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Post by brownrexx on Dec 3, 2022 19:19:34 GMT -5
Last night I used up the last of the Thanksgiving mashed potatoes. I made chicken marsala with fresh mushrooms and one of my homegrown acorn squash with honey and butter. Chicken Marsala by Brownrexx, on Flickr Tonight was an experiment making a ham and egg casserole for Christmas breakfast. I served it for dinner tonight with a salad and it was pretty good. There are shredded potatoes on the bottom, ham, sauteed onions and peppers in the middle and scrambled eggs poured over that with shredded sharp cheese and crumbled bacon on top. Ham & Egg Casserole by Brownrexx, on Flickr 20221203_172106 by Brownrexx, on Flickr
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Post by pepperhead212 on Dec 6, 2022 22:08:16 GMT -5
Today I looked through my legumes, to see what I had that oldest, that I should use up, and I saw these Christmas Limas that someone gave me last year. So I used half of them in some soup. First, I precooked the limas, using the Milk Street method - in 3 c water, 1/4 tsp baking soda, pressure cooked 5 minutes, then pressure released, and drained. I started with 6 oz of bacon, cooking it on sauté for about 5 minutes, adding the chopped onion, once I did that, sautéed that until golden, then added a tb of minced garlic, and about 2 tb of gochujang, and cooked another minute - there was a solid, dark layer of fond, and I poured in a cup of water, to release it. I added 1 tsp Syrian oregano (would have used 3/4 tsp thyme, instead), 1 tb each sweet and smoked paprika, 3 fresh bay leaves, about 1/2 tsp black pepper, about 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, and about 2 tsp soy sauce (more salt later). Then I added 5 c of chicken broth and the limas, brought to a boil, then set to 8 minutes pressure cook on manual. When it had released 15 minutes, I released it (not much pressure left), then tasted the soup, for salt, and seasonings, and it just needed a little salt. While cooking, I peeled and diced that small kohlrabi (about 3/4 c), and the smallest butternut I had (about 2½ c). And I de-stemmed and chopped up about 4 c of brassica greens. I added all this, plus 3/4 c red lentils and 1/2 c black quinoa, adjusted the salt, then I set to manual, 4 minutes, and let release 20 minutes. The soup thickened just enough, and the seasoning only needed a little more black pepper. Christmas Limas by pepperhead212, on Flickr Soup, with Christmas Limas, bacon, quinoa, red lentils, greens, kohlrabi, and butternut squash. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Dec 8, 2022 7:38:51 GMT -5
Looks beautiful and healthy! ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/3247375/images/1O7SOWgs0dheN6ogmHMC.png)
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Post by pepperhead212 on Dec 9, 2022 21:33:08 GMT -5
I made something with the absolute last of my cherry tomatoes, almost all of which had ripened - only 2 stayed green out of all those. And only 8 went bad, in all the time they sat on the tray, to ripen, while I got about 2 pints, when I halved them. I made another one of those batches of Instant Pot pasta, but I used less pasta, and added some channa dal, which I cooked while prepping the other ingredients. I also added just over 8 oz mushrooms, also cooked separately, and added later. And minced together about 2 tsp fresh rosemary, and 1½ tsp fresh sage, and set aside with 3 fresh bay leaves. Started on sauté with about 1 tb minced garlic and 1 tsp crushed red peppers in 3 tb EVOO briefly, until just getting golden, about a minute, then the 4 c halved tomatoes, and 2 1/3 c water, and 2 tsp salt. Added 10 oz penne pasta, bay leaves, and half the herbs, stirred until all was under water. Hit OFF, then MANUAL, and set for 5 minutes, and closed the pot. After 5 minutes, I release the pressure, remove the lid, then stirred in the pre-cooked lentils and mushrooms, and the remaining herbs, and stirred 3 minutes, and tasted for seasoning (needed a little more salt). Served with some pecorino grated on top. Would have minced a little more sage for topping, but I really didn't want to go out there for any more at that time! I'll get more for leftovers. The absolute last of my cherry tomatoes, about 4 c halved. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Just over a half pound of mushrooms, and 2 c of cooked channa dal, to be added to the pasta. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished pasta dish. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished pasta dish, served with some pecorino topping. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by pepperhead212 on Dec 11, 2022 22:40:43 GMT -5
