting for the results .
We stayed in the car ,
called to check in and the tech came out and got her when it was her turn.
Interestingly they were also doing drive up virus testing in the parking lot.

 

[Deepster]

My wife did a telemedicine Dr appointment. Pretty cool .
She did have to go to the office for blood work They also did an antibody test. We’re waiting for the results .
We stayed in the car ,
called to check in and the tech came out and got her when it was her turn.
Interestingly they were also doing drive up virus testing in the parking lot.

TeleMed was up and coming and gotten much bigger, much quicker during COVID.

Think about a stay at home mom, 2 kids, one of them 4, one just over a year old. The 4 yr old has a fever and runny nose.

Scenario A - She packs up the entire family, shleps across town, parks, takes out a stroller, maybe it's bad weather? Goes into a germy waiting room, waits 15 minutes, gets in the examination room, waits another 15 mintues. Dr comes in and spends 5 minutes looking him over. Fluids, aspirin, rest. Sends them home.

Scenario B - She schedules a TeleMed appt for 10:15. Connects at 10:15. Dr examines and asks questions and gives the same diagnosis and recommendation.

 

[Chin Diesel]

TeleMed was up and coming and gotten much bigger, much quicker during COVID.

Think about a stay at home mom, 2 kids, one of them 4, one just over a year old. The 4 yr old has a fever and runny nose.

Scenario A - She packs up the entire family, shleps across town, parks, takes out a stroller, maybe it's bad weather? Goes into a germy waiting room, waits 15 minutes, gets in the examination room, waits another 15 mintues. Dr comes in and spends 5 minutes looking him over. Fluids, aspirin, rest. Sends them home.

Scenario B - She schedules a TeleMed appt for 10:15. Connects at 10:15. Dr examines and asks questions and gives the same diagnosis and recommendation.

As states start opening back up and businesses start picking up, there are definitely changes coming to business/work models. Agree on telemed.

I'm real curious to see what happens with nursing homes and assisted living facilities. I'm not sure which way the model goes.

Path A is they stay pretty much as is but with more stringent cleaning/disinfecting/testing. Because of that they charge even more. This model ends up happening if families still decide they can't handle taking care of their elderly dependents and have to fork over the money.

Path B is families start deciding it's too dangerous and risky to concentrate that many elderly in a confined area and if another virus breaks out they lose the opportunity to visit in person and some lose the chance to say goodbye to their loved ones. This model brings in an opportunity for home health care. Still lots of costs, but I think there is a chance for emerging businesses to figure out how to make this work in terms of space at a home and personnel to take care of them.

I do think assisted living or long-term care facilities are going to see a drop for a few years as people start using them as a last resort rather than a convenient option.

 

[Husky25]

Yes video consultations have taken off and will probably continue, but that specific scenario rarely happened before the Pandemic hit.

 

[uconnell]

You want to test your patience? Try smoking meats and fish. I'm pretty good with chicken and ribs. I need to try my hand at brisket again. The Sourdough of BBQ.

I love smoked brisket. Have a friend who smokes all kinds of meat but his smoked brisket is perfection.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Never done mackerel. Looks like a challenge.

I got my smoker about 11 months ago and I still get some of my technique from the Googles, so I'm also a beginner. I may not win Kingsford Smokemasters, but my kids like my chicken. That's good enough to make me champion.

I did ribs (ok maybe give myself a C+) and a Boston butt for pulled pork (about a B+ effort) last weekend. Wife got me brisket to try next. My prior attempt was mediocre. The pulled pork all got vacuum frozen.

The one thing I have absolutely dialed in is beer can chicken. With Brisket, I feel like it simply takes too long. I’m not great at getting up at 5:00 AM to smoke something all day.

 

[Waquoit]

You want to test your patience? Try smoking meats and fish. I'm pretty good with chicken and ribs. I need to try my hand at brisket again. The Sourdough of BBQ.

My brother was saying the same thing yesterday. He's confident with his pork and now he's gonna tackle brisket.

 

[Husky25]

I did ribs (ok maybe give myself a C+) and a Boston butt for pulled pork (about a B+ effort) last weekend. Wife got me brisket to try next. My prior attempt was mediocre. The pulled pork all got vacuum frozen.

The one thing I have absolutely dialed in is beer can chicken. With Brisket, I feel like it simply takes too long. I’m not great at getting up at 5:00 AM to smoke something all day.

Definitely want to do a pork butt at some point this summer. I've done chops, but they only take about an hour in the smoker after searing.

All the kids' spring activities were either postponed or outright cancelled and I work from home about 90% of the time, at the moment. It makes it easier to find a full day to dedicate to the meat. I'll try brisket again as well and this time I won't feel like such a rube going into the butcher. They trimmed it for me, but I think I left too much of the fat cap. I also didn't use heavy duty foil for the Texas Crutch. Mistakes that I can avoid on my next attempt.

