Friends out there! This is shit is crazy good, so do try it! I stole this from here and adpated it a little (as usual). You’ll need:
My Form of Prepping
So, slowly I’m transforming into one of those quixotic and sometimes slightly weird SHTF-doomsday guys, right? Well, no. Not really.
I just want to be reasonably prepared for the mishaps of life and I like to have a backup for my wife and me if things go down the drain for a couple of days. At the end of the day it is (without overdoing it) not much more than what was ordinary household management for my gradmother’s generation back in their time: A little stockpiling, a little preparation and some common sense of not relying entirely on the everyday civilizational amenities.
Even the german government (!) recommends some disaster precautions (Frankly, I think they’re talking shit – hoarding bananas is not the first thing on my mind when thinking about disaster preparation…). Anyway, here’s what I think is useful and unexcitedly reasonable for two people in a calculated 72 hours of utter darknesssss:
Sous Vide Duck Breast
Yesterday’s Dinner for two. I should really work on the presentation, but – man! – this was delicious! The sous vide gadget makes sure the duck breast comes out perfectly, pink in the middle and absolutely not overcooked. I really like that thing!
The fat side was seared in the pan and glazed with a mix of sherry and honey. The sauce was a reduction of red wine, balsamic vinegar, garlic and honey. This was serious work, but it was absolutely worth the effort.
Springlane Sous Vide Stick Review
This is my Springlane™ “Henry” sous vide stick (it was a birthday present from my sister)! This was some time ago already and now I finally have the time to post an article on it…
First, that thing is large. In all the pictures that I had seen before, it looks rather small and handy but in reality it is 35 (!) cm long, so I first had to find a container that was high enough to fit 🙂
My Kitchen Conversions Cheat Sheet
This is what I put together for personal use (american ⇒ metric). It’s pinned to my fridge wall and I use it often. You might find it interesting too.
New Load of Cured Meat
I made a new batch of meat for curing and smoking. This time I will make two sorts: My standard cured pork (right side) like I already did several times. They’re about 700g each, so I’m planning to smoke one of them after curing and dry the other one.
The other type is “Bresaola” – cured and dried beef. It’s been cured with red wine for 24 hours and is now being cured with salt, sugar and herbs in the fridge. After that It’s going to be dried.
Countryside Impressions
Some impressions from the countryside in northern germany (lower saxony, near Hamburg). It is, well, flat…
Makeshift Smoker-Addon for the Barrel Grill
A friend made me a steel divider sheet for the barrel grill (if you like: See here, here, here and here) so I can use it as a simple smoker. Basically it works like those Weber-fireboxes you can buy at the hardware store: The idea is to put the coals into the left half of the firepit, setting the divider and thus having a zone of indirect heat and smoke on the right side. Simple, effective and it works (somehow) 🙂
