The Thinker

If he's actually listening to your argument then he's less a lunatic than the person who won't even consider anything but his own point of view.

such as creationists who refuse to consider evolution.

Or evolutionionists who refuse to consider creation :)

we considered the "evidence" creationists showed us and like the judges who ruled against trump's election fraud "evidence", we found it invalid.

there's plenty of scientific evidence backing up evolution and biden's win though.

care to consider it?

I haven't ruled out evolution, since I didn't exist thousands of years ago I'm willing to consider there's various ways we came to exist. The difference between you and I is I believe God could have used evolution as part of the creation process. Why not both?

Creation would be an act, a verb, and actions constitute change and thus take time. Evolution!

until there is evidence of this, it must not be taught in public schools.

This is not a political meme, try to stay on topic

He's just a troll. Don't encourage him.

they are very much related topics which i'm staying on, just laying out a relatable comparison to bolster my point and make it easier to understand.

Best to avoid these types.

Hey! That's me! :D

Nobody can truly understand the terror we live in

Get smarter yourself so he's not more intelligent than you lol

or just don't cast your pearls among swine, learn when it's time to walk away

I fear no lunatic ;)

I'm just curious of the philosophical comments that may come in from this topic!

Well maybe you should fear this lunatic! >:)

My original reply:

Remind them that their cerebral cortex exists for a reason and they should focus on that and bypass the flotsom and let that thang do its thang.

If they're more intelligent than you - maybe it's you who is the lunatic.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

mine too :)

lol ;)

Why do people always conflate normalcy with fineness?

Not that highly intelligent people haven't been subject to lunacy

They're rarely diagnosed by the less intelligent.

How do you know that you're right and he's not?

Unless you're saying he's acknowledging that you're right, but still wants to do his own thing. Then, well, there's nothing you can do but pray.

If I know that he's right then I'm right.

... or who's the actual lunatic...

I'm not even gonna answer that.
I don't have any capabilities to explain anything.

I would just stop arguing with him. That kind of person thinks he's always right, no matter what you say.

I know, I know, even that made me cringe. I'm so ashamed...😆

5u9h2x.jpg (click to show)

You want lunar ticks? You got lunar ticks...your cringe is fulfilled :)

😆

Lol :)

They could be...there have been many intelligent minds in the past that have simply had the wrong belief structure. All the good that could have come from those who did bad. Criminal masterminds that outsmarted the police/FBI/CIA/other intelligence agencies...all those under Hitler who had incredible intellect and yet disposed of it in their zeal for the fuhrer. Even the dictators themselves, who were so smart as to develop empires for themselves did so in lunacy, refusing the good nature of human kind in the process. However, I don't know that doing bad or evil things is considered lunacy, so I'll give you that. Hitler's regime or any dictator for that matter, is probably the most likely in my mind to showcase lunacy than others.

well, I had to go through this with my mother, so I have some experience. just give up and say that they are right.

Lunatics are not more intelligent than I am. Difficult, obtuse, willful, closed minded idiots of ppl who refuse input and try to only push their own agenda in single mindedness are not unique. They're part of childhood discovery.

Shoot 'im dead.

Ah, a fellow intellectual I see ;)

How you doin'? Haven't heard or seen much out of you recently...

Yes, a true intellectual, indeed!

Been pretty good. Crypto season is upon us, so that is quite entertaining/stressful for me. I'm looking forward to a nice Thanksgiving turkey dinner, that's for sure. The "President" and his lackeys sure are destroying this country, so that's also stressful. I'm just hoping that things improve and his administration is put in check, which seems extremely likely come Nov 8 2022. How have you been? Do any major smoking lately? Cook anything really tasty or go out and buy something really tasty recently?

Agree with all son, agree with all. Glad you're doing well though!

My shining star of smoking recently was a pork roulade...check it out in the image below! That thing was stinking awesome. I "rolled out" a pork loin into a big sheet, stuffed it with peach and poblano stuffing, rolled it back up and trussed it. Smoked for about 2 hours till it hit 145, and then sliced it into "pinwheels". Then drizzled it with a balsamic glaze. Truly phenomenal, I highly recommend it for the next time you decide to entertain some guests. If you scroll down on the meme you'll see the cross section, the whole thing was incredibly flavorful and melt-in-your-mouth.

