Comments on: Bacon on the gas grill

By: Joel Dobris

Joel Dobris — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:45:16 +0000

If you are a kitchen equipment nutter consider a Bimby/Thermomix. It’s a German combo blender/cooker/new best friend that costs a fortune and is sold ala the Kirby vacuum cleaner (to you, in your house). We ate at our son’s friends’ last week and they (she) is a super cook with the requisite Viking, Italian expresso maker and Bimby. The soup she made was quite magical and the machine made it possible, she said. I am a believer. Web surfing suggests it’ll cost $800-$1,600. I couldn’t find any used ones.

By: Joel Dobris

Joel Dobris — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:31:59 +0000

After obsessive searching, we (my wife really) found a very small Thermador cooktop that had all the features of a pro range that a householder might like. And it plays well with the pro-look householder fan and hood above it.

We paid a friend who is a restaurant cook to cook a meal once in our kitchen. He grumpily found our stuff met his bare minima. He kept the burners on ALL the time. I kept turning them off to save money until he complained about the mystery person who kept turning off ‘his’ burners. My point? They live in a different world. And pro equipment often isn’t for day trippers. But you knew that.

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 07:46:49 +0000

Costco sells pre-cooked bacon that is surprisingly good.

It costs a bit more but not unreasonably more.
(though perhaps it becomes unreasonable in the quantities you required)

By: jo

jo — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:31:36 +0000

You are my new hero. We once had to please Stepdad after a power outage and the summer residence by making his biscuits on the outdoor grill. Worked a charm. (http://countingsheep.typepad.com/amuse_bouche/2006/07/nothing_says_su.html). Since the vent hood in Maine is one of those horrendous recirculating models I am going to try this over the summer when I have an army to feed for breakfast.
And since husband, the anal engineer kitted out my serious venthood, I thought I would share with a similar geek. (http://countingsheep.typepad.com/amuse_bouche/2007/05/how_to_hang_a_v.html)

By: Katherine Darges

Katherine Darges — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:32:00 +0000

From my days running a factory that manufactured commercial range hoods: put a properly-sized fan on the roof. Pulling the air works better than pushing it, and it is much quieter. Also, you can open a window a crack to add to the air available to pull out. A good HVAC person can calculate the right size fan based on the amount of air you need to move at peak smokiness.

By: Stella Aquilina

Stella Aquilina — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:06:50 +0000

Believe it our not: cheap Krusteaz makes the unequivocal best Belgian waffle mix. I use a Waring Pro waffle make, brush with canola oil to avoid sticking, and voila – raves are consisting obtained from el cheapo Krusteaz. A nice topping is fresh strawberries, powdered sugar, and Safeway deluxe strawberry syrup but standard pure maple syrup is always good too.

By: Edith Frederick

Edith Frederick — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:03:36 +0000

It sounds like your kitchen fume hood ventilation could be improved by replacing the constricting roof cap with a silent, wind driven turbine. You could also find a quiet replacement for the noisy fan — clearly designed by the sort who think roaring sounds “powerful” and breathtaking cleaning products smell “clean.”

You know air flow dynamics — in addition to the cap, if the vent outlet is lower than your roof ridge, and if that puts it in the lee for prevailing winds, there would be vortices that interfere with air flow or cause back flow. Add in any large trees upwind for variations.

We resolved a similar situation with a wind turbine atop an extended metal chimney, braced with two guy wires. In summer, with the wood stove flue open, the wind turbine and convection actively vented the house. There must be fans with a comparable “open” setting. Our mountain summers are dry and breezy, but in your more humid maritime area the silent air flow would be welcome.

This first link for wind turbines is in Arlington and the second, in New Zealand, has a larger illustration of the jaunty, Russian cupalo and wind-sculpture look.

http://www.ventmasterinc.com/vent_types.html#wt
http://airflo.co.nz/rotary.htm

By: marriagedestroyer

marriagedestroyer — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:56:00 +0000

Grease fire in the grill is remarkably easy to put out. I’ve done it twice. Keep a jug of water around and if the grill catches fire spray a couple of mouthfuls from the top. Watch for flareups.

By: Keith Fahlgren

Keith Fahlgren — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 01:07:36 +0000

2nd the bacon-in-oven suggestion. I do mine at about 400º for ~18 minutes, but time and temp will vary depending on thickness. Using a rack can reduce the retained fat a little, but gives the bacon a different texture.

By: Rob Schoening

Rob Schoening — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:21:31 +0000

My wife bakes bacon in the oven. She puts the bacon on a cooling rack and the cooling rack on a cookie sheet to catch the grease. It is consistently great and doesn’t cause the house to smell.

I imagine that the grill technique would be great for Costco sized quantities.