Counter top

[Larry Jaques]

On Sun, 02 May 2010 23:17:56 -0400, the infamous FrozenNorth scrawled the following:

You guys all realize that every health org says that you cannot thaw meats at room temps, don't you? I do it either in the fridge or in hot water in the disinfected sink. But I very, very seldom buy frozen meat. Turkeys are one of the exceptions, and recently, prices for fresh turkeys have been nearly as low as frozededs, so we've gone with fresh.

-- Courage is the power to let go of the familiar. -- Raymond Lindquist

[Hoosierpopi]

Its no longer cheap, but I use three quarter inch plywood for my counter tops and seal them and use the nasty contact cement to adhere the Formica or similar brand Laminate. Sealing the bottom edge and rear surface of the back splash (if you use one) against moisture before adhering it (to the counter) with something like 3M 5200 Marine caulk should do the trick.

I've seen these old counter tops come out of a tear down after thirty years and more with nary a bit of evidence of swelling.

But, consider finishing the "drip edge" which is the front of the counter top protruding past the base cabinets with your best waterproofing/sealing stuff esp about the area of the kitchen sink as this is the most vulnerable area.

[Hoosierpopi]

This, of course, depends upon the corner to be turned. If you can cover both legs with a single sheet of laminate - no real problem at all. Yours truly, B.T.D.T.

[Robatoy]

Oh yess indeedee... laying up a 5' x 12' sheet of laminate on an L- shaped top is a regular knee-slapper. Especially that wandering fold/crease that crawls to the centre of the sheet, just to terminate itself in a tear. Ooodles of fun to the inexperienced. Better buy a couple of sheets...

[Ed Pawlowski]

"Larry Jaques" wrote

I buy meat and freeze it. That steak you bought for $10.99 a pound I paid $5 for a whole loin that I'll cut and freeze. They for dinner it will be defrosted on the counter and allowed to come to room temperature before grilling. No, I'd not do a turkey or whole chicken like that but do smaller cuts all the time.

Yesterday I smoked some country ribs. There were not frozen, but I did bring them up to room temperature before putting them on the smoker. Right now some sausage is defrosting for dinner tonight.

[FrozenNorth]

Eggsactly :-)

Did sausages last night, peeled plastic off from the back of the Styrofoam package, put on granite, flipped in half an hour, after an hour fully thawed. Pork chops, chicken parts, ribs and steaks all work equally as well, a roast or whole bird is a different issue.

[Greg O]

Thanks for the info from those of you that were willing. Also I apoligize to the innocent people that caught up in the sillyness. I have decided to keep my tools and buld my own counter top! Greg

[Larry Jaques]

On Mon, 3 May 2010 16:44:08 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski" wrote the following:

Previously frozen meat isn't as good as fresh, IMHO. YMMV.

Trichina worms...the other white meat.

-- Courage is the power to let go of the familiar. -- Raymond Lindquist

[Ed Pawlowski]

"Larry Jaques" wrote

In some cases you are correct, but in most, it is impossible to tell any difference. Depends on how it has been handled and frozen too. With all the variable, it is not possible to make a blanket statement either way, IMO.

There has not been a case of trichina worms in commercial pork in decades. In the US, there are about 12 cases a year, usually from wild game. I read that bear has one of the highest incidents of infection. Freezing is one method to kill them too, best is at 0 degrees. I forget the time period needed.

[Larry Jaques]

On Mon, 3 May 2010 23:13:29 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski" wrote the following:

Can't take a joke, eh? I just don't eat much pork, 'cept totally burnt bacon, any more.

-- All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit. --Thomas Paine

[Ed Pawlowski]

"Larry Jaques" wrote

I wasn't sure. On the food groups it is a question that comes up seriously very often. People are still eating dried out overcooked pork because their grandmother cooked it until dead.

[basilisk]

There is no way to know if the pork you buy in the store came from a large commercial producer or not, a farmer can show up at the packing house with one hog that was raised in bad conditions and they will take it no questions ask as long as it is on its feet.

In the past there were two packing houses in my area, Zeiglers and Bryan. Zeiglers paid top dollar and were very selective in what they would take, Bryans on the other hand, paid much less and would take anything that was still alive.

A trip to sell hogs meant going by Zeiglers, unloading the healthy fat animals and then on to Bryan with the culls, no farmer or his family would buy or eat Bryans products.

basilisk

[Larry Jaques]

On Tue, 4 May 2010 06:05:42 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski" wrote the following:

I used to drive through Norco, CA on the way to COMDEX every year. I'd have to turn off my ventilation system and hold my breath for a couple miles while I passed the pig farms there. You won't want to eat pork again after you've smelled the production farms, bubba. They're ten times worse than chicken ranches, and chicken shit really reeks.

With bacon, it tastes much better that way, super crisp and more smoky flavored. I always tell the waitress to have the cook BURN THE BACON. Only two have so far in the past 3 decades. About 25% get it right, though. Some think an extra 4 seconds on the griddle is "burnt". Go figure.

-- All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit. --Thomas Paine

[Larry Jaques]

On Tue, 4 May 2010 06:13:34 -0500, "basilisk" wrote the following:

You sound as if you trust the commercial producers more than real farmers. Wander on down to the video store and pick up a copy of "Food, Inc." It's an eye-opener which will make you wonder if you'll want to purchase and consume -anything- commercially produced ever again.

E. coli O157:H7 is man-made. When man introduced grain to the cow's stomach, it was a by-product. To remove it from most cattle, it would take only a week of grazing on grass to kill almost all of it. Instead, they spray all our meats with ammonia to kill it. Yum!

-- All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit. --Thomas Paine

[basilisk]

Nope, didn't mean it that way, I've seen plenty of bad from commercial farms and individual farmers alike.

Your more likely to have parasites in a backyard mud pen than in a commercial operation, but I'm going to cook it and it will taste better than commercial pork, so not a problem.

I wouldn't want anyone to think that their food supply is clean, controlled and inspected in any meaningful way, it isn't. With that said, it doesn't seem to kill all that many people, or not quickly anyway.

I personally don't eat a lot of commercially produced food, (guessing less than 30%) and almost no commercially produced meat, what I don't raise is sourced locally from others that do.

basilsik

[Max]

Some people like their steaks with the Moo still in it but I prefer not to see any blood. I have one exception but otherwise I prefer my meat to be dead.

Max

[Ed Pawlowski]

"basilisk" wrote

That may happen in a small independent store, but it is not going to happen in chain store. No way they would take the risk buying a single hog from a stranger. Commercial hogs are raised in factory conditions. A fellow I know has been doing some work for a hog butchering place in Iowa. They slaughter

18,000 hogs every 12 hour day. Then they spend six or more hours with a 200 man crew cleaning and sanitizing. Those hogs never saw a real farm.

[Dave Balderstone]

With SERIOUS biohazard security measures. Hog barns are a LOT cleaner and safer than hospitals.

[Larry Jaques]

On Tue, 4 May 2010 10:20:02 -0500, "basilisk" wrote the following:

Amazing, isn't it? The human body is quite strong and resilient.

Good move!

-- All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit. --Thomas Paine

[Larry Jaques]

On Tue, 04 May 2010 21:47:31 -0600, Dave Balderstone wrote the following:

Oh?

national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit. --Thomas Paine