imgflip.com/i/5skxb5

Wow, that was smoked for only 2 hours? What temp were you smoking at? Looks like well above 250 F. It does look awesome. The cross section/pinwheels look extremely tasty and just made me very hungry. I think I'm going to take a half day today and go disc golfing. Kinda the last, or one of the last, nice days here in WI for a while. Probably the last day of 50+ F weather for several weeks, if not months. If I do this, I am going to cook something after the disc golf. This is a candidate for what I do, but I'd have to smoke it on the Weber, as I still do not have a smoker. In the past, I've had challenges getting poblanos this time of year. They seem to have fixed that dumb stocking decision several years ago, but cold temps still result in spotty coverage for this delectable pepper. Poblano has always been my favorite pepper. I know Bobby Flay uses it as his "secret weapon" in MANY recipes, but I was doing it before he made it really mainstream famous. My famous smoked chicken puffy poblano tacos were all the rage in the early 2000's. I need a smoke to do them right, though, so it's not an option right now. I just REALLY want to not be at work today. I had a few too many beers and arrived at 10am this morning. I have an important meeting at 1pm, but I should be able to justify leaving after that. I'll take some pictures if I make something noteworthy and share them with you afterward. I should mention that I made some of the best carnitas tacos last week. Even the most serious taco aficionados told me that they were the best tacos they ever had. I make great tacos, and I have no problem telling people so. I've gotten REALLY close to equaling the very best taco truck in my area. Still working on getting the salsa verde right, though. I thought I was not putting enough sugar in mine, but that was not the issue. I have no idea why I cannot duplicate their very simple-seeming salsa verde. It is clearly just tomatillos, garlic, onion, lime juice, and salt...or so I thought. They have something else in there that makes it taste so "bright"...maybe it's lemon juice? It's not vinegar, but it seems like there's an acid in there I cannot put my finger on. Any ideas?

Yeah, fairly hot smoke, I think it was about 325F but again I wasn't going for low and slow so much as I was roasting with smoke. You could definitely handle that on a Weber, and you could also sub out poblanos for jalapenos or even serranos if you could handle a little more heat. Just de-seed and de-vein if you don't want so much.

Carnitas are awesome...I'd love to try your recipe sometime if you're proud of it! My wife loves them too so bonus points for smiles on her face. With the salsa verde, you might just try a variety of different acids to see what brightens it up...could be white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar...hell even pineapple or orange juice if you say it might need a little extra sugar. Or...grapefruit juice? That would be really interesting.

I really want to make some birria tacos someday when I can find the time to do it. It's an incredibly long and involved process, but those were some of the best I ever had. Found them in San Francisco a few months back and damn those were tasty. Ever made any of those?

Got it. I may try this soon. Will let you know.

As far as carnitas go, I have cooked them a couple ways. The traditional confit method is pretty hard to commit to because you need a freaking gallon of fresh lard. I did it once, but I guess my slow cooker cooked them too fast and they weren't as tender as they should be. No matter, I partially shredded and browned in the skillet, using some of the lard to keep them from drying out and burning, and it also makes them even extra rich. The confit method already makes them tasty very rich due to the fat, but adding it in the skillet really really makes them rich. I won't try the confit method again for a while, though. I got better results with an acid-based braising. Used fresh orange juice (1 cup), fresh lime juice (1/3 cup), whole milk (1/2 cup), jalapeno pickling liquid (1/2 cup) as the braise liquid. Also, had a chopped onion in there and a bunch of fresh garlic (crushed). I did brown/sear the pork after generously salting it, then plopped it in the Dutch oven and covered (or close to it) with braise liquid. Cooked in oven between 235 and 300 F, starting at 300 F and gradually reducing to 235 F over the next 3-5 hours. Probably can get away with 2 hours, but I think it needs at least 3. I used the following recipe and tweaked it to my intuition:

https://www.saveur.com/article/recipes/carnitas-pork-tacos/

If you make them this way, and you make the salsa too, I suggest not putting tomatoes in it. Carnitas should have a nice salsa verde to go with them, not red salsa roja, in my opinion. Serve on corn and/or flour tortillas with cilantro and onion. I like to cook the tortillas in a little fat on the skillet or even on a conduction stovetop. I prefer fresh tortillas, but that's something I rarely do.

Anyhow, it's a very simple recipe, but it yielded the best carnitas I've ever made.

It's funny you mention birria tacos. I just watched the entire Taco Chronicles series on Netflix the other day and birria was one of the taco types. I've had birria before, but I suspect it was sub-par. It's a tough one to make taste right and can taste downright nasty if you don;t do it correctly, per Taco Chronicles. I HIGHLY recommend watching this show if you love tacos.

