u/GreatLakesPrepping

I think this is the best batch of salsa I've made yet. Pretty standard canning recipe, but everything was just right. Good fresh produce, brightness and zing from the lime/vinegar combination, etc. About as spicy as the "hot" salsa served at a Tex-Mex or Mexican restaurant in the US.

Here's the recipe:

• 4.5 lbs Roma tomatoes
• 2 white onions
• 5 jalapenos
• 8 serrano peppers
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro
• 1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup bottled lime juice
• 1/2 cup white vinegar

Roughly chop all the veg. Put tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic, and salt in a pot. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Add lime juice, vinegar, and cilantro. Get to a simmer again and cook 5 more mins.

Then blend in a blender until smoother, but not totally liquified. Can in pint jars with 1/2" headspace. De-bubble, wipe rims, etc. Process in hot water bath for 15 minutes (at sea level).

Additional Notes:

1. Sometimes my food pictures on reddit are accused of being AI. I assure you they're not! This is real salsa with real vegetables, on a real table in my yard.
2. I used bottled lime juice in the recipe, but I had a couple limes so I threw them into the staged photo for like... decoration.
3. A lot of people prefer apple cider vinegar instead of white. I do not care for it in many recipes. I think it makes the salsa have a discordant "fruity" tinge and I don't like it. White gives you all the acid with none of the mismatched flavor.

Started by seasoning some skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs with a rub and let them sit in the fridge for a few hours. Then get them going on the barrel smoker at 325 degrees, skin-side up. In the meantime, combine a half pint of jalapeno jelly, 1 Tbsp ACV, 3 Tbsp water, and a pinch of salt in a small pan. Get it up to a low simmer while stirring. Then kill the heat and stir in a Tbsp of cold butter. That's the glaze. After awhile, turn the chicken over so the skin-side is down and give that awhile. Once internal temp hits about 165, flip 'em skin side up once more and start glazing. I glazed a total of 3 times (on the skin-side only) in the time that it took to get from 165 internal to 185. Pull 'em off the smoker, let them rest.

Definitely in the top 5 BBQ chicken I've ever made. Skin is pretty crispy despite the sticky glaze. There is just no beating that direct heat flavor when cooking chicken like this. And the jalapeno jelly glaze just gave it something new. Sweet, very lightly spicy. Just delicious.

And I unfortunately have to mention these days that this is indeed NOT an AI image. Isn't it crazy that I have to tell people that this was actual chicken, photographed with an actual camera, by an actual me? Anyway, I make youtube videos of my cooks, so the thumbnail photos tend to be all staged and fancy-like.

Peel (yes, peel) some Yukon gold potatoes. Cut into medium-thick slices and parboil for about 5-7 minutes. Strain and let 'em cool a few minutes, and then brush all over with olive oil. Heavily season both sides with your choice of BBQ rub (for this batch, I used a mixture of salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika). Then lay out on the grill over medium-low flame, and turn about every 5 minutes until the slices have some great color and some nice grill marks all over. Somewhere around 15 minutes, usually. They come out tender in the middle, just slightly crisp on the outside, and the flavor is outstanding.

Cook down a LOT of sliced yellow onion in butter with a little salt. Then lay the brats on top and fill the skillet halfway up with beer. Simmer until brats are cooked through, then remove. Crank the heat up and reduce the beer until it's mostly cooked off, leaving behind just the most killer onions. Then grill the brats to crisp up the skin, toast the buns, and Bob's your uncle. It's the easiest thing I know how to cook that tastes like it was way more complicated.

And before anyone accuses this photo of being AI, it's absolutely not. I took this picture with a camera, and it never touched AI or any LLM. I've been hearing "looks like AI" a lot about my photos lately.

Made with leftover smoked brisket. Pinto beans, onion, jalapeno, garlic, beef stock, seasonings, and lots of chopped brisket meat. Definitely my favorite savory version of "baked beans".

Walleye caught in the St. Clair river in Michigan. Fillets were dusted in seasoned flour, then egg bath, then coated in panko. Shallow-fry until beautiful, then drizzle with homemade sweet chili sauce and some lime crema. Garnish generously with green onion.

Incredibly tasty. Will work with lots of different fish. Anything that's good for breading/battering and frying.

I started by seasoning a pork shoulder with red Hawaiian sea salt (and nothing else). Then I smoked at 300 in the offset with applewood until the internal temp hit about 165. Then I wrapped the shoulder in banana leaves, shoved the whole thing into a big Dutch oven, and cooked for another couple hours at 350 until the internal hit 203. Rest it all for an hour, still inside the leaves and Dutch oven.

The only flavoring for the pork is the red sea salt and the flavors that are imparted by the banana leaves (which is a mildly sweet, almost fruity taste).

For the sandwiches I made a tropical-inspired slaw (with a mayo, vinegar, lime, honey dressing), and also a roasted-pineapple sauce. And of course I used sweet Hawaiian rolls. All of the sweet and tart flavors from the slaw and sauce worked tremendously well with the salty, fatty pork.

Highly recommend if you're looking for something a little different than the classic Southern pulled pork preparations.

Seasoned with Susie Q's, grilled on the Santa maria, sliced, and topped with a little chimi. Pretty happy with how this one came out.

Long story short:

Season with salt inside and out.

Stuff the cavity with orange peels, lemon, and rosemary.

Tie the legs together, score the breast skin, and rub everything with orange juice.

Smoke with direct heat cooker, and glaze with orange sauce every 15 minutes after the first hour.

Slice, serve, drizzle more orange sauce. Delicious.

I made crispy-skin chicken thighs on a direct-heat smoker, then chopped it all up. Made quesadillas with shredded queso cheese, the chicken, sauteed onions & peppers, bits of bacon, BBQ sauce, and flour tortillas. Toasted it on griddle and got the cheese all melted together. Finally, I dipped the whole thing in tempura batter and deep-fried in oil. Cut into triangles, threw 'em on a plate with sour cream & green onion, and took this photo.

Seasoned ground pork, Swiss cheese, grilled pineapple basted with Teriyaki sauce, red onion, lettuce, and some Teriyaki mayo.