I had a craving for something Indian today, and I wanted to use up the last near lb of those mushrooms. I made a batch of pav bhaji, using some of that pav bhaji masala I made recently. I cooked a large chopped onion in some ghee in a 12" sauté pan, adding the garlic and ginger, a diced yellow bell pepper, plus the spices, and after a minute, the chopped mushrooms were added, and cooked several minutes, while I fixed the rest of the ingredients. I added 3/4 tsp turmeric, and a tb of Kashmiri chili powder, to mix with the liquid. I had soaked a small amount of boletus, and used the soaking water, plus some dried tomatoes (just to empty a jar!), blended smooth, and used this to simmer the sautéed mix with briefly, before adding the rice and barley, followed by the broccoli, which I had in the freezer. Usually cauliflower is in these dishes, but this is just as good. Added some chopped cilantro, as usual, in these dishes. Before I cooked this, I cooked some brown basmati and barley together to use with it - always love barley with mushrooms! They cook together in the IP well - a little sticky together, from the barley, but it mixed in well. Pav Bhaji masala and minced garlic and ginger, added to the onion, cooking in the ghee by pepperhead212, on Flickr After cooking the chopped mushrooms about 5 minutes, in the ghee, the tomato/dried boletus mix simmered 8 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The precooked brown rice and barley, mixed in, followed by the broccoli, and some cilantro. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished Pav Bhaji, with mushrooms and broccoli. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by pepperhead212 on Dec 15, 2022 23:23:53 GMT -5
I made a one dish meal in the IP today - a batch of Navy bean soup today, using up some bacon and a piece of Polish sausage in the freezer, plus almost 2 c of that brown rice/barley, left in the fridge, from another dish. I started with the diced bacon, then added the onions after it was almost browned, and cooked about 5 minutes. Then added a tb each of minced garlic and rosemary, and 2 tb of gochujang, and cooked about a minute, before deglazing with 5 c chicken broth. Then I added a cup of Navy beans, and a generous half cup of those dried long beans, from the garden, then I added 2 fresh bay leaves. I pressure cooked them 25 minutes, then let pressure release 18 minutes, before opening. Then I added the polish sausage, quartered, and cut into half inch pieces, and the rice and barley mix. I then cooked it on slow cooker/high for about an hour. Bean soup, with some Navy beans and dried long beans, plus some cooked rice and barley mixed in. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by pepperhead212 on Dec 18, 2022 21:47:11 GMT -5
I went out and harvested some of those brassica greens, and a large scallion, and used that for dinner today. I based it on an Indian recipe I read, that had cabbage in it, but I used those brassica greens, and added some oat groats and red lentils, which I cooked in some ham stock, to use it out of my freezer. It starts out with 3 Kashmiri peppers, soaked, then ground up with some garlic, and about 1/2 tb of that coriander/cumin mix. To mix in with the soup, I cooked 1/2 c oat groats with 3/4 c red lentils - set it in the Instant Pot on manual/18 minutes, and let the pressure release naturally. While cooking, I got the rest of the ingredients cut up, and got cooking in a NS wok - in a couple of tsp oil, over med heat, I cooked that paste about a minute, then added about 2 c chopped scallions, and cooked a minute, then added a large, diced, red bell pepper - about 1½ c - and cooked about 3 min. Then I added the brassica greens - 5-6 cups, with the tough stems pulled out, before chopping up. I stir fried this until wilted - about 5 minutes - then stirred in those oats/lentils. I simmered this another 5 minutes, then stirred in about 1/4 c chopped cilantro. Kashmiri chili and garlic paste, cooking down for soup. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The chili paste cooking down, along with with about 2 c of scallions. by pepperhead212, on Flickr About 5 c of chopped, misc. brassicas, cooking down, after a large red bell pepper cooked a few minutes in the paste. by pepperhead212, on Flickr 1/2 c oat groats, and 3/4 c red lentils, cooked together in ham stock, added to the veggies, before mixing in. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished soup, before adding any cilantro. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished soup, with a little cilantro added to the bowl. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by pepperhead212 on Dec 31, 2022 0:51:53 GMT -5
I had some leftovers again, but also threw together an Indian dish for my friends I'm visiting tomorrow (and ate a bit of it tonight) - a dish with some different dal, plus some onions, bell peppers, and the rest of the greens from my garden, plus some chicken, and this one seasoned mostly with that pav bhaji masala I made a while back. I made a lot of it, so they can take some to her brother, who got operated on a while back. That relative who got sick cleared up quickly, and it was just a cold or something, and nobody else got anything, which was a relief. This is one of the places getting a bunch of those cookies, of course!
