EMB Blog: 2022 Regular Season (and beyond?) - NO POLITICS

[Godfather]

5 hours ago, Dwide Schrude said:

Yea I knew that it was just still crazy to me lol

Please don’t ever disrespect crown ever again 

Crown is meh

[Iggles_Phan]

9 hours ago, justrelax said:

Tell me about the polenta.Seriously. I make a great risotto but my polenta sucks.

It wasn't anything special... maybe second or third time.   I used a coarse grind corn meal.   Homemade chicken stock (Instapot) in place of water... bit of onion in the stock.  4 cups of stock, 1 cup of corn meal.    Bring the stock to a boil... slowly add the corn meal while stirring... and bring back to a boil, then down to a simmer, lid on.  Stir every 5 minutes.  About 30 minutes later, once it is thickened, add 2 TBSP butter, 1 at a time.  Mix in freshly grated parm/romano cheese.   Added in some fresh chopped up parsley from the garden as well.

It wasn't really my focus, but served as a great base for the homemade 'gravy' and braised short ribs.  Was an amazing mid-week meal.  And, all things considered, was actually pretty easy.  Easier than I thought it would be, but I definitely wanted to do something a little more upscale than just pasta.

Not sure my polenta would be better than yours, but it was definitely better than store bought... if that's even a thing.  I probably should have added a bit more stock along the way to thin it down a bit, but was a decent effort.   The star was the short ribs though.  Second place goes to the 'gravy' that I made.  

[Iggles_Phan]

9 hours ago, HazletonEagle said:

polenta sounds too close to placenta so very not appetizing. 

Just keep eating your gourmet Taco Bell.  You are a culinary treasure.

[Iggles_Phan]

8 hours ago, BigEFly said:

Having the right cheese is important.  Fine line between grits and polenta if you don’t have great cheese.

And for the record, my grits have more than just butter, cheese and fresh peppers are a must.

Subbed orange peppers for the celery in the sauce for the short ribs.  Didn't have any celery on hand, and prefer the sweetness of the peppers.  

[Iggles_Phan]

7 hours ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

 

me watching the Phillies blowing it. 

Echoes of 1964 off in the distance.

[Iggles_Phan]

6 hours ago, Outlaw said:

Hell no. I just don’t cook, I go out and pay for someone else to…smoke my meat?

F no. I just prefer a nice 1792 or Basil Hayden on the rocks. Or if going cheaper, Crown and Coke. To be honest, it’s the IPA nuts that drive me crazy. That ish is pigeon sweat, to quote Ted Lasso. 

 Medium tops for me. And I’ve tried Mike’s but that ish is nasty. I did try a couple of the Orange Hard Soda’s on Sunday and they weren’t too bad but quickly went back to my 1792. 

Yup.

 

Incidentally, smoking my own ribs has ruined me for going out for ribs.  Most places just can't do it right, or they do it earlier in the day and then reheat.   No thank you. 

[Swoop]

6 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

That was Hurts-like

Herbert made the Hurts leap!

[Iggles_Phan]

20 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

Yep.  Getting BBQ out at a restaurant is extremely overrated and overpriced.  They have to make a lot of it ahead of time, they don’t have a choice.  So yeah, stuff will need to be reheated or gets dried out. Then since they have to make a lot of it ahead of time, at times they make too much if business is down and they have to dump a lot of product.  So their pricing also has to take that potential waste into account.  Bust sure, just like a lot of foods, once you can master something at home, it’s gonna be better.  

The exception to that for me would be to go a super high volume place like Franklin's BBQ in Texas.  Not sure if I'll ever make it down there though.

[ToastJenkins]

1 hour ago, Godfather said:

Crown is meh

Cheap stuff for people who want to pretend they drink whiskey

[UndyTaker]

4 minutes ago, ToastJenkins said:

Cheap stuff for people who want to pretend they drink whiskey

Midleton rare is the way to go

[UndyTaker]

3 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

There’s big ones all over.  But they’re the exception.  There’s a chain just a few miles from me called "City BBQ” which is pretty good but expensive.   They don’t just have the Carolina style BBQ.  Speaking of which, I never liked Carolina style until I made it myself.  The restaurants over chop it and dry it out.   

