bbq4me

buy the fatty ducks necessary for confit?

how much fat do you generally get off a given duck leg? In particular, how many do I need to make in order to render enough fat to cover the legs?

For confit you really need big duck legs, not peking duck. You can get fat fresh legs at Hudson Valley Foie Gras (on the web), sure you pay the overnight shipping but the legs are the best for confit, buy extra legs and the cost will work out in the end. You can also get a tub of duck fat from them, I don't remember the portions but you'll need a least half a quart of duck fat for 6 legs or so. Their duck fat is way better priced than ordering from D'artagnan. You can render about 1.5 cups of duck fat from the skin of a whole peking duck.

You aren't going to find great ribs around. For convenience, I like Boss Hogs in McLean. I call, ahead and make sure they have a rack ready. Their sauce is a tomato kansas city style (although they don't call it that). I really am not a fan of Red Hot and Blue and Rocklands so don't recommend them.

There are some rib joints in DC (as noted above, also the Rib Pit up on 14th Street), but not sure if those are convenient for you.

For peaches I like Hartland (http://www.hartlandorchard.com/), I've also picked cherries there. I've picked apples at Stribling.

Hey Monica, there's water park on Rt 28 at Willard Rd near Dulles Airport.

time to try some indirect cooking: smoking and roasting. Big webers are good for that

However, does anyone know anything about ways to prevent the redevelopment of an organic farm that has been established over a period of ten years?

I guess somebody should ask Sandy Lerner who owns Ayrshire Farm in Upperville if she has a little extra time to run Sunnyside...

Grilled Tri-Tip and Finadene Sauce

2 – 3.5 lb beef tri-tips (I heard at the picnic that Costco-Pentagon City has them, also Trader Joe’s. The Trader Joe’s meat is good, but I’d rather bring them back frozen from California where USDA Choice is readily available at Costco and in most meat cases)

Marinade: Don’t over think this—1/2 cup Lowry’s Mesquite marinate, splash red wine, dash Worcestershire sauce, splash soy sauce per tri-tip. Trim silver skin from tri-tip and lightly score both sides and season with kosher salt and fresh black pepper. Marinade 6-24 hours, 1 gallon zip locks work great. In California they cook these well-done and dry and slice the meat thinly on a deli-slicer. I prefer to cook them medium rare over charcoal but gas will work if you must.

Finadene: This a traditional Guam spicy/sour/hot sauce. On the island they use wild jungle bird chilis (similar to thai bird chilis). This sauce is supposed to be firery hot, but there is such a thing as “too hot” so I try to keep it moderate. This is the version I made for the picnic (consensus was it not hot):

½ cup fresh lemon juice

½ cup Kikkoman Japanese soy sauce (not tamari, not Chinese soy, not Thai dark soy, not kecap manis) This is the only ingredient I wouldn’t change

3-4 green scallions, minced

4 minced Serrano chilies, with seeds (use whichever chili you prefer for heat—green or red thai are closest to the homestyle and what I usually use)

Mix and allow to sit for an hour. The ratio of lemon to soy is 1:1 so measure out your lemon juice and add an equal part of soy and you’re golden. The onion and chili can be added to you taste.

Kudos to our organizers, would have never happened without you guys Lots of fun, lets do it again

I got 18lbs of tri-tip in on the red-eye from California last night, so it will be beef for my dish.

Maine Ave is my first choice for certain seafood such as shrimp, rockfish, snapper and crabs. You just have to use judgment regarding freshness on a day to day basis.

Start with the last paragraph here for a peek behind the curtain:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...l=rosa+mexicano

Ok I'm in and count me +1 for now. I'll bring some old school Chamorro food sufficiently twisted so as to make my mom raise an eyebrow.

I think Jaime can prepare some of the best food in town, he's got great ideas, a commitment to fresh and seasonal ingredients and the talent to turn out great food. My experiences, both at dinner and lunch, have all been very good to great. I have heard from other close friends about the "consistency" problem but have always encouraged them to try it again, it won't break the bank.

If you are still leary, go for the steak frites. Although not indicative of the typical menu item, I think its the K Street secret menu item.

Man just had me some of that sheep's milk cheese raviolini and morel cream. Don't let the "cream" part of it fool you if you think this one is too heavy for lunch (or dinner for that matter). Plus: mounds of morels.

I too am sorry to see the Aster go.

I predict that with some time and the growth of the RT 50/Rt15 population more $$ will venture westtward in search of better food, its too bad that the Aster could not hold on. We'll see what happens with Tira Misu (in the old Black Coffee Bistro spot).