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 1, 2023 23:29:18 GMT -5
Today I got some things out of the freezer - trying to get some "older things" out of there, and got some tortillas and 26 oz of ham. I also took out 12 oz of green beans, from last year's harvest - not old, but I wanted some vegetables in whatever I threw together. Not used often in Mexican cooking, as well as ham, but I put together a chili/mole dish, with some pinto beans - also old, but they still cooked up well. I made up a mole sauce, with the usual seasonings - some toasted sesame, pumpkin seeds, Mexican cinnamon, allspice, black peppercorns, cumin, and coriander seed. I toasted some whole garlic cloves, and I also toasted some chiles - guajillos, mulato, cascabel, and a pasilla, and some dried tomatoes, and soaked those, before blending smooth in the Vitamix, with the seeds, garlic, and a half a tablet of Mexican chocolate. I scraped this into the wok, then washed the blender out with water, and used that for cooking the pintos. I cooked a large, chopped onion in the Instant Pot in some oil, before adding the beans and that "mole water", and cooked them on manual, 25 min, while doing the mole on the stove, releasing the pressure naturally. While that was cooking, I cooked down the mole, starting on low, with that splatter screen, scraping more often, once it gets thicker, then I raised the heat, and scraped it constantly, until darker, and very thick. When beans were done, I put the thawed beans in, along with the mole, and the diced ham, and some red lentils (needed a little more thickness, but I didn't want to do it with masa). Didn't add salt, though it definitely needed more, since the ham will add some. I simmered another 25 minutes, and then added a little salt. Served some, with the heated up tortillas. The tortillas were almost 2 years old, but still good, in the vacuum bag. And these are those really good ones - not made with the corn flour, but the nixtamal, before it is dried out. Pan toasted dried tomatoes and Chiles, for the mole, before blending. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Pintos, with the sauteed onions - no Chiles in it yet, just rinsed out the blender to use the water. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Mole, just getting ready to cook it down. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Wok cover, to prevent the splatter, in the beginning. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished mole, cooked very thick, and ready to go into the pintos.. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The mole/chili dish, with some frozen green beans and ham added towards the end, cooking another 30 min. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Frozen tortillas, the ones made with nixtamal, not the masa harina. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Those frozen corn tortillas, getting ready to heat some up. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Heating a tortilla up over the gas flame. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The finished chili/mole, with a couple heated tortillas, and some Tia Angelita Queso Fresco. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by brownrexx on Jan 2, 2023 10:26:14 GMT -5
New Year's Day dinner in my part of the country is Pork and Sauerkraut for luck. I don't believe in the luck part but hubby always wants this meal so I make it. Some people cook a pork roast in the oven with sauerkraut but I don't really like sauerkraut so I cooked a nice prime pork chop with my home made sauerkraut on the side. I also made salads with the very last of my home grown lettuce. Hubby always insists that I take a bite of the sauerkraut "for luck" and since I need all of the good luck I can get I comply but ick, even though I rinse it, it is WAY to salty for me! Hubby said that it was the best sauerkraut I have ever made so he was happy. New Year's Day 2023 by Brownrexx, on Flickr
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 2, 2023 11:52:18 GMT -5
Speaking of eating things for luck, an Italian friend of mine, that I used to get together with on New Year's eve, said everyone had to eat an anchovy on the stroke of midnight, for the good luck. Anyone else do this, or hear about it done by their relatives? I think it was just so he could get his wife to eat an anchovy!