Have you been to "The Pit" in downtown Raleigh? I thought it was alright. Lot of people love that place.

[TorontoEagle]

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/09/28/nick-sirianni-wants-devonta-smith-returning-punts-when-eagles-need-a-spark/

 

I hate this logic

[HazletonEagle]

13 minutes ago, TorontoEagle said:

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/09/28/nick-sirianni-wants-devonta-smith-returning-punts-when-eagles-need-a-spark/

 

I hate this logic

I dont.

[Iggles_Phan]

18 minutes ago, TorontoEagle said:

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/09/28/nick-sirianni-wants-devonta-smith-returning-punts-when-eagles-need-a-spark/

 

I hate this logic

Teams have been using that tactic for years.  

[Guest justrelax]

1 hour ago, Iggles_Phan said:

It wasn't anything special... maybe second or third time.   I used a coarse grind corn meal.   Homemade chicken stock (Instapot) in place of water... bit of onion in the stock.  4 cups of stock, 1 cup of corn meal.    Bring the stock to a boil... slowly add the corn meal while stirring... and bring back to a boil, then down to a simmer, lid on.  Stir every 5 minutes.  About 30 minutes later, once it is thickened, add 2 TBSP butter, 1 at a time.  Mix in freshly grated parm/romano cheese.   Added in some fresh chopped up parsley from the garden as well.

It wasn't really my focus, but served as a great base for the homemade 'gravy' and braised short ribs.  Was an amazing mid-week meal.  And, all things considered, was actually pretty easy.  Easier than I thought it would be, but I definitely wanted to do something a little more upscale than just pasta.

Not sure my polenta would be better than yours, but it was definitely better than store bought... if that's even a thing.  I probably should have added a bit more stock along the way to thin it down a bit, but was a decent effort.   The star was the short ribs though.  Second place goes to the 'gravy' that I made.  

I'm a big fan of the Instapot. I also cheat in my chicken stock by adding some Better Than Bouillon.

[Iggles_Phan]

7 minutes ago, justrelax said:

I'm a big fan of the Instapot. I also cheat in my chicken stock by adding some Better Than Bouillon.

What is the sodium content in that?   

 

The Instapot is the greatest thing for making stocks.   I now buy whole chickens all the time and butcher them down to make stock.  It is more economical, and more importantly, the stock you get is far better than anything in the stores.  Mine is always very gelatinous, like I want it.   The store bought stuff is always the thickness of water.     I also reduce the stock down so that it thickens up extra and freeze it in cubes to be used in sauces in the future as needed.

[TorontoEagle]

27 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

I dont.

 

22 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Teams have been using that tactic for years.  

I get that. I'd much rather we just fix the position in the first place. Let Smith be a WR, he doesn't need to return punts. 

[mattwill]

1 hour ago, Iggles_Phan said:

The exception to that for me would be to go a super high volume place like Franklin's BBQ in Texas.  Not sure if I'll ever make it down there though.

Clark's in Tioga Texas has some great barbeque, but since I have two orange trees in my back yard, my go to barbeque is baby back ribs marinated in a simple soy sauce, fresh squeezed OJ - brown sugar, cumin combination.  Marinate the ribs in  the sauce for an hour and then roast them in the oven at 400 degrees for an hour, periodically painting on the sauce as they roast.  Fabulous with a roasted sweet potato with lime juice and melted butter.

[mattwill]

1 hour ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

There’s big ones all over.  But they’re the exception.  There’s a chain just a few miles from me called "City BBQ” which is pretty good but expensive.   They don’t just have the Carolina style BBQ.  Speaking of which, I never liked Carolina style until I made it myself.  The restaurants over chop it and dry it out.   

Sounds like it is worth a try.  Can you post your recipe?

[Iggles_Phan]

13 minutes ago, Bacarty2 said:

This. This on most things BBQ. With the technology and the interwebz you can cook as good if not better than most BBQ places.They cook in huge bulk, usually have some helper who isnt as good and do the reheat option as you mentioned.  And if you've ever had real competition bbq it's honestly not that great. It's meant for looks and 1 or 2 bites. 

