Sarku Japan - Teriyaki Chicken (Mall Chicken)

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Sarku Japan - Teriyaki Chicken (Mall Chicken)

     Back in High School, my friends and I would go to the mall and head straight to the food court in search of the free samples of Teriyaki Chicken handed out by the Sarku Japan Restaurant. The sugary, dark brown, crispy, glazed chicken bits, served to us on a toothpick, were absolutely delicious. That small sample almost always prompted us to buy a full order of their Teriyaki Chicken. After many failed attempts, I eventually figured out how to make a pretty close copy of the Sarku Japan Teriyaki Chicken at home.

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Smoked Brisket

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Smoked Brisket

      Brisket has always been a daunting cut to me due to the time committment, slightly higher cost than other cuts, and the required attention and care it needs during the cook. The first time I tried cooking one I was a bit rushed for time and the final result wasn't as impressive as I had hoped. I've followed Aaron Franklin for years now and just recently purchased his book, Franklin BBQ: A Meat Smoking Manifesto. The first chapter inspired me to give brisket another go and I'm sure glad I did.

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No Knead Pizza with Homemade Sauce

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No Knead Pizza with Homemade Sauce

     I've been making homemade pizza dough and sauce for the past 8 years or so and I've tried many different methods. I think this no knead method is my favorite. It has turned out some of the best pizzas I've made throughout the years with minimal effort. You start by mixing up a "poolish" the night before you plan to make pizza and let it sit in the fridge overnight. This allows gluten to develop and makes the dough come out crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside...

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Makin' Bacon - Skin On vs. Skin Off

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Makin' Bacon - Skin On vs. Skin Off

     After my first attempt at curing and smoking bacon at home, I came across some discussions that mentioned skipping the skinning process altogether. The main consensus was that it's just easier to take the skin off after smoking. There wasn't a definite answer on the whether or not the cure or flavor was affected so I decided to do a side-by-side cure/cook. I started with two whole bellies, about 18 lbs total. I cut both bellies in half, skinned two halves and left the other two untouched...

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$25 Sous Vide Controller

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$25 Sous Vide Controller

     When I first read about cooking food sous vide I was very interested, but I didn't want to spend a few hundred dollars on a machine to experiment with. I did some searching and stumbled upon a few homemade sous vide machines using the STC-1000 temperature controller. It's cheap, available on Amazon, and came with just about everything you need for a primitive sous vide setup... 

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