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 9, 2023 0:03:42 GMT -5
I was getting a craving for Indian food, so I made a one dish meal with a sambar, which I made with a large onion, bell pepper, carrot, and some rehydrated eggplants, plus about a tb of minced garlic. I already had the sambar masala ready, which I used about 3 tb of, along with 2 tb tamarind. I used 3 different dals, plus 1/2 c whole oats, instead of serving on rice. I also ate one of those WW bread sticks with it, that I made today - something I often eat instead of flatbreads, if I have them. Starting to cook the veggies together for the sambar mix, adding a little tamarind at the end. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Cooking the sambar masala with the veggies, briefly before adding the eggplant, water, salt, oats, and 3 dal. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Tarka added to the sambar, for tempering. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished sambar, with a couple bread sticks, instead flatbread. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 15, 2023 23:29:54 GMT -5
I made some mushroom barley soup today, with some cremini, and some dried boletus mushrooms - where most of that brown color comes from. Started in the Instant Pot with a chopped onion, sautéed until slightly browned in olive oil, followed by some minced garlic, red miso, and some tomato paste, cooked another minute, adding the soaking water and minced boletus, plus a tsp of minced fresh rosemary, and a tsp of dried Syrian oregano (my way of adding thyme flavor), and cooked that down to a sizzle, then added 5 c water, and 2/3 c pearl barley. Adjusted salt (didn't need a lot), then was cooked on high pressure 25 min, and pressure released naturally. While cooking, I got the creminis cleaned, quartered, steamed, then when the small amount of water evaporates, a couple tsp of oil is added, and they are browned in that oil, and set aside. I harvested a generous 2 c each of mizuna and arugula, once chopped up, and set aside. When the IP was opened, the creminis and greens were added to the pot, plus 1/3 c split moong dal, with hulls still attached, and simmered another 25 min, not under pressure. Corrected the seasonings, then served it with a little freshly grated parmesan. mushroom barley soup, with some chopped up greens. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by september on Jan 16, 2023 10:20:04 GMT -5
pepperhead212 , I've been meaning to make some mushroom barley soup for the longest time. I have dried boletus and shitake that ought to be used up. I even ordered a jar of "Better than Bouillon" mushroom base from Amazon, which I didn't even know existed, in case I needed more mushroom flavor. Bought a carton of large portobellos at Aldi last week. But alas, they were needing to be used up by this weekend, so I just sliced them up for a chicken/ broccoli/mushroom stir fry over rice last night. So once again, no barley mushroom soup for me! ![:-/](//storage.proboards.com/3247375/images/gxwVBCPs6zrGljkbkcV2.png)
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Post by spike on Jan 16, 2023 10:38:18 GMT -5
I wish my hubs would eat barley! Mushroom barley soup just sounds amazing.
We had a hunk of leftover roast beef. Really wasn't enough left for another meal for us, so I snagged my meat grinder, ground it up, added mayo, mustard etc and made a meat spread with it. I thought it came out good but Hubs went crazy for it. LOL So my being lazy paid off!
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Jan 16, 2023 17:30:31 GMT -5
I love beef and barley soup. My wife won’t touch barley. When I met my future wife way back when, she didn't cook jack do da nothing. Her cabinet was full of cereal. I was a big, growing boy, I didn’t really care for cereal, so I went down to the local supermarket and picked picked up a few supplies to make beef and barley soup. To my surprise, she no likey B&B soup. Can you imagine no one liking good old B&B soup.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 16, 2023 22:33:03 GMT -5
I had another bowl of that mushroom barley soup for dinner, plus I made a snack of 1,2,3,4,5 chicken gizzards - something I made with some gizzards I got at the Asian market today. The original recipe was 1½ tb chopped up spareribs, with 1 tb rice wine, 2 tb dark soy, 3 tb white vinegar, 4 tb sugar, and 5 tb water, giving it the name. I usually add 1½ tsp 5 spice powder, which tastes great. I have used this method for boneless pork, and boneless chicken thighs, which works great. This time I put the trimmed gizzards in the Instant Pot, with the ingredients, mixed it up, and pressure cooked it 90 min. It got very tender in that time. Then I set it on sauté/high, and cooked the liquid down, until just a glaze remains. The gizzards had a really good flavor, with a strong, irony flavor, with that 5 spice glaze. 1,2,3,4,5 chicken gizzards, pressure cooked 90 minutes, then the liquid cooked down 7 or 8 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by spike on Jan 17, 2023 11:10:26 GMT -5
You ate chicken gizzards on purpose ![:(](//storage.proboards.com/3247375/images/NVJWsLkJnfi619MwuIqb.png)
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 17, 2023 11:31:05 GMT -5
You ate chicken gizzards on purpose ![:(](//storage.proboards.com/3247375/images/NVJWsLkJnfi619MwuIqb.png) I ate durian on purpose, but only once.
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Post by september on Jan 17, 2023 17:34:48 GMT -5
You ate chicken gizzards on purpose ![:(](//storage.proboards.com/3247375/images/NVJWsLkJnfi619MwuIqb.png)
Hee, hee! My sis loves chicken gizzards, me - not so much. But I do boil them up along with the livers and chop them fine to mix with the stuffing when they come packed in whole chickens or turkeys.
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Post by spike on Jan 17, 2023 18:26:37 GMT -5
You ate chicken gizzards on purpose ![:(](//storage.proboards.com/3247375/images/NVJWsLkJnfi619MwuIqb.png)
Hee, hee! My sis loves chicken gizzards, me - not so much. But I do boil them up along with the livers and chop them fine to mix with the stuffing when they come packed in whole chickens or turkeys.