 

[8893]

It makes it easier to find a full day to dedicate to the meat.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Definitely want to do a pork butt at some point this summer. I've done chops, but they only take about an hour in the smoker after searing.

All the kids' spring activities were either postponed or outright cancelled and I work from home about 90% of the time, at the moment. It makes it easier to find a full day to dedicate to the meat. I'll try brisket again as well and this time I won't feel like such a rube going into the butcher. They trimmed it for me, but I think I left too much of the fat cap. I also didn't use heavy duty foil for the Texas Crunch. Mistakes that I can avoid on my next attempt.

Texas Crutch. And no I didn’t do that last time either. I have friends in KC that are competition BBQ guys, who have given me tips, but really for the novice (like me), things like the 3-2-1 rib rule and Texas crutch for brisket seem to be the way to go.

Pork butt is easy but takes time. I upped my temperature from 225 to 235 and that helped it push through the stall better this time and get to the 195 internal. Then you need an hour of rest after that.

 

[Husky25]

Texas Crutch. And no I didn’t do that last time either. I have friends in KC that are competition BBQ guys, who have given me tips, but really for the novice (like me), things like the 3-2-1 rib rule and Texas crutch for brisket seem to be the way to go.

Pork butt is easy but takes time. I upped my temperature from 225 to 235 and that helped it push through the stall better this time and get to the 195 internal. Then you need an hour of rest after that.

Thanks for the correction.

I've found that 3-2-1 works well for St. Louis. I'll do 2-2-1 for baby backs.

Also I have a spray bottle for basting.

 

[Deepster]

Also I have a spray bottle for basting.

I use Myron Mixon's liquid margarine, apple juice and apple cider vinegar for my spray.

 

[Husky25]

I use Myron Mixon's liquid margarine, apple juice and apple cider vinegar for my spray.

For the ribs I made last week, my spray was generic unsweetened apple juice (made from concentrate), organic apple cider vinegar, and pineapple juice. I melted a half stick of butter and mixed it with Sweet Baby Rays Sweet & Spicy sauce for the final hour.

 

[87Xfer]

If you don't mind spending the coin, try Steven Raichlen's reverse-seared tenderloin. We've done it twice and it's pretty amazing.
Smoked Beef Tenderloin for New Year's - Barbecuebible.com

 

[87Xfer]

I did ribs (ok maybe give myself a C+) and a Boston butt for pulled pork (about a B+ effort) last weekend. Wife got me brisket to try next. My prior attempt was mediocre. The pulled pork all got vacuum frozen.

The one thing I have absolutely dialed in is beer can chicken. With Brisket, I feel like it simply takes too long. I’m not great at getting up at 5:00 AM to smoke something all day.

I tried short ribs, and it didn't go well. They were dry and tough. I did a pork butt, but it didn't have a proper fat cap, and I could have cooked it longer. It ended up being mediocre. Will try it again, but frankly Kenji's oven pork but recipe is so darn good, it's hard to resist- Ultra-Crispy Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder Recipe.

What are your tips for beer can chicken?

 

[HuskyHawk]

I tried short ribs, and it didn't go well. They were dry and tough. I did a pork butt, but it didn't have a proper fat cap, and I could have cooked it longer. It ended up being mediocre. Will try it again, but frankly Kenji's oven pork but recipe is so darn good, it's hard to resist- Ultra-Crispy Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder Recipe.

What are your tips for beer can chicken?

For beer can chicken I like a slightly sweet rub, there is a simple McComicks maple bbq one that works well. I tried injecting it, no benefit. Usually get a nice organic chicken. I get some rub under the skin with some olive oil as well as rub outside of the skin. A little maple syrup in the cavity with rub. I like the 16 oz beer cans, any pale lager works. A little over 1/2 full and I add rosemary to the beer (cut the top off the can). I have a beer can chicken stand I set it on (about $8 on Amazon). I use Apple wood for the smoke. Hickory or Mesquite can overpower chicken.

 

[TRest]

I did ribs (ok maybe give myself a C+) and a Boston butt for pulled pork (about a B+ effort) last weekend. Wife got me brisket to try next. My prior attempt was mediocre. The pulled pork all got vacuum frozen.

The one thing I have absolutely dialed in is beer can chicken. With Brisket, I feel like it simply takes too long. I’m not great at getting up at 5:00 AM to smoke something all day.

I did my first brisket a couple of weeks ago after doing butts for years don’t be afraid to use the Texas crutch, all the smoke gets in the first couple of hours after that it’s just low heat, source don’t matter.