I'm anti fall of the bone, but also dont need the perfect "bite" on my ribs so I've ended up using a 2-2-1ish method. the 1 usually gets cut down to about 45 minutes. 

I got a pit boss 1000(250 bucks on a killer deal, brand new) I got a smoke tube I use for certain cooks(20 bucks) and a meater thermo(100 bucks) and I'll put the majority of my bbq against a food truck or brick and Mortar.

Side note, my chicken blows. Cant do it lol 

 

 

First time I really remember anyone doing that was us and Brian Westbrook and then we did it again towards the middle of Djax career

Malcolm Reed's howtobbqright is a great resource.   

The secret to chicken, or any poultry, IMO... is to only smoke the dark meat.   The white meat just is too lean and sensitive.   So, my go to for turkey now is to break it down... and I smoke the leg quarters... and sous vide the breast.  Easiest methods out there for perfect meat every time, and you don't have to fight the battle of the dark meat not being done and drying out the breast meat.  And... it frees up the oven for other stuff.  @justrelax Gets credit for my sous vide affection.  And, the best part of going sous vide, it is a really simple little appliance that works with any pot you own.  So, I just put the turkey breasts into the Instapot with the sous vide and it works absolutely fantastic, and takes up a tiny bit of counter top space.   The window for 'done' with the breasts is wide open, so they are 'done' when the leg quarters are done... Then both get to rest and the sides are usually timed to the resting periods!   Best of all, the dark meat and the light meat have very different flavor profiles as I season them both very differently.  The dark meat gets a much more robust seasoning rub, while I go with a more delicate and herbal seasoning on the breasts.   Best of both worlds.   

 

Similar for chicken.   My favorite smoked chicken is stuffed boneless chicken thighs.  A lot of prep work to debone the thighs, but totally worth the effort.  In a pinch, you could get the stuff pre-done in the grocery store, but that's usually also skinless.   If you go that route, you'd want to wrap the thighs in bacon or something to protect the meat.  Also, they sell a 'rack' for holding chicken legs vertically while smoking.  Such a great tool and it allows you to smoke up a ton of chicken legs in a much smaller amount of space in the smoker.  

[Iggles_Phan]

4 minutes ago, TorontoEagle said:

I get that. I'd much rather we just fix the position in the first place. Let Smith be a WR, he doesn't need to return punts. 

Yeah, I hear you.  But, we are where we are now.  Being asked to return a punt every few weeks isn't an issue.  It's likely something that he's done for years at various levels.  I don't see it as this herculean burden.  Punt return is generally about letting your athleticism takeover, once you get the basics of when to fair catch, let it bounce or try for a return.  That's already in him.  He's also a student of the game, so its not overly taxing.   

[TorontoEagle]

Just now, Iggles_Phan said:

Yeah, I hear you.  But, we are where we are now.  Being asked to return a punt every few weeks isn't an issue.  It's likely something that he's done for years at various levels.  I don't see it as this herculean burden.  Punt return is generally about letting your athleticism takeover, once you get the basics of when to fair catch, let it bounce or try for a return.  That's already in him.  He's also a student of the game, so its not overly taxing.   

Yeah that's fair. I guess the biggest issue I have is punt returns in general are such low percentage plays, with what feels like a much higher chance of injury to a critical piece of our offense. 

[Connecticut Eagle]

Third week in a row we have a Player of the Week.

 

 

[mattwill]

39 minutes ago, Bacarty2 said:

You should go to Allora out your way. North of Sac town. My old company was based out of Grass Valley. Yea, a Southern Jerzey guy knowing where the F grass Valley is

Interesting.  I will definitely try it.  The polenta and meatballs I mentioned yesterday was from another italian restaurant in Sacramento Adamo's.

Not a lot of companies based out of Grass Valley.

[HazletonEagle]

14 minutes ago, TorontoEagle said:

 

I get that. I'd much rather we just fix the position in the first place. Let Smith be a WR, he doesn't need to return punts. 

True I would love to fix the position. 

But as of now, I dont mind using Smith.