When I was a kid I loved salisbury steak. Momma tricked me not once but twice cooking chicken livers and gizzards in gravy. Once it was the livers ![(puke)](//storage.proboards.com/3247375/images/CVlkKifM_13GKenn_i5r.png) and the next time she promised it wasn't livers but it turned out to be gizzards ![(puke)](//storage.proboards.com/3247375/images/CVlkKifM_13GKenn_i5r.png) I ended up with trust issues.
I always thought that nice little packet with all the gross heart/liver/giblet was conveniently package to make throwing it away easier!
My Old Uncles LOVED gizzards and I would cook them for him, but could not watch him eat them. SHUDDER
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 18, 2023 1:30:44 GMT -5
Oh spike, you couldn't walk down that meat aisle in the Asian markets! Granted, you can get many things if you know a butcher, but there, it's all readily available right there. When a friend of mine used to live nearby, and we'd get together frequently to cook, we tried just about all of those pork offal, that we never see in most stores (he's also the one I tried the durian with once); most of the stuff ends up in charcuterie - out of site, out of mind! lol But for them, all those organ meats are supposed to aid, in your body, whatever it is you are eating! And eating brains, of course, makes you smarter. ![(rofl)](//storage.proboards.com/3247375/images/LO3fz8obUsoM1TzmCkAS.png)
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Post by brownrexx on Jan 18, 2023 9:55:42 GMT -5
I will NEVER be that hungry!
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Post by octave1 on Jan 18, 2023 10:29:23 GMT -5
Oh spike , you couldn't walk down that meat aisle in the Asian markets! Granted, you can get many things if you know a butcher, but there, it's all readily available right there. Well you can find chitterlings at Walmart, of all things. No offense to those who like chitterlings, but I think no food is worse in smells and taste (not 100% sure of the latter, since I could never put any in my mouth) than chitterlings. I don't even get how one could be in the same room where chitterlings are prepared and eaten!
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 18, 2023 12:04:56 GMT -5
octave1 That is one of the offal that I don't see there in the meat aisle, but I'm sure they are in the back, somewhere! "Chitlins" are definitely a "soul food", and I remember my Dad describing some that he ate at a barbecue, once, and only once, and let's just say, it definitely didn't make me want to try them! I do remember those 10 lb tubs of chitterlings in the freezer sections of a Pathmark, over in Camden, and an old store - Ernie's Market - that also had some of the other offal, but nothing like the Asian markets. And I remember the tops would have printed on them "Cleaned and Deodorized". I also remember Andrew Zimmern, on one of his shows, watched a guy prepare some, outside, by putting a hose in them, and totally flushing them out, before the usual frying (I don't remember what other seasonings, as I still wasn't going to try it myself!), and he said that it was the first time he ever ate chitterlings that he liked!
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Post by paulf on Jan 18, 2023 12:49:43 GMT -5
Our Minnesota granddaughter has begun eating food we never thought she would eat: sushi and chicken hearts...separately not together. She had been the pickiest eater of all the grandchildren, but in her teens things changed.
Growing up we always had lots of gizzards. I think it was because we were so poor my dad discovered a place where he got a whole bunch for not very much...most likely free because they couldn't find a place to sell them. I still like gizzards. But then none of us would eat liver. I think we must have had "chitterlings" too but Mom called them cracklings (?) Is that the same thing? But then, we were pretty hungry most of the time and awful (offal) food was pretty common. That is where I developed a hatred of onions since they came with liver.
We put barley in most of the soups and stews and love it.
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Post by spike on Jan 18, 2023 18:21:43 GMT -5
I will NEVER be that hungry! What she said!
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 18, 2023 20:38:06 GMT -5
Do you ever eat lunchmeat? Amazing what they grind up in most of those things.
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Post by brownrexx on Jan 18, 2023 20:39:31 GMT -5
For those of you who don't know chitterlings are intestines. I don't know what animal they come from but one time we went to a rental house we owned and the old Southern lady was boiling chitterlings and it smelled like boiling poop only somehow worse if you can imagine that! I think that cracklings are little bits of fried pig skin.
Euu to all of the above. Lunchmeat and hot dogs may have mystery ingredients but at least they don't look and smell like pig guts!
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jan 19, 2023 8:29:28 GMT -5
Yep, cracklings or "cracklins" are skin that has been rendered and then fried. Usually cracklings are made from pig skin, but the skin of other animals can be used.
I am not a fan of cracklings, but chitterlings are a whole different level of gross.
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