You might try wegmans or dean & deluca, d'artagnan makes one that's passable. But the best is mail order, I get mine from Poche's.

Just to confirm, when you say steamers you mean as in new england steamers aka soft shells?

Wegman's in Sterling carries them fairly regularly (and from the post above apparently Fairfax as well)

Two dishes to try: chicken rendang (not beef!, the beef rendang aint so good) and the heavenly chicken nyonya: super crispy chunks of deep fried chicken with a simple but intriguing dressing of lime, garlic, lemongrass and secret love.

One place I haven't been to but would like to go soon. Address?

Doc's BBQ

3 locations on Rt 50: Aldie (at the country store), Paris (at the top of the mountain) and at The Barn in Boyce (at the corner of Rts 50 and 340).

Offerings: Carolina style pulled pork sandwich, true to form, with a bit a slaw. Also, an "oddity" which they call Texas style pulled pork and Texas style beef brisket sandwiches which are sauced with a slightly sweet, slightly tangy tomato based sauce. The slaw and potato salad are good, the beans passable. All three sandwiches are pretty tasty.

The Aldie location is more of a hot bar now, they used to smoke on the premises but I haven't seen the smoker going for a while. The sandwiches are consistent here but I'd wouldn't judge the ribs or chicken based on this location. No place to sit except when weather permits, you can sit in back.

The Paris location is a sit-down diner, but you can only get ribs at dinner. This is where I mostly eat on the weekends when I'm out at the country house. Tip: try the german chocolate cake when its available.

The Boyce location has limited seating as well, except outside when the weather permits but the smoking is always going on here in 2 huge smokers. Plus you can get ribs anytime here.

Did anyone ever try Smokin Joe's, off route 29? I know someone said they would try it.

Yes, I've been a few times. Respectable pulled pork sandwich and interestingly good 3 bean bbq beans. From my egullet post back in June 04:

Rt 29, about 3 miles North of Warrenton in New Baltimore.

Finally got to try it today. The proprietor, Smokin Joe, said they've finally dialed-in their BBQ. A self-styled "Virginia" bbq pit, Jammin Joe's offers a pulled pork sandwich, St. Louis style ribs and chicken.

The pork sandwich is king, nevermind about anything else. If you like pulled pork (with or without slaw), this is one of the best. Moist, with a right amount sauce worked into it, it had a nice balance of smoke, spiciness and sweetness. The ribs were good (certainly above-average) but only because they were properly smoked. They did need sauce (IMO) for full flavor. Forget about the chicken, my guess is that they offer it for non-pork eating cusotmers. The chicken was moist, smoked all the way through and flavorless (and precisely why I brine my birds before smoking or roasting them-but I'm not advocating brining for real bbq).

The sauce is a nice vinegar/tomato based suace, sweetened up. The beans rock: pieces of meat, and at least 3 types of beans in sweet gravy.

I am a proponent of roasting at hi temp. (500 degrees) and reducing the heat to finish.

I roast at 500 degrees for 45 minutes, then reduce to 300 until your desired temperature is reached (I pull mine at 120 for MR, anything above that temp will result in M or MW)

Culpeper? Bah. The Virginia countryside has much more accessible delights. Situated in a renovated 1790 house in Middleburg, the Aster is a pleasant treat for those of us who are equi-distant from DC and the countryside. We finally made the stop.

In short... mushroom cream amuse, earthy yet balanced, a warm greeting card ona cold night, squash 4 ways: panna cotta, tart, "hash" and soup, the soup having an caramel-butterscotch note that will intrigue me until my next visit; Foie gras terrine, not usually my preference (I like my fat liquidfied) but pleasantly flavored, it was like spreading brie on toast, then Salmon ceviche intermezzo with little spikes of flavor from the radish yum, thinking of having salmon on my next dinner menu, Venison tenderloin and Kobe beef tenderlion, what's a meal without medium rare meat? Sticky demiglace on my lips melted away with poached fig and sorbet, another glass of red wine because here comes the unsmoked gouda, humbolt fog and forgot-the-name Wisconsin bleu cheese, the woman wanted 2 desserts so we went with the white chocolate mousse in a dark chocolate cup and bread pudding (not your mamma's, I assure you) and another dessert but all I remember then was drinking chocolate through a straw.

Rocks, daggit, get on your high horse strap on your chaps and get-r-out Route 50 now

Costco, USDA Choice, bone-in or boneless, whole or partial available. About $100 for a whole. The meat is very good vs. price.

I've been threating to make sausage for a while now. I have the grinder. Where can I buy casings?

sausagemaker.com