Cheers!

I could see how confit would be a little tricky...the braising liquid style sounds really good though. Milk is a sort of surprising ingredient, but I could see how that would work. I agree, salsa cerde is best for carnitas, even though I'm not actually a huge fan of the green stuff. It just works best with the pork I think. I'd also add a squeeze of lime juice over each one, and also some quick pickled onions and habaneros or jalapenos. That's become one of my favorite taco toppings. Also some good mexican crema...I much prefer that to sour cream.

I'll have to check out that series on Netflix, sounds right up my alley, lol.

Birria tacos I could definitely see going south if not done well. The place I got them from in CA definitely did them right though...that's what I want to recreate.

I think the milk is absolutely critical, but not 100% sure on that. I don't like to use crema on traditional tacos anymore. I'll use it on gringo-tacos, but I'm done using it on tacos that are essentially meat on tortilla + cilantro and onions and a lime wedge to squeeze over. I also no longer like pickled onions with pork tacos. I feel like they go better with BBQ'd pork. I do love pickled onions, though. Just recently quit using them on carnitas and al pastor tacos.

I'm (thankfully) without food poisoning after consuming some fried turkey from a family thanksgiving meal prepared by someone who shouldn't have ever been trusted with cooking...going to redeem it on Thursday though, even though it will likely only be a meal for myself, my wife, and our daughter. I got a small (as in 10lb) turkey, going to brine it, stuff some compound butter under the skin, stick a foster's oil can in the cavity and stand her up on the smoker with some fruit wood smoke for a few hours...should be good. I hope your Thanksgiving goes well, take care!

People who don't ensure that poultry is safe to eat should not cook it. I say this as I just "undercooked" some fried chicken a week ago, but that was not technically true. The chicken was cooked to at least 165 degrees and I know this because I tested a couple pieces. I fixed the problem by baking them at very hot temp for about 5 minutes. Then, it was some of the best fried chicken I ever had.

"pork that was smoked, no sauce of any kind..."

Yep, that's my kind of pork :) Really good smoked pork needs no sauce. No, I don't like pickled onions on my pork, unless like I said if it's on a sandwich in which case I consider that a different dish altogether. Just give me my pork and a little eastern NC style vinegar sauce (on the side) and I'm happy.

I like both pickled onions and raw for tacos. Sometimes I like the little extra bit of acidity the vinegar brings to a taco depending on what it's filled with. If raw, I squeeze a little lime over it to brighten things up...I suppose that would be the more traditional way and I'm definitely good with that. Cilantro however, that's a big nope for me. I'm one of the ones genetically inclined to taste soap when I eat it, so that's a really good way to ruin a dish for me. I will eat it in very small doses in salsa or if it's cooked into a green or white chili, but it's a very fine threshold.

Your fried chicken sounds like a success, glad it worked out for you. Putting it in the oven on high heat probably gave it a similar effect to a double-frying, you probably had some pretty crispy skin!

I was only referring to pulled pork sammiches, I should have specified that. I would never ever put pickled onions on plain smoked pork.

I used to taste soap when I ate cilantro, but that went away at some point and now I like it. I pretty much only eat it on tacos and in salsas, though. Not a whole lot else it is good for.

Yeah, that's what I thought. Still had plenty of oil on the breading/skin, so it did actually fry a second time.

Have a good weekend!

You like what you like bruh! No issues with your approach, except the pickled onions on BBQ pork...we'll agree to disagree there but it's more or less off topic considering we started on tacos :)

Maybe on a sandwich, in which case a vinegar based slaw is more appropriate than onions in my opinion, but onions may be acceptable depending on what you sell me on. I do on occasion include thin sliced onion strips in my slaw, sometimes. I'll also admit that my approach to BBQ (as you know at least for pulled pork) is highly purist and is to be considered and consumed unadulterated.

Wait, you DON'T like pickled onions on smoked pork? I'm talking pork that was smoked, no sauce of any kind, except maybe a vinegar-based sauce, actually, definitely a vinegar-based sauce...what was I thinking? I consume smoked pork unadulterated except for vinegar-based sauce. I provide the option to go with pickled onion, but I only do that on occasion. I just don't see it as a proper condiment for a taco, of any kind. That's what raw onions and cilantro are for, I mean, come on!

Salsa verde*